Christmas tree!
It was so warm it was hard to think it's Christmas season. There also weren't many Christmas decorations around Cuba. Our guide told us the government, until Fidel Castro's last year, discouraged religion and not many people there celebrate Christmas. In Fidel Castro's last few years, he turned more to religion and the country is following a bit.
Christmas tree!
It was so warm it was hard to think it's Christmas season. There also weren't many Christmas decorations around Cuba. Our guide told us the government, until Fidel Castro's last year, discouraged religion and not many people there celebrate Christmas. In Fidel Castro's last few years, he turned more to religion and the country is following a bit.
Day 9 - Havana!
So excited to go to Cuba today. Also, my birthday! You can see our route on the screen. It's just crazy!
Very cute!
The train never seemed to work quite right. We think because of the motion of the ship.
Gingerbread people
We stopped to take a good look at the many gingerbread houses and people.
Day 6
Christmas selfie in front of the tree! We're in Costa Maya today!
Day 4
Our room was on the same deck as the gingerbread house and train set. We passed by it every day. Today is a day at sea.
The tree is lit!
The little boy on the floor next to the Captain and the Cruise Director. Once the tree was lit, a shower on confetti/fake snow came down from the floor above us.
Words
I'm glad they gave us the words. I probably only know one line from some of those carols.
Singers
They had some of the performers from the ship lead the caroling.
Christmas Carols
They pass out hot chocolate and egg nog and everyone sings Christmas carols. Then they lit the Christmas tree. It's really nice. really nice.
Day 3
Boarding! This morning we woke up, ate breakfast nd checked out We were going to catch the shuttle but it seemed like the entire hotel had the same idea so, we caught a cab, walked right up to the counter and right on to the ship! It was the easiest boarding I think we've ever had for a cruise.
Christmas Cruise to Cuba
We were searching for a good cruise for Christmas. When we found this cruise, we couldn't pass it up! It was the inaugural cruise to Cienfuegos for Holland. It was such a big deal our cruise was on the news!
Painting
The painting was Elvis' last Christmas present from his father. Below is a picture of his parents, Gladys and Vernon.
Christmas tree!
Except for this setting I'm sure a Christmas tree was never by the prison gate.
Christmas in Finland
We left home on December 11, 2016 for Finland and came home on January 4th. The entire time we were about 200 miles North of the Arctic Circle. We stayed at the Nellim Wilderness Lodge, Sarmi Cabin and Muotkan Maja Wilderness Lodge. We had a GREAT time! Note: I'm posting pages as I finish them. This is only partially done.
![](https://www.tumblr.com/widgets/share/tool?posttype=photo&canonicalUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fsager.org%2Fkoken%2Ftags%2Fchristmas%2Fcontent%2Fin-our-hats-1%2F&content=http%3A%2F%2Fsager.org%2Fkoken%2Fstorage%2Fcache%2Fimages%2F003%2F090%2FCuba-Cruise-Day12-4%2Flarge.1534288076.jpg&caption=%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E%3Ca href="http%3A%2F%2Fsager.org%2Fkoken%2Ftags%2Fchristmas%2Fcontent%2Fin-our-hats-1%2F" title="In our hats!"%3EIn our hats!%3C/a%3E%3C/strong%3E%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3E%3C/p%3E){kind=link}
![](https://www.tumblr.com/widgets/share/tool?posttype=photo&canonicalUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fsager.org%2Fkoken%2Ftags%2Fchristmas%2Fcontent%2Fin-our-hats%2F&content=http%3A%2F%2Fsager.org%2Fkoken%2Fstorage%2Fcache%2Fimages%2F003%2F084%2FCuba-Cruise-Day12-4%2Flarge.1534287999.jpg&caption=%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E%3Ca href="http%3A%2F%2Fsager.org%2Fkoken%2Ftags%2Fchristmas%2Fcontent%2Fin-our-hats%2F" title="In our hats!"%3EIn our hats!%3C/a%3E%3C/strong%3E%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3E%3C/p%3E){kind=link}
![](https://www.tumblr.com/widgets/share/tool?posttype=photo&canonicalUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fsager.org%2Fkoken%2Ftags%2Fchristmas%2Fcontent%2Fchristmas-tree-3%2F&content=http%3A%2F%2Fsager.org%2Fkoken%2Fstorage%2Fcache%2Fimages%2F003%2F054%2FCuba-Cruise-Day11-77%2Flarge.1534287872.jpg&caption=%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E%3Ca href="http%3A%2F%2Fsager.org%2Fkoken%2Ftags%2Fchristmas%2Fcontent%2Fchristmas-tree-3%2F" title="Christmas tree!"%3EChristmas tree!%3C/a%3E%3C/strong%3E%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EIt+was+so+warm+it+was+hard+to+think+it%27s+Christmas+season.+There+also+weren%27t+many+Christmas+decorations+around+Cuba.+Our+guide+told+us+the+government%2C+until+Fidel+Castro%27s+last+year%2C+discouraged+religion+and+not+many+people+there+celebrate+Christmas.+In+Fidel+Castro%27s+last+few+years%2C+he+turned+more+to+religion+and+the+country+is+following+a+bit.%3C/p%3E){kind=link}
![](https://www.tumblr.com/widgets/share/tool?posttype=photo&canonicalUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fsager.org%2Fkoken%2Ftags%2Fchristmas%2Fcontent%2Fchristmas-tree-2%2F&content=http%3A%2F%2Fsager.org%2Fkoken%2Fstorage%2Fcache%2Fimages%2F002%2F971%2FCuba-Cruise-Day11-77%2Flarge.1534287335.jpg&caption=%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E%3Ca href="http%3A%2F%2Fsager.org%2Fkoken%2Ftags%2Fchristmas%2Fcontent%2Fchristmas-tree-2%2F" title="Christmas tree!"%3EChristmas tree!%3C/a%3E%3C/strong%3E%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EIt+was+so+warm+it+was+hard+to+think+it%27s+Christmas+season.+There+also+weren%27t+many+Christmas+decorations+around+Cuba.+Our+guide+told+us+the+government%2C+until+Fidel+Castro%27s+last+year%2C+discouraged+religion+and+not+many+people+there+celebrate+Christmas.+In+Fidel+Castro%27s+last+few+years%2C+he+turned+more+to+religion+and+the+country+is+following+a+bit.%3C/p%3E){kind=link}
![](https://www.tumblr.com/widgets/share/tool?posttype=photo&canonicalUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fsager.org%2Fkoken%2Ftags%2Fchristmas%2Fcontent%2Fday-9-havana%2F&content=http%3A%2F%2Fsager.org%2Fkoken%2Fstorage%2Fcache%2Fimages%2F002%2F660%2FCuba-Cruise-Day9-1%2Flarge.1534285573.jpg&caption=%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E%3Ca href="http%3A%2F%2Fsager.org%2Fkoken%2Ftags%2Fchristmas%2Fcontent%2Fday-9-havana%2F" title="Day 9 - Havana!"%3EDay 9 - Havana!%3C/a%3E%3C/strong%3E%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3ESo+excited+to+go+to+Cuba+today.+Also%2C+my+birthday%21+You+can+see+our+route+on+the+screen.+It%27s+just+crazy%21%3C/p%3E){kind=link}
![](https://www.tumblr.com/widgets/share/tool?posttype=photo&canonicalUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fsager.org%2Fkoken%2Ftags%2Fchristmas%2Fcontent%2Fvery-cute%2F&content=http%3A%2F%2Fsager.org%2Fkoken%2Fstorage%2Fcache%2Fimages%2F002%2F624%2FCuba-Cruise-Day6-3%2Flarge.1534285349.jpg&caption=%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E%3Ca href="http%3A%2F%2Fsager.org%2Fkoken%2Ftags%2Fchristmas%2Fcontent%2Fvery-cute%2F" title="Very cute!"%3EVery cute!%3C/a%3E%3C/strong%3E%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EThe+train+never+seemed+to+work+quite+right.+We+think+because+of+the+motion+of+the+ship.%3C/p%3E){kind=link}
![](https://www.tumblr.com/widgets/share/tool?posttype=photo&canonicalUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fsager.org%2Fkoken%2Ftags%2Fchristmas%2Fcontent%2Fgingerbread-people%2F&content=http%3A%2F%2Fsager.org%2Fkoken%2Fstorage%2Fcache%2Fimages%2F002%2F623%2FCuba-Cruise-Day6-2%2Flarge.1534285346.jpg&caption=%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E%3Ca href="http%3A%2F%2Fsager.org%2Fkoken%2Ftags%2Fchristmas%2Fcontent%2Fgingerbread-people%2F" title="Gingerbread people"%3EGingerbread people%3C/a%3E%3C/strong%3E%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EWe+stopped+to+take+a+good+look+at+the+many+gingerbread+houses+and+people.%3C/p%3E){kind=link}
![](https://www.tumblr.com/widgets/share/tool?posttype=photo&canonicalUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fsager.org%2Fkoken%2Ftags%2Fchristmas%2Fcontent%2Fday-10%2F&content=http%3A%2F%2Fsager.org%2Fkoken%2Fstorage%2Fcache%2Fimages%2F002%2F622%2FCuba-Cruise-Day6-1%2Flarge.1534285344.jpg&caption=%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E%3Ca href="http%3A%2F%2Fsager.org%2Fkoken%2Ftags%2Fchristmas%2Fcontent%2Fday-10%2F" title="Day 6"%3EDay 6%3C/a%3E%3C/strong%3E%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EChristmas+selfie+in+front+of+the+tree%21+We%27re+in+Costa+Maya+today%21%3C/p%3E){kind=link}
![](https://www.tumblr.com/widgets/share/tool?posttype=photo&canonicalUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fsager.org%2Fkoken%2Ftags%2Fchristmas%2Fcontent%2Fday-8%2F&content=http%3A%2F%2Fsager.org%2Fkoken%2Fstorage%2Fcache%2Fimages%2F002%2F604%2FCuba-Cruise-Day4-1%2Flarge.1534285256.jpg&caption=%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E%3Ca href="http%3A%2F%2Fsager.org%2Fkoken%2Ftags%2Fchristmas%2Fcontent%2Fday-8%2F" title="Day 4"%3EDay 4%3C/a%3E%3C/strong%3E%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EOur+room+was+on+the+same+deck+as+the+gingerbread+house+and+train+set.+We+passed+by+it+every+day.+Today+is+a+day+at+sea.%3C/p%3E){kind=link}
![](https://www.tumblr.com/widgets/share/tool?posttype=photo&canonicalUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fsager.org%2Fkoken%2Ftags%2Fchristmas%2Fcontent%2Fthe-tree-is-lit%2F&content=http%3A%2F%2Fsager.org%2Fkoken%2Fstorage%2Fcache%2Fimages%2F002%2F602%2FCuba-Cruise-Day3-19%2Flarge.1534285199.jpg&caption=%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E%3Ca href="http%3A%2F%2Fsager.org%2Fkoken%2Ftags%2Fchristmas%2Fcontent%2Fthe-tree-is-lit%2F" title="The tree is lit!"%3EThe tree is lit!%3C/a%3E%3C/strong%3E%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EThe+little+boy+on+the+floor+next+to+the+Captain+and+the+Cruise+Director.+Once+the+tree+was+lit%2C+a+shower+on+confetti%2Ffake+snow+came+down+from+the+floor+above+us.%3C/p%3E){kind=link}
![](https://www.tumblr.com/widgets/share/tool?posttype=photo&canonicalUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fsager.org%2Fkoken%2Ftags%2Fchristmas%2Fcontent%2Fwords%2F&content=http%3A%2F%2Fsager.org%2Fkoken%2Fstorage%2Fcache%2Fimages%2F002%2F601%2FCuba-Cruise-Day3-18%2Flarge.1534285197.jpg&caption=%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E%3Ca href="http%3A%2F%2Fsager.org%2Fkoken%2Ftags%2Fchristmas%2Fcontent%2Fwords%2F" title="Words"%3EWords%3C/a%3E%3C/strong%3E%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EI%27m+glad+they+gave+us+the+words.+I+probably+only+know+one+line+from+some+of+those+carols.%3C/p%3E){kind=link}
![](https://www.tumblr.com/widgets/share/tool?posttype=photo&canonicalUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fsager.org%2Fkoken%2Ftags%2Fchristmas%2Fcontent%2Fsingers%2F&content=http%3A%2F%2Fsager.org%2Fkoken%2Fstorage%2Fcache%2Fimages%2F002%2F600%2FCuba-Cruise-Day3-17%2Flarge.1534285194.jpg&caption=%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E%3Ca href="http%3A%2F%2Fsager.org%2Fkoken%2Ftags%2Fchristmas%2Fcontent%2Fsingers%2F" title="Singers"%3ESingers%3C/a%3E%3C/strong%3E%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EThey+had+some+of+the+performers+from+the+ship+lead+the+caroling.%3C/p%3E){kind=link}
![](https://www.tumblr.com/widgets/share/tool?posttype=photo&canonicalUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fsager.org%2Fkoken%2Ftags%2Fchristmas%2Fcontent%2Fchristmas-carols%2F&content=http%3A%2F%2Fsager.org%2Fkoken%2Fstorage%2Fcache%2Fimages%2F002%2F599%2FCuba-Cruise-Day3-16%2Flarge.1534285192.jpg&caption=%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E%3Ca href="http%3A%2F%2Fsager.org%2Fkoken%2Ftags%2Fchristmas%2Fcontent%2Fchristmas-carols%2F" title="Christmas Carols"%3EChristmas Carols%3C/a%3E%3C/strong%3E%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EThey+pass+out+hot+chocolate+and+egg+nog+and+everyone+sings+Christmas+carols.+Then+they+lit+the+Christmas+tree.+It%27s+really+nice.+really+nice.%3C/p%3E){kind=link}
![](https://www.tumblr.com/widgets/share/tool?posttype=photo&canonicalUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fsager.org%2Fkoken%2Ftags%2Fchristmas%2Fcontent%2Fday-3%2F&content=http%3A%2F%2Fsager.org%2Fkoken%2Fstorage%2Fcache%2Fimages%2F002%2F580%2FCuba-Cruise-Day3-1%2Flarge.1534285099.jpg&caption=%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E%3Ca href="http%3A%2F%2Fsager.org%2Fkoken%2Ftags%2Fchristmas%2Fcontent%2Fday-3%2F" title="Day 3"%3EDay 3%3C/a%3E%3C/strong%3E%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EBoarding%21+This+morning+we+woke+up%2C+ate+breakfast+nd+checked+out+We+were+going+to+catch+the+shuttle+but+it+seemed+like+the+entire+hotel+had+the+same+idea+so%2C+we+caught+a+cab%2C+walked+right+up+to+the+counter+and+right+on+to+the+ship%21+It+was+the+easiest+boarding+I+think+we%27ve+ever+had+for+a+cruise.%3C/p%3E){kind=link}
![](https://www.tumblr.com/widgets/share/tool?posttype=photo&canonicalUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fsager.org%2Fkoken%2Fsets%2Fchristmas-cruise-to-cuba-3%2F&content=http%3A%2F%2Fsager.org%2Fkoken%2Fstorage%2Fcache%2Fimages%2F002%2F858%2FCuba-Cruise-Day9-198%2Flarge.1534286701.jpg&caption=%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E%3Ca href="http%3A%2F%2Fsager.org%2Fkoken%2Fsets%2Fchristmas-cruise-to-cuba-3%2F" title="Christmas Cruise to Cuba"%3EChristmas Cruise to Cuba%3C/a%3E%3C/strong%3E%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EWe+were+searching+for+a+good+cruise+for+Christmas.+When+we+found+this+cruise%2C+we+couldn%27t+pass+it+up%21+It+was+the+inaugural+cruise+to+Cienfuegos+for+Holland.+It+was+such+a+big+deal+our+cruise+was+on+the+news%21%3C/p%3E){kind=link}
![](https://www.tumblr.com/widgets/share/tool?posttype=photo&canonicalUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fsager.org%2Fkoken%2Ftags%2Fchristmas%2Fcontent%2Fpainting-2%2F&content=http%3A%2F%2Fsager.org%2Fkoken%2Fstorage%2Fcache%2Fimages%2F002%2F077%2FGraceland-17-34%2Flarge.1517271147.jpg&caption=%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E%3Ca href="http%3A%2F%2Fsager.org%2Fkoken%2Ftags%2Fchristmas%2Fcontent%2Fpainting-2%2F" title="Painting"%3EPainting%3C/a%3E%3C/strong%3E%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EThe+painting+was+Elvis%27+last+Christmas+present+from+his+father.+Below+is+a+picture+of+his+parents%2C+Gladys+and+Vernon.%3C/p%3E){kind=link}
![](https://www.tumblr.com/widgets/share/tool?posttype=photo&canonicalUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fsager.org%2Fkoken%2Ftags%2Fchristmas%2Fcontent%2Fchristmas-tree-1%2F&content=http%3A%2F%2Fsager.org%2Fkoken%2Fstorage%2Fcache%2Fimages%2F001%2F965%2FFinland-12-12-16-15%2Flarge.1498002705.jpg&caption=%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E%3Ca href="http%3A%2F%2Fsager.org%2Fkoken%2Ftags%2Fchristmas%2Fcontent%2Fchristmas-tree-1%2F" title="Christmas tree!"%3EChristmas tree!%3C/a%3E%3C/strong%3E%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EExcept+for+this+setting+I%27m+sure+a+Christmas+tree+was+never+by+the+prison+gate.%3C/p%3E){kind=link}
![](https://www.tumblr.com/widgets/share/tool?posttype=photo&canonicalUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fsager.org%2Fkoken%2Fsets%2Fchristmas-in-finland%2F&content=http%3A%2F%2Fsager.org%2Fkoken%2Fstorage%2Fcache%2Fimages%2F002%2F012%2FFinland-12-14-16-12%2Flarge.1498173719.jpg&caption=%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E%3Ca href="http%3A%2F%2Fsager.org%2Fkoken%2Fsets%2Fchristmas-in-finland%2F" title="Christmas in Finland"%3EChristmas in Finland%3C/a%3E%3C/strong%3E%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EWe+left+home+on+December+11%2C+2016+for+Finland+and+came+home+on+January+4th.++The+entire+time+we+were+about+200+miles+North+of+the+Arctic+Circle.+We+stayed+at+the+Nellim+Wilderness+Lodge%2C+Sarmi+Cabin+and+Muotkan+Maja+Wilderness+Lodge.+We+had+a+GREAT+time%21+%3Cfont+color%3D%22c72127%22%3ENote%3A+I%27m+posting+pages+as+I+finish+them.+This+is+only+partially+done.%3C%2Ffont%3E%3C/p%3E){kind=link}
![](https://www.tumblr.com/widgets/share/tool?posttype=photo&canonicalUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fsager.org%2Fkoken%2Ftags%2Fchristmas%2Fcontent%2Fchristmas-train%2F&content=http%3A%2F%2Fsager.org%2Fkoken%2Fstorage%2Fcache%2Fimages%2F001%2F890%2FSpain-12-20-149%2Flarge.1497830136.jpg&caption=%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E%3Ca href="http%3A%2F%2Fsager.org%2Fkoken%2Ftags%2Fchristmas%2Fcontent%2Fchristmas-train%2F" title="Christmas train"%3EChristmas train%3C/a%3E%3C/strong%3E%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3E%3C/p%3E){kind=link}
![](https://www.tumblr.com/widgets/share/tool?posttype=photo&canonicalUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fsager.org%2Fkoken%2Ftags%2Fchristmas%2Fcontent%2Fcute%2F&content=http%3A%2F%2Fsager.org%2Fkoken%2Fstorage%2Fcache%2Fimages%2F001%2F818%2FSpain-12-20-28%2Flarge.1497829827.jpg&caption=%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E%3Ca href="http%3A%2F%2Fsager.org%2Fkoken%2Ftags%2Fchristmas%2Fcontent%2Fcute%2F" title="Cute!"%3ECute!%3C/a%3E%3C/strong%3E%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3E%3C/p%3E){kind=link}