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Jewish couple on board for Christmas

ck53

By ck53,
in Princess Cruises

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ck53

ck53

Posted
Posted

I am looking into the Crown on 12/22 for my boss and his family.(at their request) They are Jewish and I was wondering if w/ all the Christmas celebrations would be a little overwhelming for them. Hanukkah is over before the cruise even begins this year. Any opinions?

 

Thanks!

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strummer

strummer

Posted
Posted
I am looking into the Crown on 12/22 for my boss and his family.(at their request) They are Jewish and I was wondering if w/ all the Christmas celebrations would be a little overwhelming for them. Hanukkah is over before the cruise even begins this year. Any opinions?

 

Thanks!

 

I'm sure they will be fully aware that as it is over Christmas there will be Christmas celebrations going on.

I'm sure that they won't be the only people on board who do not celebrate christmas!!

Not sure if that helps but I'm sure they would not have requested it without looking into the pros and cons before hand

 

Strummer

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ck53

ck53

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Oh yes, they are well aware and like the decorations. We were just wondering if anyone had done this or if they felt it was alittle over the top for them.

 

It is the only time they can go due to College and hight school restraints.

 

 

Thanks!

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Tina G

Tina G

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Most people who cruise at Christmas don't go for heavy religeous emphasis, or they would not be sailing at that time. The emphasis is more on party. I cruised 12/26/2003, and there sure were a LOT of nice Jewish people on board!:) You might hear some Christmas carols, but you hear them EVERYWHERE, after Halloween is over.:(

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Colo Cruiser

Colo Cruiser

Posted
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Oh yes, they are well aware and like the decorations. We were just wondering if anyone had done this or if they felt it was alittle over the top for them.

 

It is the only time they can go due to College and hight school restraints.

 

 

Thanks!

 

 

It won't be any more over the top then walking down a street before xmas and seeing all the sales going on in the stores. :rolleyes:

 

Other then the atrium area there are not a lot of decorations.

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Spender Nui

Spender Nui

Posted
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By the way ck53 is this a gift? - if so can I be on your payroll :D

 

 

ck53 is the employee, not the boss. She's providing the boss a service. Why would you think he/she would be providing them a family vacation?

 

Also ck53, don't forget the ship will be full of kiddies at this time. I don't know if that's a minus or a plus but it's good to keep in mind.

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Benita

Benita

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We cruise lots of times at Christmas - we just skip the church services. Christmas has been a part of all our lives - love walking around town and seeing all the decorations. Just because we are Jewish does not mean we don't notice everything around us and partake in the fun.

We went on a Holland America cruise to Alaska for our honeymoon in 1991. We had not been told that HAL had a special group on board - 800 of the 1200 passengers were from an Evangelist sect, complete with their pastor. The rest of the passengers were given early seating (even those of us with confirmed late seating) so they could have prayer sessions throughout the meals and the theater was taken over for the sermons. Even if I was not Jewish, I would have resented being marooned at sea with this group (wasn't so bad that we wanted to jump overboard, but I felt like I had turned on the TV to a religious station on a Sunday morning and just could not change the channel).

So in answer to the poster, don't even think twice about Jewish people not being comfortable with Christmas - we've had a couple of thousand years to get adjusted.

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seattleadjuster

seattleadjuster

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I've cruised alot between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Never actually over Thanksgiving. Never over Christmas. This ships I've been on are typically under decorated compared to any office I've worked at, my parent's home, or any shopping malls. Last year on the Carribean Princess, on our last day they brought on boxes of Christmas decorations. While waiting to depart I sat on a box that said something like x/50. Fifty boxes of Christmas decorations isn't too much. Once I remarked to my wife about the lack of Christmas decorations in the formal dining area, and she couldn't find a single Christmas decoration 1 week before Christmas! We only had some table decoration that was so understated that my wife didn't know it was there.

 

From talking to people on the cruise and crew, I discovered that a lot of people (includijng crew) sailing this time of year aren't into big holiday celebrations, whether Christian or Jewish. On the other hand, we also sailed the week before the "nudist cruise," on Costa, and all the crew had an opinion on that week. None were too happy about working that cruise!

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Cruisin' Chick

Cruisin' Chick

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We were on the 12/22/05 Hawaiian cruise on the Island Princess, during which we had Christmas, Hanukkah and New Years. The ship was decorated to the hilt, as far as I was concerned. There were a menorah on the Passenger Services Desk and in the grand atrium, with a card explaining what it was. Lots of Christmas music, except for the madrigal group singing one Hanukkah song on the first day. Every audio channel on the in-cabin tv played Christmas music until a day or two after Xmas. If you're back home, you'll hear this on all the music radio stations and the malls, but if you have a CD player, you can at least tune all the carols out.

 

There was a priest, reverend and rabbi onboard (not a joke) to lead the various services. We went to the first night menorah lighting and plenty of people did bring theirs to the ceremony (we put up a foam sticker one in our cabin and didn't bother with the real type). But I imagine there probably won't be a rabbi onboard if Hanukkah had already occured. The CD did announce that the bridge was tracking "something in the sky" Christmas afternoon, at the same time the kids were having their party in the Wheelhouse Bar. And the kids made all sorts of holiday-oriented crafts for both Christmas and Hanukkah.

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Andee

Andee

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Obviously I'm in the minority, but I do get a little overwhelmed with all the Christmas hype, decorations, etc, and consider my home a refuge from it all. I get tired of being wished a Merry Christmas, when the holiday has absolutely no meaning to me, and it seems like people forget that not everyone celebrates Christmas. That being said, I would never respond negatively to anyone who said Merry Christmas to me--it's just ignorance, not malice, on their part.

 

I wouldn't be comfortable being on a ship at Christmas because I'm concerned that it would just be in ny face more than I would enjoy.

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Dena

Dena

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I get tired of being wished a Merry Christmas, when the holiday has absolutely no meaning to me, and it seems like people forget that not everyone celebrates Christmas. That being said, I would never respond negatively to anyone who said Merry Christmas to me--it's just ignorance, not malice, on their part.

 

 

Nobody who doesn't know me has said "Merry Christmas" to me in years. I think most people realize that this is extremely presumptuos - not everyone is a practicing Christian. But if it were to occur, I'd certainly assume it was intended in the secular rather than religious sense.

 

I woudn't worry about decorations being over-the-top. We sailed a few years ago on Princess, it was the week before Christmas, decorations were minimal - some fake garland on the railing of the atrium and maybe a fake tree or two - easy to tune out. I would have preferred less quantity and more quality - more real greens of some type - and this could even be a cheaper option for Princess - it is for me. I always put a vase of one dozen red gladioluses on the mantle ..... AND I'M DONE. This covers the colors (red flowers and green stalks), it has a nice height (several feet), it arranges itself (just place in vase), the mirror of my mantle doubles the number of flowers, and nothing to pack or unpack. We don't bother with pine anymore because DH is allergic to the resin and I hate stepping on the stray needles months later.

 

I also tend to think that in many cases those who sail over Christmas are not overly religious - unless the entire church is going. Some who sail at this time might actually be trying to get away from the "Christmas atmosphere". Maybe they don't have supportive families to visit. Maybe thev've lost their families. Then again, some family groups will travel together at this time as a reunion of sorts - no one is burdened with guests or cooking/cleaning for a crowd.

 

I don't think it will be a problem for your bosses. They know what day Christmas falls on this year and have asked you to book them a cruise that overlaps with this. I'd just do it and not worry. Maybe they'll want to consider late dinner to avoid some of the small children.

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beth4652

beth4652

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Although we were on RCCL, I imagine they're all pretty much the same. The decorations were there, but not overly done. Yes, there was Christmas music and a Christmas Sing Along on the Promenade on Christmas Eve.

 

We are regular church goers and were able to work the religious aspects in on our own. There was an ecumenical service on Christmas, but it was so poor that I will never again attend another one.

 

As far as the secular (read: Santa) part, the cruise was the Christmas gift for each of our children. Just a couple of small things each that we brought along.

 

I put a small fake tree in each of our cabins and we strung lights around the balcony doors.

 

I think the holiday is downplayed more on a ship that in the mall.

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Ephraim

Ephraim

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I'm Jewish. I've been on a Christmas cruise. Honestly, it was less of a problem on a cruise. Sure there were decorations and they served traditional turkey dinner as one of the options on the menu, but that was about it. They had mass for those who wanted to go (and then the chocolate buffet after... gluttony after absolution?)

 

In fact, we were in port in Cozumel on Christmas day and a lot of the stores were open, we went out to the beach.

 

To me, Christmas is just another day on the calendar year. The old joke... what do they do on Christmas day in Israel? Go to work as usual. Don't worry about it. They know what Christmas means to others and are used to dealing with it. It's just another day of the year, nothing more and nothing less.

 

I was more upset about missing Boxing Day in Montreal. All that bargain hunting in the stores. I love Boxing Day.

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jacketwatch

jacketwatch

Posted
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I'm sure they would feel welcomed. I've heard rumors that Jesus was Jewish on his mother's side.

Jesus was Irish! Why?

He lived at home until he was 33.

He hung out with 12 drinking buddies.

He thought his mother was a virgin.

She thought he was God.

No offense intended, just a joke. :D :D

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