Firstly, my wife and I, plus our son, our daughter and our Grandson all managed to sail together for the first time logistically this had not happened in the past. We boarded the Eurodam on Christmas Eve in Ft.Lauderdale, from the seamless check in, to the cabins all waiting for us this was what we wanted to start our vacation.

To have an eight year old on board on Christmas Eve waiting and wanting to know how Santa would find him while at sea was something to be seen and heard. We chilled for a couple of hours on the Lido deck before taking an evening dinner in the MDR, knowing fully well that a certain person wanted to get back to his cabin to place the cookies and a drink out for Santa. To see a child's face light up on Christmas Day is priceless as he opens up present after present, most of which are on his Santa list. To crown the morning off Santa arrived on board around 11:00am, which only added to the joy of being a Christmas child.

Christmas Day was a sea day and as is the norm a formal night at dinner. As a family we all enjoyed our Christmas dinner together in the MDR, complete with our Christmas cracker hats, it's a British thing. Some nice champagne and a good bottle of wine. HAL provided each room with some Pinot Grigio and champagne, which we all thought was a really nice touch. From the crack of dawn we had all enjoyed a long day so an early night was needed to get ready for Grand Turk the following day. Read more