Small Ship Cruise Talk

Part 2: Christmas Markets River Cruise Planning Guide

• Dan and Mikkel Woodruff

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We're taking you on a complete journey through Christmas market river cruising in Europe in two parts (you'll find Part 1 here), sharing everything we've learned to help you create the most magical holiday cruise experience possible. 

In part 2 of our 2-part series, you'll discover:

  • Our pertinent booking strategies
  • Essential packing tips
  • Advice on what type of stateroom location and why
  • How to manage expectations, including regarding winter water levels and potential itinerary changes, as well as mobility concerns

Importantly, we'll show you how to tap into the incredible sense of community and connection that makes these markets so special – a remarkable aspect of river cruising, especially during the holidays. We wrap up by inviting you to send us your questions about Christmas Markets river cruises. 

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

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



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UNKNOWN:

Thank you.

SPEAKER_00:

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 Mikel, and we are your cruise experts and the co-founders of Sometimes Sailing, a website that focuses on small ship cruise music.

SPEAKER_01:

Welcome back to the show where we are talking about Christmas markets river cruises. This is part two of two parts that are both available right now. In this episode, you will find out all about maximizing your river cruise experience. This includes our firsthand knowledge of tips and tricks, things you should know about, and managing expectations like what the water levels will be like potentially during a winter cruise. where your stateroom booking should be geographically speaking with the ship deck plan. Does having a balcony matter or not for a Christmas markets river cruise? What can you see on the riverbanks? We're also going to talk about multi-generational travel and which cruise lines we recommend for children, which you might want to know in case you want to avoid children too. Also, some mobility things to be aware of during your cruise. Tips for packing. What do you need to pack for a Christmas market? with its river cruise and also some shopping tips. Shopping in Europe is great, but especially during the Christmas times and we're gonna tell you why. And additionally, knowing the cities you wanna visit big and small and some of our favorites. In part one of this, just in case you are listening in from part two to start, we discussed things like what makes the river cruises during Christmas time special. When are they? Of course, they're during December, but we told you the best times to book, the optimal time to book. So if you haven't listened to that, definitely go back and give that a listen. Additionally, we talked about what itinerary to choose and why. So the Rhine versus the Danube is the most popular. We talked about must-try cruises. Christmas markets treats and glue vine and the special mugs there and what to know about them. Also, a little programming note. Don't forget to send us your questions about Christmas markets river cruising because we are going to answer those in a future episode about the Christmas markets, specifically your FAQs answered in just a few weeks. I'll remind you of this at the end of the episode as well so you don't forget. You can contact us by DMing us on socials at sometimes sailing or you can You can email us. You'll find that in the show notes or just go to smallshipcruise talk dot com. So at the end of part one of this two part Christmas markets river cruise episode series, if you can call it that. we left off talking about extending your cruise pre or post with a pre or post cruise extension. And we brought up the point that if you are cruising closer to Christmas time, that you're going to want to do a pre extension instead of a post extension, because things start shutting down December 24th and 25th for the holiday. And you're going to find a lot of things are closed, if not mostly everything, except for maybe a convenience store or a restaurant here or there, even though most restaurants are closed on December 25th. So we're going to continue that conversation. Take it away, Dan.

SPEAKER_00:

Also, when you're thinking about booking, you're going to want to do this in advance. And what I mean by in advance is at least 12 months to get the best selection and to ensure that you get a spot on these cruises because they sell out fast. High demand with limited seasonal availability. Now, also, these cruises start around$3,000 per person for a seven-night cruise. As an alternative, Riverside Luxury Cruises has a three- and four-day option if you don't want to commit to a full seven-day As you know, we love river cruising and it's such an excellent value because of all the things that are included. So your excursions, your meals, your gratuities, but it also gets you that front row drop-off location into these cities that you can easy on, easy off the ship and you're exploring right away. And you're really in the heart of the city also. So that's bringing you even closer to the markets.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, and even in the instances that you are in the heart of the city, but perhaps not right by the old town area like Vienna, you're actually not that far. So you can't step off the ship and be right at the Christmas market, but you can step off the ship and just walk to the subway right there or all these places have Uber. So the convenience of doing a river cruise is definitely fantastic. It's going to get you closer than the airport in most cases where most people are coming into these cities. So you're really hopping from the heart to the heart of these cities, especially in the smaller cities, like you were alluding to with Passau and with Regensburg, you are right there. Speaking of these small cities, They're easier to do logistically, you know, in a couple hours just going to the Christmas markets. But if you are in a big city like Vienna and you are having FOMO of not being there for the better part of an entire afternoon into the evening, you're going to want to be aware of itineraries that have overnight stays at these market locations. Or ask your travel agent. We have a travel agent we recommend in the show notes for this very reason because she's very knowledgeable, as is her husband. that does this with her about the markets that are going to overnight. It changes from year to year. The itineraries change a little bit, not a ton, but it's important to you to maximize your time at the markets and you think you're really going to want hours there. Then look for those overnight stays at the market locations that are top of mind for you, like Vienna, like Budapest, like Nuremberg.

SPEAKER_00:

As you're making your decision on what itineraries to choose, also, as I said earlier, be thinking about the cities you're most interested in visiting. So Munich, Frankfurt, Cologne, Comar, Vienna, Nuremberg, Budapest, Prague, those are the big cities and they're gonna have multiple markets within those cities. A lot of little neighborhoods are gonna have their own markets. So you get a lot of markets for that particular stop. But the smaller markets or the smaller cities like Passau offer excellent markets just not as many as the bigger cities.

SPEAKER_01:

And two points to add on to that. Strasbourg on the Rhine in France in the Alsace region is considered the capital of Christmas because it has some of the oldest Christmas markets. So the city really does it up. It's very close to Colmar, which you can very easily do, you know, pre or post. It's very easy to get to Colmar by train too. And the smaller cities, as well as the big cities, but the smaller cities too, we have found have some of the best retail shops for additional items if you're shopping for more. Don't forget about the shops that are around the city that have these permanent strip malls kind of locations especially along the pedestrian streets because a lot of them run sales for the season like we've seen Black Friday sales which is really funny to us because Black Friday is always after Thanksgiving which is an American holiday you know the third week of November we know Canada has it too we know Canada has Thanksgiving but the American Thanksgiving is followed by Black Friday when all the sales happen so we've giggled a bit when we see Black Friday sales in Europe but they do have them so keep that in mind in terms of what river cruise lines offer the Christmas markets cruises, we're only briefly going to mention it because the truth is every river cruise line that sails in Europe that we know of do them. These are all of the major cruise lines that target the North American audience and then even cruise lines that target European markets or Chinese markets. They all do them. Even when a cruise line is new in the industry, the first themed cruises that they do, even perhaps before wine and culinary cruises, is the Christmas markets river cruises because they are such a favorite. So anyone from Amawaterways to Riverside Luxury, cruises like Dan said, Viking, Emerald, Scenic, Uniworld, Avalon, Riviera, they all do them. What about our staterooms on the ship? Now this is interesting because normally I would say we always get a balcony, but this is the exception.

SPEAKER_00:

When you're picking your stateroom, keep a couple things in mind. We love to have a balcony when we cruise, but for these particular cruises, you you probably won't need one. And what I mean by that is, hey, it's December. It's cold outside. So you're not going to be hanging out on the balcony that much.

SPEAKER_01:

Maybe it's cold outside.

SPEAKER_00:

Also, you're not going to see large Christmas lights displays and nativity scenes and things like that outside your window. And candidly, it gets dark at five o'clock at night. So there isn't going to be much scenery to be looking at while you're cruising. So if you want to do this on a budget, I would say you can easily skip the balcony view.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, that's an excellent point and a great way to save that money for Christmas gift shopping if you want.

SPEAKER_00:

We have a few extra tips for you, and we're going to start with packing. Again, it's December. Think warm and cozy. Think layers. You want to get your winter coat, your hats, your gloves, your scarves, and anything that you need to stay warm because you're going to be exploring these markets for quite a few hours. Granted, some of them have small fireplaces that you can warm up next to.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, yeah, like a fire pit. I remember those. They smell so good, too.

SPEAKER_00:

And, of course, glue vine is going to help warm you up. But ultimately you want to make sure you're protected and comfortable throughout the day.

SPEAKER_01:

Speaking of comfort, you want to make sure you have great footwear. You're going to be walking a lot. Make sure it's waterproof or water resistant for sure. Every year I'm like, oh my God, those Uggs look so comfy. The lambswool insulated boots. But the truth is I don't bring Uggs because they're suede and they're not great in the rain or the snow. So I would leave that at home unless like you pack a big bag and you want to wear it. Wear them on the ship. They are good for that, as are slippers. Think cozy, cozy, cozy, like Dan said. Sweaters, long sleeves. Ladies, it's a great time to break out the velvet. I love a velvet moment during Christmas.

SPEAKER_00:

I leave all my velvet at home at all times.

SPEAKER_01:

Leave your velvet velour at home, Dan. But bring your rain gear, speaking of. Bring your rain gear because it will likely be damp, if not kind of precipitous, might I say, snow. snow, rain, a drizzle. There's usually like a dampness. Not always, but usually.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. And definitely bring an umbrella too.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

A lot of the ships will provide one. Rest in peace, the umbrella that Transcend let me borrow because that turned inside out with the gale force winds. It did. It was left in a cold trash can in Germany.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes, that's true. But there was a rainbow that day, so that was a saving grace.

SPEAKER_00:

Right. So an umbrella got its wings that day.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, that might have been in Koblenz.

SPEAKER_00:

I think it was.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. So, RIP umbrella, but also... RIP moisturized skin unless you bring some really great hand cream. And if you find yourself in Europe and don't have great hand cream, now you want actual hand cream, not the lotion that's water-based. You want it to be oil-based to actually medicate and revive your skin because it's so dry there. You can hop over to the pharmacy and buy some excellent hand cream, which we inevitably always end up doing even though we bring some because we just really like what they offer there.

SPEAKER_00:

And you'll know a pharmacy when you see it because it has a Thank you. very large green cross that is most likely blinking and obnoxiously bright.

SPEAKER_01:

It's like a little plus sign almost. Yeah. So the big one, and now this is a big topic of conversation. I think one of the most disappointing things to people is that the water levels can affect your cruise. So you need to manage your expectations when you are going on a Christmas markets river cruise. So the water levels can be very high, which means that your itinerary might change. So this could affect if you plan to do something on your own or it can affect if you booked something through a third party not through the ship for an excursion or you made dinner reservations somewhere the rivers are not predictable i remember we were in europe in 2023 and they even changed our embarkation location because the rivers were flooding a

SPEAKER_00:

lot of people talk about water level being too low, but it can also be affected if the water level is too high, like Mikel said.

SPEAKER_01:

Right, right, right. And also, if you are considering venturing out on your own when there's a group tour option, but you want to do markets all the time, then know thyself, I would say. just because a river cruise market exists doesn't mean it's for you necessarily. If you're going to be really bummed out that it's not 100% Christmas markets all the time, then you might want to do a land-based trip instead and really focus on those Christmas markets. I would say that Christmas markets cruises are a really nice mix of optional tours that you can do for the history and a walking city tour and also focus on time in the Christmas markets. But honestly, it's not 100% Christmas markets all the time. I really appreciate I don't want to be at the Christmas market all the time. As we said before, they sometimes get a little redundant. What's your feeling on that?

SPEAKER_00:

I would say you're going to want to mix. The Christmas markets are great, but to your point, after your third or fourth one, day after day, you're ready for a good cathedral tour.

SPEAKER_01:

That's true. Or museum. And on that note, actually, something to be aware of during this time of year is that the museum hours that you're going to visit might vary or be reduced. Now, this isn't really going to happen in big cities like Munich or Frankfurt or Vienna. But in the smaller cities, you are going to find that holiday hours might affect the ability to go to a museum, you know, just on a random Wednesday or a Monday, even at 2pm. We did a feel the effects of that in some of the smaller cities we were in when we wanted to see like the Gutenberg Press. Remember that? Yeah. Yeah, so be aware of that, especially if it is, like I said, a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, not the weekend. So I would say be open to, you know, change during these cruises because, of course, they try to stick to the itineraries, the cruise lines. They want everybody to be happy, but they want everybody to be safe. They want their boat to be safe as well, their ships to be safe. So keep that in mind. Also, if you're going to explore the area all day versus shorter amounts of time, depending on your personal experience, mobility especially because there's cobblestones in a lot of these old city centers just manage your expectations and be realistic with yourself about how much you're going to want to stay on the ship or how much you're going to want to do a bus tour that kind of thing and With that, the ship probably will not release the exact schedule for what time they dock and what time they are leaving that city until you are a week away or until you're on board. And especially because it can change because of the water levels.

SPEAKER_00:

If you're interested in bringing your child... or your kids along on the river cruises, make sure you do your homework as to which cruise lines allow children. Some, like Adventures by Disney, specialize in having children's entertainment on board, and they really cater to the younger audiences, and some of the cruise lines do not. So just make sure you do your research so you know if your children are going to have a good time or not.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, and you know your kid best if you are traveling, especially if it's multi-generational, and maybe you're the adult kids and your parents are going and then you have kids or teenagers, you know, they might be perfectly fine with limited entertainment and not a ton to do and no specific kids programming. But just know your kids. The Christmas markets could be a really special trip for you guys. And as Dan said, Adventures by Disney is a great option. They charter Alma Waterways ships. And we have an article about Adventures by Disney on Alma Waterways. So we're going to put that in the show notes. So speaking of more great tips, just some quick things for every day. I would say, because again, I'm so food focused, have a late lunch if you are going to explore the markets in the afternoon and want to, you know, eat your way through the market.

SPEAKER_00:

Another tip is if you want to explore the markets both during the day and at night, that's easy to do because they don't open till 11 a.m. You can visit maybe for a late lunch and then hang around for until 4, 435 when the sun starts to go down, and then you can see the lights come on. So you really get the best of both worlds with the market.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, that's true. That's true. And looking forward to most when you are out in the cold after you've already checked the box for the day to see the markets is returning to the ships. So it's the perfect solution, Christmas Markets River Cruise, to experience multiple markets in a short amount of time, as we were saying earlier. It allows some flexibility because you can take a tour, but also be spontaneous and go out on your own. By that time that day when you're deciding, you know, finally what you want to do, do I want to commit to this? included tour do I want to sign up for another tour you will know what time all aboard is so you can have spontaneous exploration because you'll know what your time frame is

SPEAKER_00:

and when you're building out your schedule for your day consider mobility and the time it's going to take you to get back to the ship now there's going to be cobblestones it's going to be dark if you're going out later just keep that in mind so you make sure you get back to ship before all aboard time

SPEAKER_01:

right and if you are with the group tour of course there going to make sure that you get back to the ship on time. If you're not, don't forget that Uber functions everywhere that we know of that we have mentioned because we've been to 90% of these places, if not 100% of these places that we mentioned. Uber functions there if you're in a bind. They have public transportation. And lastly, you can run. No, I'm kidding. I'm only half kidding. I'm only half kidding. Another thing, though, that came to mind is that some of these cruise lines offer complimentary bikes if you want a bicycle around town it might be less possible during winter just because of the weather and it's really cold so i wouldn't rely on the biking if biking is really important to you during a christmas markets cruise be sure to ask the cruise line specifically if they're going to have bikes even if the weather isn't isn't great you know we've been on cruises we were just on a cruise that the weather you know it was raining and they kind of like tried to go anyway but it was also very different weather because it was in the 60s degrees fahrenheit that is. So just maximize your market time in terms of a full picture and full spectrum of knowing everything we just said with the flexibility in your schedule, your mobility, understanding what all aboard time is and understanding the hour that the sun sets to really maximize seeing it during the day and at night.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, it's a good point.

SPEAKER_01:

So my last piece of advice, if you'll indulge me listening and you, Dan, as well, is is that one of the most fun things about the size of a river cruise, it being typically 190 passengers or less, Viking longships are 190 and most river cruise lines have less passengers than that, is the friends that you make and the people you're with every day. So my piece of advice is if you want a really extra memorable time during the Christmas markets, then Don't be afraid to make plans to meet up with your new friends from the cruise at the Christmas market, exchange phone numbers, or if you see them at the market, bring over your Glühwein and gather around at a table. These are, for the most part, very communal situations. People are gathered around that fire pit, like you said. People are cheersing and toasting and you see somebody with food and you ask them, oh my gosh, where did you get that? Everybody speaks English. If they're not tourists, then they're locals and every German or Austrian or French person we've met speaks English. So get in the holiday spirit and be friendly and toast, say prost, say a votre santé to your health in French and really just kind of get in on the community of it all.

SPEAKER_00:

The markets truly are a community. And if you go in with an open mind, you're going to be welcomed into that community. And, you know, it never hurts to have a glass of your favorite beverage in hand and maybe a pretzel or sausage and go out and make some new friends at the market.

SPEAKER_01:

Ah, I love it. And open your heart. I'm cheesy. I love that. Open your heart to really the magic of it all. Don't be a curmudgeon. Don't be a Scrooge. Just... bring yourself into the spirit of the season. There are so many other points we could talk about. For example, you might be wondering, do they take credit cards at the Christmas markets? What if I don't wanna go to the Christmas markets? What if I don't celebrate Christmas? Is there any Hanukkah gifts? Truthfully, Dan and I don't celebrate Christmas really, but we like going, but it does cross your mind. Can I find Hanukkah gifts? So anyway, these are all questions that we've seen it again and again. So Dan and I have decided that we are gonna do a separate episode in a few weeks, answering all your questions. This will include questions that we have already received. This will be questions that we see all the time in Facebook groups and such. And we want to encourage you, if you are listening and we haven't addressed something that you are wondering, don't be afraid to check out the show notes or go to our website, smallshipcruisetalk.com. Reach out to us. We are at Sometimes Sailing on all social media. DM us and send us those questions. Until then, and until that episode, don't forget that we publish a new episode every week on Wednesdays. So definitely follow and subscribe. Thanks for listening. And until next time, keep exploring.

SPEAKER_00:

Merry Christmas.

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