Cruise ships will be lively and lavish this December as guests celebrate the Christmas and Hanukkah holidays at sea. Special holiday activities and food combined with sparkling seasonal decor will guarantee oceans of fun.
Celebrity Cruises' Solstice is Set for the Holidays
On Celebrity Solstice, holiday cheer runs forward to aft with Christmas decorations dotting the public areas. That includes the bold red of poinsettias, Christmas trees dressed in silver and gold ornaments and wreaths, ribbons and berries adorning staircases.
During the holidays, an a capella group leads guests in singing Christmas carols in the Grand Foyer of the Solstice. The Grand Epernay dining room serves a Christmas Eve turkey dinner and a Christmas log dessert.
"Santa is incorporated into the Christmas show and Christmas music is piped into our PA system, but it's not overbearing," said Touch Ung, Solstice's guest relations manager, in a September 15, 2010 phone interview. "It's done in a subtle way, out of respect for guests of different religions, but people want that holiday ambiance and it's all done festively."
Children onboard share the holiday spirit by making gingerbread houses and crafting Christmas cards. Especially exciting for the younger set is the announcement that Solstice's GPS is tracking Santa's course and that he has landed in the pool area. The youth staff dresses as elves and Santa gives out token gifts to teens and children on the ship. The gifts range from T-shirts to backpacks and notebooks.
During the holiday cruise, a priest conducts Midnight Mass in the Solstice Theatre, but for guests celebrating Hanukkah, there is also a rabbi onboard. Gift boxes wrapped in silver, blue and white nestle at the bottom of a large menorah in the ship's lobby area. Guests can enjoy Hanukkah latkes (potato pancakes) and jelly donuts.
Carnival Cruise Lines' Ships Provide Holiday Fun for the Family
Carnival Cruise Lines' ships focus their Christmas decorations in the main public areas, such as the atrium, promenade, dining rooms, lounges and kids’ playrooms. Each Carnival ship sets up a menorah display. Carnival ships feature an elaborate production show, with children in Camp Carnival participating in the show. Santa makes an appearance during the holiday cruise and he brings his bag of gifts to distribute to youngsters.
Holiday music selections are available on Carnival ships' in-room music systems and guests can watch classic Christmas-themed movies during these voyages. On Christmas day, Carnival offers a menu highlighted by traditional oven-roasted turkey and pecan pie.
Holland America Line Offers 22 Holiday Cruises
"Holland America cruises are a very special experience," said Richard D. Meadows, executive vice president of marketing, sales and guest programs, in a March 24, 2010 press release, "Holland America Line Offers Holiday Escapes with 22 Warm Weather Cruises."
"Our crew takes special pride in delivering all the seasonal favorites for guests to enjoy," Meadows said. "Holiday meals, decorations and family time can be savored while sailing through warm, picturesque waters."
Holland America Line has seven ships offering holiday sailing to the Caribbean from Fort Lauderdale and Tampa between December 17 and December 31. From Fort Lauderdale, San Diego or Los Angeles, Holland America offers five cruises in mid- to late December that visit the Mexican Riviera and the Central American coastline and the Panama Canal
For cruisers who prefer a white Christmas, the ms Veendam sails on a 17-day South America and Antarctica Explorer journey that departs Valparaiso (Santiago), Chile on December 20. It sails amid the glaciers and on Christmas Eve it cruises through the Darwin Channel and Chilean Fjords. Passengers celebrate New Years Eve in the Antarctic Sound.
During holiday sailings in December, Holland America ships set the stage for fun and frolic by featuring festive holiday decor, special movie showings, eggnog in the atrium, and a visit from Santa, who sometimes arrives by parasail (during Caribbean sailings). Onboard clergy conduct Catholic, Protestant and Jewish services.
On holiday sailings, Holland America's passengers savor culinary classes highlighting seasonal treats like latkes with rosemary and brown butter sauce; Alsatian potato and bacon tarts and sausage cakes with red wine prunes.
Passengers Celebrate a White Christmas on Princess Cruises
There really is a white Christmas at sea. Princess Cruises’ ships make snow fall in the atriums, thanks to a snow-making process that creates falling flakes that disappear on contact. Further invoking the holiday spirit, guests listen to the captain or the cruise director read aloud “The Night Before Christmas.” A stocking turndown gift awaits guests when they return to their rooms. Santa also makes an appearance during the cruise.
For guests celebrating Hanukkah (Festival of Lights), a rabbi conducts religious services, menorahs are on display and so are fresh flower arrangements decorated in silver, blue and white, the colors associated with Hanukkah. Kosher meals are available on Princess ships when requested in advance, and menu specialties include potato latkes, matzo ball soup and gefilte fish.
Crystal Cruises and Royal Caribbean International Make Christmas Special
Royal Caribbean International’s ships embrace the holiday season by offering a Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve and Hanukkah-themed activities. For the entire family, there is holiday ice skating aboard select ships.
The holiday décor aboard Crystal Cruises’ Symphony and Harmony is extravagant with thousands of glittering lights, “reindeer” in faux mink swags, heralding “angels” with feathered wings and golden trumpets, an Eiffel Tower Christmas tree with coffee-themed ornaments in the Bistro and chopstick-laden trees in The Sushi Bar.
Make a champagne (or egg nog) toast, kiss under the mistletoe, sing a Christmas song and be of good cheer, because the December holidays are perhaps the most spirited and festive time to enjoy a cruise vacation.
Roberta Sandler - Roberta Sandler has written more than 1,000 articles that have appeared in scores of magazines and newspapers including Miami Herald, ...
