Top 5 Reasons We Love Cruising During the Winter Months
Winter is a curious creature. It creeps in quietly, like frost unfurling its delicate lace on a windowpane. It whispers of cozy nights and snow-draped landscapes, but it also brings its darker accomplices: short days and icy winds. For me, Tim, and my wife, Brandy, winter isn’t merely endured—it’s an invitation. It’s a call to escape, to find our way to the sea, where the cold feels less like a shackle and more like a chance for something magical. Cruising during the winter months has become our remedy for the season’s grey spell, and here are the top five reasons why.
1. Smaller Crowds, Larger Horizons
There’s a particular magic in wandering corridors and decks that aren’t bustling with summer’s throngs. Winter cruises often have fewer passengers, leaving space to breathe, to linger over the horizon, and to claim a quiet corner of the ship as your own. Brandy and I love this slower, gentler pace. It feels as if the ship is alive, whispering stories meant only for those who have chosen this quieter time to travel.
2. Seasonal Destinations, Unparalleled Beauty
St. Moritz, Switzerland
While some seek refuge in tropical warmth, winter cruising also reveals destinations blanketed in snow or twinkling with holiday lights. We’ve sailed into fjords where the mountains wore crowns of frost, and we’ve docked in cities where Christmas markets glow like enchanted villages. Brandy still talks about the cinnamon-scented air of a Swiss market we visited one December. There’s a poetry to arriving by sea when the world is dressed for winter.
3. Holiday Festivities at Sea
Imagine this: twinkling lights cascading down grand staircases, gingerbread villages crafted with impossible detail, carolers singing by the glow of a massive Christmas tree. Ships transform during the holidays. Brandy and I have spent New Year's Eve aboard, sipping mulled wine while a pianist played softly in the background. It felt timeless, as if we had stepped into a story that stretched back to Dickens and forward into forever. The sea makes celebrations feel sacred.
4. The Gift of Escape
Winter can weigh heavy, can’t it? The grind of icy roads, the endless layering of scarves and gloves. But cruising offers escape. Not just from the cold, though that’s certainly part of it, but from routine, from obligation, from everything that makes winter feel like a chore. We find ourselves again out there on the water. Brandy with her iPad, jotting down moments to remember, and me, staring out at endless waves, wondering what lies just beyond the horizon.
5. Unrivaled Value
There’s a practical side to all this wonder, too. Winter cruises often come with off-season pricing, which means we can afford to splurge on the little luxuries. Our eyes lit up, on our last winter cruise, when we booked a balcony suite for the price of a summer interior cabin. There’s a quiet joy in sipping morning coffee while the sea spreads before you, the world vast and waiting.
Winter cruising, for us, is a reminder. It’s a chance to step out of time, to lose ourselves and find each other all over again. The sea doesn’t care for seasons; its waves carry you forward, whether beneath a summer sun or a winter’s moon. And maybe that’s what we love most about it—the timelessness of it all.
If you’ve never sailed in winter, consider this your invitation. The frost will wait for you, and the sea has stories to share—but only if you’re willing to listen.
Happy Travels,
Tim & Brandy
Echoes of Adventures