What are December Cruises to the Carribean like?

[fairytalelover]

First of all, I was wondering what the weather is like? Will it be too cold to use the pool and sit on the beach at Castaway Cay during December? And what are the activities etc... like? Is everything decorated for Xmas? We would love to take a cruise with Xmas decorations everywhere.

 

[kcashner]

All the decorations are up before Thanksgiving.

Weather is variable. I don't think we've ever had a cold December, but we froze one February. Other times, we had 80s in the same week.

There are some long threads about Christmas activities on the ship. Some are only on the holiday cruise, others are from Thanksgiving thru Christmas. There will be a tree lighting ceremony on the first night of your cruise, gingerbread house making (get tickets free at GS on embarkation day), etc. And the characters will be in their holiday finest.

 

[lbgraves]

Our first four cruises were in December with the Christmas decorations up. It was difficult to cruise without them! The weather in early December has been beautiful for us, but as noted above, it can vary. We have also cruised twice in January...once was beautiful and once was cold and stormy.

 

[fairytalelover]

It's good to hear that there is a good chance of warm weather

 

[fairytalelover]

All the decorations are up before Thanksgiving.

Weather is variable. I don't think we've ever had a cold December, but we froze one February. Other times, we had 80s in the same week.

There are some long threads about Christmas activities on the ship. Some are only on the holiday cruise, others are from Thanksgiving thru Christmas. There will be a tree lighting ceremony on the first night of your cruise, gingerbread house making (get tickets free at GS on embarkation day), etc. And the characters will be in their holiday finest.

Are certain cruises "holiday cruises"?

 

[mstee777]

I'm cruising the Fantasy this December. Can't wait to see the ship all decked out for the holidays.

 

[kcashner]

Are certain cruises "holiday cruises"?

I was referring to the cruises that actually include THE day--like the Christmas cruise is the one that includes 12/25. Yeah, the ones that cost 3 times as much as the ones on either side of them.

 

[lbgraves]

Are certain cruises "holiday cruises"?

The November cruise we did had the ship decorated. The December cruises had CC also decorated and the gingerbread house onboard. There was a tree lighting with the characters the first night, Mrs. Clause and the entertainment staff presented the night before Christmas, and the characters appear in their holiday outfits for pictures.

 

[DLW8]

We did a 3 night during the first week of December (2008) and a 7 night Western that left the Saturday after Thanksgiving (2010).

Our weather was not great on either trip. It was very windy and cool, and while DD did go in the pool, it was pretty cold (windy) sitting there on the pool deck. The water at CC was chilly both times (and we are from CT so are used to chilly ocean waters). The weather was very overcast both times. On the 7 night Western, we had one day (Grand Cayman) where the sun was out all day and it was very warm.

We did love seeing all the Christmas decorations, and on the 7 night cruise, DS was the "Prince of the High Seas" and lit the lights on the tree in the atrium. However, due to the weather, we opted to go in September this year (7 night Eastern) and the weather was AMAZING! We also wanted to see the ship NOT decorated for Christmas!

The decorations are absolutely beautiful, but I defiinitely enjoyed the weather much more this year in late September.

 

[ericalynn1979]

I was referring to the cruises that actually include THE day--like the Christmas cruise is the one that includes 12/25. Yeah, the ones that cost 3 times as much as the ones on either side of them.

Ha! The precise reason why we're on the Fantasy 12/15-12/22!

Hoping the world doesn't end on 12/21/12 while we're at Castaway Cay!

And OP, from everything I've read, prepare for highs in the low 80s to low 90s, I'm bringing a lot of "convertible" clothes for the kids, dresses that can be paired with leggings and light sweaters in case it is cooler.

 

["Cinder" Ella's Mom]

We were on a RCCL cruise to the Western Caribbean over Christmas day last year. Cozumel and Grand Cayman and Falmouth Jamaica were all Warm. Grand Cayman day was coolest but still upper 70's. I have sailed to the Bahamas over Christmas many years ago and we missed the private island due to bad weather. It was cold too!