Anyone do a Disney Cruise at Christmas time? - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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We are really thinking of doing a Christmas cuise on DCL to Costa Maya. Has anyone done this at Christmas time? I think it would be a blast! I would love to hear your experiences! We have never done a Disney Cruise, heck we've never even done a cruise!
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Even Castaway Cay and the trams to the beach are decorated! There are special holiday celebrations with Mickey & Friends and little touches like Gingerbread houses make it so much fun.
We took my parents and brother & family that trip. It was their first cruise and it was made even more magical at Christmas. There was a Christmas tree lighting celebration; caroling on deck; it even 'snowed' in the atrium lobby one night!
If you're thinking of going, consider putting something on hold now. We've got sail dates and rates thru December 2009 and the dates near Christmas fill up fast. You'll lock in a low price now as prices will only increase and you'll have lots of time to make payments.
Happy planning! I hope you decide to go!
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Lynn
Yes, I am a Disney Addict... and I'd rather be cruising!.
We went and had a wonderful time! However, even with the amazing decorations it didn't feel very close to Christmas because of the weather! We went home 4 days before Christmas and it was a little hard getting in a Christmas-y mood.
We've never done a cruise before either, so we have booked the Dec 18/08 3-day Wonder Cruise to Nassau to try it out. Though we won't be on the ship for Christmas, we will be part of the insane masses at the World over the holidays...and I can hardly wait!
We cruised last year (December 2007) the first week in December and the ship (magic) was all decked out in Christmas decor.....even Mickey and Minnie - as well as the trams on Castaway Cay. It was beautiful - all the trees and the Gingerbread house on the Magic! This year - we've decided to do the actual week of Christmas - the Costa Maya special itinerary cruise - that is Dec. 20th to the 27th. Anybody been on a cruise actually on Christmas day? What is done? That's what I'm curious about. My kids aren't so thrilled because they think the big man himself won't be able to come.......but we're assuring them that he will! :-0 ;-D
Based on pricing and comments made on boards like this, I'm under the assumption that it is a very popular time for passengers to cruise. That said, I'm wondering if anyone here traveled just a few days before or after Xmas and what the crowds on the ship were like?
The "crowds" vary very little these days. Most DCL sailings have nearly-full ships, so there's little difference betweeen a "typical" sailing and a fully sold-out sailing (as the holiday cruises would normally be). Cruise ships can only get so crowded, anyway - the amount of public space is determined by the maximum stateroom capacity (it has to be comfortable when all staterooms are filled to capacity). Everything from the number of seats in the dining rooms to the number of spaces in the life boats is based on the ship's maximum passenger load.
I've been on many sold-out sailings, although never over the Christmas holidays. There are times when you'll be very aware of the full ship - especially in places like the Lobby Atrium around dinner time, or for popular events like the Pirates in the Caribbean Party. At other times, the guests are more evenly distributed throughout the ship, so it won't seem crowded at all. If you want to know what an uncrowded ship is like, stay on board in Nassau, or at Castaway Cay (not that I recommend staying on board in Castaway Cay - but it's almost always going to be the least crowded the ship ever gets while passengers are aboard).
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My first DCL cruise was Christmas in 2005 on the Magic. We boarded on Christmas Eve.
Waking up on the Magic on Christmas Day was wonderful! You could hear the excited children here and there, and I can imagine them waking up to find that Santa even visited the Magic during the night to leave gifts for them!
As others have said, the ship is beautifully decorated, there was a Midnight Mass and Hannukah candle-lighting services, CMs singing Christmas songs in the atrium, a bell-ringing concert, the WDW Christmas parade played live from WDW on the big screen, a special Christmas Night menu, gee there's so much. Santa was there in the atrium on Christmas morning sitting by the big tree handing out gifts. The little ones got nice big Disney plushies, and the older kids got DCL watches. And the Santa had a real white beard, so he looked authentic!
Everyone was wishing each other Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays all day. It was an extra special time to cruise. Although the ship was sold out, it didn't feel crowded. The CMs handled everything so well, like the lines to see Santa. They were speaking to and playing games with the children while waiting to take a pic with Santa.
We loved it so much at holiday time, that we're cruising for New Year's Eve this time!
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This thread has really got me excited now! We have no idea what to expect. It is our first cruise. A Disney one of course and we leave Christmas Eve and return on Dec 28. Woohoo!
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We have no idea what to expect. It is our first cruise. A Disney one of course and we leave Christmas Eve and return on Dec 28. Woohoo!
Tenya
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