Christmas Market Cruise - Nuremberg to Vienna

[blmjcs]

Hi,

My husband and I are thinking about taking a Christmas Market cruise from Nuremberg to Vienna (8 days) this December 2013 on the RIVER EMPRESS with Uniworld. This will be our first river cruise and our first December cruise and our first cruise with Uniworld. Would appreciate any advise and feedback from fellow cruisers that have cruised this part of the world or have taken a Christmas Market Cruise.

 

Also they offer to extend the trip with a 4 day/3night trip to Prague. Interested in comments from those that have been to Prague during the Christmas season or have opted for the extension to Prague.

 

Thanks a bunch!

[Ship's Wake]

Hi,

My husband and I are thinking about taking a Christmas Market cruise from Nuremberg to Vienna (8 days) this December 2013 on the RIVER EMPRESS with Uniworld. This will be our first river cruise and our first December cruise and our first cruise with Uniworld. Would appreciate any advise and feedback from fellow cruisers that have cruised this part of the world or have taken a Christmas Market Cruise.

 

Also they offer to extend the trip with a 4 day/3night trip to Prague. Interested in comments from those that have been to Prague during the Christmas season or have opted for the extension to Prague.

 

Thanks a bunch!

 

We did this exact cruise in December 2012 - Uniworld River Empress Nuremberg to Vienna. Lovely ship and excellent crew.

 

This was our third Christmas markets cruise (previous ones were Wurzburg to Cologne and Passau to Budapest), and our favorite of all.

 

We loved the choice of ports and the excursions offered. Granted in snowed most of the time we were there, making it a magical time to be in the Christmas markets.

 

We really liked the Christmas markets in Nuremberg, Regensburg (Thurn and Taxis), and the several markets in Vienna. If you take this cruise be sure to take the optional tour to Speyer. The sleigh ride in the Bohemian Forest near the Czech border was such a treat and was one of the many highlights.

 

We handled the pre stay on our own, with several days in Salzburg, trained to Munich and stayed there for a night, and then trained to Nuremberg to join the ship. Did not go to Prague.

 

I would book this itinerary in a heartbeat again. If you opt for Uniworld, you will be very pleased - their attention to detail is top notch.

 

Here are the dinner menus from that cruise:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=36380725#post36380725

[caviargal]

Prague gets very crowded during the Christmas market season, especially on the weekends. But we enjoyed two stays there (independent) at this time of year, which is quite festive.

 

We love the market season in Europe and have done several river cruises during that season and a number of independent land trips as well.