Merry Christmas to all you travel fanatics reading this very festive blog post! As I spend another Christmas under the sun here in Australia I can’t help but reminisce about last Christmas. No, I didn’t give away my heart and have it given away the very next day. On 22nd December of 2022, I embarked onto a Marella Discovery cruise ship from Bridgetown, Barbados ready to set sail for a Christmas adventure around the Caribbean. That’s two sunny Christmases in a row now, I could so get used to this.

Upon embarkment, I was handed my cabin keycard and even before the crew took us for a ship safety demonstration, the very first thing that they did was make me book myself in for a Christmas dinner. Christmas was in 3 days and they had a lot of preparation to do to ensure everything ran smoothly. Every evening of this 7 night cruise I would fall asleep and be woken up each day in a brand new Caribbean island. Except for the 25th of December, indeed Christmas Day. Christmas Day was a full day of being at sea which meant no passenger could disembark whilst the cruise ship travelled from Grenada to Antigua and Barbuda. Do you know what this means? If nobody could leave the ship then there’s only one place where 2000+ passengers could go… the top deck with the pool!!

Each day of the cruise you were able to be in your own space and most the passengers would venture off on different excursions on the various islands. Christmas Day was the only day you were all forced to spend time with everyone all crowded together. On what once looked like a massive cruise ship now deemed to mediocracy once filled with hundreds of passengers fighting each other for sun loungers on the deck. Nevertheless, the festive vibes were felt all over as the crew’s Christmas entertainment was spot on. I will never forget how I was sat on the edge of the pool dipping my legs in whilst taking a Christmas quiz and having a random woman mouthing the answers to me from her sun lounger. Evidently, she was having a great time sipping on a few too many of the all inclusive cocktails! Did we cheat on the quiz? Maybe. But did we cheat on our diets with the all inclusive bar? Absolutely! It’s all fun and games when you’re cruising the Caribbean waters with the sun glaring down and Christmas music blasting through the speakers. There was nothing but the vast ocean surrounding us, so our party cruise wasn’t disturbing anyone. Maybe just the sea life… who knows? However, If you ever end up doing what I was doing that Christmas Day, please oh, please remember to rotate your body. Do not sit stationary in one position for hours on end and let yourself get that distracted by Christmas entertainment. I remember this day so vividly and not only because it was a great way to spend Christmas but because I burnt my shoulder so severely with little idea that it was going to take me a whole 7 months to recover from. Stay safe in the sun, kids!

On the floor with the lunch buffet, there was a scrumptious, huge chocolate cake for all the passengers to enjoy as a Christmas treat. Now let me tell you that this cake was super spongy and perfectly sweetened, it was such a delight. I took one little slice to begin with and I thought I’d go back for more later. Rookie mistake on a cruise of 2000+ passengers, that cake was devoured and gone. Moral of the story, if it’s Christmas Day you should eat all the cake you want in one sitting. No regrets. The festive day came to an end with my pre-booked Christmas dinner. Nothing says I’m just a Brit on a Christmas cruise without it being a traditional roast dinner. We were all given Christmas crackers and when I pulled mine apart, out came a keychain with a little compass. How apt for being at sea and how that much more ironic that I’ve lost mine? Oops. When you are living on a ship, sometimes the waves are incredibly choppy meaning that even when you’re walking you feel off balance. Now imagine it was Christmas evening and you were looking at some of the passengers not walking in a straight line. Was it because they got a little too merry post dinner or was it entirely the ocean’s motion? Hilarious. People watching can be fun, you should try it!

At the end of the night I headed back to my cabin and indulged in the chocolate truffles left on my bed by housekeeping along with a Christmas bauble. I couldn’t think of a better present because as cheesy as it is, I collect Christmas baubles from each country I visit in hopes of one day having a home where I can put up a very festive Christmas Coun-Tree (Country)! Okay, that sounded better in my head.

Whether you are celebrating Christmas this year on land, air or ocean, I hope you have a great one! I would say I will be basking under the Australian sun but that would be a lie and I’m here to keep it real. You can find me basking under the fan.