Featured Holiday Cruises : Best Cruises for the Holidays

Table Of Content

• Start New Holiday Traditions
• Are Cruises More Expensive Over Christmas?
• Christmas Holiday cruise travel deals
• night Monteverde Cloud Forest & Arenal Volcano cruise tour on Windstar Cruises
• Day Eastern Caribbean Holiday

Each of these worms produces two multicolored spirals, which are apparatus for feeding and respiration. These beautiful creatures are CruiseMapper's choice of "Christmas Cruise" photos because of their most obvious "Xmas-themed" look. Love, life’s sweetest reward, is celebrated with hearts and flowers and special touches throughout the ship. Onboard, you can make a card for your sweetheart, send a singing telegram, renew your vows, watch themed Movies Under the Stars, and so much more. Count down and count your blessings on the biggest night of the year with a special New Year’s Eve dinner followed by a midnight celebratory Champagne toast. Give yourself a bucket list gift for Christmas and book a Panama Canal cruise for your winter vacation.

Start New Holiday Traditions

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. Tallinn's Raekoja plats is the spot where the first public Christmas tree was put on display in Europe. Fun holiday activities include outdoor skating rink, jazz and classical concerts, illuminated snow sculptures, and Santa's house where kids post Christmas list and feed baby reindeer. Located on Vorosmarty Square in Pest district of Budapest, city's Christmas fair is great to experience traditional food of Hungary, live music and folk dances.

Are Cruises More Expensive Over Christmas?

The Christmas market in Strasbourg, France, is the oldest one in Europe, dating back to 1570, and this four-day cruise from CroisiEurope takes you into the heart of it. Stops along the way include tasting the bredeles — biscruits that are traditionally baked during the holidays — at the Maison du Pain d'Alsace. These cruise itineraries give you the chance to explore holiday markets dating back to the Middle Ages, and to discover the villages with local treasures like traditional winemaking and artisan crafts. A Christmas market cruises can get you into the winter spirit, provide a relaxing getaway, and offer opportunities for getting one-of-a-kind gifts for friends and family. This trip sails over both Christmas and New Year’s, for twice the excuse to celebrate—assuming you can peel yourself away from the incredible history, culture, food and beaches along the way.

Christmas Holiday cruise travel deals

Picture Christmas crafts, interactive holiday-themed activities, and even a world premiere of the new Hallmark Channel movie Countdown to Christmas at the ship's very own theater. And don't forget to bring your ugly sweaters aboard—there will be a contest for that, too. The American Queen has Victorian-era features, including antique furnishings and intricate woodwork. Starting in Memphis, the cruise takes guests through towns like Greenville, where the authors of the Muppets grew up, and cities like Vicksburg, with festive holiday shops and décor. No one does spirit the way Disney does and every year they designate several itineraries in November and December as “Very Merrytime” sailings.

night Monteverde Cloud Forest & Arenal Volcano cruise tour on Windstar Cruises

In the Caribbean, mini-cruises are operated from Florida ports and visit The Bahamas and Mexico. Christmas and New Year cruises offer the perfect combination of the three best buys - holiday, travel, vacation. Combined Christmas (Xmas) and New Year's Eve (NYE) voyages are operated with longer and usually roundtrip itineraries. Depending on shipping company and destination, Xmas-NYE itineraries vary from 4-5 days (short breaks) to 7-10 days and even up to a month, extending from early or mid-December through early January. 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.

Funtastic Holiday Cruises

Sail to the islands of the Caribbean where the skies are always blue and the waters are crystal clear. Escape to the coasts of Mexico to watch the cliff divers in Acapulco or the brilliant sunsets in Cabo San Lucas. Sail to Mediterranean ports for a more traditional European celebration.

Night Circle Hawaii HolidayDetails

Tromso is known as Norway’s Christmas town, decorated to the nines for the holiday for a fairyland look. You’ll have time on Christmas Eve, including nighttime hours, in the city of Alta to search for the aurora borealis—a Christmas miracle indeed. Beloved Disney characters dress in holiday attire for meet-and-greets, and Santa Claus makes appearances on most sailings. Cruises visiting Castaway Cay, Disney’s private island, offer even more festive fun, as the Bahamian paradise is decked out for the season with a Christmas tree and faux-snow flurries. This is all in addition to Disney Cruise Line's plentiful year-round perks. Holiday sailings to the Caribbean are popular choices for cruisers, and a wide range of lines offer December cruises from Florida.

Dresden Christmas market is old-fashioned and pretty, with more than 250 stalls that sell traditional wares and festive arts and crafts. Regional vendors display pottery and indigo-printed textiles from Lusatia; wooden ornaments from Erzgebirge mountain villages; paper advent stars, wickerwork and Plauen lace from Herrnhut. Dating from 1600s, the Nuremberg Christmas market occupies Main Square under Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady). Christkind opens Christmas market the Friday before Advent every year with an impressive ceremony. This market has long tradition and you'll find all original things here - gluhwein, bavarian bratwurst and hand-made gifts.

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The variety of hot drinks include hot chocolate punch and spicy hot apple juice, as well as the chance to try baked goods, like strudels, toki pompos (dough, oven-baked) and langos (fried bread with different toppings). This market has around 150 stalls, plenty of local culture and art, including puppet theatres. All products sold on Vorosmarty Square are traditionally handmade, with a guarantee by professional jury. Europe's unique Christmas Markets experiences feature shopping (for handcrafted gifts and locally made souvenirs) and traditional food and beverages.

There are additional attractions as folk dances, shows and concerts of carols. 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.

For a shorter option, consider exploring the quaint Christmas markets of Bruges on this three-night cruise from Cunard. In Strasbourg, guests will also be able to explore wine cellars that date back to 1472 and visit the Christmas market of Eguisheim. Guests will also be able to indulge in holiday treats at La Couronne, which is where Julia Child famously enjoyed her first lunch in France. While this itinerary is only three nights long, it makes an excellent long weekend with stops in Key West and Ocean Key, a private island in the Bahamas.

Lille has great activities during holiday season - it's situated along the northern border of France and is capital of French Flanders. The whole town around Christmas market is covered with huge garlands' crown. 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.

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Cruising over the holiday season gives you lots of choices on where to go and which line to sail with. While each option has its own appeal, every Christmas cruise can be an ideal way to spend time with loved ones while also enjoying the best of a vacation. With sailings to six different continents, Norwegian Cruise Line gives guests plenty of options for a relaxing holiday, wherever they want to spend it.

The stalls, with candy-striped awnings, sell all traditional handcrafts, including carved wooden toys and "smoker" man (carved figure holding smoking incense inside). The horse-drawn stagecoach will take you on a ride over the medieval old city's cobblestone streets. On weekends, the Nuremberg market is a mass of people who huddle together to stay warm.

5 Things You Didn't Know About Booking a Costco Cruise

Table Of Content

• Things You Didn't Know About Booking a Costco Cruise
• It's More Than the Usual Shipboard Credits
• The Best Costco Cruise Deals are Kirkland Signature and Buyer's Choice
• The Best Costco Cruise Deals are Kirkland Signature and Buyer's Choice

Costco does not assign a specific agent to your booking, so you're unlikely to talk to the same call center representative twice. Like the warehouses, to access Costco's cruise discounts, you'll need to pony up for membership -- $60 per household at the basic level. But the savings on a typical cruise booking for two will usually cover that annual fee. Meanwhile, discounts on more expensive cruises or multiple cabins can amount to hundreds of dollars.

Things You Didn't Know About Booking a Costco Cruise

There's no rebate form to fill out; the cash card arrives in the mail two to four weeks after your cruise, to be used at Costco's warehouses or for online orders. That's been my experience when booking my own cruises, as well as sailings for family and friends. I've booked direct with cruise lines, used traditional brick-and-mortar travel agencies and gone through online travel suppliers like Expedia, Vacations To Go and American Discount Cruises. But more often than not, when shipboard credits and other incentives were tallied, Costco Travel came out as low as, or lower than, other options. First-time cruisers who need a little more handholding to understand cabin and dining options might benefit by working with a traditional travel agent.

It's More Than the Usual Shipboard Credits

But for experienced cruisers who have a good idea of the ships and cabins they want, Costco Travel is worth checking out. The company does not sell some of the more upscale or boutique lines, such as Oceania, Silversea and Windstar, but Costco is definitely looking to expand its selection of cruise lines, according to Zegers. While the disadvantage of a cash card over a shipboard credit is that Costco hangs onto your rebate for a month longer, the payoff is usually greater.

The Best Costco Cruise Deals are Kirkland Signature and Buyer's Choice

It's worth digging a little deeper on the Costco Travel website for even better deals. For instance, sailings marked "Buyer's Choice" or "Kirkland Signature" come with extra perks and amenities, exclusive to Costco members.

"They charge the going rate on the Princess website, including past guest discounts, but then 'give' you refundable onboard credit that is a percent of the fare paid. You also get any specials Princess is running, like included gratuities or all-inclusive beverage packages." Savvy cruisers, including many Cruise Critic members, have saved big by booking cruises through Costco. Here are five things you don't know about booking a Costco cruise -- and why Costco Travel is my first -- and usually last -- stop when shopping for a cruise. If you're new to cruising or unsure of what you want, Costco might not be the best travel agency for you. "I think a first time cruiser would be better off using an agency that walks them through everything," says NoVa Mimi, who books all her cruises exclusively through Costco.

Costco Cruises Can Be a Great Deal

Common types of booking incentives include free beverage packages, specialty dining and shipboard credits -- a rebate that shows up as a credit to your onboard bill at the start of your cruise and can be used for drinks, specialty dining, spa treatments or shore excursions. Costco offers these benefits to their customers on select cruises; executive-level Costco members usually receive even greater credits. Booked direct through the cruise line, a the lowest-priced balcony cabin came to $1,894 per person, including a $100 onboard credit offer. Zeger explains that Kirkland Signature deals need to represent a value at least 20% better than offers you'd find elsewhere in the market; this applies to travel or anything you'd buy in the warehouse. " Typically these required values are achieved by negotiating exclusive amenities with the cruise lines such as specialty dining, spa treatments, private events, etc.," she says. Unlike a typical travel agent, Costco Travel also offers rebates issued as Costco Cash Cards.

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Costco Travel - How Much Money Can You Save?.

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And, as anyone who regularly shops at Costco knows, it doesn't take long to blow through a few hundred dollars in gas fill-ups alone. "They aren't active travel agents, they don't proactively check for price drops," noted kleptn. However, Costco does have pre- and post-travel support departments, as well as an after-hours phone number for travel emergencies, to assist travelers once they've booked their cruise. "Costco is usually the best deal," says KirkNC, who is careful to compare multiple outlets before locking in a fare. "We get around 8 percent back in onboard credits, which are refundable, so if we don't use them we get a credit back on our credit card." Although we know (and love) Costco warehouses for their bulk bargains, not all categories at Costco require plus-sized buys.

(Think jeans, mattresses and wine, which can be purchased individually.) Cruises are the same. "We had already decided on where we were going, but we were flexible on the travel date and ship," said Ostrander. "I usually compare booking sites against one another, but Costco had a photography-themed Celebrity sailing with a really good price, with photo classes and a photography contest. There were a lot of valuable add-ons, but Costco's price still came out a couple of hundred dollars lower than other cruise sites."

Because the cruise industry aims to enforce pricing parity across all booking channels, discounts don't usually appear in the upfront cruise fare. When we checked, a Costco "savor and spa" cruise aboard Anthem of the Seas offered similar value. Another member, RSF Cruiser, has booked about two Princess cruises a year for the past five years and has been "totally pleased." Costco Travel does not sell every cruise line, but it does handle all of the largest brands, including Carnival. There's no hard sell (phone reps are not on commission), cruise cancellations are handled efficiently and without hassle, and the invoicing is clear and easy to read.