Christmas Cruise
For the first time ever, my children were happy to not be home for Christmas and had alternative plans, so I could happily avoid all the shopping (and over spending), the food preparation and cooking and the cleaning up afterwards!
We decided on a Caribbean Cruise so we could enjoy some sunshine, and our choice of cruise line was Princess Cruises and the gorgeous Crown Princess. We boarded in Fort Lauderdale for a 10 night cruise of the Caribbean and visited several beautiful islands.
My absolute favourite was Bonaire which I knew very little about before this trip. It is a Dutch owned island and is very laid back with magnificent beaches and lovely little villages. I learned you can fly direct to here from Amsterdam so who knows, I might get back for a closer look someday! We also had stops in St. Thomas, Dominica, Grenada and Curacao.
Everywhere we went, the people were wonderful and so welcoming. Christmas decorations and trees everywhere and a real Christmas spirit in everyone we met.
The service on board the ship was amazing and the crew pulled out all the stops to ensure we were spoiled rotten from day one.
The ship was beautifully decorated for Christmas and we enjoyed carol singing on Christmas Eve and a magnificent Gala dinner on Christmas night.
Disembarking back in Fort Lauderdale was a sad occasion - I definitely would have gone around again!
I would highly recommend getting away for Christmas occasionally and a Caribbean Cruise will certainly tick all the boxes if you like warm weather, blue skies and seas, wonderful food and entertainment and the chance to see new and exciting destinations.
Roll on next December!