Which itinerary for Danube Christmas Market river cruise?

[cruisegal415]

Hello! Never taken a river cruise before, and haven't visited this part of the world yet. Been wanting to do a Christmas market cruise for years. We have the choice of two different Christmas Market itineraries on Viking  One itinerary is this: 

 

1st option: Budapest to Passau

Day 1: Budapest (we would do a pre-cruise there and come a few days early)

Day 2: Budapest

Day 3: Bratislava, Slovakia

Day 4: Vienna

Day 5: Krems, Austria and Scenic Sailing, Wachau Valley

Day 6: Linz, Austria

Day 7: Passau, Germany

Day 8: Passau, Germany 

This itinerary offers a couple of post-tours that we would be interested in: Prague, or Munich and Salzburg

 

The other itinerary is this:

Budapest to Regensburg

Day 1: Budapest (again, would do a pre-cruise here)

Day 2: Budapest, Hungary and Scenic Sailing Danube Bend

Day 3: Vienna (differs from first option as includes an extra day in Vienna as opposed to Bratislava)

Day 4: Vienna

Day 5: Krems, Austria and Scenic Sailing, Wachau Valley

Day 6: Passau, Germany (differs from above which has Linz, Austria)

Day 7: Regensburg, Germany

Day 8: Regensburg, Germany

This itinerary offers a post-tour that we would be interested in: Nuremburg and Prague

 

So I guess the difference is, one versus two days in Vienna, eliminating or keeping Bratislava (leaning towards the two-day Vienna one on this choice); one day in Passau versus two days in Passau, but the one day in Passau includes Linz, which we would prefer; two days in Passau versus two days in Regensburg (the second day of both are disembarking days, and we would go on to our post-cruise city).  Which brings me to: post cruise choice: Prague and Nuremburg, or Munich and Salzburg? Both of those alternatives have equal appeal to me.

 

If anyone has done one or the other or both of these itineraries, please weigh in on which you think is better?

Thanks!

 

 

[travelingman]

i have not taken a Christmas Market river cruise.  But from what I remember reading about them on these boards is that the ships still do their regulars excursions and what time is left over is time you can go to the Christmas Markets, which may not be much, if any since some of the stops do not stay much longer past the excursion time.  of course you can always skip the excursions and go to the Christmas Markets, if they are open while you are there.  You would need to check each town to see what time they open up.

with all that said, another option to is fly into a goo Christmas Market city, such as Vienna, and spend several days there prior to the cruise.  That will give you plenty of time to see several Christmas Markets.  Vienna has somewhere around 15 of them.  Some are big, such as the one at the Town Hall, and some are relative small.  They are all different and each has there own mug for the mull wine.  Wife ended up collecting some of them to use as coffee mugs to replace our old ones.  so make sure you have enough room in your suitcase ore bring a tote bag to carry all of your purchases home.  I have heard of people having to buy another suitcase to have enough room for everything.

i will admit we had to do this (small carry on) after a 15 day cruise to Greece, Turkey, Egypt and Israel.

Stan

 

[QueenofEverything]

Tough choices!  We have been on 3 Christmas market river cruises, 2 on the Danube.  Both were Nuremburg to Budapest (or reverse). Vienna is wonderful.  Two days would be great.  Many markets in town, we only went to the big one by the town hall, but with 2 days you could go to multiple markets. Have not been to Bratislava or Linz, both would be appealing to us.  However, Regensburg has the most wonderful Christmas market.  It is called the Romantic Christmas Market and it is at the Thurn and Taxis palace (on the grounds).  You do have to pay to get in this one, but I think it was only about 4 euros each.  It is absolutely beautiful, fresh evergreen branches cover the booths and everything with white lights.  Also, lots of fire pots burning lovely smelling wood.  The items at this market seemed a little nicer and a little more unique than some of the other markets.  Just a lovely experience.  If you are interested in WW2 history, you definitely want to go to Nuremburg and take a WW2 history tour.  The rally grounds are there as well as the courthouse.  There is a Documentation Center there that teaches about the rise of fascism, absolutely incredible.  We went back to Nuremberg for a second time just to spend more time in this museum.  Passau is a very pretty town with a decent market, but our second time thru we opted for a day trip to Salzburg.  One of our best optional tours anywhere.  I would be happy to answer any questions you have if I can.  I don't think you can go wrong with either itinerary.  

[Coral]

I have to say Vienna and Salzburg had the best Christmas markets on my Danube cruise. I absolutely LOVED both cities. Vienna was one of my favorite cities and I did fly in early to explore this beautiful city and fell in love with Vienna. We were able to do one day in Salzburg as a day trip and another day in the Lake District in Austria for another day trip (Saint. Wolfgang and Saint. Gilgen). Both had Christmas markets in their glory. 

 

I did not go to Budapest.

 

They both look good and life is full of compromises. Good luck in whatever you decide.

 

I just wanted to say that Viking has great marketing in the US. It is the name most people are familiar with. There are a lot of other companies that rank higher and may include more things for the same price. If you haven't looked at Avalon, Amawaterways, Emerald, Scenic, Uniworld - you may want to. Some may look more expensive but may include more (more drinks, more excursions, tips included, etc....). Each line is a little different in what they offer. Also, Viking has the worst payment terms. They want money a year in advance while other companies take a deposit and then money 90 days or so before sailing. I would explore some other lines before making a decision.

[Roz]

@cruisegal415, @Coral gave you some good advice regarding looking at other lines and comparing inclusions and payment policies. 

[cruisegal415]

5 hours ago, QueenofEverything said:

Tough choices!  We have been on 3 Christmas market river cruises, 2 on the Danube.  Both were Nuremburg to Budapest (or reverse). Vienna is wonderful.  Two days would be great.  Many markets in town, we only went to the big one by the town hall, but with 2 days you could go to multiple markets. Have not been to Bratislava or Linz, both would be appealing to us.  However, Regensburg has the most wonderful Christmas market.  It is called the Romantic Christmas Market and it is at the Thurn and Taxis palace (on the grounds).  You do have to pay to get in this one, but I think it was only about 4 euros each.  It is absolutely beautiful, fresh evergreen branches cover the booths and everything with white lights.  Also, lots of fire pots burning lovely smelling wood.  The items at this market seemed a little nicer and a little more unique than some of the other markets.  Just a lovely experience.  If you are interested in WW2 history, you want to go to Nuremburg and take a WW2 history tour.  The rally grounds are there as well as the courthouse.  There is a Documentation Center there that teaches about the rise of fascism, absolutely incredible.  We went back to Nuremberg for a second time just to spend more time in this museum.  Passau is a very pretty town with a decent market, but our second time thru we opted for a day trip to Salzburg.  One of our best optional tours anywhere.  I would be happy to answer any questions you have if I can.  I don't think you can go wrong with either itinerary.  

Great tips! Thank you.  My husband doesn't understand why we are building a cruise around Christmas markets, but it just seems so magical! Especially for the holidays.  I think we will do the one that goes to Nuremburg, as hubby is a WWII history buff.  I definitely want to skip Passau for Salzburg.  I know it's a long ride there and back, did you feel that you had enough time there?

[cruisegal415]

4 hours ago, Coral said:

I have to say Vienna and Salzburg had the best Christmas markets on my Danube cruise. I absolutely LOVED both cities. Vienna was one of my favorite cities and I did fly in early to explore this beautiful city and fell in love with Vienna. We were able to do one day in Salzburg as a day trip and another day in the Lake District in Austria for another day trip (Saint. Wolfgang and Saint. Gilgen). Both had Christmas markets in their glory. 

 

I did not go to Budapest.

 

They both look good and life is full of compromises. Good luck in whatever you decide.

 

I just wanted to say that Viking has great marketing in the US. It is the name most people are familiar with. There are a lot of other companies that rank higher and may include more things for the same price. If you haven't looked at Avalon, Amawaterways, Emerald, Scenic, Uniworld - you may want to. Some may look more expensive but may include more (more drinks, more excursions, tips included, etc....). Each line is a little different in what they offer. Also, Viking has the worst payment terms. They want money a year in advance while other companies take a deposit and then money 90 days or so before sailing. I would explore some other lines before making a decision.

Thanks for the tip about looking at others for comparison! I was taken aback that they wanted full payment in September of 2023 for a trip in December of 2024!

[Roz]

10 minutes ago, cruisegal415 said:

Thanks for the tip about looking at others for comparison! I was taken aback that they wanted full payment in September of 2023 for a trip in December of 2024!

 

Point taken....

[Host Jazzbeau]

57 minutes ago, cruisegal415 said:

Thanks for the tip about looking at others for comparison! I was taken aback that they wanted full payment in September of 2023 for a trip in December of 2024!

Only Viking does that.  [And Viking only does it to their US passengers.]  Other river cruise lines have payment much closer to sail day – or offer you a big discount to pay early.

[QueenofEverything]

2 hours ago, cruisegal415 said:

Great tips! Thank you.  My husband doesn't understand why we are building a cruise around Christmas markets, but it just seems so magical! Especially for the holidays.  I think we will do the one that goes to Nuremburg, as hubby is a WWII history buff.  I definitely want to skip Passau for Salzburg.  I know it's a long ride there and back, did you feel that you had enough time there?

The Christmas markets are indeed magicl!  It was a long ride, but well worth it and we had plenty of time.  It had snowed so the countryside was beautiful.  They also took us to the chapel where Silent Night was written and to a small church nearby where it was first performed.  Two gentlemen with guitars sang it in German and then had everyone join in in English.  They had hot apple strudel and hot beverages for us as well.  There was a school next door and the children came outside and sang to us.  It was wonderful!  This was on Avalon.  Our other Danube Christmas market cruise was on Viking.  Both were great!  

 

FYI - in Budapest be sure to hit both Christmas Markets, and try a chimney cake and hot chocolate.  The hot chocolate is so thick you have to eat it with a spoon 😋  We also did a Tuk-tuk ride.  Cold but so much fun.  Great way to see the city

[Coral]

8 hours ago, cruisegal415 said:

Great tips! Thank you.  My husband doesn't understand why we are building a cruise around Christmas markets, but it just seems so magical! Especially for the holidays.  I think we will do the one that goes to Nuremburg, as hubby is a WWII history buff.  I definitely want to skip Passau for Salzburg.  I know it's a long ride there and back, did you feel that you had enough time there?

I loved Salzburg and no regrets on the bus ride. Though I wish I could have spent several days in Salzburg. They had an amazing Christmas market and it is such a great city.

 

I agree about the Christmas markets being magical! I loved them. I put more of an emphasis on the Christmas Markets hoping I make it back to some of these places in the spring or fall.