festive cruises
Scenic has two 15-day cruises from Amsterdam to Budapest departing December 22 and 23 that, unusually, don’t have a port call on Christmas Day and spend New Year’s Eve in Linz and Regensburg respectively. Prices start from £5,392 including flights, transfers, shore excursions, drinks, tips and Wi-Fi. For something a bit different, clients
can get a taste of the US ‘holiday season’ on eight-night Lower Mississippi journeys between Memphis and New Orleans with American Cruise Lines. Space is tight for 2025, but 2026 sailings are on sale with prices from $5,275, including a pre- cruise hotel night in Memphis or New Orleans, selected excursions, drinks, tips and Wi-Fi.
YULE TIDE There is almost no end to the options for where to go on an ocean voyage over Christmas and New Year, particularly for those keen to splash out on a present to themselves. Regent Seven Seas Cruises, for instance, has festive cruises in South America in 2025, while Silversea has voyages in Australia, New Zealand and Antarctica in 2026. Seabourn has a 14-day Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam cruise from Singapore
travelweekly.co.uk/cruise
to Hong Kong departing December 21, 2026, with a Caviar in the Surf beach party on Christmas Day. Prices are from £6,034 including drinks, tips and Wi-Fi. But it’s the Caribbean that steals the
festive cruising show. At the time of going to press, Oceania Cruises still had availability on new ship Oceania Allura’s 14-day Holiday Havens sailing departing Miami on December 21, 2025. It spends Christmas Day in Curacao, where snorkelling and beach trips are among the excursions. Prices are from £4,108 including speciality dining, tips and Wi-Fi. Seabourn has availability in the Caribbean for 2025 but says flights there, and to other long-haul destinations, are a challenge so close to departure, and recommends steering customers to 2026 instead. “Book clients early so they get the best flight availability, especially with the Caribbean and Asia,” says UK and EMEA vice-president Lynn Narraway. Its 16-night Leeward Island Holiday round-trip from Miami departing December 20, 2026, with another of those caviar-fuelled parties in the surf to mark Christmas Day, is from £4,759 with drinks, tips and Wi-Fi. For families, Disney Cruise Line has a seven-night Very Merrytime Eastern
Caribbean cruise from Port Canaveral departing December 20, 2026, which spends Christmas Day at sea. For British-style festivities in the sun,
P&O Cruises offers a 14-night voyage from Barbados departing December 19, 2026, priced from £2,899 including flights and tips. SeaDream Yacht Club highlights its
New Year 2026 offering – namely its two luxury vessels meeting and overnighting in Gustavia, St Barts, on December 31, so passengers on both can enjoy the island’s fireworks. Closer to home, Windstar Cruises
has a new-for-2026 10-day Hidden Gems of the Canary Islands and Madeira voyage, which sails round- trip from Tenerife on December 27 and reaches Funchal for the city’s New Year firework display. The Canaries are a long-time no-fly
festive favourite with the likes of Cunard, Marella Cruises, Fred Olsen Cruise Lines, Saga and P&O Cruises. “Everything is taken care of, from decorations to dinner, [with] entertainment and seasonal extras all part of the package,” says P&O Cruises’ senior of manager trade sales, Paul Moran. You don’t get that by staying at
home and ringing in the New Year by watching Jools’ Annual Hootenanny.
October 2025 45
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