Christmas cruise?

[Butterfly~kisses!]

Just out of curiousity, is anyone else booked on a Christmas cruise for this year?

 

I thought it would be fun for everyone to list their X-mas cruise here!

 

I'll start it off:

 

Butterfly~kisses! cruising on the Freedom December 20th - our first X-mas cruise and I'm so excited:D

 

Anyone else?

[Fogfog]

Just out of curiousity, is anyone else booked on a Christmas cruise for this year?

 

I thought it would be fun for everyone to list their X-mas cruise here!

 

I'll start it off:

 

Butterfly~kisses! cruising on the Freedom December 20th - our first X-mas cruise and I'm so excited:D

 

Anyone else?

 

 

we're deciding between the Freedom, the Miracle, the Legend or the Splendor..

waiting for my brother and sis in laws thoughts--Then we will book us, them and my folks (its a present to my dad and mom (shes battling cancer)--

 

we did a Christmas cruise last year and really enjoyed it...

take cards and gift wrap (none available on board)

also--any decorations you want for your room...easily done

and dont forget something extra (cash) for Christmas day for you stewards/servers etc

 

enjoy:p

[dclark]

Just out of curiousity, is anyone else booked on a Christmas cruise for this year?

 

I thought it would be fun for everyone to list their X-mas cruise here!

 

I'll start it off:

 

Butterfly~kisses! cruising on the Freedom December 20th - our first X-mas cruise and I'm so excited:D

 

Anyone else?

 

I am going on a xmas cruise on the Freedom as well! We have done two xmas cruises and two New Years cruises. I look at value and quality and of all the Xmas cruises, I think the Freedom is the best of the lot. I say this because:

1) It is just darn the cheapest! For my family of four, the total cost is only around $30 more than the CCL Liberty, but it is eight days long-wow!

2) It leaves on a saturday. This means you'll see two ports right before xmas all dressed up. I was in Cozumel on xmas eve day and it was lovely! Don't know what I'll see in Puerto Limon, but I look forward to it. The day in Colon is on Xmas, maybe the riff raff will take the day off then?

3) This cruise goes waay south! This is a good guarantee that for those four sea days, there will be warm weather. I was on the Mexican Riviera cruise last New Years and the water in Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta was frigid, so the futher south, the better.

Fwiw, the cruise is still cheap and i think the cost for my family of four with an inside guarantee is $3100. As far as I know, it is still the best cruise deal, on any line, at any U.S. port.

[DqALEX]

Just out of curiousity, is anyone else booked on a Christmas cruise for this year?

 

I thought it would be fun for everyone to list their X-mas cruise here!

 

I'll start it off:

 

Butterfly~kisses! cruising on the Freedom December 20th - our first X-mas cruise and I'm so excited:D

 

Anyone else?

You will be getting off and I will be getting on the Freedom for New Years. I was on the Carnival Miracle last Christmas/ new Years. I like New Years better than Christmas at sea.

[Bucky3]

Nine of us will be on Carnival Spirit this Christmas to Acapulco on Christmas Day, Z/I, and Manzanillo. Taking this one 'cause it's 8 days and goes further south than most of the West Coast cruises. Anyone else on Spirit - come sign in on our roll call. It's kind of lonely over there! Any tips on the Spirit cruise would be appreciated.

[Michelle M]

I am going on a xmas cruise on the Freedom as well! We have done two xmas cruises and two New Years cruises. I look at value and quality and of all the Xmas cruises, I think the Freedom is the best of the lot. I say this because:

1) It is just darn the cheapest! For my family of four, the total cost is only around $30 more than the CCL Liberty, but it is eight days long-wow!

2) It leaves on a saturday. This means you'll see two ports right before xmas all dressed up. I was in Cozumel on xmas eve day and it was lovely! Don't know what I'll see in Puerto Limon, but I look forward to it. The day in Colon is on Xmas, maybe the riff raff will take the day off then?

3) This cruise goes waay south! This is a good guarantee that for those four sea days, there will be warm weather. I was on the Mexican Riviera cruise last New Years and the water in Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta was frigid, so the futher south, the better.

Fwiw, the cruise is still cheap and i think the cost for my family of four with an inside guarantee is $3100. As far as I know, it is still the best cruise deal, on any line, at any U.S. port.

:o thanks for the great tip! I may move our family of four (two rooms) off the 7 day Splendor for Christmas to the Freedom for the 8 day and less money. We have done a few Chrismtas cruises to the Eastern and Western Caribbean and they have been too cold for us to spend much time at the pool. The southern caribbean as you said will be warmer. Is Limon a pretty rough port??:rolleyes:

[Megnolia]

On the Victory Dec. 21. I can't wait!!! The ports look amazing, but mostly I can't wait to see the ship for Christmas, and to see the ports of call dressed up and local celebrations. I can only imagine how exciting the atmosphere on board must be.

 

If you have previously sailed Christmas, what's the best part?

[Michelle M]

On the Victory Dec. 21. I can't wait!!! The ports look amazing, but mostly I can't wait to see the ship for Christmas, and to see the ports of call dressed up and local celebrations. I can only imagine how exciting the atmosphere on board must be.

 

If you have previously sailed Christmas, what's the best part?

:o For me, it is not having any responsibilities during a normally very busy time. For our kids it's having a lot more to do on their Christmas break!

It really doesn't feel like Christmas unless you are in port and in our case we have found the most warm quaint churches to attend Christmas mass while in port!:)

[Megnolia]

Oh that is such a good idea - finding a local church. We are in port every single day, so we can definitely check it out on Christmas Eve (Barbados) and Christmas Day (St. Lucia).

 

Just me and hubby, but we're so looking forward to our nice two-person Christmas, with 3000 of our closest friends, of course :)

[Uniballer]

Me and the wife and two daughters are going on the Ecstasy December 22-27 out of Galveston... Can't wait!!!

[Butterfly~kisses!]

:o thanks for the great tip! I may move our family of four (two rooms) off the 7 day Splendor for Christmas to the Freedom for the 8 day and less money. We have done a few Chrismtas cruises to the Eastern and Western Caribbean and they have been too cold for us to spend much time at the pool. The southern caribbean as you said will be warmer. Is Limon a pretty rough port??:rolleyes:

 

The Freedom has some great prices right now. We actually had a 7 day cruise booked leaving a day after the Freedom, but changed it to the 8 day Freedom for $80 less. One more night/day on a cruise AND cheaper definitely sold it for me:D

[Nauti Nana]

Husband, myself, our 21 year old son, 25 year old daughter and her boyfriend, brother- and sister-in-law and their 23 and 21 year old sons, and sister-in-law's mom and dad are leaving Christmas Day on the 4 day Destiny cruise. Should be a very different Christmas, but, hopefully, a memorable one! Interested to see what renovations were completed in drydock!

[Michelle M]

The Freedom has some great prices right now. We actually had a 7 day cruise booked leaving a day after the Freedom, but changed it to the 8 day Freedom for $80 less. One more night/day on a cruise AND cheaper definitely sold it for me:D

Seems like a no brainer!

Good job on making the switch!:)

What is the deal with Limon?:confused:

[232271]

Me and the wife and two daughters are going on the Ecstasy December 22-27 out of Galveston... Can't wait!!!

 

we are torn and cant decide if we should give the Ecstasy a try....never been on such a small ship before and worried about it.....can you tell me what you think of the Ecstasy?

thanks!!

This is the same cruise we are looking into.

[dclark]

we are torn and cant decide if we should give the Ecstasy a try....never been on such a small ship before and worried about it.....can you tell me what you think of the Ecstasy?

thanks!!

This is the same cruise we are looking into.

 

I was on Ecstasy when she was in LA and also cruised her sister ship, the Elation twice, once when it was two months old.

The Ecstacy, as I remembered, was ugly, garish and run down, in dire need of a dry dock. The service was excellent and the food was the best I have ever had on a CCL. In fact, it was the last ship to offer assigned lunch dining (not open seating- our waiter was there for us for lunch!). On debarcation, the CD walked up and down the line of people leaving the ship and did lots of improv type of comedy. Real nice!

I really like this size of ship- the Fantasy class ships are nice. They feel a lot less crowded than the Conquest class and that little water slide will have a shorter line as the ship willhave 1500 less people that might want to slide on it.Also, outside the buffet area are a few tables where you can eat breakfast witha good view of the ocean. The only real drawback to this class of ship is lack of affordable balconies. If you can be happy with a window or inside, then they are great.

Oh, don't let the tonnage scare you off. We were on the Dawn Princess last New Years which has more tonnage. However, the ship felt smaller than the Ecstacy. Last summer, we were on the Majesty of the Seas which is a few thousand tons bigger, but that ship didn't feel any bigger, but felt way more crowded as it held around 300 more people than a Fantasy class ship.

i say go for the Ecstacy!

[Butterfly~kisses!]

Seems like a no brainer!

Good job on making the switch!:)

What is the deal with Limon?:confused:

 

I'm not sure what the deal is with Limon. We have two small kids so I don't think we'll be venturing off of the cruise ship there. Our original cruise was going to Belize and Honduras and we weren't getting off of the ship there either, so a different 'shady' port stop doesn't bother us:)

[westwingjazz]

Hey, I have been enjoying this thread, but there sounds like there is a problem in Limon. I was there last year...and absolutely loved it! It was one of my favorite ports. Did I miss something in the news...

Other question, I been trying to schedule our first Christmas Cruise 2009. My only hesitation is, cool weather and not being able to enjoy the Lido deck like we would in August. What have many of you experienced...

One last question…the cruise ship I have my ‘eye’ on is the Miracle… I have read many good reviews for this ship…but my question is, we would be arriving in St. Martin on Dec. 25, would any of the stores be open? I would love to shop until I drop on Christmas day…cant wait!!! :D

[raquel]

We are doing a large family Christmas Cruise (the need to escape home following a recent death in the family) on the Victory out of San Juan. We will be in Barbados on Christmas Eve and in St. Lucia on Christmas Day. We're all wondering if things are open on the island on those 2 holidays; for example, shops, beaches, other excursions...?

In addition, does the ship do anything special during a Christmas cruise. Is it decorated for the holidays?

Thanks for any info.

Have never traveled away from home during the Christmas season.

[StarryBugg]

My parents, my younger sister, my husband and I just booked a quickie Christmas cruise. We leave out on the Sensation on Christmas Day! :)

[Megnolia]

Westwing, you will love the Miracle! Wonderful layout and amenities.

 

Raquel, come join our rollcall! I'll be onboard the Victory with you. I understand the need to get away. It will hopefully be a really special time for you and your family.

 

Meg

[pe4all]

We will be on the Miracle 12/23, (14 of us, and what seems like a small, but great bunch of people on our roll call) and the following New Year on the Dream!

[MrPete]

We plan on doing it once DD finds out we are Santa Claus.

[obxmidgett]

I will also be on the Miracle 12/23, can't wait.

[shipty2]

We are going on the Miracle this Christmas. Last year we were on the Fascination and it stopped in Key West. Previously Key West was not a port I liked. So last time being Christmas we went to mass at a local church. It was amazingly beautiful the celebration they had. We also rented an electric car to get there and ended up touring all of Key West on our own.

 

So out of it we got to love our least favorite port Key West and the best Christmas day ever! We also had turkey in the dining room back on the ship without spending the day cooking.

 

I will never go back to Christmas at home.

[solle1]

The Glory Christmas is at Sea on christmas

I figure everything will be closed in port anyway