Christmas Cruise

[QTBabyNurse]

Hubby and I are contemplating spending Christmas on a cruise this year. We are seasoned cruisers, but have never been on a cruise for Christmas. We generally sail out of Miami or Fort Lauderdale. We are in our early 60's and like to have a fun time...we are definitely not the type of people who just want to sit in a lounge chair all day. The ports of call are really not all that important to us as we have already been to most of them already. The ship is the main focus for us.

 

So, having said all that....if YOU have taken a Caribbean cruise for Christmas out of Florida, which ship did you sail and what were the pros and cons of that particular ship? Add any other information you think would be helpful to assist us in choosing an exciting holiday cruise!

 

Thank you!

[ninjacat123]

7 minutes ago, QTBabyNurse said:

Hubby and I are contemplating spending Christmas on a cruise this year. We are seasoned cruisers, but have never been on a cruise for Christmas. We generally sail out of Miami or Fort Lauderdale. We are in our early 60's and like to have a fun time...we are definitely not the type of people who just want to sit in a lounge chair all day. The ports of call are really not all that important to us as we have already been to most of them already. The ship is the main focus for us.

 

So, having said all that....if YOU have taken a Caribbean cruise for Christmas out of Florida, which ship did you sail and what were the pros and cons of that particular ship? Add any other information you think would be helpful to assist us in choosing an exciting holiday cruise!

 

Thank you!

Here is a review from a last Christmas cruise:

I just used the search while in Carnival Cruise threads and typed in christmas.  Lots of reviews there!  Hope that helps!

[karriec]

Hello.  We have been in 2 cruises over Christmas.  One was a Princess many years ago .  The other was on the Horizon in Dec.  We have also been in a few the week before Christmas.  As far as having Christmas spirit I feel like our Mardi Gras cruise the week before Christmas had more going on and more Christmas decor than our Horizon cruise.   Our Horizon cruise was great but didn't seem as "Christmasy".   They did have a nice service on Christmas day which was a sea day.  On our Princess cruise Christmas Eve and Christmas day were Port days.  On Christmas Eve I found a church with an early service so that was a nice experience.  On Christmas day we were in Barbados and at first we weren't going to do anything but ended up getting a tour of the island and our driver even took us to his home where were we got to experience their tradition.  Any other info you want please let me know.  

[csm5986142]

17 hours ago, QTBabyNurse said:

We are in our early 60's and like to have a fun time...we are definitely not the type of people who just want to sit in a lounge chair all day.

 

We were on Horizon for Christmas several years ago (out of Miami).  It was okay, but we didn't love being on a ship for Christmas and don't have plans to do it again (even though we cruise on the majority of the holidays as that is what works best for my work schedule).  Based on some of the things you mentioned, I'm wondering if you've considered a New Year's Eve cruise?  We found that to be so much fun and will definitely do it again (already booked on Celebration for next time around).

For Christmas, I just felt bad for the crew members who couldn't be home with their families.  It's a different atmosphere - a nice, family oriented cruise with tons of kids/families, whereas NYE was just fun.  Not so many kids, and the NYE party was incredible (it's one of just a few instances where I've seen many off-duty crew members up on deck taking pictures/videos).  It was just a really fun/friendly crowd in general the entire week.  And Carnival did other unique things, like a special menu for NYE (in addition to it being formal night) and a buffet offering (special breakfast menu) following the party (in addition to their regular late-night buffet).  They also passed out champagne at the party just before midnight.  I can't think of anything else right now, but there were other specials (I think I heard something about additional free bingo cards w/the purchase of a package).

Either way, based on our experience cruising Thanksgiving, Christmas, and NYE, I would recommend a Vista or Excel class ship.  It will be an extremely full ship and I feel like they do the best job at dispersing the crowd around the ship (w/more food and entertainment options) so it doesn't feel as crowded.  Even so, things like the first sea day brunch were very popular (plan on at least a 1.25 - 2 hour wait to get in for example).  Not complaining, just saying plan accordingly.

Edited January 14 by csm5986142