CruisingNewb Posted June 21, 2022 Report Share Posted June 21, 2022 First, yeah...we didn't put down a deposit at NextCruise during our sailing. Shame me if you want. Now that we are home, we realize that we want to book another cruise. 7 day cruise preferably during Christmas. Now that my mom has passed and most of my family moved away from my hometown, Christmases are no longer the same and we want a break from endless decorating, piles of presents, and cooking all day. We were thinking Caribbean? Eastern? Western? Which Ship? Type of room (we had balcony for Alaska but Central Park facing balcony seems nice)? Most importantly, when to book? Black Friday? We are thinking December of 2023. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted June 21, 2022 Report Share Posted June 21, 2022 19 minutes ago, CruisingNewb said: First, yeah...we didn't put down a deposit at NextCruise during our sailing. Shame me if you want. Now that we are home, we realize that we want to book another cruise. 7 day cruise preferably during Christmas. Now that my mom has passed and most of my family moved away from my hometown, Christmases are no longer the same and we want a break from endless decorating, piles of presents, and cooking all day. We were thinking Caribbean? Eastern? Western? Which Ship? Type of room (we had balcony for Alaska but Central Park facing balcony seems nice)? Most importantly, when to book? Black Friday? We are thinking December of 2023. There are a number of "us" sailing on Voyager 12-22-23 and some are staying on for the following 12-30-22 as well. The itin isn't all that exciting but it is pretty cheap for a holiday cruise ! The Christmas cruise is 8 night and the NY cruise is 6 nights. Come join us ! Also, I totally agree with you re: bypassing the Christmas mania. We have cruised over Christmas pretty much consistently for the past 15 or so years (until COVID) and can't wait to get back. Neesa and whitsmom 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruin Steve Posted June 21, 2022 Report Share Posted June 21, 2022 First off, everyone books different cruises for different reasons. There is no "best" choice just as there is no bad choice. It all depends on what is best for YOU. For example, people from frozen climates tend to like to book tropical cruises in winter--to get away from the bitter cold and snow back home and come home and impress everyone with their tan. We don't do that--because we live in a warm climate. Others of us like to get away to something more foreign or exotic--We, for example, like to travel far--to experience different cultures--history, art, architecture, archaeology. Some like to stay close to home, keep travel costs and time down. Others don't mind flying halfway across the world to see something really different. Some like to sightsee in their destinations. Others are content just sitting on a beach somewhere icy drink in hand. We find beaches mundane. Of course, we live 10 minutes from the beach in Malibu. So, we don't cruise for that. I guess, for you, ANY Caribbean cruise will do. Just pick the ship you want. Do you want smaller, quieter...or bigger, more stuff to do onboard? Like to just sit in a bar or lounge? Or do you want to ice skate, zip line, body board, etc.? For US, best cruises we've taken over winter holidays are 1) Southeast Asia...2) Australia/New Zealand. Still waiting to fit in South America around the horn. Those probably not what you might be looking for. Best Caribbean cruise we've done that time of year--ABC islands--Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao. Good luck. whitsmom 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruizIan Posted June 21, 2022 Report Share Posted June 21, 2022 29 minutes ago, CruisingNewb said: First, yeah...we didn't put down a deposit at NextCruise during our sailing. Shame me if you want. Now that we are home, we realize that we want to book another cruise. 7 day cruise preferably during Christmas. Now that my mom has passed and most of my family moved away from my hometown, Christmases are no longer the same and we want a break from endless decorating, piles of presents, and cooking all day. We were thinking Caribbean? Eastern? Western? Which Ship? Type of room (we had balcony for Alaska but Central Park facing balcony seems nice)? Most importantly, when to book? Black Friday? We are thinking December of 2023. No worries not booking onboard. I can hear Matt saying it now that if you want to book another cruise... "do not wait for a sale." just book it as soon as you can and then watch the price and reprice it if you see it go down. If you are fine not being on Oasis class I would say that we went out of San Juan, PR for a cruise a few years ago and we loved it. It was on Freedom Class and getting to visit Puerto Rico on the front end of our vacation made for a mini-vacation before hand. Also we went over Thanksgiving and the city was decorated for Christmas and was amazing. Cost of flights to PR is usually not much different than South Florida and usually you can find the Southern Caribbean Intineraries that include 5 stops and get you to Antigua and Barbados. Hope this helps. CruisingNewb and Matt 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokeybandit Posted June 21, 2022 Report Share Posted June 21, 2022 There's no one good answer here. Are you ship-centric or itinerary-centric? Are there ports of call you've been wanting to get to or do you have ones you like to revisit? You should visit cruiseplum.com to give yourself an idea of what's even available over Christmas and you can filter it down from there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruisingNewb Posted June 21, 2022 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2022 Thanks for the responses so far. I am quite aware that everyone has different tastes and such. I am looking for your (members of this forum) personal input and experiences. Otherwise, I would not have posted. I will say this, after having been on the Ovation, We want a big ship. Nothing under Quantum class for a 7 day. If it is a 3 or 4 night cruise, we would consider a smaller class ship. I know that there are subtle differences amongst Oasis class ships, so let me know what YOU guys think. Don't waste time replying if the answer is going to be "you do you" LOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokeybandit Posted June 21, 2022 Report Share Posted June 21, 2022 25 minutes ago, CruisingNewb said: Thanks for the responses so far. I am quite aware that everyone has different tastes and such. I am looking for your (members of this forum) personal input and experiences. Otherwise, I would not have posted. I will say this, after having been on the Ovation, We want a big ship. Nothing under Quantum class for a 7 day. If it is a 3 or 4 night cruise, we would consider a smaller class ship. I know that there are subtle differences amongst Oasis class ships, so let me know what YOU guys think. Don't waste time replying if the answer is going to be "you do you" LOL. If it was me, I'd look at the lists of cruises available and filter on price. Then take a look at the itineraries for the lower prices cruises and see which ones I like or definitely am not interested in. Then for the itineraries I like look at the ship. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shari Posted June 21, 2022 Report Share Posted June 21, 2022 Another thing to consider is how you want to get to the port. If you live close to a port then you might want to research what itineraries go out of that port. Air travel may be just as bad at holiday time. If you want or need to fly then all of the options are open. You would really enjoy the Oasis class ships better than the Quantum class that you were on. The Voyager class is smaller but still has a lot to do. The Freedom class is also smaller but still has a lot to do. Just close your eyes and point because you will be happy on any of these classes on a cruise! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichelleB1234 Posted June 21, 2022 Report Share Posted June 21, 2022 Try Symphony or Odyssey 8 day sailings to the Southern Caribbean. Southern Caribbean is great. Neesa 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristiZ Posted June 21, 2022 Report Share Posted June 21, 2022 We love cruising over the holidays. Much less stressful than trying to see all the family all at once. I’d rather visit them at different times of the year when things are not so crazy. We will be on Allure for Christmas and New Years in 2023. A 4 day and 7 day back to back from Orlando. This will actually be our first time on Oasis class, but we loved Spectrum over Christmas right before the pandemic so I’m sure we will enjoy Allure. Kathleen and WAAAYTOOO 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruisingNewb Posted June 24, 2022 Author Report Share Posted June 24, 2022 UGH...I have been thinking about our next cruise non-stop since last week....I am thinking smaller scale now just to get my fix. I now see why and how many of you have so many cruises under your belts. I never felt this way cruising Carnival....just saying. KristiZ, FoxboroCruiser, Ampurp85 and 1 other 1 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ampurp85 Posted June 25, 2022 Report Share Posted June 25, 2022 I know what you mean, my last cruise was in Feb, and I don't get to go again until Sept. Although my family is small, I don't cruise on holidays, too many children for my taste. I normally do Halloween and/or early Nov and then a couple right after the new year. But with all the current changes in everything, I might be adding Sept in the mix, that would get me up to 5-8 cruises a year. If I lived closer to a port, like maybe a 7hr ride away or better, I would cruise every other month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D Alt Posted June 25, 2022 Report Share Posted June 25, 2022 welcome to the addiction! my next one isn't until October but then I also booked an Xmas one this year too. and I have 2 more booked for next year. I can't stop! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moby Dick Posted June 25, 2022 Report Share Posted June 25, 2022 On 6/21/2022 at 10:46 AM, CruisingNewb said: First, yeah...we didn't put down a deposit at NextCruise during our sailing. Shame me if you want. Now that we are home, we realize that we want to book another cruise. 7 day cruise preferably during Christmas. Now that my mom has passed and most of my family moved away from my hometown, Christmases are no longer the same and we want a break from endless decorating, piles of presents, and cooking all day. We were thinking Caribbean? Eastern? Western? Which Ship? Type of room (we had balcony for Alaska but Central Park facing balcony seems nice)? Most importantly, when to book? Black Friday? We are thinking December of 2023. I'll only offer a suggestion of WHEN! If you aren't so kid friendly anymore, like we are (no, we don't dislike kids, we love kids, we just like to get away from them sometimes, cruise a week or two before Christmas or a week or two after New Years, for the most part, kids are in school, except South America. I also believe that cruises are a little cheaper then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokeybandit Posted June 25, 2022 Report Share Posted June 25, 2022 1 hour ago, D Alt said: welcome to the addiction! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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