Part 1: Christmas Markets River Cruise Planning Guide

Let’s dive into the magical world of 🎄 Christmas market river cruising in Europe! We are sharing exactly how you can make the most of this enchanting holiday experience. 

In part 1 of our 2-part series (you'll find Part 2 here), you'll learn our insider tips for:

• Timing your cruise perfectly
• Choosing the right itinerary for you
• Discovering the incredible culinary delights that await you at each market

We'll also give you practical advice that will help you navigate the markets like a pro and truly soak up that special holiday atmosphere that makes these cruises so unforgettable. 

​​For additional reading, you’ll find these resources (with photos!) helpful: 

• All You Need to Know about the Christmas Markets River Cruises 
• Viking Christmas River Cruise with Dazzling Markets along the Danube 

🎁 Giving someone the gift of a cruise? Check out our surprise cruise reveal ideas!

Want to grab our complimentary Essential River Cruise Budgeting Guide? Head over to Small Ship Cruise Talk, scroll halfway down the page to a blue box where you'll find the signup form, and claim your copy!

Chapters

• 1:09 Overview of Parts 1 & 2 of the Christmas Markets Episodes
• 4:03 What Makes Christmas Markets Cruises Special
• 7:50 What to Expect at Europe's Christmas Markets
• 9:39 Exactly When Are the Christmas Markets?
• 11:36 Choosing the Right Itinerary
• 13:46 Culinary Delights at the Markets
• 16:51 Must-Try Christmas Market Treats
• 20:11 Navigating the Christmas Markets
• 20:45 What’s the Deal with the Christmas Mugs?
• 22:44 Vacation Logistics and Planning Your Cruise
• 24:39 Tune Into Part 2 Now!

Transcript

Dan: 0:36

Thank you.

Mikkel: 0:36

Welcome to Small Ship Cruise Talk, a show where we share insider tips and first-hand experiences about this outstanding, yet lesser-known form of travel. We are passionate about sharing our knowledge about river cruises, expedition, yacht, and barge cruises, so you are informed when it comes to choosing your own vacation experiences. We're your co-hosts, Dan and Mikkel, and we are your cruise experts and the co-founders of Sometimes Sailing, a website that focuses on small ship cruise Welcome to this week's edition of Small Ship Cruise Talk, where we are going to talk about the most magical time of year, and that is Christmas. More specifically, we are going to talk about Christmas market cruising. And this episode is going to be your ultimate guide to Christmas market river cruising, specifically in

Dan: 1:37

If you have ever dreamed of being in Europe during one of the most magical times of year, with the scent of roasted chestnuts filling the air and twinkle lights everywhere and garland and Christmas trees and all of the magic of the holiday season, this episode is for you. We have broken this down into two parts for double your enjoyment, and we have an exciting third episode coming up that I'm going to explain in just a little bit. Part one, we are going to cover where What makes the Christmas markets river cruises special? When are they? Of course, you know they're during the Christmas season, but we're going to reveal the best time to plan your river cruise. How do you choose an itinerary and what can you see on one versus another? We're going to break down logistics and planning and booking. We are also going to talk about those must-try Christmas treats in addition to what you can buy at the Christmas markets. And along with the Christmas treats is, of course, the famous Glühwein. but also we are gonna talk about the Christmas mugs and what you need to know about these famous Christmas mugs at the markets. In part two, we are sharing some information about maximizing the enjoyment of your Christmas markets cruise. We are gonna talk about those infamous water levels on these rivers during winter and what you need to be aware of and managing your expectations. We're gonna talk about mobility a little bit, if you have some mobility issues and what to be aware of. We are also going to talk about your stateroom. Where should your stateroom be and why is it important or not important during this time of year? We're breaking down the cities that you might want to visit, big and small, and why that is also necessary to know about. We are also talking about multi-generational cruising. And if you have kids and you're interested in a Christmas markets river cruise, what is the ideal cruise line for you? We're going to talk about some holiday shopping points and what things you need to know in addition to the Christmas market. Shopping is great anytime in Europe, but there are some cool things about Christmas time as well. And lastly, we are asking for your questions about the Christmas markets. So don't be shy, send us those questions and we are going to answer them in a dedicated FAQs answered episode about Christmas. the Christmas markets river cruises. So Dan, what makes river cruising during the Christmas time of year so extra special? I think when somebody thinks of Christmas time, they think of Hallmark movies and snow and castles and wine. And ultimately, you're going to get all of that at a Christmas market in Europe. Well, maybe not the Hallmark movie part, but you're going to get the mulled wine, you're going to get some snow, plenty of trinkets and delicious foods, decorations, holiday lights, a festive atmosphere with music, sleigh bells, and you'll probably see Santa.

Mikkel: 4:41

Yes, you will probably see Santa. And if not in the trinkets, then sometimes there's like a little Santa Claus. Santa Claus. Oh, a little New York accent came out. Santa Claus. Santa Claus. My New York Santa Claus or jersey. Santa Claus. There was a wooden kind of cutout of Santa somewhere we went in Germany that I thought was really cute that we actually sent to your parents for a little Christmas greeting that year.

Dan: 5:09

Where was that Christmas market we ran into and there was... A couple dozen Santas, like, just milling around in the... I can't remember where it was. Anyways, tangent.

Mikkel: 5:26

Was this during your wildest Christmas dreams?

Dan: 5:30

Is that a dream or a nightmare? I don't know. How many Santas? Are there too many Santas?

Mikkel: 5:34

You know, in reference to your Hallmark movie mention, it could be a Hallmark movie for real if anyone has a spouse like you and insists on giving you kisses, but they're is often mistletoe in the decorations. So just throwing it out there.

Dan: 5:52

Yeah, so be on the lookout.

Mikkel: 5:54

And the defense.

Dan: 5:56

Random strangers may kiss you.

Mikkel: 5:58

Or your wife. Yeah.

Dan: 6:01

Those results are not guaranteed, so don't come back and ask why no random woman kissed you.

Mikkel: 6:09

Thank you. So in addition to all those elements making the Christmas time special in Europe and these quote unquote themed Christmas cruises, which is kind of like, you know, a wine cruise or a culinary cruise or a Jewish heritage cruise that you can cruise Europe and, you know, understand your heritage more or the soulful cruises for the history of African-Americans across Europe, that kind of thing. This is a themed cruise, really, at the heart of it. It's in a very small amount of time. It's just a couple weeks every year. But I also want to mention that it's also extra special because the river cruise ships are decked out for the holidays. There's garland all over the ship. Depending on what cruise line you're on, it could vary, obviously. But there's garland, there's twinkle lights, there's... Christmas trees, there's little Santa Clauses, not full size, that would be creepy if there were full size fake mannequins of Santa Claus on the ship. It could be funny if it was just staged on the balcony or like on the bow of the ship waving to the people on the river side. That would be funny.

Dan: 7:24

Either way, kind of creepy.

Mikkel: 7:26

Yeah, either way, kind of creepy. So don't expect a fake Santa mannequin, but there are maybe... foot tall little Santa dolls. Oh my god, this is going in a different direction. But the truth is, it is sparkly and decked out in the holiday icons of the season on the ships, which just makes your photos extra special and indicative of the time of year you are cruising.

Dan: 7:51

So let's talk about the markets themselves. The ships are great, and you've done your research, and you've found out that you want to go to a Christmas markets cruise. What should they expect once they get to the market?

Mikkel: 8:04

So the markets are very photo worthy. So make sure you have a lot of room on your camera, your actual camera if you bring on, or storage on your phone. mobile phone, which obviously is a lot of people's cameras these days. The markets typically offer things like ornaments or nativity sets or handmade crafts of all sorts, jewelry, toys, local specialties if that area specializes in anything in particular. You'll also see a ton of gingerbread cookies that have a hard royal icing on them that are wrapped in plastic. This is very traditional for kids in Europe during the christmas season and then of course a lot of food and drinks and merriment the markets are places for locals to gather as well it's not only a tourist thing people gather there after work for example for a glue vine or a beer and they usually take place in the old town centers And then a lot of the time there are going to be, depending on the city, additional stalls along pedestrian streets. So let's say there's an old town center and then pedestrian streets shooting off the center. There's going to be stalls there. And then the markets typically open around 11 a.m. That's really early. People don't really go there until the afternoon. So picture from opening to close, it is just most concentrated closer to closing time. And you can kind of expect a rush hour after work hours, especially. So speaking of timing.

Dan: 9:40

Some important tips around timing and what to take into consideration. Most of the markets close before or right around Christmas Day. So you're going to want to book your cruise the first two, two and a half weeks in December for the best access to the markets.

Mikkel: 9:58

That's true. And we did notice when we were there for a New Year's Eve cruise that come the 24th in the afternoon and especially the 25th, things really died down. People are going home to be with their families. Even the vendors who run the stalls want to be with their families and everybody's done their Christmas shopping. shopping by then let's not forget this is a really popular way for a lot of people to buy their Christmas gifts I'm sure it's not the only way but it is a popular way so people want to be with their families and they want to participate in the festivities on the night of December 24th and 25th so a lot of those markets will be closed and actually a lot of them that's the last time that they're open for the year not all we did experience in like Bratislava there was the Christmas market some of the vendors were open past Christmas but they're certainly not selling Christmas gifts anymore they could be selling crafts if they're not themed to Christmas but they're That is another thing to consider if you want to make sure that they are in full swing, like Dan said, book at the beginning of December.

Dan: 11:06

Also, don't forget when you're visiting Christmas market, the sun sets before 5 p.m. So plan accordingly. The temperature is definitely going to drop, but also all the people start to come out. And that's when they're drinking the Glühwein, which is a warm mulled wine, and getting all of those tasty treats and picking up dinner along the way at the market.

Mikkel: 11:27

Yes. So leave room in your belly.

Dan: 11:29

That's for sure.

Mikkel: 11:31

Yeah. So speaking of the cities and them being in full swing, let's talk about what cities you can possibly visit with these itineraries, the two most popular we've been on.

Dan: 11:45

When you're starting to look at itineraries for your cruise, understand where you want to visit. So what countries you want to visit. maybe Germany, maybe France. From there, then you can start to pick which river you want to cruise. So the Danube and the Rhine, they're the two most popular to see Christmas markets. The Danube gives you Germany and Austria and a mix of Amsterdam and the Netherlands in there, depending on where you start. And the Rhine gives you Germany and France. Strasbourg is on the Rhine, while Nuremberg is on the Danube. So just have a general idea of where you want to go And then you can pick the river from there.

Mikkel: 12:26

Yeah, that's an excellent point because you don't want to book the Rhine and then be upset that you didn't go to Nuremberg because you will not go to Nuremberg if you are doing a Rhine river cruise. So that's a really good point. And then if you're kind of open to either, you really can't go wrong with the Rhine or the Danube. You're not going to be disappointed. Maybe you've done the Danube before and you want to try the Rhine or vice versa.

Dan: 12:49

Yeah.

Mikkel: 12:49

I would say, though, as far as itineraries, if the lower Danube is offered, I don't think that the lower Danube is as exciting as the upper Danube in terms of Christmas markets offerings. Because it's really concentrated in those upper Danube countries like Germany and Austria.

Dan: 13:07

Right.

Mikkel: 13:09

You know, I would say German and Austrian food are really close to each other. And German and French food are close to each other on that Alsatian border where the Rhine goes. It kind of straddles the country border. And for example, Strasbourg has been under German rule and French rule back and forth over time. But I'm so food focused that I think, what food can I try at either one? And that might help somebody decide, too. The truth is, it's not that different. So, yeah, let's talk about the food a little bit.

Dan: 13:48

It's not that different because it's all delicious, really.

Mikkel: 13:51

I like that.

Dan: 13:52

I've heard it compared to the food, kind of compared to a state fair or something in the States. I would say definitely elevated to a state fair food.

Mikkel: 14:04

Yeah, no fried Oreos.

Dan: 14:06

Right. At least we haven't seen any. There could be.

Mikkel: 14:09

Was there any fried food?

Dan: 14:11

I'm sure there's something somewhere.

Mikkel: 14:13

Like a little schnitzel or something? Actually, you don't see schnitzel a lot at the German markets. Oh, you know why? They probably don't have deep fryers in these little wooden huts. That seems like a fire hazard.

Dan: 14:24

Yeah, that's probably not the best course of action.

Mikkel: 14:26

But you do see French fries sometimes.

Dan: 14:29

Yeah, yeah. A lot of the traditional foods... In Germany, you see sausage, bratwurst, currywurst, french fries, grapes, pretzels, spetzel, strudels.

Mikkel: 14:41

Strudel's a personal favorite. Give me the cherry strudel, blueberry strudel. Give me apple strudel. They have so many strudels. I love it all. And you know me. I love a bratwurst. Any market I go to.

Dan: 14:54

Sure.

Mikkel: 14:55

Yeah. Put the mustard on there.

Dan: 14:58

It is interesting. You do come across international foods.

Mikkel: 15:03

Yeah, and that's a recent addition because of how international the world's becoming, especially because of, you know, refugees moving to these countries and just how global the world is with travel. And they want to make sure that there's something for everyone.

Dan: 15:23

So kind of talking about fair food, langos reminds me of that. It's a piece of fried dough with... kind of lighter fried dough than what you would normally think of at a fair. A lot of cheese, a lot of sour cream, and I think onions on some of them. You kind of build your own adventure.

Mikkel: 15:45

Yeah. The classic Hungarian langos is the sour cream and garlic and cheese. But the last time we were in Budapest and I got the garlic on it, there was so much garlic, I thought that it could kill an entire colony of vampires. So...

Dan: 16:00

Hmm. Colony.

Mikkel: 16:03

Is that

Dan: 16:04

what a group of vampires is called?

Mikkel: 16:05

Is it a flock? Is it a flock like a flock of seagulls because they have wings? What's a grouping of bats called? No? No? That's like Dracula. I think I'm messing up my hero or villain comics. What would you call vampires? Anyway, I know that they don't want to go near the language that's traditional with the garlic. I could tell you that.

Dan: 16:26

Right. And they probably wouldn't want to go near the vegan food either.

Mikkel: 16:30

Oh, I like it. I will suck your blood.

Dan: 16:33

There are vegan options available in some markets.

Mikkel: 16:37

That is true. And that's kind of a more recent thing too. We have vegan friends that travel quite regularly and I am always happy to see the vegan offerings when we travel. So we know that there's a little bit of something for everybody. Must try treats. You know that every year we are in Europe, fortunate enough to be there during Christmas time. I want Moroni. And Moroni is roasted chestnuts, but you'll start seeing the signs for Moroni. And it's like, let's say four, I think it's, it depends, you know, what the stall is and who the vendor is, but it's usually between three and four euros per cone. You get like a little paper cone and it usually has about 10 chestnuts in there that are sliced and roasted and you can just open that They've grown on me over the years because I used to say to you, I don't even like these. I just need to get them and eat them because it puts me in the spirit of the season kind of mood.

Dan: 17:30

Yeah, more power to you. You can have them all. It's not my favorite food.

Mikkel: 17:35

I always ask you if you want one and you always say no.

Dan: 17:38

Kind of tastes like a wood-flavored piece of paper towel.

Mikkel: 17:44

Oh, that's so interesting. Everyone's taste buds are different. I think that it tastes like a sweet, dry... I don't know. You definitely need water or beer or glue vines to wash it down. Or you're like, like, like it gets stuck in your throat. Sometimes I'll just buy them and take them back to the ship so I can eat them on the ship.

Dan: 18:03

Yeah. So

Mikkel: 18:07

we really sold those.

Dan: 18:33

That was a standout favorite, and you can identify who's selling it from quite a distance because you smell it and you are immediately drawn to it.

Mikkel: 18:43

Yeah, and then once you taste it and you see how delicious it is, you're like, I need this again. So we looked for that every market we went to afterwards. What about what you wash it down with? I touched on Glühwein, as you did. We've been saying it this whole time. How could we not? Red is preferred over white, but we've seen white and rosé varieties as well. Yeah,

Dan: 19:02

yeah. It is interesting. So it's a wine that's spiced, typically red, and it's served warm. So exactly what you would want to drink on a cold evening in Germany.

Mikkel: 19:16

Yeah. And also, if you want a little rum tree with it, they have a version of Glühwein with a rum-soaked sugar cube that they set on fire. And For dramatic presentation, just like, you know, my presentation was just dramatic. I'm so corny, but I'm going to roll with it because I love a corny joke and I love a corny sound effect.

Dan: 19:38

So we don't have budget for sound effects yet.

Mikkel: 19:44

But, oh, see, I did it again. I didn't even mean to.

Dan: 19:47

But we'll be putting up a donation button. Donate to our sound effects.

Mikkel: 19:53

I cannot pronounce what that rum-soaked sugar cube Glühwein is called. It's called something like Fritzing But you'll know it when you see it. Also, if you are not into wine, there are other drinks like beer because, come on, you're in Germany.

Dan: 20:09

Right. Beer is always available in Germany.

Mikkel: 20:11

There are bathrooms, too, at these Christmas markets. And if there aren't dedicated bathrooms, they'll direct you to the nearest one if you need a restroom. Because when I think of drinking that much Glühwein or beer, I'm like, where's the nearest restroom?

Dan: 20:24

Yeah.

Mikkel: 20:25

I

Dan: 20:25

was wondering where that transition came from.

Mikkel: 20:28

But you know where my mind always goes. I'm like, I need to know where all the restrooms are all the time.

Dan: 20:33

Yes.

Mikkel: 20:33

Yes. He travels with me all the time. So he's used to this. But I'm sure somebody listening is going to appreciate that I brought up the restrooms. Also, if there's, you know, a cafe or something or a restaurant nearby, that's always a good bet too. I would say if you're coming from a river cruise, then bring water from the ship. We always have a reusable water bottle. They give water out if you want it during excursions and just grab some water from the ship so you have that and don't need to purchase it. Oh, you know what we didn't say? The mugs, the famous mugs that you can get at all the markets and how they're different. This is like a really cool thing about the Christmas markets.

Dan: 21:10

As you're sampling the Glühwein, you get these small souvenir mugs and then next thing you know, you have 20 or 30 of them in your backpack. We traveled with some friends who quickly found out that their luggage was going to be overweight because of all their souvenir are Glühwein mugs.

Mikkel: 21:26

I love it. That's true. So what you do is you give them a deposit. So let's say a glass of Glühwein is four euros, but they charge you six euros because when you bring the mug back, you get the two euro deposit back. Now, if you don't bring the mug back and you keep it, which you're more than welcome to do, you've already paid two euros for it. And the mugs are specific to the different markets and they differ every year. Expect a lot of them to say you know, Chris... I'm trying to think what it is, Christmalkindlmarkt in German or something like that on it and the year. And our friends that were collecting these, as Dan, as you just said, were actually bringing them back to give them as gifts to people for Christmas. So that was kind of a neat idea. We are more so people that give them back and we get the deposit back and then we use that deposit for more Glühwein. But it is a really cool thing to expect. And you do want to bring another piece of luggage if you are planning on getting a lot of presents and So let's talk about practical planning advice and logistics starting with the cruise lane. So typically these cruises are seven nights, eight days. That's plenty of time. I think a 16 day one might be overkill. The truth is you start seeing so many churches in Europe and you're like, ooh, another church. And I still like going in them because once in a while I'm like, oh, I've never seen that in a church. That's really cool. But the Christmas markets, you kind of get I'm trying to think how you described it. You don't get tired of them, but you're kind of like, oh, okay, this has the same thing as the last one. Like fatigue?

Dan: 23:20

They have the same thing, but every one has its own personality.

Mikkel: 23:23

Yeah, for sure. But sometimes it's like just a quick walk around or sometimes it's raining and you're like, okay, I saw it. I want to go back to warmth on the ship. So it really depends. Yeah. The point being, if you are booking a seven-night, eight-day cruise, I would say that's great. We always advocate for extending a pre and post. Specifically for this type of cruise, you really want to be aware of the dates you're booking because if you are disembarking from the ship on December 22nd and you're staying for three more days, I would say don't do that. Stay for two. Go home on December 24th because the 25th, everything's going to be closed We know. We've done this before. Yes. So... I would say in that case, if you're booking the second week in December, maybe do a pre-cruise extension beforehand. There's amazing areas that you can go to that might even be super close to where you are embarking on your cruise. For example, Munich is right by Nuremberg, or it's easy to get to Frankfurt. We extended in Frankfurt a few days before we embarked on a cruise nearby. So the length is not just the length that you're on the ship, you can extend pre and post.

Dan: 24:38

Also when you're thinking about booking,

Mikkel: 24:39

Hold that thought, Dan, because that is where we are going to leave off this episode at a bit of a cliffhanger for you. Be sure to go hit play on part two, which is available right now when we talk about things from multi-generational cruising to where your stateroom should be or shouldn't be or doesn't matter during your Christmas markets cruise and other tips that are really going to help you maximize your enjoyment. Oh, we also talk about those water levels that I mentioned at the start of this episode and what that means for your potential cruise schedule. So press play. We look forward to welcoming you there. Also send us those questions. We are going to be answering all of your Christmas markets river cruises questions in a future episode, which we very much look forward to. Merry Christmas, any time of year, any day, and we'll join you in part two.

Dan: 25:37

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