Recommendation for a family Christmas cruise?

[gopackgo]

We are a family looking for a 7 day Christmas cruise, probably the Caribbean. We are a mix of ages. 6 kids ages 10 to 15 along with parents in their 30's and 40's. Plus grandpa, aunts and uncles in their 50's and 60's.

 

We want lots of activities for the kids to do on the ship. At the same time, we like very good food, drinks, service, and good shows. (We aren't looking for a "party" cruise.)

 

We are considering RCI, Princess, and Celebrity. We are looking for input into these options. Any comments would be appreciated.

 

Thanks,

 

Ginny

[land lover]

I'd go RCI, better rates for 3rd and 4th passengers. What fun you will have with such a crew.

[brovol]

you wont go wrong regardless of the line you choose. i personally would go with princess, because i think the total package is best with princess. we went on a christmas cruise with extended family (about 20), and had a fantastic time. we will do it again. have fun.

[Lacy]

Although not a Christmas cruise...we went on a New Years Cruise this past New Years with a family group of sixteen. We went on the Caribbean Princess. It was a first cruise for everyone and we found that the ship had something for everyone. We ranged in age from 8-76. Last night the family was togeather again and we are talking about another cruise this Christmas holiday. You will have a fantastic time no matter who you cruise with.

Regards,

Laurie

[bstrauss3]

Check the ittinerary carefully. Much of the carribean follows the British model and shuts down on both Christmas and Boxing day (the 26th). So you may get a couple of extra sea days.

 

That said, Holiday cruises are a blast...

 

-----Burton

[Artemis]

Hi, gopackgo,

 

We have cruised over the holidays (Christmas or New Year's) for the past 6 years on a variety of cruise lines. Obviously, we like it! It's a great experience for extended family gatherings like yours.

 

All of the lines decorate their ships beautifully, feature religious services, offer a traditional holiday menu, make sure Santa finds the ship, organize caroling sessions, etc. Aboard ship and in ports, many folks are wearing Santa hats and holiday-themed shirts with their bathing suits and shorts...it's quite festive. The Caribbean daytime temps will be in the 70's and 80's, and in all those cruises, we've only had a day or two of rain. All in all, cruising at Christmas is a lot of fun and a very special way for a family to celebrate.

 

Regarding port stops on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, sometimes, the cruise line has adjusted the itinerary to make the holiday an At Sea day, but we've never experienced an extra sea day/loss of a port, i.e., we've always made all of the ports on the itinerary when we booked, although sometimes, the dates have been adjusted. Other times, we've made port on Christmas Day (we've never had a Boxing Day conflict), and while it's quieter than usual, a surprising number of stores and restaurants opened just for the cruise ship, and most of the ship's excursions and some independent operator excursions went forward. In other words, I wouldn't consider that a big issue as long as you keep an open mind about it.

 

What *is* a big issue is booking...if you are talking about this Christmas, is availability. Believe it or not, you need to get moving! Holiday cruises tend to fill up early.

 

Last, I guess you realize, holiday cruises are the most expensive of the year. Also, the longer you wait, the cost and availability of holiday air and related pre- or post-cruise hotels becomes an issue.

 

Very important: For all who are flying to port, it is extremely risky to fly in the same day during the winter holiday season. We did that one time, booking the first non-stop from Houston to Fort Lauderdale of sail day--who would think that would be risky?--and almost missed our ship due to air delays caused by a winter storm in the NE coupled with holiday crowds, topped off by luggage that didn't make the plane we finally got out on (it found us 2 days later in Puerto Rico) and a bad car wreck on the highway to the ship. So please make sure everyone flies in the day before.

 

Bottom line: As others have said, you can't go wrong, you will have a lovely experience no matter what line you choose. I recommend you consult with a TA specializing in cruises for guidance on which line, ship, departure port, etc. might be the best fit for your group considering where everyone lives, tastes/preferences, current availability, and budget. If you want to do some advance research before contacting a TA, play around with one of the cruise search engines online. I happen to like the one at Travelocity--select Advanced Cruise Finder, then input Caribbean, then your date range, leave it on the default "any departure port" if you don't know for sure as you may be surprised by some departure options you hadn't considered, and then leave it on the default "all cruise lines" unless you want to specifically check only the boxes for RCI, Celebrity & Princess. You will begin to get a very good feel for your options by reviewing the results, although please do not interpret what you see online as "absolute," because many cruise specialists have access to space when it looks unavailable, better prices, etc.

 

Good luck in your research and planning. Ho, ho, ho!

[Druke I]

Many many moons ago (1970 - yikes!), my dad took three generations of us (17 total) on a Mexican Riviera cruise, on P&O's Oriana (the original one - not the one in service now).That was before P&O bought Princess from Stanley McDonald, the founder, and way before Princess bought Sitmar.

 

We had a wonderful time, even if some of us weren't wild about Mexico.

 

My kids were too young to remember it now, but their cousins (wsho are older) still talk about it, with very happy memories.

 

I think the family experience is probably more important than itinerary.

 

I would look for either Mexican Rivieria or Caribbean, with Christmas being a sea day.

[Druke I]

Delete - duplicate post, board acting up yet again.

[tcdtcd]

We (family of 4) took a 10-day Star Princess cruise to the So Carib this past Christmas - first cruise for the kids, and our first on Princess. We are experienced (and rather picky!) travellers, but could not have been more pleased with the entire experience. In our opinion and limited experience, Princess offers the best mix of interesting ports, beautiful ships, service, food (ok to excellent), entertainment, etc. and value for the increasingly expensive cruise dollar. Our boys (13 and 10yo) said this was their "favorite vacation of all time" even though they've been many places around the globe (London, Paris, Egypt, Carib, Hawaii, etc) which says alot.

 

As mentioned above, you do pay a price for the Christmas/New Years cruises...ours was at least 50% more than at other times of the year ($7k+ for a mini), but well worth it for a holiday splurge!

[ssbeagle]

We are a family looking for a 7 day Christmas cruise, probably the Caribbean. We are a mix of ages. 6 kids ages 10 to 15 along with parents in their 30's and 40's. Plus grandpa, aunts and uncles in their 50's and 60's.

 

We want lots of activities for the kids to do on the ship. At the same time, we like very good food, drinks, service, and good shows. (We aren't looking for a "party" cruise.)

 

We are considering RCI, Princess, and Celebrity. We are looking for input into these options. Any comments would be appreciated.

 

Thanks,

 

Ginny

We have cruised with our family a few times and both Princess and RCL have very good children's programs. However, we prefer Princess. If you are looking for a good Christmas cruise, check out the Grand from Galveston and the Golden Princess is doing a cruise from New Orleans. We have been on the Grand 3 times and it's a great ship. The Golden is the same class. I will be on it the week before Christmas. It is doing 4 cruises out of New Orleans to test the market for it. I hope it works because that is easy driving distance for us.

 

If you are traveling with small children I recommend Princess for the anytime dining. RCL doesn't have that option on their ships. We have been on the Rhapsody and the Radiance. When we travel with our family we use the anytime dining on Princess. When it's just me and DH we like traditional.

 

Whichever, you choose you will have a wonderful time. The ships are all so pretty decorated for the holidays!

[Gypsea]

Celebrity Century is offering short cruises a nine nighter at that time from Miami leaving 12/21. I know you want 7 days but the ship is being totally refurbished as we speak to the tune of $55 million. It is going to be fabulous and was great before in many ways. Remember the rates are going to be sky high for that week but if that's okay check out Century or Celebrity in general. It is a great family cruiseline and for several reasons I really love this line. Millenium leaves the 24th for a week from FLL.

[atlasali]

Daughter is at college, so our spring breaks don't match. Last year, we got a great deal on a 4 nite cruise on Celebrity Zenith. We loved it. Christmas was a day at sea. Santa and his elves paraded by the pool and rounded up the kids and young teens. The procession ended at a cozy lounge with a big fireplace. Santa gave a gift to each kid. Juniors got a n embroidered fleece blanket. Teens got a cool hoodie. Parents took advantage of a wonderful photo op. We watched big extended families (like yours) exchange presents by the pool. It was sunny, mid 80s, and we saw flying fish. Midnite buffet was Christmas/Hannucka (pardon my spelling) themed. It was so wonderful that we vowed to spend Christmas at Sea again. This year we are going on the Caribbean Princess Dec. 24th eastern Caribbean route...so December 25th and 26th will be 2 days at sea.

If you decide to join us, be sure to sign up on the roll call.

[Pam in CA]

You'll have a great time regardless of the cruiseline you choose. One thing that you should consider is that with Princess, you can choose Anytime dining which means that with kids, you can eat at the time you're ready to eat rather than at the fixed time. With a group, you would probably have to be flexible but this might work out well for you.

 

One piece of advice I have is that you should book soon. Most holiday cruises are fully booked almost a year in advance so that there may be just a few cabins left on the cruises and itineraries that you're thinking of.

[gopackgo]

Thanks so much for all the wonderful information you all have given me so far!! I am still taking it all in. I do think the advice from some of you to go with the Anytime Dining on Princess makes a lot of sense with such a large group. Is it truly "anytime" dining? And is it available in the main dining room? Or is that reserved for Traditional seating? Just curious.

 

It looks like the Grand and the Golden are quite large ships, correct?? Do they feel super crowded?

 

How are the shows on Princess? Are the beds comfortable??

 

I have not sailed on the larger ships, only on Radisson (Regent now) so I am asking a lot of questions.

 

Thanks again!

 

Ginny

[custompcsys]

One of the things I found about a Princess Grand class ship like the Diamond Princess was that even with well over 2,000 of my closest friends on board :) it never seemed crowded or cramped. Yes, if you go to the Horizon Court buffet during peak hours you might have to cruise around a bit for a table, and you have to get there a bit early for the production shows to get a seat, but there always seemed to be a quiet place to go have a drink or just sit and relax.

 

Regarding the Anytime Dining, you can choose to dine at any one of the personal choice dining rooms (usually 3-4 choices on the grand class ships) any time between 5:30 and 10:00 pm. You can make reservations for a specific time and dining room if you prefer, or you can just show up. There were 6 in our group and I think the most we waited for a table was 15 minutes. The menu in the personal choice restaurants is the same as in the traditional dining restaurant, and the venues themselves are just as nice.

 

We found all of the shows to be very well done and entertaining, and felt the main theater facility was pretty amazing for a cruise ship. Believe me, you will not want for things to do and see!

 

Obviously I enjoyed my Princess experience last year as I have booked 2 more cruises with them! I don't think you could go wrong choosing to spend your holiday on a Princess ship.