Kids on a beach, friends celebrating the new year, festive cookie on a bed of sweets sprinkles

Holiday Celebrations at Sea

A variety of holiday activities on board offer fun for the whole family. Don’t forget to pack your festive outfits and take part in the holiday cheer! Enjoy games & activities including:

  • Stanley breakfast event – wear your family pajamas
  • Storytime with Stanley
  • Holiday family fun fair
  • Holiday themed PJ party
  • Ugly sweater party
  • Gingerbread house making*
  • Santa gift giving
  • Snow in the Piazza
  • Family snowman building competition*

*Subject to availability


Christmas Cruises

Take a Christmas cruise with Princess

Santa Clause resting in a lounge chair on the deck of a cruise ship

Regardless of where you're sailing, it actually snows in the Atrium of your decked‐out Princess ship. And of course, Santa visits each of our ships for gift giving — we offer cookies for him, and carrots for his reindeer. Experience the Christmas tree lighting and mingle with Kris Kringle as Yuletide Carolers sing joyful classics onboard your ship. And our very own Stanley the bear joins in on the fun for holiday storytime and breakfast event. Don't forget to pack and wear your family holiday matching pajamas!

View Holiday cruises

couple sharing breakfast on the balcony of their stateroom

But it’s warm and toasty on-board a Princess ship! Enjoy Christmas on a cruise ship as you sip eggnog, compete in a magical gingerbread house‐making contest, snowman building competition or design a special keepsake ornament. Revel in the Ugly Sweater party (don't forget to pack it!), Holiday Family Fun Fair, and countless joyful activities await you on your holiday cruise.

View Holiday cruises

kids splashing about in shallow water

The most wonderful time of the year should be wonderful for everyone. That’s why Princess, voted the best cruise line for multigenerational families (Portholes) offers the best Christmas cruises for families and guests of all ages. Kids can go play in our youth and teen centers, where they’ll enjoy fun holiday parties (and you’ll enjoy evening kid-sitting for a nominal fee so parents can celebrate a festive night out too!). Then the whole family can reunite for a stress-free Christmas dinner, feasting on a delicious banquet while cherishing each other’s company.

View Holiday cruises

Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, and New Year's Cruises

orange-coloured autumn leaves in a pile

Enjoy lovely autumn décor, take part in a Turkey Calling Contest, and add a special message to our annual Tree of Thanks in the ship's Atrium.

View Thanksgiving cruises

wicker cornucupia filled with small gourds, maize on the cob and grapes.

Leave the cooking to Princess, and join us for an elaborate traditional holiday feast in the dining room, complete with all the trimmings.

View Thanksgiving cruises

couple sitting together and watching outdoor film screen

What would Thanksgiving be without American football? Watch the games on our Films Under the Stars® outdoor big screen.

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menorah and wrapped gifts set on a table

The Festival of Lights burns brightly with a menorah‐lighting ceremony, themed crafts, festive décor and special events, like a reading of Sammy Spider's First Hanukkah on the first night of Hanukkah.

View Hanukkah celebration cruises

plated latkes resting on a table

Enjoy traditional Hanukkah delicacies specially prepared by our professional chefs, such as potato latkes and gefilte fish. You can even pre-order kosher meals!

View Hanukkah celebration cruises

couple dressed in formal wear, embracing while celebrating the new year

Take a New Year's cruise. Count down and count your blessings on the biggest night of the year with a special New Year’s Eve dinner followed by a midnight celebratory Champagne toast.

View New Year's cruises

The Best Holiday Cruises — All Year Round

  • Mark the beginning of the Lunar New Year, with time–honoured traditions for an immersive experience. Our Chinese New Year celebrations include symbolic red decorations that adorn the Piazza, mythological Lion Dancers thrill spectators, and much more.

    View Chinese New Year cruises

  • Love, life’s sweetest reward, is celebrated with hearts and flowers and special touches throughout the ship. On-board, you can make a card for your sweetheart, send a singing telegram, renew your vows, watch themed Films Under the Stars, and so much more.

    View Valentine's Day cruises

  • Celebrations of hope and springtime abound during this holy period. On-board, you can participate in a Seder service, sit down with family for a traditional Easter dinner, and enjoy special visits from the Easter Bunny, and a sweets egg hunt.

    View Easter & Passover cruises

  • What’s the #1 travel gift moms want? A Mother's day cruise. Celebrate and pamper mum on-board with a relaxing spa treatment, a specially-themed balcony breakfast, complimentary sparkling wine and a rose at dinner, and much more.

    View Mother's Day cruises

  • Watch the big game on our giant Films Under the Stars screen, complete with grilled burgers and craft beers on deck. Treat your special dad to a hand–cut steak cooked to order at the Crown Grill. Celebrate the day with a whiskey tasting at the Wheelhouse Bar. It will be a Father’s Day he never forgets!

    View Father's Day cruises

  • Halloween on a Princess cruise ship promises more treats than tricks. Delight in spooky décor while carving pumpkins in the Princess Piazza. Ghostly grown-ups can attend our Halloween Fright Night Party, while little pumpkins can enjoy a costume parade, scavenger hunt, and, of course, lots of sweets!

    View Halloween cruises

#PrincessCruises Celebration Moments

View photos from our guests that capture their onboard celebrations.

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