Christmas and New Year Cruises 2026: 10 Festive Voyages Still Worth Booking

A cruise solves most of the hard parts of Christmas. Nobody has to cook, nobody has to drive, the decorations are someone else’s problem, and on New Year’s Eve you can watch the fireworks from the deck and be in bed five minutes later. It is also one of the busiest times of the year at sea, so the best sailings sell out first.

To find what is still worth booking, we went through every cruise departing between 17 and 31 December 2026 in our own cruise search, more than 1,100 sailings, and picked ten festive ideas with real departures. Fares are the lowest per-person prices we saw in early October 2026. Christmas sailings move fast, so ask us for live availability before you set your heart on one.

1. Christmas in the Canaries, from Southampton

This is the most popular festive cruise for British travellers, and for good reason: you leave from Southampton, wake up somewhere warm by Christmas, and come home in the new year without having seen an airport.

Queen Anne is Cunard’s newest ship, and a Cunard Christmas does tradition properly: carols, a beautifully decorated Grand Lobby, Christmas lunch with all the trimmings and black-tie gala evenings. Iona is a big, lively, modern ship with lots of restaurants and a more relaxed feel, which makes her a good choice for families and mixed groups. Both cover the Canaries and Madeira, where December days are typically in the low 20s Celsius.

2. New Year’s Eve fireworks in Madeira

Funchal’s New Year’s Eve fireworks are among the most famous in the world, launched from points all around the city’s natural amphitheatre of a bay. Seeing them from a ship anchored in the harbour, surrounded by dozens of other vessels sounding their horns at midnight, is one of the great cruise experiences.

Fred. Olsen’s Balmoral is a mid-sized ship with a very British atmosphere, and this sailing builds the whole voyage around that night, with Christmas in the Canaries first. Other lines also time New Year sailings for Funchal, so ask us if you would like options.

Midnight in Funchal harbour, with fireworks on every hillside and every ship’s horn sounding, is a New Year you will not forget.

3. A short festive break

Not everyone wants two weeks away. A short cruise from a UK port is a lovely way to add some festive sparkle without using all your annual leave.

Ambassador’s four-night sailing from Tilbury, in Essex, is perfect for the run-up to Christmas, with time in Bruges and Amsterdam while the Christmas markets are in full swing, and it is the cheapest festive cruise on this list. Cunard’s Queen Victoria sailing is the one for New Year: dress up for a gala evening, see in 2027 at sea and spend a day in Amsterdam.

4. A Christmas markets river cruise

The Christmas markets of Austria and Germany are at their best in the last week before Christmas, and a river cruise lets you hop between them without packing and unpacking. Vienna’s markets, in front of the Rathaus and around Schönbrunn Palace, are the grandest; little Dürnstein in the Wachau Valley is the most picturesque.

The Danube sailings are short, good value and easy to reach via a flight to Munich, Salzburg or Vienna. If you would like to spend Christmas Day itself on the river, CroisiEurope’s Rhine sailing from Strasbourg runs over the holiday, and Strasbourg’s own market, one of the oldest in Europe, is worth arriving early for. Our Rhine river cruise guide and Danube guide compare the lines.

5. Christmas and New Year in the Caribbean

For guaranteed sunshine, the Caribbean is the classic Christmas escape, and December is the start of its dry season. Christmas lunch on a sun deck and New Year’s Eve under the stars is about as far from a British December as you can get.

P&O’s Britannia covers both Christmas and New Year in one 17-night voyage with a wide spread of islands, including Jamaica and Tobago. Marella’s two-week sailing is the easy-going, good-value choice and includes the Dutch ABC islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao, which are drier and sunnier than most of the Caribbean.

6. A tall-ship Christmas in the Caribbean

A Christmas under sail is something special. Royal Clipper is a five-masted, fully rigged tall ship carrying a small number of passengers, and the atmosphere on board is informal and sociable, with meals at shared tables and the chance to help the crew with the sails.

You can do Christmas on the first sailing, New Year on the second, or combine them for two weeks with a different set of islands each week. The Grenadines New Year voyage is the prettier of the two, with snorkelling in the Tobago Cays and the yachting harbour of Bequia.

7. A Christmas with the Northern Lights

Christmas in the Arctic is as festive as it gets: snow-covered fishing villages, candles in every window and the polar night, when the sun does not rise above the horizon in the far north. That long darkness is also why late December is one of the best times to see the Northern Lights.

Both coastal voyages are working ships as well as cruise ships, carrying locals and cargo between small ports, which gives the trip a wonderfully authentic feel. Havila’s ships are newer and quieter; Hurtigruten is the original, with well over a century on the route. See our Hurtigruten vs Havila comparison.

8. New Year on the Nile

December is one of the best months to visit Egypt: warm and sunny by day, cool in the evenings and far more comfortable for sightseeing than the summer. Both of these trips combine a few nights in Cairo, for the Pyramids and the Egyptian Museum, with a week sailing between Luxor and Aswan.

AmaWaterways’ departure is designed around New Year, so you will see in 2027 on the Nile. Uniworld’s River Tosca is one of the most elegant ships on the river and gets you home in the first days of January.

9. Christmas in Antarctica

For the ultimate once-in-a-lifetime Christmas, December is high summer in Antarctica, with almost 24 hours of daylight, penguin colonies at their busiest and the ice at its most spectacular.

Poseidon’s Sea Spirit is a small expedition ship of around 100 guests, which means more time ashore at each landing. HX’s Fridtjof Nansen is a modern hybrid-powered expedition ship with a science-led programme, and its departure takes in New Year’s Eve in the Antarctic. Read our Antarctica cruise lines compared before you choose.

10. A month of winter sun, no flights

If you can get away for the whole of the festive season, this is the voyage to beat the British winter properly. Borealis sails from Southampton just before Christmas, crosses to the Caribbean and spends Christmas and New Year among the islands before heading home via Madeira in mid-January.

Fred. Olsen’s ships are small enough to feel personal and the line is very popular with British travellers who prefer a traditional, unhurried style. Our guide to no-fly cruises has more long voyages from UK ports.

Tips for booking a festive cruise

• Book now. Christmas and New Year are among the most sought-after weeks of the cruise year, and the most popular cabins go first.
• Check what is included at Christmas. Some lines include festive meals and New Year’s Eve parties in the fare, others charge for special dinners or drinks packages. We can compare them for you.
• Expect a festive atmosphere. Most ships put on carols, a visit from Father Christmas and a big New Year’s Eve party. If you would rather avoid the crowds, a small ship or river cruise is quieter.
• Allow time for flights. For fly-cruises, peak-season flights are expensive and busy. We recommend arriving the day before, and we can package flights and hotels with your cruise.

Frequently asked questions

Can you still book a Christmas cruise for 2026?

Yes. When we checked in early October 2026 there were more than 1,100 cruises departing between 17 and 31 December, including sailings from Southampton, Tilbury and Liverpool. Availability falls quickly as Christmas approaches, so it is worth booking soon.

What is the best Christmas cruise from the UK?

For most people it is a two-week Canary Islands cruise from Southampton, which gives you warm weather for Christmas with no flights. For something shorter, there are festive sailings of four to six nights to Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.

Where is the best place to be on a cruise for New Year’s Eve?

Funchal, in Madeira, is famous for its New Year’s Eve fireworks, which are best seen from a ship in the bay. Other memorable options include the Caribbean, the Nile and Antarctica.

Are Christmas cruises more expensive?

Usually, yes, because demand is high. But a short festive break from a UK port or a Christmas markets river cruise can still cost less than £700 per person.

Do cruise ships celebrate Christmas on board?

Yes. Most ships are decorated, serve a traditional Christmas lunch or dinner, hold carol services and put on a New Year’s Eve party. The style varies from line to line.

Keep planning

• Search every cruise we sell
• The best no-fly cruises from the UK
• The best Caribbean cruises from the UK
• Danube river cruise lines compared
• The 10 best cruises for January 2027

Ship and itinerary details are taken from our live cruise search and the cruise lines’ own information and were correct when we wrote this in October 2026. Cruise lines do change ports, dates and ships, so we confirm everything with you before you book.