Cruisin' December 2013

[Goofy Dreamer]

We are booked for a December Disney Dream cruise next year. We have never cruised in December before. What kind of clothes do you pack? Also would love to know what the Dream is like in December. Would love to hear from someone that just returned this past week

[melaniejh1016]

Bathing suits, shorts and tshirts for wearing if you go to the restaurants for breakfast or lunch. And then for dinners/ shows sundresses, jeans and cute tops, one fancier dress for formal night. It's still warm during the day a little windy at night. I always bring a cardigan cause I'm cold in the a/c inside. The ship is decorated beautifully for Christmas in December.

[Kimosabe]

We were on the Fantasy last week (12/18 to 12/15) and had similar concerns about what types of clothing to take. We were on a Western Caribbean trip, which included Cayman, Costa Maya, Cozumel and then Castaway Cay on the way home. When I was researching on these boards and elsewhere, the primary answer I saw was "you have to wait and see until right before your trip," as the weather could be quite a bit different from week to week at that time of year.

We hit the jackpot and had beautiful, warm weather. Rained a little bit on a couple of days, but still very pleasant from a temperature standpoint, so we stayed in short-sleeves virtually all of the time during the day. Even "inside" the ship, we all felt pretty warm, but obviously you'd want to take a light jacket or sweater (or whatever) just in case, even if the weather looks promising.

I will tell you that while the water in Mexico was nice, the water at Castway Cay was a little chilly. The kids didn't seem to care, and once we got fully into the water (for snorkeling), the adults managed to survive! We took wetsuit shorties for the kids, but they didn't use them.

We were on the Dream in late July 2011, so we've been able to compare, and from an overall comfort standpoint, early December was a great experience.

As for the ship itself, it was very nicely decorated for the holidays. Giant Christmas tree (etc.) in the atrium, complete with an official tree-lighting ceremony the first night, as well as lots of opportunities for pictures with characters with their holiday outfits, including Santa Goofy.