{"id":174,"date":"2013-11-19T03:06:11","date_gmt":"2013-11-19T03:06:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/christmas-cruising\/"},"modified":"2022-08-08T23:19:00","modified_gmt":"2022-08-08T23:19:00","slug":"christmas-cruising","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/christmas-cruising\/","title":{"rendered":"Christmas Cruising"},"content":{"rendered":"

Christmas is coming. It\u2019s that time of year again, when you toss the coin about whose turn it is to host the big breakfast, lunch, or dinner. You start making a list, and checking it twice; drinks, nibbles, turkeys, hams, seafood and desserts. Are you making a pudding? If you haven\u2019t started, get cracking.<\/p>\n

A few years ago my family decided to take a different approach. We left behind the baking and the bustle, foregoing the hassle of having to commute between family gatherings by arriving at Circular Quay on the 22nd Dec, our bags stuffed with presents and swimming costumes.<\/p>\n

A Christmas Cruise is one great way to getaway for the holidays. Most of the large ships down under will do a loop out to the South Pacific and back. This year the Pacific Jewel, Pacific Pearl, Ocean Princess, Carnival Spirit, Celebrity Solstice, Rhapsody of the Seas and Voyager of the Seas, Radiance of the Seas, Pacific Dawn and the Holland America Oosterdam will leave Australian ports a few days before Christmas, returning around Boxing Day, before heading out again on New Year\u2019s Eve cruises. For more details on itineraries and ships, check out Expedia’s South Pacific December Cruises<\/a>.<\/p>\n

On our South Pacific Christmas Cruise, we travelled with three generations, from a seven year old waiting for Santa, teenagers hanging out for the teen club, singles who secretly wanted to sing carols, parents desperate for peace and quiet, and grandparents looking to leave the stress behind. The good news is, aboard a major cruise ship, there\u2019s something for everyone. And over Christmas, the crew goes all out to make sure everyone is happy. After all it\u2019s their Christmas too.<\/p>\n

As a family we filled the multi-storey atrium and sang Carols on Christmas Eve, frolicked under fake snow as it fell from the ceiling (big and little kids), the little ones decorated gingerbread houses while the teens tried to find the mistletoe. There was Christmas craft, trivia, movies and shows.
\n
\nAccording to Cruise Director Luke Aerosmith, who will spend Christmas aboard the Voyager of the Seas, the crew prepare weeks in advance. They\u2019ll wrap around 1200 presents for the kids on board, rehearse a matinee show, install a 40ft Christmas tree and hold a midnight mass.<\/p>\n

As it\u2019s the school holidays, you will find high numbers of kids on board. Santa will be there too \u2013 he comes down via the smoke stack before climbing out of a life raft. It\u2019s all a bit of fun. Even without the Christmas festivities, there’s ice skating, rock climbing, basketball, shuffleboard, movies and more for entertainment.<\/p>\n

On Christmas morning we wake up early and tackle the pile of presents in the corner. It\u2019s cosy when we\u2019re all crammed into one cabin, and the gifts might be a little smaller this year (parents had to have some room for clothes in their bags) but once we\u2019ve opened our goodies, we head upstairs to the buffet. Ham, eggs, bacon, pancakes, waffles, fresh fruit \u2013 everything you might have on Christmas morning, without one of us being in the kitchen. By 10am we\u2019re back in our swimmers and by the pool. Carols are playing on the loudspeakers, staff are wearing Santa hats, and we\u2019ve got nothing to do but relax.<\/p>\n

There’s one moment when my aunt and I, the self-designated Christmas chefs, look at each other feeling a little lost. No turkey to stuff, no salads to chop, no pudding to put on the boil. Instead we read books and go for a swim, play games with Santa and the kids.<\/p>\n

In our family Christmas lunch is the main meal but on board the American ships it\u2019s all about dinner. Waiting around for dinner is bit different, especially when there’s no preparation work involved. In the dining room Christmas crackers are on the table so we don paper crowns and share jokes. Turkey with all the trimmings is on the menu, but there\u2019s steak and seafood too. The pudding might not be as spectacular as the family recipe but hey, we haven\u2019t had to watch it boil for five hours either.<\/p>\n

After a long, relaxing day, we head to a bar for a night cap while the kids run off to watch Home Alone on the big screen. There\u2019s no fighting or a pile of dishes to tackle. Christmas at sea seems to have grown on me.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Christmas Cruise is one great way to getaway for the holidays. Most of the main ships down under will do a loop out to the South Pacific and back.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,6,2,3,39,14,7,18],"tags":[11,162,58],"authors":[],"class_list":["post-174","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adventure","category-destination","category-experiences","category-explore","category-food-and-wine","category-interests","category-oceania","category-relax","tag-family","tag-south-pacific","tag-tips","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nChristmas Cruising - Expedia AU Stories<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A Christmas Cruise is one great way to getaway for the holidays. 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