Some questions about Christmas Market cruises

[Poconolady]

We are seriously thinking of doing a Christmas Market cruise, actually the Thanksgiving cruise plus Prague by Gate 1. There seems to be some who don't care for Gate 1-why?

1. Other than Gate 1 and Globus, what other operators are there that do Christmas Market cruises?

2. The itineries that I have looked at don't show times in port--any former cruisers who can chime in here and give me some idea how long the barges are docked?

3. The schedules list port tours that are included in the cruise fare. If you participate, do you have much free time left over to pursue shopping, local meals, etc?

4. Would there be enough to do in Passau on a Sunday if we don't take the optional Salzburg day trip? Are Christmas markets, shops, cafes, etc open, or closed as usual on Sunday? Both Passau and Salzburg.

Thanks in advance for any info that you can offer.

[steamboats]

We are seriously thinking of doing a Christmas Market cruise, actually the Thanksgiving cruise plus Prague by Gate 1. There seems to be some who don't care for Gate 1-why?

1. Other than Gate 1 and Globus, what other operators are there that do Christmas Market cruises?

All of them are offering Christmas Market Cruises: Avalon, Amadeus Waterways, Uniworld, Viking...

2. The itineries that I have looked at don't show times in port--any former cruisers who can chime in here and give me some idea how long the barges are docked?

Hope you don´t want to travel on a barge:D . A barge doesn´t have any propulsion.

3. The schedules list port tours that are included in the cruise fare. If you participate, do you have much free time left over to pursue shopping, local meals, etc?

First you don´t have to go on the included tour and yes you do have some spare time on your own.

4. Would there be enough to do in Passau on a Sunday if we don't take the optional Salzburg day trip? Are Christmas markets, shops, cafes, etc open, or closed as usual on Sunday? Both Passau and Salzburg.

Christmas Markets are open on Sundays, so are cafes. Shops aren´t open on Sundays but some more touristy shops should be open at Salzburg. Don´t expect any to be open at Passau. Passau has the world largest organ and there are concerts.

Thanks in advance for any info that you can offer.

 

steamboats

[spyke5]

I cruised on Uniworld for there christmas market cruise and liked it so much I am using them for my China trip next month. Everything is taken care of from the time you take off till the time you get home. No added costs at all. I can not say anything bad about the company. I did a go-ahead trip to Egypt and they had extra charges with every excursion ending in a shop that the guide got a cut. Hated it. Hope it helps some. If your a AAA I know you get money off with Uniworld when booing thru AAA. Well I did.

Mark