Christmas cruising

[denise5374]

This may seem like weird question but here goes.....

When you sail on a Christmas cruise, how do you handle the logistics of Christmas? as in presents? Is it better to wait until the kids are older? Right now mine are 7 and 10 and I was thinking about Christmas 2005, so they will be 9 and 12. How does the rest of your families deal with it? How about the kids?

I know you will have thoughts on this.....Thanks!

 

[westjones]

Are are going on the December 19th, 2004 cruise which will be a 4 night cruise. We plan to fly in for the cruise and fly home the day we disembark (which is December 23rd, 2004). So we will be home for Christmas. We still call this our Christmas Cruise, but it is a LOT less expensive than cruising during the holiday and you can still spend the actual holiday at home.

DJ

 

[webray]

Because of the luggage restrictions per person, I would suggest having santa come before you leave on your trip. Make it special, the night before you leave or something...and then go and have a great cruise. You could always put some small things..or stocking stuffers in your luggage....much easier than taking all the gifts with.

 

[webray]

Also, there really isn't anyplace to store a bunch of packages.

 

[outahere]

I've been thinking about this as well. We are booked on the Christmas, 2004 cruise. Since the tree will already be up, my current plan is to have a friend come over the day before we get home and put the presents under the tree. We wouldn't Santa trying to land on deck 10...... he might end up going down the Mickey slide into the pool.

I may take a couple of small things with us..... not sure yet.

 

[denise5374]

How do the kids feel about this?

Thanks again.

 

[Lisa F]

This is just my opinion on it, but I personally would not cruise on christmas itself. It's a time that I want to spend with family. A cruise is so special on its own and christmas is so special on its own, I feel like, for me, one would cancel out the other. In a week of having wonderful meals, what would make "christmas dinner" any different? On the other hand, we are thrilled about spending NYE on the wonder this year. My husband and I generally do something together (without our families) then and I can't think of a better way to spend NYE. I guess it really depends on how you personally envision christmas.

Lisa

 

[jgalecpa]

We are sailing this Xmas with DD12 and DD-15.

We have thought long and hard about this. We finally came up with the following:

We will have a split Xmas.

We will give the kids all their large gifts at home. Mostly after we are home.

There will be a time where we exchange gifts before we leave for anything that the person should use/want on the cruise. For example, I have bought an outfit of island nature that would be perfect for the "normal" dress nights on the boat. She will get that ahead of time.

Then there will be Xmas morning, on the boat. We have an advantage because we have two "adjoining" rooms. (Both rooms will be decorated for the holidays, and we have talked with other cruisers who will do the same).

Santa Will come in through our porthole and will decorate the siting area in our room. There will be Xmas stockings with small things in 'em.

There will also be some small items that would pack very easily (think CD's, etc.). We may also have pictures of their big gifts set out, but leave those gifts at home.

 

[jilljill]

Jim,
How old are your kids? My DD will be 10½ next year when we go on the 10 day next year and I was wondering how to handle this. We are going to tell her about the cruise until very close to sail time next year. Heck, she doesn't even know about our Ireland trip in Feb. or the quick trip to Disney in Dec.
Let us know how you make out when you get back.
Thanks,

 

[Grumpy's Mom]

My two cents' worth with older girls - my DDs will be 13 and 17 - The two days before the cruise at WL and the cruise are their Christmas presents this year.

DH and I kind of did this on the spur of the moment the week school started, so we did not get any early booking rate, discount, etc., and I actually had to search the web for "Disney cruise soldout December" to find a TA who still had cabins from blocks purchased 1 1/2 years ago. So, to make a long story short, we are paying top dollar for this baby, about twice what we usually pay for a 7 day to WDW or our usual summer vacation at Kiawah Island.

We will be on the same cruise as Jim's family, and yes, our cabin will be decorated. (Please remember to bring the duct tape, Jim.)

In my mind, as an adult (lol), I think at this point for my girls the memories are more important. They have wonderful memories of the holidays we have spent with our respective families, and these rarely include what they "got" for Christmas. We have never cruised before, and I think that this will be a great adventure for all of us.

They do not know yet and will find out within the next two weeks so that we can get our excursions planned. I am 99.5% positive that they will be so excited - the .5, however is a nag.

As for Santa, stockings will come, possibly stuffed with disney dollars, and perhaps some small gifts, PJ's Christmas Eve (a tradition) and Santa's gifts I think over Thanksgiving - additions to their respective Dept 56 villages, which is what he started bringing when they both stopped believing!!

 

[trishy]

*tries to figure out why Lisa F's post is relevant*


Anyway, we're on the same cruise JillJill and what we're doing is similar to jga... - we are lucky to have the two connecting so it'll make it that much easier. We are bringing an empty suitcase (well, it'll have a smaller one inside of it so it'll look like 1 when in actuality it is two ....). Santa will come & make a small delivery - we even plan on having a small tree like one of the fiberoptic ones - will pick one up on the way to the cruise. Our dd's will be 9, 11, 15 on that cruise and it'll probably be the last year for dd9 to still *believe* - it's been tough preventing the other dd's from destroying that For the older dd's, well, they just like cold hard cash which might make it easier on us.

 

[CarolA]

While this did not happen on cruise it might help.
Whe I was little we always went to my Grandparents for XMAS. Several times Santa left me a note that my toy had been delivered to my house since it was too big (toy kitchen for example). As I recall it worked. (Of course since I was the only grandchild at the time and had 4 uncles etc... I got so much stuff how would I have known. Being the only person under 20 had its advantages!)

 

[Nick@ VB+OKW]

Originally posted by trishy
[BSanta will come & make a small delivery.......... [/B]

..................

 

[WDWLVR]

We'll be at home this year for Christmas, but next year we'll be on the 10 day Magic. We don't have kids but even if we did I don't think it would change how we feel. This trip will be very special and I'm really looking forward to being away from home for once. My immediate family is gone and DH's family is close enough that we see them all the time. We don't need to do the holiday thing like so many do. I hope that they do have some type of religious ceremony on the ship as I think that is what I will miss most is going to church Christmas day.

I'm sure Disney will have many special touches to make this Christmas one to remember.

To all of you sailing this Christmas - enjoy! Please take lots of pictures so those of us on the 2004 cruise know what to expect!

 

[hughiedeweylouie]

We cruised over Christmas ?5 years ago. It was Disney Cruise's first year and I think it was all just wonderful. The whole ship was decorated up and down. All the characters had on holiday wear. During our stop in the Bahamas, a children's choir came on board and sang Christmas songs and then they pulled my kids(7 and 4) in and did a song/dance. Too cool.
The whole mood was just, well, MAGICAL.
Santa was on board to take last minute requests. On Christmas Eve we were on Castaway Cay and there was Santa (in shorts and sandles) and the elves making the rounds. Santa stayed on dock and waved good bye to us as we pulled out to sea. We brought and bought a few trinkets for Christmas morning. We had to disembark but the fog held us out for about 2 hours. So there we all were, crammed in the main hall and you would think it would be chaos. But no, in Disney fashion, they brought out Christmas cookies and punch and had us all singing Christmas carols.
We got home to Virginia around 8:00 or 9:00. My family had our gifts ready for the kids to open and we sleepily ripped through the pile. But to be honest, for one year, the presents were the least important part of the holiday.
I wish I can remember if there was a religious service. We would have gone but I'm not sure any was offered. Is there usually something on Sundays on a regular cruise?

 

[jiminy579]

That is my favorite smilie yet!!!

 

[hawkrn]

I am excited to NOT be home for Xmas this year! No cooking, less decorations to put away, etc. Santa will visit our cabin on our cruise this Xmas with stocking stuffers and then we'll open our big presents when we get home. My DS, 10, could care less if he's not home for Xmas!

 

[Grumpy's Mom]

Julie - I have to agree - I am really going to enjoy the holidays for once - enjoy going to my girls' concerts and plays, and parties, etc., enjoy Christmas morning (no brunch, dinner, etc. to make), enjoy Christmas Eve day - nothing to prepare ahead of time for meals the next day, enjoy Christmas Eve - no wrapping marathon until 3:00 a.m. and I could go on -- best of all - NO SHOPPING!!!!

Let's have a drink together to a wonderful Christmas without the hassle on the Magic!!

Bonnie

 

[Nick@ VB+OKW]

Originally posted by jiminy579
That is my favorite smilie yet!!!

.............here is one just for you DeeAnn.

 

[jiminy579]

Well aren't you just the sweetest thing!
THANKS!!!!