A festive season at sea

The festive period is important to us. We cherish many simple traditions which we enjoy every year as the winter settles in and the days get shorter. It is a time when we write greeting cards and contact people we rarely speak to. We bake many fruit cakes to give away and we put up a tree and cheery decorations. Since we keep a daily journal, we also take the opportunity to reflect on the events of the past year.

As we begin a new year, we have been mulling over the significance of an additional festive experience we had in 2024: a voyage that literally and metaphorically transported us to a place of genuine joy and good cheer and left us feeling refreshed and optimistic about the year ahead.

For a couple of reasons, we decided to go away during the festive season, something we had never done before.

Firstly, we recognize that the pandemic forced us to reimagine our approach to communicating with the important people in our lives. The reality is that none of our close family members live in the same city as us, and in many cases, not even in the same country. However, thanks to digital devices that facilitate visual communication, we now have more regular face-to-face interactions with family and friends than ever before. We no longer wait for a special holiday to see each other. In addition, we wanted to take a break from the daily news and for that, a change of scenery was an attractive proposition.

As we were booking our holiday, we wondered what it would be like to spend the festive season in the company of strangers.

We chose a cruise to the Caribbean which promised to deliver a truly exceptional experience, including a wide range of entertainment, food and festive activities. We had never been to that part of the world and we were curious to see it. The cruise ship called to five islands between Christmas and New Year (the subject of a future blog post). For good measure, we also switched off our phones.

As we stepped onto the ship, we were serenaded by carolers next to a giant Christmas tree in the Grand Lobby. Then, we marveled at an impressive display of gingerbread houses. We noticed that all public spaces on the ship were tastefully decorated. We were immediately caught up in the festive atmosphere, and it got better as time went on.

The daily program during sea days was brimming with activities of all sorts to choose from. There were musical performances, stage shows, festive season movies, interesting talks, games, and much more.

Then there were special moments. On Christmas Eve, the captain read “Twas the night before Christmas” to the children. Then the officers on the ship sang carols and entertained us with their rendition of “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” That evening, small gifts and fancy chocolates were delivered to each cabin: we thought this was a very classy gesture.

Next day, Santa “arrived” on board with his elves with a gift for every child. There were close to one hundred kids on the ship so that added to the Christmas magic. There were several religious ceremonies led by the priest, the vicar or the rabbi on board to celebrate Christmas and Hanukkah.

The New Year celebrations were also memorable. The evening began with a gala for which we dressed up in our best finery. We could dance away the last few hours of 2024 to the sounds of an orchestra and to the lively music of a band from St. Lucia. Countdown clocks were visible wherever people were gathered.

The ship’s captain told us that it is a tradition for the oldest member of the crew to lead the countdown by ringing the ship’s bell and for the youngest member of the crew to take over as the new year begins. This is thoughtful symbolism indeed. Afterwards, we were treated to a sumptuous midnight feast in the main buffet area where chefs and staff members had been busying themselves since early afternoon. The array of food platters, desserts, flowers and ice sculptures was truly impressive.

We enjoyed the trip beyond expectation. The cruise line made every effort to impress and create a sense of community. We enjoyed the company of fellow passengers of all ages, united by the desire to have a good time. The voyage offered a wonderful mix of tradition, relaxation, good weather, and new experiences. We do not know what we will do for the next festive season, but we may well be tempted to do something different again.

With this short video we share some of our joyful moments aboard.

We hope our readers also had a memorable festive season and we wish you all the very best in 2025.