After the whirlwind of Countdown to Christmas 2025 and a packed schedule of festive events, Hallmark stars Kristoffer Polaha and Victor Webster know exactly what they’ll need to unwind after the holidays: a cruise to Mexico with a couple hundred of their biggest fans.
On June 4, 2025, registration opens for Expedia Cruises’ 2026 “Cruising With Friends” excursion, giving fans the chance to relax and connect aboard the Royal Caribbean’s Navigator of the Seas with two of their favorite Hallmark hunks.
During the five-day cruise, the ship will depart from Los Angeles on January 4 and sail to Ensenada, Mexico, before returning on January 8. Reservations, available on a first-come, first-serve basis, are expected to be in high demand, so organizers told EntertainmentNow they hope fans will exercise “patience” with them as they manage each incoming registration.
Kristoffer Polaha Says He’s ‘Overwhelmed’ With Gratitude When Fans Show Up for Events With Him
EntertainmentNow/ExpediaCruises/GettyWhile a five-day cruise surrounded by fans might not sound rejuvenating to some stars, Polaha told EntertainmentNow it’s the perfect kind of getaway for him. With room on the ship for just 200 fans, there are plenty of opportunities for meaningful connections in addition to fun group events, he said, which always “energize” and inspire him.
“I really enjoy any chance I get to meet my fans in a one-on-one situation,” he said. “And by one-on- one, I mean we’re we have enough time to talk. There’s stories to be told, there’s moments that people want to share.”
When Polaha participated in the 2024 “Cruising With Friends” getaway with fellow Hallmark star Andrew Walker, he treasured having “a ton of time to just sit and talk to people, have dinner with people.”
“I had coffee one morning at, like, 6:45 and there was a woman named Anne who’s been a really loyal supporter and fan of mine from the get-go,” he recalled. “And she happened to walk by, saw me, and I was like, ‘Come over here!’ And we had, like, an hour-long conversation and just drank coffee in the morning together.”
Decades into his successful career as an actor, from feature films and TV series to nearly 20 Hallmark movies, it’s still humbling and amazing to Polaha that he has fans who will show up for opportunities like this.
“I’m just so grateful that I have an audience,” he told EntertainmentNow. “I am so unbelievably grateful I have fans. Yeah, I’m still overwhelmed by it. I’m just a kid from Reno who wanted to do something (creative) and the fact that people are still, like, showing up? I am so humbled by it.”
Kristoffer Polaha & Victor Webster Are Brainstorming Fun Games & Gatherings for Cruise
Polaha said he’s pumped to be on the “Cruising With Friends” excursion with Webster after witnessing him engage with fans in December at the Hallmark Christmas Experience in Kansas City.
“We were trying to find that perfect person,” Polaha said. “Andrew was amazing. Andrew’s really similar (to me) in his bandwidth — we’re there, present, all five days. Lunch, dinner, like, until you shut the door of your cabin. And Victor’s the same exact way. He was like, ‘Dude, we’re gonna have so much fun!’ I saw how he was in Kansas City, and he really is amazing with his fans.”
While there will be plenty of time to relax and connect, Polaha said he and Webster, who co-stars with Alison Sweeney in their next “Hannah Swensen Mysteries” movie on June 22, have also had fun brainstorming special events for the fans on board, from panel discussions to game shows. Among the ideas they’ve tossed around, Polaha laughed, is hosting a live version of “The Dating Game,” given Webster’s status as an eligible Hollywood bachelor.
The “Cruising With Friends” adventure, with registration now open, is separate from Hallmark’s Christmas Cruises held before the holidays. Polaha was aboard Hallmark’s inaugural sail in November 2024. Another Hallmark cruise, scheduled for November 2025, immediately sold out when it was announced earlier this year.
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Kristoffer Polaha & Victor Webster Team Up for Epic Adventure With Fans (EXCLUSIVE)