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And it’s no wonder — every ship is decked out, bow-to-stern, with wreaths, lights, Christmas trees… and ooh, mistletoe! They can't be at home celebrating with their families because they're working hard to make your holiday special. While gratuities are often included in your fare or added automatically to your final bill, consider tipping extra on a Christmas cruise. The hardworking staff will appreciate your extra generosity during the holiday season. Cruise Critic is not a booking agent and does not charge any service fees to users of our site.
Tastings with Hallmark Channel Wines
When you book with one of our partners, please be sure to check their site for a full disclosure of all applicable fees as required by the U.S. Want to stay informed about the latest and greatest deals available online? With exclusive offers, news on the latest cruises, as well as the information on must-see deals, our email list will keep you plugged in on all thing’s cruises. For extra news and a bit of fun online, we also suggest following or liking our Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter pages. It's most important to choose a cruise based on which destinations you wish to visit and which travel dates and itinerary lengths work with your schedule. The midpoint of the cruise will bring you to the decision to visit either Ghent, which is one of the oldest cities in Belgium, or Bruges, known for its medieval architecture and beautiful canals.
SIGN UP FOR DEALS ON holiday CRUISES
Fares include shore excursions in every port; free Wi-Fi; all meals; beer, wine and soft drinks with lunch and dinner; port taxes and fees; and visits to UNESCO World Heritage Sites. In select ports, passengers can sign up for optional excursions that are an added cost. These could be worth the upcharge, depending on the type of experience you want to have. Yet, at the heart of it all is the universal sentiment of Christmas – a time of love, reflection, and celebration.
Festive Attire
At CruiseMapper's "Christmas New Year Cruise" hub you can compares all major cruise companies' December Holiday offers as itineraries and prices. Our Xmas cruise finder allows searching by departure ports, countries and company, also allowing you to choose vessel type (ocean ship or riverboat) and a preferable call port along the itinerary. Escape the winter chill and plan a holiday vacation to some of the sunniest destinations around the world. Get into the holiday spirit while sailing around Australia and New Zealand. Or spend Christmas Eve during a once-in-a-lifetime cruise around the Galapagos Islands. Escape to the exotic Galapagos Islands for the holidays with a Silversea cruise.
Specialty dining is not advised on the actual holiday
Tourists can find traditional Bavarian gifts - wood carvings or gingerbread (called lebkuchen), while sipping on beer or gluhwein (mulled warmed wine). Berlin's most popular Christmas Market is Kaiser Wilhelm Gedachtniskirche (receiving ~2 million visitors annually). Tourists visit for the jewelry, artworks and decorations on sale as well as to indulge in the cliched seasonal treats - mulled wine and chestnuts. South American voyages during Xmas-NYE can be booked mainly through the Italian companies MSC and Costa. In Arabia you can book seasonally Dubai-homeported ships, mainly by AIDA and MSC.
Tallinn Christmas market originated in 2001 and is not the biggest market, but has lots of charm featuring the most important Estonian Christmas tree surrounded by traditional Christmas stalls. Tallinn Christmas market is set among cobbled streets and medieval squares. With a handful of stalls around Old Town Hall Square - Raekoja plats, selling hats, sweaters, gloves, Estonian arts and crafts, the market is very charming.
Feast on traditional meals designed by a Michelin-starred chef—without worrying about any of the prep or cleanup. Marvel at our festive decorations, like Christmas trees covered in trimmings and tinsel that will make you feel right at home. Sing along with carolers, watch holiday-themed shows at The Theatre, and welcome Santa on board as he pays a special visit to all of the lucky kids spending Christmas at sea. Catch a ride on the world's largest cruise ship during the 2025 holiday season. With sailings to six different continents, Norwegian Cruise Line gives guests plenty of options for a relaxing holiday, wherever they want to spend it.
Lille's primary market is on Place Rihour, in 80 wooden chalets with extraordinary gift ideas, Christmas decorations, nativity figurines and festive food. The nearby Grand Place features 50-m high Big Wheel which lights up the square and provides a great view of the whole city. Xmas-NYE mini cruises are Holiday travel specials that are pretty hard to find. Offered mainly in Europe, the roundtrips are mainly from large ports in England (Dover, Southampton, Hull). The company owns numerous large-sized Ro-Pax ships/cruiseferries with regularly scheduled crossings from UK ports (to France, Holland, Belgium) visited almost exclusively as shopping and Christmas Market destinations. In the Caribbean, mini-cruises are operated from Florida ports and visit The Bahamas and Mexico.
Hallmark Channel Announces Christmas Cruise Setting Sail in 2024 - TravelPulse
Hallmark Channel Announces Christmas Cruise Setting Sail in 2024.
Posted: Fri, 14 Jul 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Then the whole family can reunite for a stress-free Christmas dinner, feasting on a delicious banquet while cherishing each other’s company. The Netherlands also have long traditions of Christmas markets, but Valkenburg Christmas market is the most unique. Each year during Christmas holidays, Valkenburg transforms in real Christmas town and features Christmas markets in caves.
While it’s essential for any cruise, ensure you pack the necessary adapters and chargers to keep your devices running. You’ll likely be capturing lots of memories or video-calling loved ones to share festive greetings. Determining your ideal destinations can significantly shape your Christmas cruise experience. A blend of tradition and luxury, Princess Cruises offers a quintessential Christmas experience. Tailored especially for families, this cruise line promises a magical experience when cruising with kids. Swaying palm trees, turquoise waters, and sun-soaked beaches – the Caribbean offers an idyllic setting to switch up your traditional snowy Christmas.
One of the best ways to celebrate the end of the year, be sure to book a Christmas cruise for your next holiday. Do you mark your calendar for the premiere dates of their Christmas movies? Do your eyes well up every time the romantic leads share a kiss — even though you knew perfectly well from the start it was going to happen? Then you've probably already booked your stateroom for the brand-new Hallmark Channel Christmas Cruise. AmaWaterways' Gems of Southeast Europe departs on multiple dates between late November and late December in 2024 (2025 dates run mid-November to mid-December). Day four brings the group to Mannheim, Germany, where you can enjoy a funicular ride to Heidelberg Castle or tour the town of Baden-Baden where the Christmas market is not to be missed.
The journey begins with a five-day land tour of Costa Rica, taking guests to the Arenal volcano and Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve. Then it's on to ports in Isla Parida and Balboa (for Panama City) in Panama before sailing through the Panama Canal. If you want to score the best prices on a holiday cruise, book far in advance. This sailing is one of Disney Cruise Line's Very Merrytime Cruises, so expect plenty of holiday-themed surprises and special moments. Disney's December sailings feature snow flurries in the ship's atrium, pop-up meet-and-greets with Disney characters dressed in their holiday best and a Christmas wonderland on the beach at Castaway Cay and Lookout Cay. Christmas cruises can level up your holiday celebrations — and are an ideal opportunity to escape the conventional holiday celebrations in place of an adventure.
So use the morning to walk around town or get tickets to tour the Anne Frank House. On your second day in Amsterdam, visit the Rijksmuseum and take an evening canal cruise with the group. Foodies will love it when the cruise heads to Gouda to explore the history of the city plus get a tasting of stroopwafels, which are cookie sandwiches invented in the city.
If you're in town around 20th December, you'll see carp frequently offered - dining on it is Prague's Christmas Eve tradition. Visitors seek for unusual drinks and food rather than decoration and gifts - in the week leading to Vanoce (Christmas) holiday, streets sport enormous water tubs filled with carp (Czech Christmas dish). Don't forget to try the traditional Czech beverage grog and honey liquor.
