How 19 Cruise Lines Deck the Halls, From Small Ships to Mega-Vessels
The holidays look a little different when you’re celebrating at sea, and that just might be the appeal. Instead of the usual seasonal stress, you’re treated to sparkling, stress-free festivities in faraway destinations aboard ships dressed in their December best. From intimate river vessels glowing with pine-scented charm to dazzling mega-ships decorated deck-to-deck, cruise lines around the world transform their fleets into floating winter wonderlands each year.
We’re exploring how 19 cruise lines deck the halls, highlighting the unique ways each one celebrates the season. Whether you’re dreaming of Europe’s magical Christmas markets, escaping to the sunny Caribbean, or indulging in a luxurious holiday at sea, let the festivities begin.
American Cruise Lines
American Cruise Lines offers a full lineup of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s sailings on itineraries including the Lower Mississippi, Florida Gulf Coast & Keys, Great Rivers of Florida, and the Southeast Sea Islands. On board, guests can expect festive décor like Christmas trees, lights, and menorahs. Additionally, onboard is lively seasonal programming, including cookie-making, gift exchanges, themed cocktail parties, and visits from Santa and Mrs. Claus.
Holiday meals are a centerpiece, with classic Thanksgiving spreads, Christmas feasts, and celebratory New Year’s dinners. Many ports visited during these holiday cruises amplify the spirit, especially in the South, where towns like Memphis, Houmas House, and Oak Alley feature gingerbread displays, holiday lights, and festivities reminiscent of European Christmas markets. The combination of onboard celebration and shoreside charm creates a full holiday experience in the United States.
Atlas Ocean Voyages
Atlas Ocean Voyages celebrates Christmas in the Antarctic region with festive programming that includes a Christmas Eve buffet, a traditional Christmas Day dinner, and nightly turndown surprises such as chocolates and petit fours. Holiday Champagne offerings add extra cheer.
Because Atlas operates in Antarctica during December, the crew hosts a humorous holiday talent show, complete with staff dressed as reindeer and a Santa who appears via Zodiac. Atlas Ocean Voyages brings holiday magic to the ends of the Earth!
Avalon
Avalon Waterways decorates its ships between mid- and late November, preparing them for festive and Christmas market sailings. Because the line stops operations just before Christmas, Avalon does not currently celebrate Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or New Year’s onboard.
Instead, you will enjoy Europe’s most iconic Christmas markets throughout late November and December, with beautifully decorated ships enhancing the seasonal experience.
Azamara Cruises
Azamara decorates its ships for the season just after Thanksgiving with gingerbread displays and holiday accents on main staircases. The line recognizes all major holidays, including Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and New Year’s Eve, supported by an onboard priest and rabbi who host religious services.
You can expect seasonal entertainment such as a Christmas show, caroling, crafts, and Azamara’s signature White Night, transformed into a late-night New Year’s Eve celebration complete with festive wearables. Santa and costumed cast members appear on Christmas morning with gifts for children. Future holiday sailings include itineraries throughout Italy, the Caribbean, and the French West Indies.
Celebrity Cruises
Throughout the season, Celebrity Cruises’ ships are decked out in winter décor. Seasonal activities might include holiday dance pop-ups, themed music, interdenominational services, officer-led caroling, tree-decorating events, and classic Christmas movies shown outdoors or on stateroom TVs. Holiday observances in the daily program include Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, and New Year’s, ensuring inclusivity for all.
Celebrity Cruises celebrates the season with special menus in main dining rooms for Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Eve, plus festive offerings in select specialty restaurants. New Year’s Eve is particularly memorable, featuring a fleet-wide gala party complete with favors and a complimentary champagne toast at midnight.
Cunard
Cunard’s ships become elegant holiday retreats starting the first days of December, with classic décor such as trees, wreaths, garlands, twinkling lights, and elaborate gingerbread displays.
Also onboard, you will enjoy traditional Christmas experiences like a festive Afternoon Tea, Christmas lunch with all the trimmings, carol singing, holiday movies and entertainment, and seasonal programming throughout the ship with Cunard’s signature White Star Service.
New Year’s Eve centers around Cunard’s glamorous ship-wide New Year’s Eve Ball, complete with live music and a midnight countdown, so don’t forget your formalwear.
European Waterways
European Waterways’ hotel barge Panache, with a 12-passenger maximum, offers intimate festive-season cruises through the Alsace region, operating three departures from late November into December. As the only cruise line offering such a small-group Christmas-market itinerary, Panache delivers a cozy, home-away-from-home atmosphere with seasonal décor and gourmet holiday meals prepared by the onboard chef.
You’ll experience European holiday traditions up close, from visiting Christmas markets to chocolate-making and festive shopping in storybook French Alsatian villages.
Explora Journeys
Explora Journeys offers a luxurious, unhurried holiday experience aboard EXPLORA I and EXPLORA II, sailing from Miami, Barcelona, Bridgetown, and Dubai.
Seasonal décor sets the mood for elegant celebrations, including live music, mixology classes, movie nights under the stars, and festive gatherings during port calls such as fireworks in San Juan. Kids enjoy holiday parades, Santa meet-and-greets, family discos, and a dedicated New Year’s Eve celebration at the Nautilus Club. Festive itineraries visit Christmas-perfect destinations throughout the Caribbean and Arabian Gulf.
Hapag-Lloyd Cruises
Hapag-Lloyd Cruises decorates its luxury ships with Christmas trees, handmade gingerbread houses, special menus, and a signature holiday cocktail. While exact decorating dates vary per ship, each is fully festive by early December.
Guests can expect refined holiday celebrations in true Hapag-Lloyd style, blending European traditions with elevated culinary and cultural touches.
Holland America Line
Holland America Line transforms its ships into floating winter wonderlands each December, making it easy for travelers to skip the stress of hosting while still enjoying beloved holiday traditions. The season features Feast of the Seven Fishes served at Canaletto on Christmas Eve, special Christmas Day dinners, New Year’s Eve champagne toasts, a visit from Santa at sea, Christmas carolers, a Nutcracker-themed afternoon tea, and holiday services. You’ll also enjoy cookie decorating and special programming throughout the voyage.
Holiday itineraries include sailings such as a Baja Peninsula Holiday, a Southern Caribbean Holiday, and a Panama Canal Holiday. With Holland America Line, you don’t need to sacrifice festive magic to avoid holiday mayhem—cruising with them in December gives you the best of both worlds.
Hurtigruten
Hurtigruten fully decorates its ships at the start of December, embracing Norwegian Christmas traditions and keeping decorations up through New Year’s. Celebrations include Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, “Second Christmas Day,” and New Year’s Eve, with space available for all personal observances.
Onboard, you’ll enjoy gingerbread decorating, non-alcoholic gløgg, carols with crew and guests, and visits to Christmas markets in select ports, all set against landscapes of polar nights and snowy coastlines. There’s always a possibility of seeing the Northern Lights!
Holiday meals aboard Hurtigruten feature regional Scandinavian favorites such as lutefisk, ribbe, and pinnekjøtt. New Year’s Eve includes a gala dinner, dancing, and views of coastal fireworks right from the ship.
Margaritaville at Sea
Margaritaville at Sea is perfect for stress-free holiday escapes where flip-flops replace snow boots. The cruise line offers endless tropical cheer for the holidays, as it Decks the Hulls, fully decorating both ships—Paradise and Islander—by early December. Light the menorah nightly during Hanukkah, and join an island-inspired take on Christmas with Very Merry Margaritaville at Sea.
You can Sing the Sea-Son as you join festive sing-alongs, tune into Festive Flicks, Flip-Flop Style watching outdoor holiday movies, Sip into the Season with a seasonal Mistletoe Margarita or Candy Cane Colada, participate in ugly sweater contests during Sweater Weather, Island Edition, test your knowledge with themed trivia, join craft sessions, and enjoy playful caroling with a Margaritaville twist.
New Year’s Eve features a lively deck party and a champagne toast at midnight. Sailings range from two-night Bahamas getaways to four-night voyages to Key West, Grand Bahama, or Cozumel.
MSC Cruises
MSC Cruises celebrates Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, and New Year’s with a wide range of entertainment for adults, families, and kids. Adults can enjoy activities such as a MasterChef Christmas Edition competition—where the winner may advance to casting for the TV show—Christmas karaoke, and a festive MSC Christmas production. New Year’s Eve brings themed parties, costume elements, confetti cannons, and countdowns shown across ship screens.
For families, MSC goes all-out: Santa personally delivers gifts to every child aged 0–11, and a special MSC-original short film celebrates his arrival onboard. For kids, a Doremix Xmas season includes Christmas discos, a kids’ parade starring the Doremi characters, a Doremi & Lego Sailor village with games, line dances, and a lot of Xmas Magic.
Whether sailing toward Caribbean sunshine or Northern Europe’s Christmas markets, MSC’s fleet-wide celebrations create a joyful atmosphere for every traveler.
Norwegian Cruise Line
Norwegian Cruise Line embraces the holidays with trees and garlands throughout its ships, festive Christmas menus, and special family events. Sailings over Hanukkah, Christmas, and New Year’s offer warm-weather getaways to destinations like the Bahamas and Caribbean.
NCL keeps the atmosphere cheerful throughout December with themed entertainment and holiday touches across the fleet.
Regent Seven Seas Cruises
Regent Seven Seas Cruises transforms its ultra-luxury ships into elegant holiday showpieces, with towering atrium Christmas trees, festive floral arrangements, sparkling garlands, an intricate hand-crafted gingerbread village, and a striking display for the Hanukkah menorah lighting. The seasonal atmosphere extends throughout the ship with cozy spaces for holiday cocktails and entertainment ranging from musical revues to cabaret-style performances.
Holiday dining is a standout. Christmas Eve features European classics like Scandinavian gravlax and German Christmas goose, while Christmas Day brings a menu of American favorites, including Christmas gumbo duck and roasted turkey with chestnut stuffing. Bars pour festive drinks such as the cranberry “Santa Clausmopolitan” and eggnog, and Coffee Connection serves seasonal coffees and hot chocolate. Guests can also enjoy Christmas and Hanukkah services, festive trivia, and live performances.
New Year’s Eve reaches new indulgent heights with a special gala menu that includes surf and turf with beef tenderloin and lobster tail, and a nostalgic baked Alaska. A dedicated champagne experience leads into the midnight countdown. Across its holiday sailings through 2027, Regent pairs lavish seasonal décor with its signature “Epicurean Perfection” for a truly luxurious celebration at sea.
Riverside Luxury Cruises
Riverside Luxury Cruises brings understated elegance to the season, decorating ships just after Thanksgiving and keeping them festive through New Year’s. Christmas cookies are often available throughout the day, and returning from excursions means being met with warm glühwein, roasted chestnuts, or boozy hot chocolate. The small, thoughtful touches that feel distinctly European will add to your holiday joy.
You may also encounter surprises, such as a crew-created mini Christmas market onboard and spirited New Year’s Eve celebrations. Holiday dining on Riverside ships leans into classic comforts, such as an impressive tableside-carved turkey and all the season's trimmings.
Riviera travel
Riviera Travel decorates its river cruise ships beginning with late November sailings and keeps them festive through New Year’s. The cruise line recognizes Christmas and New Year’s with beautifully adorned ships, live folk music, glasses of glühwein, and visits to charming European Christmas markets.
Enjoy Riviera’s signature five-star dining on all holiday itineraries, including a captain’s dinner on the final evening. The cruise line’s December sailings offer an intimate, atmospheric way to experience Europe’s most beloved seasonal traditions.
Silversea Cruises
Silversea’s holiday sailings span the globe, from the Caribbean and South America to the Mediterranean, Australia, and polar expeditions. Enjoy festive tree-lighting ceremonies, Christmas carols on Christmas Eve, Silversea’s signature Christmas Show, an interdenominational Christmas Eve church service, a Hanukkah menorah lighting ceremony, holiday trivia, themed music, and more. The onboard celebrations continue into New Year’s Eve.
Sailings offer a luxurious and intimate way to celebrate the season, with opportunities to explore Christmas markets, enjoy warm-weather festivities, and even spend the holidays admiring glaciers in Antarctica or volcanoes in the Galápagos.
Windstar Cruises
Windstar Cruises transforms its yachts into festive holiday hideaways throughout December, with décor including garlands, gingerbread villages, and Christmas trees. Holiday music fills common areas and Christmas movies appear on in-room TVs all month long. On sailings over December 25, guests receive seasonal treats such as Christmas cookies, candy canes, mandarin oranges, and chocolate candies, while Christmas-themed cocktails arrive on menus beginning around December 10.
The holiday dining is a standout, beginning with a decadent Christmas Eve dinner featuring slow-roasted prime rib and a show-stopping Christmas Pudding Soufflé. On Christmas Day, guests enjoy complimentary eggnog with gingerbread loaf, a holiday lunch with honey-glazed ham, and the beloved Christmas High Tea accompanied by live music. Christmas dinner offers options like whole-roasted turkey, butter-poached lobster tail, and a vegetarian mushroom Wellington, plus a lineup of festive desserts, including a chocolate Bûche de Noël.
Windstar’s holiday programming is extensive, including letters to “Santa at Sea,” Christmas trivia, carol-filled cocktail hours, a Christmas game show, an interdenominational service, a lively Ugly Sweater Party, “Name That Tune” sing-alongs, a festive crew show, and a “Very Merry Mingle” with guests, officers, and crew. Hanukkah is celebrated with nightly guest-led menorah lighting featuring printed blessings, while New Year’s Eve brings a celebratory dinner and midnight toast, deck party, games, and a maritime tradition in which the oldest crew member rings out the year and the youngest rings in the new one.
Deck the Halls While Cruising
Whether you book a seasonal sailing for this December or next, the magic of the season surely sparkles at sea no matter the cruise line that’s right for you. Whether sipping glühwein during a Christmas markets river cruise or toasting with a Santa Clausmopolitan on an ocean vessel, welcoming the spirit of the season is best—and least stressful—while cruising.
