The Christmas Ships Parade publishes 15 parade nights in December 2026. The first is Thursday, Dec. 3. The last is Sunday, Dec. 20. Watching costs nothing, so the room becomes the line a group can move.
Fifteen parade nights, three of them dark
The schedule spans 18 nights from Dec. 3 through Dec. 20. Three of those nights carry no parade: Sunday, Dec. 6, Thursday, Dec. 10 and Monday, Dec. 14.
Each dark night is a room night a group can move without giving up a parade. Two of the three fall on weeknights.
Two rivers on eight nights
Eight evenings run a Columbia Fleet parade and a Willamette Fleet parade at the same time: Dec. 7, 8, 9, 11, 15, 16, 17 and 18. Seven evenings run one combined fleet: Dec. 3, 4, 5, 12, 13, 19 and 20.
The Columbia fleet leaves from M. James Gleason Boat Ramp at 4325 NE Marine Drive. The Willamette fleet assembles at Riverplace Marina. Most nights publish a 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. window. Dec. 5 runs 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Dec. 12 runs 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., and the Dec. 19 and Dec. 20 parades start at 4:30 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.
What carries a price
Admission is free, and the organiser states that no tickets are needed. One price appears in the schedule. The Gleason boat ramp lot charges $5 for parking, and the gate stays open so spectators can watch the fleet assemble from about 6:45 p.m. to 7:05 p.m.
Six river cruise operators appear as viewing options, among them Portland Spirit, Scovare Expeditions and Willamette Shore Trolley. The schedule prints no fare for any of them.
A group prices a room and a $5 lot. The room is the line that moves.
The organiser answers the reservation question
The FAQ carries the leverage in plain words. Many local restaurants and hotels take reservations to view the Christmas Ships. Many book out months in advance, and some sell out before the season opens.
A group holding a December date holds a room night in a window the organiser says closes early.
Two properties the schedule names
The Columbia route lists Holiday Inn Portland - Columbia Riverfront at 909 N Hayden Island Dr, phone 503-283-4466. It lists Hotel Indigo Vancouver at 550 Waterfront Way, phone 360-816-0058. Neither listing carries a rate, a group code or a cutoff date.
Both sit on water the Dec. 11 and Dec. 18 Columbia parades pass. The Dec. 16 parade runs the same Vancouver Waterfront and Hayden Bay route.
Dock walks fix three dates
Three dates put visitors on the dock with the skippers. Dec. 12 at the City of St. Helens public dock, before the parade. Dec. 19 at Riverplace Marina from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Dec. 20 at Riverplace Marina from 2:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The FAQ prints a 5:30 p.m. start for the Dec. 12 parade. The schedule prints 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. for the same evening. Ask the organiser which clock the dock walk follows before booking a room against it.
How to frame the ask
Lead with the date and the night count. A request covering Dec. 19 and Dec. 20 puts a Saturday parade and a Sunday parade on one booking, and both evenings carry a dock walk.
Name a price for the stay. The request reaches every qualified hotel in the destination, hotels accept, counter or decline, and replies arrive within 24 to 72 hours. A four-night request from Dec. 17 to Dec. 20 covers six fleet runs across two rivers.
Add concessions to the ask: waived parking, breakfast, a flexible cancellation term. The organiser names severe weather as the one cancellation cause, and both rivers lost the Dec. 19, 2025 parade to debris in the water.
The year on each block
The schedule page prints the 2026 block first and then repeats a 2025 block below it. A banner still reads that the 2025 season has concluded, and the copyright line reads 2025.
Take dates from the block that prints 2026. That block opens with a New Participant Orientation on Oct. 20, 2026 at the Holiday Inn Columbia Riverfront and closes with the Portland Boat Show in January 2027.
What no source publishes
No page on this row publishes a nightly rate, a partner rate, a group code or a booking cutoff. No attendance figure appears either.
The parade is a volunteer 501(c)(3) operation in its 72nd season. Around 80 boats take part, the fleet runs 14 to 65 feet, and the season covers roughly 345 nautical miles. Oregon sits outside the four states that restrict the name-your-price mechanic, so the bid mechanic applies to a Portland stay.
Name the dates and name the price. Put the two dark nights on the table as the flexible half of the stay.
