A family vacation away during the holidays is a major bucket-list item for a lot of people, and a cruise could be exactly what you wanted.
The holiday season is traditionally when families get together, but that doesn't mean they have to spend time at home.
Going on a cruise means time together, but it also means less cooking, warmer temperatures, and a vacation that coincides with time off of school and work.
Cruise ships are all about making your life easier so you can focus on relaxing and time with family, including during the major holidays of Christmas and New Years. Of course, there are cons to taking a cruise during this special season.
Here are the reasons why taking a cruise over the holidays is the best and worst idea.
Built-in time off for a cruise
The beauty of taking a cruise during the holiday season is you probably already have the time off from work and school.
PTO is hard to come by, so anytime you can take advantage of "free" days off, it makes doubling down on a vacation all the more alluring.
The week of Christmas and New Years is a common time to have already off from work, so it makes it easier to get away for a vacation.
There's enough time for a 7-night cruise to the Caribbean, so the chances of having to compromise on how long your cruise can be is significantly less.
Great food without the cleanup
One major reason to love the holidays is all the food, but the prep and clean-up associated with it is no fun.
If you're on a cruise ship, all your meals are made for you with no cleanup required. And yes, there will be holiday menus available.
Cruise lines know that while their guests are away from home, they still want the traditional Christmas food to eat. You'll find special menus on Christmas day that include turkey, ham, and all the quintessential holiday foods.
Going on a cruise over the holidays means so much less stress that comes with trying to prepare the perfect holiday meal.
A warm Christmas
While the imagery of a white Christmas is popular, a Caribbean white sand beach with turquoise blue waters sounds even better.
While it can be downright frigid where you live, the Caribbean remains mostly temperate during December. The tropics generally do not experience large temperature swings, although an occasional cold front can sometimes penetrate far south.
As an example, in the month of December, average highs and low temperatures in St. Kitts are 85 and 74 degrees, respectively.
In The Bahamas, the average high and low temperature is 80 and 66 degrees, respectively.
Will it be warm enough to swim? Probably, although it depends how sensitive you are to "colder" water. The ocean remains warmer longer because it takes longer for it to cool down despite lower temperatures. Pools, however, can cool down quickly. In my experience, it is warm enough to swim, but you may need to "get used to" the cooler water temperature rather than in summer when you can barrel in immediately.
It's the most expensive time to take a cruise
You won't find any bargains for a cruise that goes over Christmas or New Years.
Demand for cruises at the end of December are the highest of the entire year. Remember how I told you that you have that built-in time off for a cruise earlier in this article? So does everyone else.
Prices for a holiday cruise will always be higher than other weeks, including the summer or spring break.
If you want to cruise over the holidays, book as early as you can because prices will only go up.
It's not just cruise prices that will be higher. Air travel, rental cars, and hotels will all cost you much more too.
Budgeting appropriately is definitely the smart play, along with booking as early as you can.
Kids, kids and more kids
We love taking our kids on a cruise, but you should expect many more kids on your cruise ship during a holiday cruise.
Even cruise lines that are not necessarily synonymous with families will see more kids onboard, such as Celebrity Cruises or Holland America Line.
The plus side to lots of kids on a ship is there are more opportunities for your kids to make new friends. Maybe that leads them to want to spend more time in the kids club than with you, and that's a win for everyone.
If cruising with a lot of kids sounds like the worst Christmas ever, then don't forget Virgin Voyages is an adult-only cruise line.
Read more: Surprising Things About Adults-Only Virgin Voyages Cruise Line
Matt Hochberg
Matt loves to cruise, and started Cruise.Blog as a place to share different cruise experiences, advice, and what to know before going on a cruise.
He lives in Florida with his wife and two daughters, where he can be found on any given day trying to convince his wife they "need" to book another cruise.
