Are you a cruise person?
2026 is off to a rousing start, and I hope your holidays were enjoyable and spent with loved ones and friends.
This Christmas was a bit different for my husband and me, since we had the chance to spend it on a Caribbean cruise. Long story short, we wound up getting a discounted deal on it, thanks to sitting through a timeshare presentation on a previous trip (yes, we got roped into it!).
The only time that worked for us to use it before the expiration date was during Christmas week, and we didn’t have any conflicts so we booked it as our Christmas present to each other.
Growing up in Southwestern Pennsylvania, the idea of spending Christmas anywhere tropical sounded pretty strange. Even when I was starting my TV career in Fort Myers, Fla., in the early 1990s, I managed to fly home for Christmas each year with the tradeoff of working Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve. I loved how folks in Florida decorated their boats and the palm trees with Christmas lights.
We’d been on a couple of cruises before, including a fun one with a big group of friends earlier this fall, but kids were in school then and it was still hurricane season so it wasn’t super crowded. We knew that because school was on break and the weather had cooled to comfortable humidity levels that our cruise ship would be fully booked. What I didn’t realize is how packed it really was and how many people love cruising over the holidays — we’re talking dozens of large extended families or parents with four and five children in tow. I wondered how the little kids on the cruise would react to not being at home and how Santa would find them? We spent Christmas Eve day on a lovely beach, had a delicious dinner, then were at sea on Christmas Day. We slept in, went to the non-denominational service in the theater, had brunch, relaxed in the sun (in the adults-only area), got a massage and had a Christmas evening feast. It was a wonderful cruise, and the weather was absolutely perfect – but I came away wondering if I’m really a cruise person.
Some people love cruising, and there was a social media group I found with hundreds of members on our cruise planning bar crawls, gift exchanges and a door decorating contest. Christmas Eve and Day saw more than half the passengers in matching pajamas or ugly Christmas sweaters. It really was something to experience!
I’m still on the fence about taking another cruise in the future, as my hubby and I both enjoy being on land more than at sea and the freedom of being on our own schedule rather than the cruise ship’s timeline.
Either way, it surely is a joy and blessing to travel, and it was a memorable, joyous way to celebrate Christmas.
Happy New Year!
Kristin Emery can be reached at kristinemery1@yahoo.com.