What the Hallmark Christmas Cruise Is “Really” Like, From a Passenger Who Went Behind the Scenes

Jonathan Bennett, Tyler Hynes and a dazzling lineup of Hallmark Channel's Christmas movie stars kept the festive fun afloat

The sold-out inaugural Hallmark Christmas Cruise set sail from Miami to the Bahamas and back on Nov. 5. PEOPLE’s Executive Editor of TV and Events (and unofficial Hallmark superfan), Breanne L. Heldman, was among the more than 2,000 fans aboard. The network has since announced they'll be cruising again in 2025.

When I first stepped onto the Hallmark Christmas Cruise, I felt exactly as I’d hoped I might: like I’d stepped into a floating Christmas movie. The atrium of the Norwegian Gem was filled with lights, wreaths, giant ornaments and a tree of colorful stacked presents.

For the next four days filled with festive games, panels with the network's stars, a pajama party and even a ball, that feeling never really went away.

Just before the ship left the harbor, passengers gathered on the deck, where a stage had taken the place of one of the two pools. Mean Girls alum and Hallmark regular Jonathan Bennett, who served as the cruise’s official host, immediately had the crowd chanting spirited phrases back at him. One by one, he introduced the additional 10 stars on board: his costars in The Groomsman trilogy — Tyler Hynes, B.J. Britt and Heather Hemmens — as well as Rachel Boston, Brooke D’Orsay, Will Kemp, Hunter King, Brendan Penny, Kristoffer Polaha and Ashley Williams. Their enthusiasm was every bit as palpable as that of the fans cheering for them.

Related: Hallmark Announces 47 New Holiday Movies in Its 2024 Lineup Starring Lacey Chabert, Angela Kinsey and More

Every good Hallmark Christmas movie has a tree lighting, and the evenings on this ship were no different. The night one lighting was filled with excitement for the journey ahead, and the ship shook as Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” played at full blast right after the evergreen was illuminated. Everyone from the fans and the crew to the actors, their partners and Hallmark executives, were dancing and singing at the top of their lungs.

As I headed back to my cabin for the night determined to stay in my holiday haze, I couldn’t believe what I saw. The halls were decked. Literally! My fellow festive cruisers had covered their doors with tinsel and stockings and so many decorations.

Sailing right along, the daytime schedule consisted of a mix of holiday-themed activities like cookie and envelope-decorating, screenings of Hallmark movies — including an early screening of Williams and Andrew Walker’s Jingle Bell Run — and games like Bingo, Finding Mr. Ship-mas and Festive Feud, led hilariously by Bennett and featuring smaller groups of the actors. (Seriously, someone hire him to host a game show stat!)

A night two panel discussion featuring the Groomsmen cast (Bennett, Hynes, Britt and Hemmens) saw Bennett (somehow still standing but starting to lose his voice) get emotional as he talked about the support of his costars and the network in telling a big, romantic love story featuring a gay man and his two straight friends.

The moment wasn’t all sentimental though: When asked by a fan to perform the dance featured in the movie, the gents politely promised they’d get to see it later in the cruise — it was taught step-by-step to the entire ship the next night — and instead performed a viral dance move from Dancing with the Stars.

Related: Jonathan Bennett Tears Up Speaking About His 'Powerful' Stereotype-Smashing Character in The Groomsmen (Exclusive)

The following evening featured another panel discussion — moderated by me — to celebrate the upcoming movie Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story. Hynes, King and screenwriter Julie Sherman Wolfe, who has written 27 Hallmark movies, joined me onstage to talk about their experience with the film, from its inception to filming in Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, to working with Donna Kelce.

When asked about leaving notes in Travis Kelce’s locker at Donna’s urging, Hynes shared that he wrote some of the lyrics to Garth Brooks’ “Friends in Low Places,” and the packed 1,042-seat theater burst into song.

On the pool deck stage, Bennett hosted the nightly tree lightings and festivities, including an ugly Christmas sweater contest and a bedtime story performed cold by the actors (shout-out to Williams and Polaha, who were surprised with their lead roles and made it work). One night, the star led an a capella sing-along of “Silent Night” so Hallmark movie magical I almost thought it might start to snow.

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From morning and well into the night, I watched these 11 actors be unwaveringly kind and generous with their fans, taking selfies and sharing heartfelt stories and hugs. The care they put into having personal moments with their fans is undoubtedly part of the draw for this cruise. But I wasn’t the only one.

I spoke with a couple who got engaged on board — they met on Bumble after she found his profile confessing his love of Hallmark movies endearing — and another celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary.

At the end of each night, the actors retired to the series of suites on higher floors blocked off for them. But their long days weren’t exactly over at that point. I was lucky enough to join them each night and witness some of the preparation that went into each day’s activity. On the third night, pajama night, Polaha and I were chatting as Kemp and D’Orsay practiced their waltz for the next night’s ball around us.

Moments later, the actors — along with Wolfe, King’s fiancé Chris Copier and Bennett’s husband Jaymes Vaughan — gathered for the very first table read of a script written by Wolfe to be performed at sunset the next day. Seeing each actor step into a new role for the first time, collaborate (they even let me make a suggestion!) and crack each other up all at once was a singular experience and a highlight of my voyage.

Related: The 26 Sexiest Hallmark Hunks — and Something You Should Know About Each of Them

But it certainly wasn’t the last highlight of the journey. Excitement for the Christmas ball swelled as the final day progressed. That table read performance was a hit, and they even used my idea (that the "dance" the script called for be the choreography from Three Wise Men and a Baby).

Bennett’s final tree-lighting celebration had a hint of sadness that all this fun was coming to a close, but that ended quickly when Vaughan took the stage to sing two tracks from his E.P., Feels Like Christmas, which was released just days later. The performance ended with a massive group hug from all the stars he’d been cheering on all week.

Related: The Best Hallmark Christmas Movies to Watch Now

As the actors and I headed to their quarters, it was clear no one was really ready for the party to be over, and soon a group of us including Penny, D’Orsay, King, Copier, Kemp, Boston and Wolfe, were hitting the ship’s silent disco dance floor. With red, green and blue lights flashing from my ears, a smile across my lips and sweat dripping down my face, I realized that Hallmark had accomplished exactly what they’d set out to do: bring their special brand of movie magic to life.

A second sold-out sailing of the Hallmark Christmas Cruise has since returned to port — and a 2025 cruise was announced just this morning.