Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years are popular days to be at sea on a cruise ship. They’re not only holidays, they’re holidays that come in the coldest depths of winter. Escaping the chill of November, December, and January is tempting enough on its own, but add in the thought of not having to cook, clean, or deal with your in-laws and holiday cruises become irresistible. It isn’t that surprising that the holidays are when most cruise lines report that most of their ships reach max occupancy.
Planning Christmas cruises or New Years cruises?
Like summer, the holiday season has that magical combination of kids being out of school and parents being off of work. It is a popular time to cruise, with the actual day of the holiday being some of the most booked out of the entire year.
With this in mind, it is best to plan in advance. While the end of the year is the season for miracles it is best not to count on one to give you the stateroom of your choice. Often cruise lines offer last minute discounts to fill rooms on their ships. This doesn’t happen during the holiday season. This means that your best time for booking a cruise departing in the period from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Eve is the previous January and on through March. The bright side is that booking so early offers you your choice of rooms and dining options. The downside is that it’s going to come at a premium and chances to save are going to be limited.
Booking Your Travel and Ways to Save
One of the few chances cruisers are going to get to save some money on a Thanksgiving, Christmas, or a New Years Cruise is when booking their travel arrangements. While you can book airfares and airport transfers through the cruise lines the price is a premium one, especially on holiday cruises. You may want to consider booking one of Go Port’s Fly Snooze and Cruise packages to take care of your transfers instead.
Booking this far in advance also gives you the chance to save on your airfare. Careful planning of everything from the luggage you pack to the day and time you fly can save you money. Cruisers living in more populated regions may have a choice of airports to fly out of with a variety of prices that depend on what they choose. Canadians especially have some options for saving depending on which airport they want to fly out of. Frequently, the savings on airfare will be more than enough to cover the cost of transportation to get there. Flexibility is the key thing though. Being able to adjust your departure and arrival times as well as the locations you fly from is what will save you money.
This is another area where Go Port can help you. Pick-ups and drop-off times can be adjusted, and days can be added to your package to help you save and build your perfect cruise vacation. Just call 855-755-4637 to pick packages for Port Canaveral hotels, or build a custom one.
Finally, it is not always necessary to have a Christmas Cruise on Christmas Day. It is the same with any of the other holidays. The first weeks of November and December, and the last weeks of January are times when cruise lines actually struggle to fill the ships. Staterooms, balcony rooms, and suites can be had at a bargain price during these weeks.
Ships and Itineraries
As mentioned previously the holidays are favorite times for families to take a cruise together. As a whole family cruisers tend to favor large newer ships in the megaship category. These ships offer the newest amenities, the most activities, and the best sitting services for children.
Disney Cruise Line
Not surprisingly Disney Cruises are the champions of family cruising all year round. The holiday season just serves as an excuse to kick things up a notch. The theme parks in Orlando hold Mickey’s Very Merry Party and the cruise ships have Very Merry Time cruises from November to December.
It is a punderful time! Get it? Merry Time, Maritime. Moving on.
The Disney Ships that sail out of Port Canaveral are the Dream, and the Magic. The magic specializes in 3 and 4 night Bahama cruises. Both are having Thanksgiving Cruises, and both will be at sea on Christmas Day.
Aboard, the first hint of holiday magic will be the scent of the life size gingerbread house. There are productions featuring the usual Disney Characters, including a tree lighting. Also there will be visits from Mister and Missus Claus. All of which is going to help keep the kids entertained.
Royal Caribbean
Royal Caribbean has a large presence in Port Canaveral, and its set to grow. The Oasis of the Seas is the lead ship in the world’s largest class of passenger vessels, and it will begin sailing from Port Canaveral in 2016. The Oasis—and truthfully most of Royal’s ships—has features like surf simulators, ice skating rinks, and rock climbing walls that kids and adults alike will enjoy. Kids’ exclusives like the water parks and Dream Works characters will give the adults some privacy. Meanwhile couples and singles cruising will get the most out of the ships nightlife.
The caveat is that it is very much a time of year that belongs to kids, and if you don’t have any of your own then you’re likely to be overwhelmed by the sheer numbers that will be aboard. A much better option for those travelling without children are Royal’s smaller ships like the Enchantment of the Seas. While it is being replaced by the Rhapsody of the Seas in 2016 which lacks the added expansions of the Enchantment, but still offers the spas, dining, and nightlife that make Christmas and New Years cruises so much fun for those without kids of their own. The crown and anchor has been making a focused effort to get all of its ships up-to-date with technology and amenities too, so the difference between the large and small ships amenities isn’t too large.
Carnival Cruises
Carnival has four ships sailing out of Port Canaveral. The Sunshine, Sensations, Victory, and the Valor. All four of the ships are mostly on short 3 and 4 day Bahama cruises with the occasional 5 and 7 day Eastern and Western Caribbean cruise thrown in. With their Vegas style philosophy Carnival’s Fun Ships are good cruises for couples and singles.
However, you should be aware that whatever the day is the ship will stick to the routine on a short cruise. If Christmas Day sees the ship making a port call then there won’t be much for you to do, but go shore side when most of the shops are closed for the holiday. In 2016 the Carnival Magic will be replacing the Victory and sailing 7 day Western and Eastern Caribbean routes. Normally, these longer routes do a little bit more in the way of marking important days with feasting and festivities.
Norwegian Cruise Lines
The Norwegian Spirit sails out of Port Canaveral, and in 2016 it trades off with the larger Norwegian Epic. Norwegian gets into the holiday spirit with Christmas Decorations, and seasonal menu items. The culinary team will create a whole holiday village. Carolers will also be touring throughout the ship.
Some Final Thoughts
Cruises are a great way to close out a year with all of its joyous and not so joyous events. They’re also a great way to start off a brand new year. It does take some planning and forethought though to get exactly what you want in order to celebrate with the people you want to.
To learn more about arranging your shore side transportation and accommodations call us at 1 (321) 735-8833 or click on the link below.
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