Where to start for planning Christmas markets river cruise?

We have only cruised with major ocean lines, never a river cruise. In researching a trip to Europe for Christmas markets, I came across the idea of a Christmas Market cruise, which really appeals. However, I'm not finding a website that lists all the options for river cruising, and I am not familiar with any of the lines. Does anyone have recommendations for websites or lines to investigate. I'd be more interested in bargains and family-friendly than luxury lines. Thanks!

1. Read the stickies at the top of this forum for general information on river cruises

2. Search this forum and the reviews using "christmas market" and you'll find TONS of information.

3. Most of the major lines (all?) have Christmas market cruises, but there are far fewer ships total that do them - so they can sell out in advance.

We did Avalon in 2014 - my review is here https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=268791

I adore Christmas Markets. River cruising - not so much for me right now in my life. It's too expensive for what I want out of it, but I understand why others do it :-) When planning, I created a spreadsheet (I do for all my travel planning ;-) and listed different boats & itineraries & costs - looking at our personal priorities for travel (itinerary, length, per diem cost) and that's how we ended up with Nuremberg to Basel on Avalon Vista.....And my parents & in-laws came with us (one reason that wasn't the best trip I've ever had ;-)

RiverCruiseAdvisor. There is a section that compares all the different cruise lines.

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I was in the same boat, so to speak, going from Ocean cruising to contemplating christmas market river cruise.

I read all the relevant posts on these boards and googled as much as a I could. I created a note page for each line and copied and pasted comments from these boards that I came across from each and then compared them.

Considerations

Basic price comparison

All inclusive or additional onboard costs

Corkage fee or not when bringing your own drinks onboard

Food/drink available outwith regular meal times

Buffet or table service at meals

Full cost up front, or instalments

Ports of call

Lines I'm aware of, in no particular order

Uniworld

Amawaterways

Avalon

Viking

Tauck

Grand Circle Cruise

Scenic tours

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CroisiEurope

Taking all the above into consideration, I decided on Viking Romantic Danube (christmas markets). I've doing a couple of extra days in Budapest at start of cruise and going from Nuremberg to spend a few days in Prague at end of trip.

RiverCruiseAdvisor. There is a section that compares all the different cruise lines.

 

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No. They don't actually include all river cruise companies. They omit every company that direct markets and does not commission TAs.

Read the stickies at the top of this forum for general information on river cruises.

When I first started researching River Cruises, I actually found the 'stickies' to be - not that helpful. LOL Everyone is different obviously, so that was just my experience. ;)

I think Cruise Critic (and other websites) can be overwhelming with information when you first start researching a cruise (or cruising in general), but what I found that worked for me...was to read the boards for a bit. That's how I personally narrowed down the cruise lines. Since you have a specific cruise in mind, that will help you sift thru the threads for pertinent information. I also got a lot of help from other posters - via private message or email. Cruise Critic is a really great supportive community. If you reach out to people, they are happy to share their experience, tips etc

Have fun planning!

I'm also one that did a lot of research before deciding to go with AMA. Our cruise is coming up and it'll be the first river cruise. I have friends that have done different river cruises and hands down - they all gave varying reasons why AMA was the one we would enjoy the most. Everybody has their preferences and requirements in a cruise. Hoyaheel in that I created several worksheets in one spreadsheet to determine what was my best option. But the thing that pushed AMA over the top was the number of people I personally know that recommended AMA over the others. I think had I not had that it would have been must more difficult.

There are many lines that do Christmas market cruisers, a couple of new lines have come onto the American market that you might not be aware of (I am guessing you are on the North American continent). Those are CroisiEurope, Arosa and - the latest - Riviera Travel UK. CroisiEurope is regarded as less than luxurious (in a neutral sense) and family-friendly.

The most important thing you need to know is that Christmas market season is from end of November to 23rd of December. I would not start my travels before 25 November. There are some good options for 8-day cruises but also a few shorter ones, especially the budget lines in the UK - usually on chartered ships - offer these. You might like to combine a river cruise with a land trip to take in some smaller markets off the beaten track.

Which river and country do you want to see? Have you been to Europe before? The "original" country for Christmas markets is Germany.

Remember that you will travel at a time when daylight is much reduced. Check which Christmas market is visited at nighttime on your cruise. They all close at dinner time or latest 9pm (with a few exceptions).

I hope this helps.

notamermaid

"They all close at dinner time or latest 9pm (with a few exceptions)"

The comment re: closing at dinner time (depending upon what you consider dinner time) is way off the mark based upon our two Christmas Market river cruises and one 10 day Christmas Market trip we did on our own to Germany last year. Some of our best Christmas Market experiences have been at night.

War Eagle76,

I realise I should have been more precise. "Dinner time" is either 7pm or 8pm. The large cities have markets open till 9pm, for example Paris: https://en.parisinfo.com/paris-show-exhibition/136548/christmas-market-at-notre-dame-cathedral

Cologne has Christmas markets open till 10pm: http://www.cologne.de/events/christmas-markets/cathedral-x-mas-market.html

Thank you for pointing this out.

I meant to state that these Christmas markets are not typical evening events and usually frequented more by locals (like me) after work rather than as a night-out - sometimes replacing dinner with what the markets offer as regards food. Every market is different and on a river cruise one might be disappointed by the limitations that come with docking times. One needs to check what each cruise line offers, if possible for every port if one wants to really get into seeing many Christmas markets. A few cruisers in the past have mentioned such scenarios. But for most cruisers what they get to see is plenty and a fabulous experience.

Please note that places like London and some others do not have a traditional (i.e. having been established 100+ years ago) Christmas market. Cologne for example had a Christmas market in the 19th century but was closed in the 1880s. It was re-established in 1970 and others in the town followed. The modern Christmas markets sprang up like mushrooms in the 60's, 70's and 80's (only the 90's in England) but have been firmly embedded in people's memory as being traditional by now. And no problem with that at all! They are all great places to see.

Old ones are Dresden, Nuremberg and Vienna for example.

notamermaid