Va4fam Posted December 22, 2023 Report Share Posted December 22, 2023 Happy Holidays fellow cruisers! We did a New Year's Eve cruise a few years ago and had a great time. We are booked on Oasis for a Christmas cruise next year and looking for information. Is anyone sailing during Christmas week this year that can share cruise planner or highlights of seasonal activities /special events/treats that take place during Christmas week? We've heard about sing-a-longs, ugly sweaters, and great decorations. Do these things really happen? Please share your previous or current experiences so we can get excited planning for next year. Thank you so much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokeybandit Posted December 22, 2023 Report Share Posted December 22, 2023 https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2020/12/19/how-royal-caribbean-celebrates-christmas-and-new-years-holidays-its-cruise-ships ChessE4, Va4fam and Matt 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ditchdoc Posted December 22, 2023 Report Share Posted December 22, 2023 Lots of guests dress for the season. The main atrium will have a tree often seasonal music is played. Many guest decorate their cabin door. Some more elaborate than others. Va4fam 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Last2Know Posted December 22, 2023 Report Share Posted December 22, 2023 Our family did several Christmas cruises over the years. It was the easiest way to enjoy the season with high school and collage-aged family members. Nobody has to cook, clean, or worry about being the designated driver. My wife is the planner and enjoyed working with everyone to decide what theme we would do. We've done funky Christmas ties, ugly sweaters, Santa/Elf hats, and matching flannel pj's, all captured in pictures by RCL's photography team. Doors decorations and magnetic hooks for hanging stockings in the stateroom are must have items. Va4fam 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rakaia Posted December 23, 2023 Report Share Posted December 23, 2023 Anthem had a fantastic special Christmas show in the theater last year on Christmas Eve (or was it Christmas Day?). I also loved the pop-up brass concerts in the Esplanade, the egg nog (both of the "adult" and non-version), the hot cocoa stations, the Christmas cookies in the Facejammer, the special events (including a Santa meet/greet), the decorations, etc. We cruised last week on Anthem and none of this (other than the decorations) took place so it must just be for cruises over the holiday itself. Lots of decorated Christmas cabin doors on both cruises...we brought battery-operated lights for extra pizzazz WAAAYTOOO, ScottD, Neesa and 1 other 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokeybandit Posted December 23, 2023 Report Share Posted December 23, 2023 It's funny, we sailed over Christmas last year and didn't really like it because there were so many first time cruisers (like 70%) and despite RC doing a fantastic job with the Christmas vibe, the ship felt quiet and alone due to a lot less intermingling of passengers. But we decided to book one next year anyway, mostly due to getting a great price, and, well Christmas on a cruise is still better than Christmas in the cold. WAAAYTOOO and Va4fam 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted December 23, 2023 Report Share Posted December 23, 2023 6 minutes ago, smokeybandit said: But we decided to book one next year anyway, mostly due to getting a great price. What ship ? We are on AD this year and next. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokeybandit Posted December 23, 2023 Report Share Posted December 23, 2023 Just now, WAAAYTOOO said: What ship ? We are on AD this year and next. Brilliance in 2024. WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rakaia Posted December 23, 2023 Report Share Posted December 23, 2023 39 minutes ago, smokeybandit said: It's funny, we sailed over Christmas last year and didn't really like it because there were so many first time cruisers (like 70%) and despite RC doing a fantastic job with the Christmas vibe, the ship felt quiet and alone due to a lot less intermingling of passengers. But we decided to book one next year anyway, mostly due to getting a great price, and, well Christmas on a cruise is still better than Christmas in the cold. I have to agree that despite the super-fun Christmas activities and events, we didn't enjoy our Christmas cruise last year quite as much as we have our others (hence booking a Christmas season cruise this year (and next) instead of one that included the holiday itself). It was totally the makeup of the other passengers that put a bit of a damper on it. Tons of giant family groups with pretty badly behaved kids and obnoxiously drunk adults. I think with these groups everyone figured everyone else was watching the kids when in reality, no one was. Definitely didn't feel the passengers meshing together as we find on other cruises with large groups taking up hot tubs/sections of the Facejammer/public areas/ect. We still had a great time (hell, it's a cruise, it's Christmas and RC really made it special) but due to the general passenger vibe, we will likely opt out of holiday cruises in the future (unless we find a great deal of course) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted December 23, 2023 Report Share Posted December 23, 2023 We often cruise during the holidays and we are again this year. I have to say, this has been the best holiday cruise ever...so far...and I have no reason to believe it will not continue. We had a number of friends sailing with us this year and have run into new old friends that we didn't expect to see. I have had a wonderful few days. Looking forward to the rest of the 2 weeks with the same anticipation. Eamon, Va4fam, FionaMG and 3 others 4 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Va4fam Posted December 24, 2023 Author Report Share Posted December 24, 2023 Great responses everybody. We thought of matching holiday shirts, ugly sweaters, and santa hats. Didn't think about stockings or door decorations---great ideas. Understand that passenger mix can influence the overall experience.....what about Royal, what types of things do they do? Sing-a-longs? Special Christmas themed meals? Egg nog is a given, what about other Holiday themed drinks? Gingerbread house making? Any special towel animals? Christmas trivia? Does the crew dress up in Holiday outfits? WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ditchdoc Posted December 24, 2023 Report Share Posted December 24, 2023 I am not sure about a ginger bread house making activity but some ships will have a gingerbread house TOWN set up at the entrance to Windjammer. Va4fam 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rakaia Posted December 24, 2023 Report Share Posted December 24, 2023 Themed Christmas Eve meal...yes! Towel animals...yes! Displays on every floor on Christmas Eve. Live Christmas music in the Esplanade (I didn't see a singalong but there definitely could have been one we missed) I do remember Christmas themed drink specials. WAAAYTOOO and Va4fam 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AshleyDillo Posted December 25, 2023 Report Share Posted December 25, 2023 On 12/23/2023 at 9:50 AM, WAAAYTOOO said: What ship ? We are on AD this year and next. See you next Christmas! WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fireclan Posted December 25, 2023 Report Share Posted December 25, 2023 We're on Adventure 12/22 - 30 and we received these beautiful beach totes and two towels for Christmas! What a treat! Va4fam 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted December 25, 2023 Report Share Posted December 25, 2023 4 minutes ago, fireclan said: We're on Adventure 12/22 - 30 and we received these beautiful beach totes and two towels for Christmas! What a treat! We got the same. Total surprise and very nice. Va4fam 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokeybandit Posted December 25, 2023 Report Share Posted December 25, 2023 We got the full RC travel kit last year. Two toiletry bags, backpack, tote, and something else I think. Maybe a cooler bag WAAAYTOOO and Va4fam 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sleepy425 Posted December 25, 2023 Report Share Posted December 25, 2023 I’m on Adventure. Last night the singers, dancers, and ice skaters put on a Christmas show on Studio B. This morning all the kids were invited to Studio B to visit Santa. We got there and they had a list of all kids on the ship - each child got a gift. All 5 of mine are 10-17 years old, and got a nice big Royal Caribbean Beach towel. Everyone has been so kind, other guests are handing out goodie bags to the kids and are making it so special. tingtang, Gilley and Va4fam 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted December 25, 2023 Report Share Posted December 25, 2023 34 minutes ago, sleepy425 said: I’m on Adventure. Last night the singers, dancers, and ice skaters put on a Christmas show on Studio B. This morning all the kids were invited to Studio B to visit Santa. We got there and they had a list of all kids on the ship - each child got a gift. All 5 of mine are 10-17 years old, and got a nice big Royal Caribbean Beach towel. Everyone has been so kind, other guests are handing out goodie bags to the kids and are making it so special. Merry Christmas !! I missed the whole ice show thing Maybe we will bump into each other before this is over !! sleepy425 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephanie Posted December 28, 2023 Report Share Posted December 28, 2023 We were on Anthem for Christmas 2019 and it was wonderful! (Aside from the fact that my husband had covid before we knew what covid was.) As others have said, the ship was beautifully decorated. There was an ugly sweater-themed event one night and the cruise director's staff were all decked out - along with lots of passengers. There were even some passengers dressed as the Grinch and Cindy Lou Who! There were multiple opportunities to have pictures with Santa, and Santa was there on Christmas morning. I took small decorations to put on our door & in our room - cheapy things that I could throw away at the end of the week, but it made it feel more festive. Definitely lots of large family groups & lots of kids. But, I think a cruise is what you make of it. We expected it to be kid-filled given it was the holidays, so we didn't let it get in the way of our fun. Personally, I think it is the absolute best way to spend Christmas and would do it every year if I could. WAAAYTOOO and Va4fam 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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