If you’re sailing on a Princess Cruise over Christmas, you can expect to find several
holiday festivities on board, in addition to all of the typical Princess cruising activities.
In this video we’ll provide an overview of the holiday festivities we experienced
on our December 2021 cruise on the Emerald Princess.
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As soon as we boarded our ship, the holiday spirit was obvious with Christmas trees, wreaths,
garland, lights, gingerbread houses, and many more decorations located throughout the ship.
In the World Fresh Marketplace buffet, gingerbread houses were displayed on many of the glass
shelves located above the food.
And a large train display with gingerbread houses and a large Santa with reindeer was
located in The Piazza, or main atrium area.
The display had many interesting details, including trees and reindeer
made out of wine corks.
During the cruise, Christmas activities included Christmas caroling, which was held on the
open-air Lido deck due to COVID restrictions;
holiday-themed trivia;
holiday-themed arts and crafts;
a holiday-themed variety show;
holiday movies, such as “The Santa Clause” and “Miracle on 34th Street,” shown for
Movies Under the Stars;
and “Holiday Favorites” available through our stateroom’s on-demand movies.
Princess’s kids club – Camp Discovery – was also decorated for the holiday and
also offered a number of holiday-themed activities, such as ornament making, cookie decorating,
and writing letters to Santa.
One of the most popular holiday activities during our cruise was the gingerbread house
competition.
Space was limited and sign-ups were available prior to the event.
If you’re interested in participating, we strongly encourage you to watch for the sign-up
time in the daily schedule and arrive early.
For the competition itself, each team was provided a gingerbread house kit and some
additional items for decorating.
Many teams came prepared with items they brought from home and a few brought additional items
from the buffet.
The creativity on display from all of the teams made for a very fun event.
On Christmas Eve, hot chocolate and cookies were provided while the Cruise Director performed
a reading of “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.”
After the reading, the children were given cookies for Santa and a carrot for his reindeer.
On both Christmas Eve and Christmas morning, interdenominational Christmas services were
available as part of the Daily Activities.
On Christmas Day, Santa made an appearance in the early evening and posed for photos
and gave out gifts to the kids on board.
For dinner that night, traditional Christmas food options were available in both the dining
room and the buffet.
Also on Christmas Day, several platters with holiday-themed artwork were added alongside
the buffet’s gingerbread house displays
and an ice sculpture of Santa was put on display in the buffet area, though it was mostly melted
by the time we saw it.
In addition to all the Christmas festivities on the ship, several ports were also decorated
for the holidays.
However, it should be noted that some countries observe Boxing Day, which means many businesses
may be closed on December 26th.
If you’re planning on shopping that day, be sure to check the official holidays of
the port you’re visiting.