Christmas Week Rhine Cruise

[justplainjulie]

I am doing a Rhine Getaway cruise on VRC during Christmas week, departing Amsterdam on December 21. I'm wondering how different the itinerary will be given the holidays and if anyone has experience with cruising during Christmas week. Any information is appreciated!

[Floridiana]

I don't know about the cruising part, but German Christmas celebrations start on Dec 24 and go through the 26. Expect stores to be closed in the afternoon of Dec 24 until Dec 27, a Sunday. It's very much a family and church centered holiday.

[caviargal]

We did the Rhine last year, departing Basel on 28Dec. Some of the markets were still open though not many. We had a bunch of snow, which was gorgeous! We were in Mainz for the NYE fireworks and AMA had a big party on board.

 

It was our 2nd cruise over that time period and we enjoyed both.

[Ritabob]

We cruised the Danube over Christmas / New years with Uniworld. Enjoyed it so much had to do it again two years later. What a refreshing change from North America's garish commercialism. (And crazy family dynamics at home :))

Midnight mass at the cathederal in Regensberg with a few thousand people had a feeling of coziness and warmth (but it was freezing temperature-wise) that Christmas should exude.

As the previous poster stated, it is a time for family and friends so most businesses and tourist locations will not be open. I'm sure your cruise company will have taken that into consideration and planned something appropriate for the season.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[rrgator]

We went Christmas week on the Viking Rinda in 2013. We sailed the opposite way, Basel to Amsterdam, so the ports and dates will be different. We had really good weather for that time of the year, 40's and no snow or rain, so we really lucked out. You will have a great time. Here are some of my thoughts:

 

As far as the Christmas markets go; that is a very subjective discussion. First, most of the Christmas markets close on the afternoon of the 23rd. If your main reason for taking a cruise this time of year is to spend time at the markets, I would suggest you go earlier in the month. I believe most of the markets open around our Thanksgiving time. We were able to go to the markets in Basel, Colmar, Strasbourg, and Obernai. We did find other markets open in Cologne after Christmas, but the one there was a little different from the ones we visited before Christmas. One other thing to note. In Germany, Christmas is celebrated on the 24th, with the 25th and 26th being holidays. Starting the afternoon of the 24th, stores started closing and hardly anything was open in Koblenz on the 25th, while more stuff was reopening when we got to Cologne on the 26th. Just beware that around Christmas, lots of things are not open, so plan accordingly. Again, having done a lot of research prior to the trip, we were not surprised or mad because of it. We knew what we were getting into before we left.

 

On Christmas Eve, we were in Mainz, which was pretty well closed down by the late afternoon. We did find a nice Catholic church about 3 blocks from the boat that had a mass at 5 or 6 pm. Can't remember exactly the time. It was a very easy walk to the church and we got there about 20 minutes before the mass started. As all churches are at Christmas and Easter, this one was packed, and it was a good size church. We were able to find a space to sit on the side of an alternative alter in the very back. Couldn't see the alter, where the priest was, but could see a little on a TV monitor about 50 feet in front of us. Although the mass was in German, we could pretty much keep up with it, as the mass was said in the same order it goes at our church at home. My wife was able to take communion fairly easily, as they had a number of Eucharistic ministers and assistant priests giving communion, so it did not take very long to minister to the entire church. It was nice to get to the mass, especially since it wasn't at midnight.

 

On Christmas day, we cruised up the Rhein, viewing all of the castles on both sides of the river. It was very enjoyable and a really unique way to spend Christmas.

 

One other thing I will add. You may find more young adults/teenagers on a river cruise during Christmas. There were several accompanying their parents, as Christmas trips since they were out of school. All very well behaved and a lot of fun to be around.

[hugueys]

This is a great website for 2015 German Christmas market dates and times.

 

http://www.germany-christmas-market.org.uk/christmasmarkets_germany.htm

[notamermaid]

Hello justplainjulie,

 

if Viking sticks to the general itinerary you will be in Kinderdijk on the 22nd and in Cologne on the 23rd. The Christmas markets in Cologne are open until the 23rd: http://www.cologne.de/events/christmas-markets

 

Usually that is the last day for the markets but Strassbourg's markets are open until the 31 December. I am sure Viking can tell you if they are closed on the Chrismas days. As Floridiana has pointed out, Christmas is about family and church so the shops close in Germany at lunchtime on the 24th. This year the 27th is a Sunday (general shop closure). Expect people to be running around frantically on the 23rd and 24th!

 

I expect your Christmas days will be similar to rrgator's.

 

Perhaps ask Viking for a detailed itinerary in advance?

 

Almost all the towns on your itinerary have good (sometimes dedicated tourism) websites in English.

 

Sunset is around 4pm so you will not see that much landscape but all the lines do the "castle stretch" in daylight, I believe. The Christmas markets get crowded after sunset, but some are magical nevertheless.

 

My personal recommendation: see the sunset at Koblenz from Ehrenbreitstein fortress, just great!

 

Snow is not likely around Christmas in the valley, but you might be lucky. When it is cold enough, snow stays in the hills and you can see it from the valley.

 

notamermaid

Edited September 16, 2015 by notamermaid
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