Get closer to Santa with a Christmas cruise to Scandinavia

Arline Bleecker | Special to the Sentinel
Posted November 13, 2005
Will Santa bring you more presents if he doesn't have to travel so far to find you?
You can celebrate Christmas closer to the North Pole by hitching a ride on Norwegian Coastal Voyage's 674-passenger Troll-fjord. The ship will ply a 12-day cruise in the Land of the Midnight Sun from Bergen to Kirkenes, beginning Dec. 18.
Snow-clad landscapes will shimmer with yuletide decorations that light cities along the cruise's 1,250-mile route, which will include calls in Copenhagen, Bergen and Oslo.

Package fares -- starting at $4,010 per person, double occupancy -- include round-trip flights from New York, two-night stays at first-class hotels with breakfast in Copenhagen and Oslo, plus Danish and Norwegian buffet Christmas dinners and a farewell feast. Among excursions included: a yuletide-church concert and visits to Tivoli Gardens, the Christmas markets in Copenhagen, the colorful fish and flower markets in Bergen and three city tours.
For details, call 1-800-323-7436 or visit norwegiancoastal voyage.us.

If the thought of Christmas in cold climes sends shivers up your spine, you may prefer to play among palms in the Caribbean instead.
Crystal Cruises will set a plate for you during its Hanukkah, Christmas and New Year's sailings on either of its two luxury vessels, Serenity or Symphony. Two-week warm-weather voyages set sail from the west and east coasts, respectively.
Serenity will depart Los Angeles on Dec. 21 on a round-trip cruise that calls in San Diego and in cities in Mexico, including Cabo San Lucas, Acapulco, Zihuatanejo, Puerto Vallarta (overnight), Mazatlan and La Paz; fares from $6,425.
Symphony, departing Dec. 22, will sail round-trip from Fort Lauderdale to Key West, stopping at Aruba, Dutch West Indies; Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles; Barbados and St. Lucia, West Indies; St. Barts, French West Indies; St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands; and Nassau, Bahamas; fares from $5,600.
Crystal shells out more than $100,000 annually for yuletide decorations from stunning handcrafted ornaments and ornate sleighs to twinkling trees. Ships also feature elaborate menorahs. Clergy on board each ship will conduct a Christmas Eve Mass or a Protestant Christmas Eve service; a rabbi will conduct Hanukkah services.
Call 1-888-799-4625 or visit crystalcruises.com.

Christmas elsewhere
In the sail-vessel category, Windstar Cruises' (1-800-258-7245; windstarcruises.com) Wind Surf and Wind Spirit will sail round-trip from Barbados on 10- and 11-day Christmas and New Year's itineraries to uncommon destinations such as Roseau, Mayreau and off-the-beaten-path charmers such as Bequia, in the Grenadines; as well as to popular Tobago and Guadeloupe. Fares start at $4,180.

Holiday getaways are designed to relieve you of the hard work of preparing for year-end festivities. They have become so popular that Carnival Cruise Lines even advertises its sailings as the ideal Christmas gift. In fact, all lines cater to the season with garlands and bows, choruses of carolers, traditional meals including turkey and mince pie, and special festivities.
For instance, British-based Swan Hellenic (1-877-800-7926; swanhellenic.com) will present Christmas-themed Shakespearean performances aboard the Minerva II, along with Christmas readings and caroling.
Luxe-line Radisson Seven Seas (1-877-505-5370; rssc.com) gets into the spirit with holiday cruises in the Caribbean, Panama Canal/Mexican Riviera, and French Polynesia. Five of the line's eight holiday sailings will offer free programs for youngsters ages 5 to 17. Such age-appropriate activities as ornament-making and gingerbread cookie baking are designed to keep kids occupied while their parents make merry.
The fleet of mass-market ships gets decked out for the holidays too. On Royal Caribbean's (1-866-562-7625; royalcaribbean.com) cruises, an "interview" with the captain will reveal how Santa finds the ship to deliver presents -- followed by a visit from a gift-bearing Santa himself. The line's popular children's program includes Christmas story readings, crafts and caroling.
Princess (1-800-774-6237; princesscruises.com) will celebrate the holidays around the globe with ships in the waters of the Caribbean, Mexico, the Panama Canal, Australia, Asia, South America, Hawaii and the South Pacific -- vessels trimmed from stem to stern in holiday decor, with wreaths, holly and mistletoe. And, of course, Christmas trees which, according to the line, will even decorate the masts of some ships.