Tuesday, April 9, 2024

Hanukkah and Christmas Cruises: A Guide to Onboard Festivities

christmas on a carnival cruise ship

If you're planning to celebrate Christmas onboard a Carnival Cruise Line ship this holiday season, you're in for a treat. The main dining rooms on Carnival Cruise Line have prepared a special Christmas menu that promises to satisfy your festive cravings. In this blog post, we'll explore the variety of options available for appetizers, entrees, and desserts, including vegetarian choices and upgraded selections known as the Steakhouse Selections. The Spirit of the Season Atrium Moments is a series of events uniquely designed for Christmas cruises. The ceremonial Tree Lighting (on select ships only) is the first of the three holiday celebrations, taking place in the atrium lobby on the first evening of a Christmas cruise. The tallest of many Christmas trees on the ship is illuminated in unison with the sentimental sounds of classic holiday music.

Land Vacations

After the holiday, you don’t have the hassle of cleaning up after the exuberance or putting away decorations – you just have to unpack your luggage after the cruise. No matter what holiday you may celebrate – or none at all – these fabulous facets of a cruise vacation are always available. While there may be more holiday touches on board during the Christmas season, you never need to worry about the basics of a cruise vacation being neglected. All you need to do on our Christmas cruise is unwind, enjoy the adventure, and make the most of your deserved time away from it all.

Holiday Services

No matter where you are, you will feel in the spirit onboard, with elegant decorations, holiday entertainment, and Catholic mass. MSC welcomes families to embark on the ultimate Christmas cruise, whether it’s four or 14 days; in the Caribbean or Northern Europe. Mr. Claus is on hand to attend to kids’ wish lists, handing out gifts to each child in partnership with brands like Lego and Chicco.

Choose Your Holiday

Chances are that you're worried about leaving behind your favorite holiday-themed decorations, gifts and more. You can bring along your own holiday spirit to sea if you simply devote some luggage space to festive gear. From the moment you step onboard for your Christmas cruise, you’ll be immersed in an atmosphere of holly, jolly cheer. As you explore the ship with your significant other, look out for mistletoe overhead — you shouldn’t miss the opportunity for a sweet Christmas kiss. Experienced cruisers often find a way to bring some of their own traditions onboard, even when setting sail during the Christmas season.

Gorgeous decorations

For many couples or families with older children, the cruise itself is the ultimate Christmas present. Another great option is to pre-purchase experiences as the gifts, like a shore excursion or additional onboard experience. It’s Christmas for them too, and they might enjoy a little extra token of appreciation. Maybe you’ve never thought to spend Christmas on a cruise before, but plenty of other people have.

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Carnival Cruise Line Takes Delivery of Its Massive New Ship.

Posted: Mon, 04 Dec 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]

christmas on a carnival cruise ship

Let it Snow invites you to play in a winter wonderland with real snow, as well as sing carols and classic Christmas songs. ‘Tis the Season welcomes Santa Claus with songs, bell ringing and competitions for the best ugly sweater or festive holiday hat. The cruise director and staff will offer several holiday-themed shows throughout each cruise, and at least one seasonal movie, such as "The Polar Express," will be shown. A special holiday performance, featuring children and the decorations they made in the kids club, will be a highlight. Santa will visit with gifts for the kids, and a traditional Christmas dinner -- featuring turkey and pecan pie -- will be served.

Carnival holds a special, non-denominational Christmas service either December 24 or 25, depending on the cruise itinerary. This service will feature hymns, prayers and plenty of stories to bring everyone closer together during the holiday season. A Christmas cruise also lets you escape winter weather and icy roads, frozen fingers, or snow days. It can also be easier to arrange for family members from distant homes to get together when you’re all on the same ship, rather than juggling many different schedules and commitments.

For example, most lines do not allow string lights, and Carnival in particular has a strict list of requirements (including that decorations must be flame-retardant and nothing should be hung on light fixtures). Follow our social media and blog for the latest cruise and travel news, including our best vacation deals. Carnival Cruise Line has released its 2021 Christmas season schedule, which includes when each of its vessels will be decorated for Christmas. Carnival Cruise Lines Christmas and New Year cruises are the best choice for an unforgettable "Fun Ship" Holiday vacation marked by some of the cheapest deals on medium- and big-sized ocean vessels. Funtastic Christmas cruises also include all the fun of a typical Carnival cruise.

Funtastic Christmas Cruises

Since you're not going to want to pack and bring home lots of gifts, we recommend looking for mini-sized stockings since they're great for travel. Just be sure the packages are not yet wrapped before boarding, so they can easily pass through security. Gift bags and pre-cut wrapping paper are great ways to be able to wrap gifts onboard.

When you’re on a family cruise together, you get to enjoy each other’s company in fun, new destinations, have conversations over your meals and go on unforgettable adventures as a family. Don’t worry if you didn’t get all your Christmas shopping done before you set off for your winter cruise, because you’ll have plenty of opportunities to buy unique gifts at the fun shops onboard and at every port of call. Cruise to Nassau, for example, and you can find handmade straw purses, woodcarvings and shell jewelry at the historic Straw Market. Perhaps you have friends back home who’d love a bottle of tequila from a Tequileria in Cozumel, Mexico, coffee from the Blue Mountains of Jamaica or pearl earrings from Grand Cayman. Back on the ship, clothing, fine jewelry, beauty items and sweet candy treats are all available at a variety of shops.

Of course a cozy Christmas at home is wonderful when you just have to show up. But for those family members who spend many hours prepping, cooking, cleaning, and hosting the big day (or Christmas Eve), it’s a lot of work! Maybe your mother-in-law swears that hosting the entire extended family is rewarding, but we promise that she won’t miss accommodating your vegan cousin, dealing with a drunk uncle, or doing piles of dishes. Carnival Cruise Line's Christmas menu offers a delightful array of desserts, including favorites like Molten Chocolate Cake and Pecan Pie.

Adults looking for a subdued and relaxing way to ring in a merry little Christmas can certainly find it on a cruise ship. Although families looking to keep the holiday spirit alive can also seek out cruise lines who lean into kid-friendly festivities, from caroling to crafts, a tree lighting, and character meet-and-greets. Of course, the solemn and thoughtful aspects of the season aren’t to be forgotten, even at sea. All Carnival ships will feature a special Christmas service on the night of December 24 or December 25, depending on the sailing.

Viking offers a range of ocean, expedition and river cruising, but for the holiday season, it’s bread and butter is its Christmas market river cruises. A hallmark of many river cruise lines, these sailings soak in all the magic of the season with calls on various ports like Vienna or Budapest that host sprawling holiday festivals with enchanting local vendors. Carnival’s FUN ships are certainly no exception from the frolic and festivities of the holidays. Participate in an ugly sweater competition, attend a special on-stage holiday performance, mail letters to Santa with a designated mailbox onboard, and don’t forget to celebrate Grinchmas, in partnership with Seuss at Sea.

Carnival Liberty is homeported in Port Canaveral, Florida, offering short 3-4 night sailings to The Bahamas, while Carnival Radiance is sailing from Long Beach, California, with 3-4 night itineraries to Baja, Mexico. Every ship in the fleet will be decked out in holiday adornments, with the first vessels decorated as early as Friday, November 25, 2022. If you’re sailing earlier in the month in Germany or even Australia, you might witness the terrifying tradition of Krampus Nacht, which takes place each December 5. Many Central American countries host fireworks displays on Christmas Eve, well before New Year’s.

Every Christmas is special, but your memories of this one will be of sinking your feet into soft, golden sand, exploring tropical islands and coastal towns and playing onboard from sunrise to sunset. Yet, it doesn’t have to be just a memory — your cruise could become the first of many, and the start of a new family tradition of cruising at Christmas time. Your home might be sitting under several feet of snow but the cold will be far from your mind when you’re soaking up the sun beside the pool or snorkeling in the calm Caribbean Sea. For the holiday season, our Spirit of the Season Moments and Holiday Show will be featured on several sail dates prior to Christmas. And an extra-special, live-on-stage Holiday Show puts everyone in the spirit. As part of Carnival's Seuss at Sea program, there will also be special Grinchmas activities, including arts and crafts, face painting and an appearance by the Grinch himself.

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