Welcome aboard, Robert! My family and I have sailed on a few
Very Merrytime Cruises with Disney Cruise Line, and just adore celebrating the holidays at sea! There is already so much included in the cost of your Disney cruise, but during these sailings, the halls are decked from deck to deck with even more Christmas magic!
I wish I knew which ship or sailing you'll be enjoying because I could give you more details about the Christmas festivities, based on how long you'll be onboard, but I see you'll be setting sail December 1st, so that narrows it to three ships. If you're on the Dream's three night cruise, usually Santa is out for Santa's Winter Wonderland Ball to kick off the cruise the first night, when it "snows" in the atrium and Santa arrives to set sail! He's got a Meet and Greet on the next day, before the Deck the Deck Tropical Holiday Party, most times.
In the past on the Wonder's seven night sailings, the Deck the Deck Tropical Party and Santa's Winter Wonderland Ball are usually on day three, with Santa's Meet and Greets on the last two days. The Magic's five night Very Merrytime cruises usually featured the Winter Wonderland Ball on night one with Santa's Meet and Greets on a later night. These are all subject to change of course, but the important thing to know is that you'll have lots of Christmas activities throughout the cruise, as well as Meet and Greets with the Disney characters in their Christmas outfits!
Gingerbread house decorating with the chefs is one of our family's favorite Very Merrytime activities onboard, so keep an eye for that and other festivities in your Personal Navigator or the
Disney Cruise Line Navigator App which will list the schedules as well as maps, menus, a texting feature and more!
Have fun planning, Robert!
Marcy