Tennessee is a long way from salt water, but it is closer to a Christmas cruise than most people think. From Memphis, Jackson and Clarksville the Gulf ports are a day’s drive. From Knoxville, Chattanooga and the Tri-Cities the Florida ships are a short nonstop flight. This guide covers holiday sailings for the whole state: which ports make sense from each region, what Christmas week costs and when to book.

Drive-to ports for Tennessee

• Mobile, Alabama. Carnival sails from Mobile in season, and the 2026 season runs through December, so Christmas and New Year’s sailings are on the schedule. About six hours from Nashville, five and a half from Memphis, seven from Chattanooga, eight from Knoxville. Parking is beside the terminal.
• New Orleans. Year-round departures from Carnival and Norwegian with seven-night Christmas-week itineraries to Cozumel, Roatan, Costa Maya and the Cayman Islands. About six hours from Memphis, eight from Nashville, nine from Chattanooga.
• Galveston. A longer drive for West Tennessee, about nine hours from Memphis, but with Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian and Disney sailing year round it has the widest drive-to choice in the region.

Flying to a cruise from each part of Tennessee

• Nashville (BNA): nonstop to Orlando, Tampa, Fort Lauderdale and Miami. Every Florida port is a morning away.
• Memphis (MEM): nonstop to Orlando and Fort Lauderdale on most days in season, with Houston and Galveston a short flight too.
• Knoxville (TYS): nonstop to Orlando, Tampa and Fort Lauderdale on several carriers, which makes Port Canaveral and Tampa easy for East Tennessee.
• Chattanooga (CHA): connections through Atlanta and Charlotte; many Chattanooga families drive two hours to Atlanta for the nonstops instead.
• Tri-Cities (TRI): connections through Charlotte and Atlanta, or a seasonal nonstop to Florida depending on the year.

Whichever airport you use, fly in the day before a holiday sailing. December weather in Tennessee, from ice in Memphis to fog in the Tri-Cities, is the most common reason a Christmas cruise is missed.

What a holiday sailing is like

The ship is decorated from early December: a tree in the atrium, gingerbread villages on the larger ships, holiday menus on the 24th and 25th, religious services on board and a visit from Santa on Christmas morning. Sailings that cross the 31st add a countdown party on deck. The mix is heavily family and multigenerational, so connecting cabins go first.

What it costs from Tennessee

Christmas and New Year’s weeks are the two most expensive weeks of the cruise year, typically 30 to 60 percent above the same cabin in early December. Two ways Tennessee travelers soften that: drive to Mobile or New Orleans and skip the holiday airfare entirely, or sail the week before Christmas, departing December 12 to 19, which has the decorations and the shows at an ordinary December price.

When to book

For Christmas week itself, book by the end of September for a real choice of cabins; by late October the balconies and connecting cabins on the popular ships are gone. For the pre-Christmas week, mid-November is usually still fine. True last-minute holiday deals exist but are mostly inside cabins, and by then the flights are the expensive part.

Paperwork and packing

• Passports for everyone, even on closed-loop sailings from Mobile and New Orleans that technically accept a birth certificate and ID.
• Pack for Tennessee in December at the port and 80 degrees in Mexico two days later.
• Formal nights on holiday sailings are real; bring the outfit.
• Travel insurance with missed-connection cover and a hotel night before sailing.

Planning it from anywhere in Tennessee

Dove Travel & Cruises International is a Nashville agency that plans by phone and email for travelers across the state, from Memphis to Bristol. Tell us where you live, who is going and whether you would rather drive or fly, and we send real sailings with real prices, including parking at the port or the flight from your nearest airport. There is no planning fee; the cruise line pays our commission. Start with our cruise planning page, the Caribbean cruise packages, or the Tennessee locations page to find your town.

Christmas cruise questions from Tennessee

Which cruise port is closest to Memphis?

New Orleans, about six hours, with year-round sailings; Mobile is about five and a half hours and sails through December 2026.

Which port is best for Knoxville or the Tri-Cities?

Fly. Knoxville has nonstop flights to Orlando, Tampa and Fort Lauderdale, so Port Canaveral, Tampa and the South Florida ports are a morning away.

Can we drive to a Christmas cruise from Chattanooga?

Yes. Mobile is about seven hours and New Orleans about nine. Atlanta’s airport, two hours away, is the alternative for a nonstop to Florida.

How far ahead should Tennessee families book?

By the end of September for Christmas week, by mid-November for the week before Christmas. Flights first, then the cabin.