Advice, please, on river cruises to German Christmas Markets.

[Victoria Cruiser]

My cousin has wanted to visit the German Christmas Markets for years. I am ready to acompany her this year.

I'd like some advice on the best routes, companies etc etc.

Also if any include the transatlantic portion

Thanks.

[franski]

Hi there -

 

Have booked the Rhine Christmas markets with Uniworld - leaving November 29th. We booked the Rhine as we did the Danube last October, and I didn't want to revisit the same towns so soon.

 

I was waiting to post for Christmas Markets - but maybe will start a thread now. There was a similar thread for last Christmas. Perhaps this will help you as well!!!

[missbsmom]

Hi, my DH and I did the Uniworld Vienna to Nuremberg Christmas market last winter and LOVED IT !!! We could have gotten air from Uniworld, but we decided to go ahead into Vienna early on our own and enjoyed the city for a few days before boarding the ship. Highly recommend doing it that way. Uniworld will include free transfers from the airport to the ship and back to the airport on sailing days(even if you don't buy your air from them) if you arrive and depart during certain hours. We were able to take advantage of that in Nuremberg which saved us maybe 20 to 30 EUROS. We sailed on Nov 30. on the River Countess, for 7 days stopping a various size towns along the Danube. We went through about 23 locks which was very interesting seeing towns all decorated for the holidays. We were very please with the trip and are seriously considering doing it again this year on the Rhine if a good deal comes along. I had done the Paris to Normandy cruise during the summer with my daughter. It was my first river cruise after 25 + ocean cruises. This was my DH 1st river cruise. We are both sold on River cruising. The Christmas market itinerary worked out great for my DH, he isn't even a shopper but this way of traveling, seeing the markets combined with their escorted (included) sightseeing tours made it perfect for us both. I have only positive things to say about Uniworld. Our ship was all decorated for the holdiay. They had baskets of cookies,candies and holiday breads placed at various places around the ship all the time. All of the crew were wonderful. We were on the boat for St. Nickolas Day. We were told to put a shoe outside of our cabin that evening and in the morning we each found a Chocolate Lindt Santa & some foil wrapped Chocolate bells in our shoe. On the first night on our beds was a Advent calendar with a piece of Chocolate to eat each day till Christmas. Through out the entire cruise little "gifts" and specialites "happened".

 

It was cold, had snow flurries one evening. We were told that snow is not common until usually the 2 or 3 week of December. Had some rain, but not enough to mess up the trip. One evening the Captain announced that we were making a unplanned stop at a small town along the Danube that along with it's towns Christmas market, they also had a "floating one" also. Basically, it was one of the big river boats that during the rest of the year offers sightseeing/dinner cruises on the river but during the winter Christmas season they divide the ship up into little stalls that they "rent" out to various artisians to sell their goods. It was nice (packed with people) and had a lot a nice handmade/local items. We enjoyed it maybe better then the big markets in like Vienna and Nuremberg that we thought had a lot of the same things and a lot of stuff that we could buy here in the US (maybe even for less money). The small towns seem to have a lot more homemade/specialty items which what I was lookiing for (and found).

 

I too have been watching the CC boards for threads with others who have already or are looking into booking this years Christmas Markets. I did check recently a couple of the other river cruise lines. I recall Viking offering some air promos & 2 for 1 cruises. Grand Circle Travel & Vantage offer air included in their pricing. I would check the various cruise line web sites & some of the dot com sites for specials."River discounts " are out there. I have also heard there some "affordable"" tours" too .

[txladycruiser]

We've booked Amawaterways Christmas Time cruise for this year. We fly into Prague and end in Budapest. We are very excited about this cruise!

 

 

Karen

[franski]

Victoria Cruiser -

 

Uniworld does have some sales on Christmas cruises right now. Not sure if you have cruised with Uniworld before, but the discounts can be combined with past passenger discount.

 

The info is posted on their website.

[odblnt]

We did the Amalyra from Prague to Budapest last year. It was wonderful.

[Windy56]

Hi everyone! Happy to see this thread started. Franksi and I are doing the same Rhine River itinerary. However we will be on the last cruise, scheduled on December 20th. It will be our first river cruise and we are very excited, having booked a five night stay in Paris, before we return home.

 

I have two questions. Almost all of the Christmas Markets end on December 23 which means we will see the Basel and Strasbourg markets but not those in Speyer/Heidelberg, Mainz/Rudesheim, Koblenz or Cologne. Any favourite sites you might want to steer us to in those last ports? We will be in Heidelberg on Christmas Eve and Rudesheim on Christmas Day.

 

Also, have any posters done this cruise on Christmas Day? What special activities have been planned?

 

Any tips, from former Christmas Market cruisers would be most welcome!

 

~Cathy

[caviargal]

 

 

Any tips, from former Christmas Market cruisers would be most welcome!

 

~Cathy

 

We did a short Christmas Market cruise with Avalon last year and doing an 11 night this year. We have also done several land trips at Advent season.

 

My tips would include: pack clothes you can layer and be prepared for rain; enjoy the early evenings and overnight stops as much as possible as this is our favorite time for the markets and a great time to experience local restaurants, pubs, etc.; sample the local delicacies, especially the special Lebkuchen in Nuremberg and any stand offering fresh pork sandwiches that says "Salzburger Alm"; sample the local strudels until you find a favorite - many stands and shops offer sample tastes; don't hesitate to stay in town well after the included tours end as it is very easy to get back to the boat. We always wrapped up our day with a visit to an out of the way local pub and just totally enjoyed the experience of sharing that time with the many locals who stop in after work.

 

My husband would add that you should never miss an opportunity to stop in a bakery and indulge your sweet tooth! :D

[Windy56]

We did a short Christmas Market cruise with Avalon last year and doing an 11 night this year. We have also done several land trips at Advent season.

 

My tips would include: pack clothes you can layer and be prepared for rain; enjoy the early evenings and overnight stops as much as possible as this is our favorite time for the markets and a great time to experience local restaurants, pubs, etc.; sample the local delicacies, especially the special Lebkuchen in Nuremberg and any stand offering fresh pork sandwiches that says "Salzburger Alm"; sample the local strudels until you find a favorite - many stands and shops offer sample tastes; don't hesitate to stay in town well after the included tours end as it is very easy to get back to the boat. We always wrapped up our day with a visit to an out of the way local pub and just totally enjoyed the experience of sharing that time with the many locals who stop in after work.

 

My husband would add that you should never miss an opportunity to stop in a bakery and indulge your sweet tooth! :D

 

Thanks for the suggestions, Caviargal! I'll be looking for a waterproof long jacket in the Fall, for sure. I love your idea of pub visits in the evening. Great way to meet the locals and make some memories. I just bought two sets of language CDs this evening - French and German. My mother was French Canadian and so much of it is coming back to me. German, on the other hand is going to be a challenge!

 

I had to laugh at the reference to your husband stopping at bakeries. I'm all for that, trust me!!!!!

[franski]

When we were in Prague last year, we went to an Irish (yes, Irish!!) Pub about 2 blocks off Wenceslas square. The weather was much colder than anticipated, and we were looking for a hot meal and a place to warm up. The pub had an open fireplace - and lots of interesting decor (2 tables were in the window, on the wide sill!!!) We happened to be there on the day that Ireland was playing the Czech Republic in football (ie: soccer) - so the place was full of Irish ex-pats as well as locals. A great experience - lots of energy and noise --> and great food!!!