Cruises 7 Cruise Lines Offering Festive Holiday Cruises in 2023 Celebrate the festive season on the high seas with these Hanukkah, Christmas, and New Year's cruises. By Carly Caramanna Carly Caramanna Carly Caramanna is a theme park and travel journalist who has spent her professional career in New York City, Nashville, and Los Angeles. Her work has appeared in Travel + Leisure, Yahoo Lifestyle, Insider, The Points Guy, and more. Travel + Leisure Editorial Guidelines Updated on November 15, 2023 Close Photo: Courtesy of Disney Cruise Line As if never-ending shrimp and beautiful coastlines weren’t enticing enough, cruise lines go all out each winter for holiday celebrations. These special sailings bring cheer to the high seas with seasonal activities, festive decor, and even more delicious treats than usual. ‘Tis the season to indulge, after all. Whether you’re interested in dashing through the Caribbean Sea with Mickey Mouse on a Disney Christmas cruise or embarking on a lavish and intimate experience aboard a European river cruise, there’s something for every travel style and budget. Here are seven of the best cruise lines for holiday cruises in 2023. 7 Best Cruise Lines for Families Viking Cruises Courtesy of Viking Viking Cruises, a Switzerland-based luxury cruise line, is known for the distinct modern touches it brings to sailings. The brand is known for its river cruises, which offer meticulous service and attention to detail on a fleet of small ships (typically 200 guests or fewer) — and these intimate voyages are extra blissful during the holidays. Viking offers a number of European Christmas-market cruises that combine culture-centric sightseeing with festive spirit. Onboard you can enjoy live performances, regional specialties, tree trimming, and freshly baked yuletide cookies and cakes. See the City of Light lit up for the season as you glide through Paris on the Seine, or follow a two-day tour of Berlin with a voyage along the Elbe to Prague. If an American holiday is more your style, opt for one of Viking's Mississippi River cruises with highlights like Creole dining in New Orleans and from-the-water views of nearby historic estates all aglow for the season. Disney Cruise Line Courtesy of Disney Cruise Line Disney Cruise Line takes magic to an entirely new level during its holiday sailings. The line's Very Merrytime Cruises depart from ports in Florida, California, and Texas and head to destinations ranging from the Bahamas to western Mexico — all with a flurry of holiday festivities along the way. Merrytime ships are transformed with festive decor (including a 24-foot Christmas tree), and offer a range of seasonal activities and entertainment. Beloved Disney characters dress in holiday attire for meet-and-greets, and Santa Claus makes appearances on most sailings. Cruises visiting Castaway Cay, Disney’s private island, offer even more festive fun, as the Bahamian paradise is decked out for the season with a Christmas tree and faux-snow flurries. The best part? This is all in addition to Disney Cruise Line's plentiful year-round perks. Norwegian Cruise Line Courtesy of Norwegian Cruise Line With sailings to six different continents, Norwegian Cruise Line gives guests plenty of options for a relaxing holiday, wherever they want to spend it. In addition to Christmas cruises, Norwegian offers New Year, Hanukkah, and even Thanksgiving sailings. On the latter, guests can sit back and relax as someone else prepares an unforgettable turkey dinner. Now that is a reason to be thankful. Christmas cruises add awe-inspiring decor, live performances, and a slew of onboard activities, like an ugly sweater contest and themed holiday trivia. Whether you want to sip eggnog by the pool or attend an onboard Christmas-carol singalong, Norwegian delivers plenty of reasons to set sail this season. Princess Cruises Courtesy of Princess Cruises Whether you're sailing to sunny Sydney or the Mexican Riviera, Princess Cruises promises a forecast that includes a daily snowfall. Don’t worry — these flurries aren't real, but they have become a staple of the line's holiday celebrations. After you’ve gotten in the spirit with your in-room virtual yule log, mingle with Santa Claus or be enchanted with holiday classics performed by the Yuletide Carolers. Guests can design keepsake ornaments or compete in a gingerbread house-making contest, while younger passengers can attend their very own holiday parties at the onboard youth centers. The line's Hanukkah sailings bring extra fun like menorah-lighting ceremonies, festive decor, themed crafts, and a reading of "Sammy Spider’s First Hanukkah." And if New Year's is your favorite winter holiday, Princess has cruises for that too, with special offerings including champagne-fueled New Year's Eve parties and big-screen telecasts of all the college football games happening on New Year's Day. Adventures by Disney River Cruises _ultraforma_/Getty Images River cruises may have a reputation of appealing to older travelers, but people of all ages are discovering they're a great way to travel. Adventures by Disney offers a range of family-friendly river cruises thanks to a partnership with AmaWaterways, and in the wintertime, three of their itineraries focus on Europe's historic Christmas markets. On these journeys, you'll glide along the Danube or Rhine rivers, making stops in countries like Germany, Austria, and France. Choose a Rhine voyage to see the canals of Amsterdam lit up for the holidays or a Danube trip featuring a shore excursion to a festive outdoor ice-skating rink in the heart of Vienna. No matter which itinerary you select, all meals are included, and you can partake in onboard activities such as gingerbread cookie decorating and a mulled wine tasting. Cunard Courtesy of Cunard Line A sophisticated British cruise line, Cunard takes an elevated approach to the holidays. Here, champagne is served in elegant crystal, and afternoon tea is accompanied by stollen and other traditional European Christmas cakes. Soak up the splendor of the onboard gingerbread village or sip eggnog as you enjoy deckside traditions like Christmas carolers, mince pies, and visits from Santa. After you gawk at the stunning Christmas tree in the Grand Lobby, you can visit the onboard luxury shops (like Liberty of London, Garrard jewelers, and more) to pick up last-minute gifts for your loved ones. Itineraries include the line's famous transatlantic crossings on the Queen Mary 2 in addition to other regional journeys across the globe, from Australia and New Zealand to the Caribbean and the Canary Islands. Royal Caribbean Courtesy of Royal Caribbean International From the moment you step aboard one of the line's winter cruises, Royal Caribbean kicks the holidays into overdrive. Every December sailing comes with Christmas and Hanukkah programming built in, so you can enjoy Royal Caribbean's unique brand of holiday cheer on more than 650 itineraries around the world. These voyages get the entire family involved with a range of activities, like gingerbread decorating classes and an ugly sweater party. There are special Christmas menus and a cookies-and-milk corner, plus holiday classics shown on the poolside movie screen. The traditional lighting of the ship’s massive tree has become a mainstay of the celebrations, while many can’t get enough of the annual holiday-themed version of their famous Bottomless Galley Brunch. Have fun and know you’re doing good by participating in a special walk for polar bears on the ship’s deck in support of the World Wildlife Fund’s Arctic program.