As christmas is just around the corner I thought i'd share with you my thoughts on christmas onboard.
Over the years I've spent christmas onboard both on and off guest trips. Antigua, Saint Barths, Lanzarote to name a few. All of which are memorable for different reasons...
Christmas Crew Morale
The holiday season can be a hard for some crew onboard, especially the junior crew, you may think "their fine, they are exploring the world, living the dream" often it can be a junior crew member's first christmas away from home. It may not phase them at all or their might be a few tears in the bathroom at coffee break... ( Hey, we've all been there).
Moreover, this is a hard time of year for those in the industry that are parents and would much rather be at home with their children that at work. Keep an eye on them.
Silly season can be a prime time for crew moral to drop. Long hours,time spend at underway, missing loved ones and not decorating the tree can lead to some sad faces in the crew mess.
“The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.” Buddy the Elf
Tips for christmas onboard
Spread christmas cheer, play music onboard that brings a little festive joy to the crew and the guests.
Organise secret santa, this is a great way to make sure everyone gets a present.
Dust off the Santa Hats, on a few yacht's I've worked on this is Captain's orders.
Decorate the crew mess , some twinkly lights (LED's of course) and some paper snowflakes can make it feel more like christmas.
Do something special... guests on or guests off ? Christmas Cocktails for the guests? Christmas jumpers for the crew?
The Best Christmas Decoration
My favourite christmas onboard
I was working on a modern classic sailing yacht for my first christmas in yachting, this was sometime ago now but it's still my favourite. We had charter guests onboard for christmas which was really fun with the right crew.
Right from the get go "Christmas Cheer" was the theme of the trip, santa hats at the ready and off we went for two years of cruising in the caribbean.
The trip was busy with all the usual charter trip activities, watersports, sailing everyday and out of this world guest dining experiences. We Kept the christmas cheer going around the yacht with a good old bit of singing.
We spent christmas morning, sailing off the coast of saint barths, Jingle bells and feliz Navidad playing out of the sound system. Any one that knows me knows " last christmas" is my Jam!
Secret Santa in the crew mess in the evening with a wonderful christmas dinner and lots of laughter. The best part of this christmas onboard was sharing it with wonderful crewmembers who have become lifelong friends.
Happy Christmas
My christmas message to you is, look out for your crew, watch out for those that aren't so jolly, give them a hug, some Mulled Wine (only on the dock hehe) and a christmas hat and make the most of christmas wherever you are.
As always, keep smiling, laughing and loving the sea xo
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