Thanksgiving on a cruise seems like a great idea. I wouldn’t have to stress about cooking a multi-course meal on time to please my in-laws. More importantly, I won’t have to clean up after the party. I wouldn’t have to spend the weekend coming up with fun ways to entertain the kids while avoiding overcrowded stores. I could trade the cold Northeast for the warm Caribbean.
The thing is, once you replace a family holiday with a family holiday, it doesn’t really feel like Thanksgiving anymore.
Here’s how Thanksgiving Day plays out during Carnival Celebration, and what happens if you decide to ditch the dishes and set sail during your November holiday break.
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Thanks giving day
Many people start Thanksgiving with the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, continue with the National Dog Show, and end with a soccer game. Ours Carnival Cruise ships follow two of three traditions, broadcasting the parade and NFL games on giant poolside LED screens (as well as on all the big and small TV screens spread throughout Heroes Bar and Pig & Anchor Smokehouse Brewhouse). The ship’s entertainment staff also organized a turkey hunt and turkey quiz.
However, I’m not sure many people who were on board appreciated their efforts.
You see, when I signed up for this cruise, I assumed Thanksgiving would fall on a rough day. That’s often the case on Christmas excursions when you usually spend Christmas Day at sea; this is because tour operators also take their days off to spend time with their families and are not willing to take you snorkeling or drive you around their city.
However, Thanksgiving coincided with our visit to Amber Bay in the Dominican Republic, as well as on the day we booked a day tour. My family got off the train at 8:30am and didn’t board until 3pm. We miss everything but football, which has never been our tradition from the beginning.
During our tour, I sent my mom pictures of my family wearing helmets and life jackets to slide down the Damajagua waterfall and with the squirrel monkeys above us at Monkeyland in Puerto Plata. Then it occurred to me to wish her and my dad a happy Thanksgiving. I forgot it was a holiday. It just felt like another day on our itinerary – especially because we were on vacation and not because of Turkey Day.
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It doesn’t help that the ship isn’t decorated for Thanksgiving. I was expecting seasonal decorations in public areas or the specially advertised pumpkin spice latte at the JavaBlue cafe, but couldn’t find a single pumpkin or bale of hay. I met a woman in an elevator wearing a Charlie Brown Thanksgiving t-shirt, and some of the train mates supporting their team playing Thanksgiving Day games by wearing football jerseys. sex. Also, our room manager left a turkey towel on our bed (which was interesting).
The most holiday-like moment has arrived as the Carnival Celebration is leaving the pier at Amber Cove. We docked across from sister ship Carnival Freedom, and many guests on both ships went out to balconies and top decks to watch the sails set sail. People started waving and calling “Happy Thanksgiving!” for each other. In that moment, I feel grateful that, even in an age where cruise ships are tricked with roller coasters and water parks, people still enjoy the simple pleasure of waving to strangers. when a ship goes out to sea.
thanksgiving dinner
In our home, the most important thing about Thanksgiving is dinner. My husband and I love to cook, and so does his family. So you can expect homemade cranberry pies and sauces, creative stuffing recipes, and lots of sides. I really like turkey, especially when it’s loaded with sides, and I love making sandwiches using all the leftover Thanksgiving treats the following weekend.
I’m excited to see how the Masquerade will pull off all stops for Thanksgiving dinner, served at dinnertime in the main dining room as usual.
It wasn’t an official night, which I found surprising, but I guess the Carnival needed to match the sports team’s attire. Anyway, I forced my family to dress up a bit because I was in a festive mood. The main dining room is also not beautifully decorated; I don’t see Thanksgiving decorations or other nods to the holiday.
The menu, accessible only on our phones, has an autumn leaf design and appears to be longer than a regular dinner menu. The only dish for Thanksgiving, however, is slow-roasted turkey, served with tortilla sauce, bourbon honey yams, gravy, and cranberry sauce. For dessert, opt for pecans or pumpkin pie or a holiday snack with gingerbread cookies, pumpkin mascarpone ice cream, and prunes (plus no added sugar).
I’ll be honest: I ordered the turkey to see how well the Thanksgiving Festival did… and then ordered the vegetarian Indian dish of nizami paneer (a dish made with Indian cheese) and malai saag (a spinach dish) because I love the festival of Indian Food Festival. My husband ordered the sweet tea-soaked pork ribs, my son ordered the pan-seared beef steak and the shrimp BBQ N’awlins from our tablemate. My daughter declared she wasn’t hungry, didn’t like the noisy dining room and went back to the cabin. (Too much for a family dinner.)
For dessert, I ordered a Thanksgiving dessert because it’s not a holiday if you have to choose. My husband and son ordered Carnival’s famous molten chocolate cake.
I start my meal with iced fruit and a green salad because there’s nothing green on that Thanksgiving plate – no chickpea casserole or cranberry and pecans salad.
When my Thanksgiving plate arrived, the presentation was amazing. It looked like a cafeteria, with scoops of yams and fillings, a pile of sliced turkey next to a stuffed turkey roulade that wasn’t on the menu, and cranberry sauce in a metal plate. . While I found the meal to be edible – and it’s hard to go wrong with the mashed sweet potatoes – both the gravy and cranberry sauce were watery, the turkey was dull and the stuffing was nothing short of innovative.
Indian food has more flavor, but I’ve had other Indian meals during Masquerade that I liked better.
I hope dessert will make up for the meal – and then think about how often pastries aren’t served for dessert on cruise ships. Pecan pie is my favorite, but the crust has no taste, and I make better fillings than the Carnival chefs. The pumpkin pie comes with a lovely carrot-shaped meringue, but it’s also nothing short of outstanding. The little holiday gift isn’t holiday-inspired in any way, and I don’t think it’s made with pumpkin and prunes. (It has a distinct strawberry flavor.)
Lesson learned: No matter what holiday it is, when on a Carnival cruise, order a melted chocolate cake. You can never go wrong with that approach.
Then, when my daughter finally got hungry and I took her out for a traditional Thanksgiving meal of hot dogs and roast beef sandwiches, we walked into the Pig & Anchor area; it was packed with people watching football and having Guy Fieri smoked dinners. Obviously, this is Thanksgiving victory dinner, and next time I’ll have to pack up a New England Patriots jersey, get a Carnival-specific Dry Pig IPA, and cheer for the offense (both teams, doesn’t really matter) with my new family journey.
Please don’t expect me at the Turkish Trot on deck tomorrow. Instead, we’ll gobble up a breakfast of Green Eggs and Ham.
Pros and cons of spending Thanksgiving on a cruise
Let’s ignore the cons so we can finish on a high note. The downside of spending Thanksgiving on a cruise ship is that it may not be the same as Thanksgiving. Because the Caribbean doesn’t celebrate U.S. Thanksgiving, there likely won’t be a wreath of fall foliage or pumpkin spice daiquiris. In fact, I saw several Christmas trees and mangers on display in the port. Your ship may or may not be decorated, and depending on the route you take, a turkey dinner may not be the best item on the menu.
On the other hand, setting sail over the Thanksgiving holiday is a great way to get a week off without missing too many school or work days. You can easily find something fun for you and your family to do together, and you’ll likely create more memories than if you were cooking at home.
Speaking of which, not having to do the Thanksgiving chores – cleaning the house, cooking, having polite conversations with family or parents-in-law, washing the dishes – can be the best part of the whole holiday. Vacation. If you want to spend your vacation alone, cruises are a great way to surround yourself with friendly people and get auto-dinner friends.
Personally, I think I prefer Thanksgiving at home, but I also enjoy my family and my parents-in-law, which not everyone can do. If I were planning a Thanksgiving excursion in a year, I’d do a little more research on Thanksgiving activities and maybe pick a more gourmet-oriented line so that I could serve them better. A sumptuous feast on the holiday.
That said, my family had a pretty memorable Thanksgiving full of time, food, and fun together. I’m definitely grateful for that.
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