We hopped on World Dream's Nordic Christmas cruise and here's what to expect

If hopping on board a plane is not on the cards for you this year, consider sailing on the high seas with Dream Cruises this holiday season.

From now till Jan 2022, its flagship vessels, World Dream and Genting Dream nod to the festive traditions of the nordic countries of Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, and Iceland — think a Christmas market, ornament workshops and enchanting performances.

We went onboard World Dream to check out what it’s got to offer this yuletide season.

All programmes are subject to change and the programme schedule may vary with sailings. All menu items are subject to change according to seasonality and availability. For more details, please refer to promotional materials aboard.

Light up the Advent Calendar and marvel at a gingerbread town

To kick off your stay, there’s the lighting up of the Dream Advent Calendar at the Lobby, which sets off a Santa Express running through this marvellous gingerbread town. And it smells pretty amazing, too.

Visit the Nordic Market

While you’re at the lobby, pop by the Nordic market booths, where you can shop an array of Christmas  hampers, Scandinavian souvenirs and fun crafts.

Or pick up a set of limited edition Dream Cruises Christmas Cards – roam around the vessel and visit all five Nordic country stamp checkpoints as well as join activities to collect 10 commemorative stamps to personalise each card.

Sink your teeth into Nordic pastries and baked goods

Also located in the same area is the Lobby Cafe and market booths dishing out baked goods, from Scandinavian Christmas cookies to Norway-inspired gingerbread houses. There are also traditional Christmas stollen, mince pies, log cakes, and fruit cakes.

Indulge in a Christmas feast

At the inclusive restaurants, The Lido and Dream Dining Room, tuck into tempting festive fare like roast turkey, slipper lobster, gammon ham, roasted beef tenderloin, and salmon as well as ginger-spiced chocolate cake, Norwegian Kransekake (an almond ring cake), Swedish ginger cookies and St. Lucia saffron buns – all included in your fare.

Catch the Jolly Holly Show

One of the highlights to catch is the 45-minute “Jolly Holly” production show, which follows the adventures of a boy, whose wish for his Christmas gifts to come to life is granted by a fairy godmother.

Get ready to be mesmerised by incredible acrobatic and circus acts as well as a beautiful rendition of the classic Nutcracker ballet performance. Or clap along to lots of song and dance together with the kids.

Create festive crafts with the Nordic Art Lab

For the young ones and the young at heart, there’s a slew of workshops to take part in.

Create a personalised tomte (a Swedish folklore figure) at the “Build A Swedish Tomte Workshop helmed by an elf, make Scandinavian-style ornaments with natural materials like twigs, leaves and pine cones, or take part in creating festive artwork inspired by the striking colours of Norway’s Northern lights.

We got to make our own mini Xmas tree using pine cones decorated with natural materials — and all while supervised by masked guards from hit K-drama Squid Game.

Charges apply.

From now till Jan 1, 2022. Visit Dream Cruises’ website to book or for more information.

This article was first published in The Singapore Women's Weekly.