Christmas Caribbean Celebrations

Sun, sea and Santa Claus: My Caribbean Christmas

Christmas on a Caribbean cruise? It’s at the top of our wish list. Magda, a guest on Arvia, tells us all about her unforgettable festive family escape with her husband Brent and daughter Joanna

4 min 08 Aug 2025

Magdalena

Author

Christmas Day

Christmas Day on board Arvia was the most relaxing we’ve ever experienced. The magic started the night before with a Christmas Eve party, where we watched Father Christmas land on board and climb the ship’s funnel! Partying with Santa’s elves into the night, under the Caribbean sky, was something we will remember forever.

Christmas Day began with opening presents in our cabin, followed by a sit-down breakfast at Arvia’s Freedom dining restaurant Aqua (we joined the virtual queue using the My Holiday app while we opened presents). Breakfast was followed by pool time. Imagine relaxing by the pool, jazzy Christmas music playing in the background, while you dip your toes in the cool waters and sip a piña colada – now that’s a great combination!

The day’s entertainment was perfect. There was a Christmas carol service with the captain and crew in the Grand Atrium, and a pantomime in Headliners Theatre starring Santa’s elves.

From the Grand Atrium to SkyDome to the bars and restaurants, Arvia was decorated beautifully. There were nautical-themed Christmas trees dotted around amongst the more traditionally decorated ones, and spotting them made for a fun activity with my daughter.

Everyone on board was mindful of the hard work the crew put in during this busy period, always going the extra mile to make the festivities special for everyone.

Magical moments for children

The ship pulled out all the stops to make the whole holiday really special for children. Before Christmas, every child received a personal letter from Santa with an invitation and a time to meet him in the Grand Atrium to receive a special gift, which was a hit with all the kids. Santa was joined by his helpful elves on board, who could be spotted around the ship and were very happy to chat to the children and spread festive cheer. The same elves were then seen at the pantomime, which made it even more special for my daughter, who recognised them on the stage. The captain also held Christmas story time in the Grand Atrium for a rapt sea of young (and not-so-young!) faces.

A traditional wintry Christmas in Norway

The gift of sunshine

Spending Christmas on board in the Caribbean was truly about relaxing and celebrating – we came back feeling energised with our vitamin D topped up. Seeing the Christmas trees and decorations across the islands was amazing: Barbados had a special tree display with each tree representing different countries, and all decorations were made by local school children.

One of our favourite memories is taking a photo on a picture-perfect Antigua beach wearing our Christmas hats – it’s certainly not something we’ve done in December before!

A fabulous festive feast

Before we sailed, all guests were asked via email to send our dining preferences for Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve dinners, so we knew ahead of time where and when we would be eating on those days. For Christmas we opted for Club dining, and it had everything we could have wished for – a three-course meal, a bottle of wine on the house, Christmas crackers with paper crowns and Christmas-themed activity sheets for children. The food was delicious and the dessert was to die for! Little ones had their own menu to choose from, if Christmas roast wasn’t what they fancied on the day.

Seeing all guests big and small all dressed up was a very special and unique experience. We felt lucky to have been able to celebrate Christmas on board.

Unwrapping memories

When it comes to packing gifts, I’d suggest bringing presents that include very little packaging to save as much space as possible in your luggage. To limit the amount of waste, I wrapped our gifts in one big parcel each rather than individually. And only pack presents you can enjoy using straight away – there’s no point in opening something just to put away and bring it back home with you again! We personally opted to pack a couple of gifts each, with the big ones waiting at home under the tree for when we got back.

And it wasn’t just the children who received gifts from Santa on board. The grown-ups got a gift too, including chocolate and a P&O Cruises bauble, which we will cherish for the years to come to remember our Caribbean Christmas.

Ringing in the New Year

New Year’s Eve celebrations on board started with a celebratory dinner. We made our choices before embarking and ate in 6th Street Diner. It had a special Wallace & Gromit theme, which was a hit with my daughter. It was totally stress free and a delicious meal, as always.

Our daughter went to the Children’s Club following the meal to celebrate with her friends. They got all dressed up and had their own disco and a special movie time. Us adults celebrated with a fancy cocktail at Crow’s Nest, with the soft music of a pianist twinkling in the air, followed by a silent disco in the Grand Atrium (always a good fun!) and a sing-along, finishing in SkyDome, where with the roof open, we counted down to midnight under the Caribbean sky.