Terrilynn, thank you for your insightful review. I'm making notes to share with the friends I'm going with in 2023. I've been on four Christmas market cruises, two Rhine, one Danube, and with the exception of the Yuletide (Amsterdam to Brussels) cruise I took last month, have enjoyed them all. I agree re skipping the palace/restaurant lunches, I get very antsy and want to explore the markets instead. Next year, I'll take your suggestion and will opt to enjoy a treat at the markets instead. My friends and I took your suggestion and have booked the Hotel Victoria in Nuremberg also. One of my friends and I have been to Europe many times, but it will only be the second time for our other friend, and we really want her to have a wonderful time. I was VERY disappointed in the Yuletide cruise. I knew the Netherlands didn't have markets per se but hoped that the Belgian markets would be fun -- they were not. (There was a market at The Hague but their biggest booth featured Chinese made items that I could find at home.) I would say about 95% of the booths were food related. If there were any "crafts" booths, they were underwhelming. I have not done any market cruises with companies other than Tauck, and I wish they offered extensions to Prague or Budapest. The AMAWaterways market itineraries are very appealing. Thank you again.
ASHeltsley - I have done two Christmas market trips with Tauck and this year took one with another company. (only because I couldn't get a spot on Tauck. My opinion is the other companies don't have the special touches that Tauck offers. Also, transfers are limited to certain times of day and ONLY on the day of departure. Also, some of the excursions charged additional fees and some had limits on the number of people that could join the tour, about 14-28. Tauck has never limited excursions to the people that book first.
Other than the food maybe being a little better on this year's market cruise, I'm sticking with Tauck.
@terrilynn, what was the dress onboard the ship at dinnertime. We've been on two other Tauck river cruises and they suggest a sports coat for men and a dress for women. Yet, I saw more people than not that dressed fairly casual. Was that the case on the Danube Christmas Market River Cruise?
it was super casual. One of many reasons we love the Xmas Market Cruises. Most wore what they wore around town all day. Lots of jeans and comfy clothes. Even though a sport coat was recommended for Captain's night, only about 50% of men had them on - most had on Khakis and a nice sweater or button up shirt. We saw a very few dresses on Captains night, most women wore pants and a blouse - lots of Christmas-y shirts too.
Comments
Terrilynn, thank you for your insightful review. I'm making notes to share with the friends I'm going with in 2023. I've been on four Christmas market cruises, two Rhine, one Danube, and with the exception of the Yuletide (Amsterdam to Brussels) cruise I took last month, have enjoyed them all. I agree re skipping the palace/restaurant lunches, I get very antsy and want to explore the markets instead. Next year, I'll take your suggestion and will opt to enjoy a treat at the markets instead. My friends and I took your suggestion and have booked the Hotel Victoria in Nuremberg also. One of my friends and I have been to Europe many times, but it will only be the second time for our other friend, and we really want her to have a wonderful time. I was VERY disappointed in the Yuletide cruise. I knew the Netherlands didn't have markets per se but hoped that the Belgian markets would be fun -- they were not. (There was a market at The Hague but their biggest booth featured Chinese made items that I could find at home.) I would say about 95% of the booths were food related. If there were any "crafts" booths, they were underwhelming. I have not done any market cruises with companies other than Tauck, and I wish they offered extensions to Prague or Budapest. The AMAWaterways market itineraries are very appealing. Thank you again.
Asheltsey, can’t you create your own extension after your cruise?
ASHeltsley - I have done two Christmas market trips with Tauck and this year took one with another company. (only because I couldn't get a spot on Tauck. My opinion is the other companies don't have the special touches that Tauck offers. Also, transfers are limited to certain times of day and ONLY on the day of departure. Also, some of the excursions charged additional fees and some had limits on the number of people that could join the tour, about 14-28. Tauck has never limited excursions to the people that book first.
Other than the food maybe being a little better on this year's market cruise, I'm sticking with Tauck.
@terrilynn, what was the dress onboard the ship at dinnertime. We've been on two other Tauck river cruises and they suggest a sports coat for men and a dress for women. Yet, I saw more people than not that dressed fairly casual. Was that the case on the Danube Christmas Market River Cruise?
it was super casual. One of many reasons we love the Xmas Market Cruises. Most wore what they wore around town all day. Lots of jeans and comfy clothes. Even though a sport coat was recommended for Captain's night, only about 50% of men had them on - most had on Khakis and a nice sweater or button up shirt. We saw a very few dresses on Captains night, most women wore pants and a blouse - lots of Christmas-y shirts too.