Christmas and winter cruises can make great cold-weather getaways for families. This provides a chance to bond together on a cruise ship over the holidays.

It can also be a great way to gather several family members or friends together in one spot for Christmas, Hanukkah or New Year's Eve. You can even spend some together time with in-laws, parents, grandparents and siblings on board, while getting intimate time with your spouse and children in ports of call.

Schools and colleges have extended breaks at this time. The cruise industry has discovered that this is a great season to target families, and many are offering Christmas, winter, Hanukkah or New Year's Eve themed cruises. They include:

• Norwegian Cruise Lines, which features 13 holiday and winter cruises to the Caribbean, Hawaii, Mexican Riviera and South America. They depart from diverse ports, including Houston, New York, New Orleans, Miami and Charleston. The holiday cruises include Christmas crafts for kids, Santa Claus handing out gifts and caroling from the crew.
• Princess Cruise Line features various holiday itineraries sailing to spots like the Caribbean, Australia and New Zealand or the South Pacific. The ships are decorated for the Christmas holidays, a Rabbi is on board for Hanukkah services and New Year's Eve festivities include midnight celebrations and televised college football bowl games.
• Disney Cruise Line seems like a natural choice for a holiday family cruise, but they surprisingly have just one holiday itinerary. This is a 10-day Caribbean cruise departing Port Canaveral, Florida.
• Holland America Cruise Line offers a guaranteed white Christmas with its Antarctica holida cruise. They also feature cruise itineraries over the holidays to the Caribbean, Australia and Mexico.

Related articles:

Halloween Cruise | Indoor Water Parks in Winter | Family-Friendly Cruises | Ride the Polar Express | Ice Hockey Stadium Road Trip

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