I Went on a Hallmark Cruise With the Rabid Fans Who Can’t Get Enough of Christmas
By Google News Category Cruises ·
SOMEWHERE NEAR THE BAHAMAS—Thirty minutes into the world premiere of the new Hallmark movie “Forgotten Holiday,” the amnesia-stricken leading man pulls up to his decked-out home, confused by all the decorations.
A Hallmark sentiment has never hit so close to home. I was sitting in a packed cruise-ship theater in Grinch pajamas and matching headband, fuzzy red slippers and candy cane earrings. In October.
It was day two of the annual Hallmark Christmas Cruise, a sold-out, four-night extravaganza for superfans of the cheesy holiday movies. Yes, it’s a real thing, the vacation version of those 24-hour Christmas music radio stations and pop-up holiday bars.
Prices start at about $1,500 a person and run to more than $4,000 for suites. (As always, The Wall Street Journal paid my way.) The big draw: The chance to mingle with more than 18 Hallmark Channel stars including amnesia man Daniel Lissing. The Australian actor, on his first Hallmark cruise, called bingo on day four and stayed after for endless selfies.
Charters are a niche business for major cruise lines, a way to fill ships outside peak vacation seasons. Norwegian Cruise Line, which hosted the Hallmark cruise on the 4,000-passenger Norwegian Joy, offers about two dozen themed cruises a year through its Sixthman subsidiary.
Hallmark movie superfans line up to board the 2026 Hallmark Christmas Cruise in Miami. Photography by Dawn Gilbertson
Two cruisers from Arizona brought a cutout of fan favorite Tyler Hynes, who wasn’t on this year’s cruise. Photography by Dawn Gilbertson
It’s hard to imagine a more rabid fan base than the Hallmark devotees. Hallmark this week said 12 million people watched its holiday movies in the first two weeks of the annual countdown to Christmas marathon that began Oct. 16.
This isn’t just a jam-packed vacation on the high seas for them, it’s a passion project that begins long before the suitcases come out.
It starts with holiday merch, the tackier the better. There are Etsy shops full of Hallmark Christmas Cruise items, including one where I purchased $24 T-shirts for the Candy Cane Sail Away party the first night. (I was still underdressed.)
Craft store Michaels is an official cruise sponsor. But it didn’t take much sleuthing to discover Amazon, Shein and Temu are unofficial benefactors in the competition to put National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation to shame.
In one Facebook group discussion about cruise attire, a fan joked that she planned on “throwing up Christmas all over myself all day every day!!”
Florida real-estate executive Laurie Reader , on her second Hallmark cruise with her mom and sister, estimates she spent about $1,500 on matching holiday pajamas, outfits, accessories and cabin decorations. They leave them behind for cruise employees.
She calls herself a Hallmark Channel junkie because she “loves love.”
“Every single Hallmark movie ends happy,” she says. “Why am I going to spend my time watching something that makes me upset or brings me down?”
Door decorating is a thing on all mainstream cruise lines. On this one, it’s an interactive art and easily consumes hours for die-hards.
Door decorating is an art on the Hallmark Christmas Cruise. Fans spend hours on the decor. Photography by Dawn Gilbertson
Hallmark cruisers in their holiday finest on the Norwegian Joy cruise ship. Photography by Dawn Gilbertson
Two Arizona women dressed in red tutus and holiday leggings on Deck 15 brought a photo of Hallmark heartthrob Tyler Hynes on…
Originally published by Google News Category Cruises
