Choosing a cruise ship for the December holidays

Santa met us at the embarkation gangway.

He was five days early for gift-giving, but he set the tone for a two-week holiday cruise to the Caribbean. Behind him on Oceania’s Riviera, docked last December in Miami, four carolers, dressed in English style from the Dickens era, sang for each new group of passengers checking in.

Don’t plan a holiday cruise to get away from it all, if “all” includes the seasonal music, pots of poinsettias, and a Christmas goose served in the main dining room.

While some cruise lines do more than others to hark and herald, most ships are decked out for the December holidays, and elevators are awash in seasonal tunes.