2026 Christmas Markets Cruise
I just booked my first Tauck trip and my first Christmas Markets cruise. And it will be my first solo trip unless I get brave before then and take a trip solo. Mainly want to introduce myself and hopefully "meet" some of my cruise-mates on here. I'll be on the Joy from Vienna to Nuremberg Dec. 1-8, 2026.
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We did this in Dec 2023. Six women together -- 2 solos and 4 of us who left our spouses at home. We added two more women on board and there was another even bigger group of women. You'll be fine. Enjoy.
BarbaraLovesCats - I was on the 2023 Danube trip w/Claudia and, like she said, we more than welcomed solo travelers. I just did my first solo trip this past Dec on the Christmas Markets on the Rhine and met a lot of nice people who invited me to sit w/them in the lounge or at meals. On the Rhine cruise there were many, many people who were on their first Tauck trips. Tauck travelers are always welcoming of solo people. I have another solo trip for this December on the Yuletide Holiday cruise and look forward to meeting new people. You'll love it!
@Kathy0529 I'm so happy to hear that. Thanks
BarbaraLovesCats, I booked one of the cabins with no single supplement as well, and will be on the same cruise! This will be my 2nd Tauck trip, as I did Italy in October on a small group trip which was absolutely wonderful! I will be flying into Vienna one, or maybe 2 days early, and might extend in Nuremberg as well by one day. Can’t wait… I’m sure it will be fantastic! Jean
Jean, sailr55, I'm happy to meet you. I'll try sending you a DM. Still figuring out how to use the Tauck forums. I'm a big fan of cruise critic and over there I'm pretty adept on the roll calls.
We take this trip about every 2-3 years. Def add days to Vienna as there is basically no Xmas Market time with Tauck there other than about one hr at the VERY crowded Rathaus Market at night. There is also no time to see St. Stephans or any of the other amazing Cathedrals there.
Don't miss these other markets while you are there on your own.
Maria Theresa Platz
Rathaus/CityHall - Tauck will take you there for about 1 hr at night
St. Stephans Cathedral Market
Art Advent/Karlsplatz - locals fav - also very close to the hotel Tauck uses if you stay there (Hotel Imperial Wein)
Spittelberg Market
AmHof Market
Tauck will take you to Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna, so you will get to see their Private Xmas Market.
The Private Market in Regensberg at the Thurn & Taxis Palace is amazing and if you see things you like there, get them as you may not see them again. It has amazing products.
If you want a cheaper place to stay than the Tauck hotel, we love Hotel Das Tyrol - it is walkable to most everything. We typically stay here for 2-3 nights, then move to the Tauck hotel for the last night for our FREE Gift of Time. Just depends on your budget
Def also extend in Nuremberg as the new itinerary doesn't allow any market time there and it is one of the best markets - the older itinerary had ample time in Nuremberg, but they have changed things and now there is no time and Nuremberg is a great city w/so much to see besides the markets.
We don't care for the hotel Tauck uses in Nuremberg as it is far from the Markets, it is NOT within the old city wall - so we stay at Hotel Victoria - you can read reviews and see photos on TripAdvisor, but we book direct with the hotel. It is the #1 hotel in Nuremberg and books fast so we email them and book early. We booked for this December 2025 in the Fall of 2024. It is quaint, local, a good FREE breakfast and walkable to everything.
Nuremberg's market is HUGE and we save it to buy most everything as we find it has a great selection.
We typically take the train to Munich and fly home from there as we can get a direct flight home from there.
I posted a review of this trip in 2022 you can read if interested. We are returning this December with 10 friends.
If you do go to Munich - PM me and I can recommend hotels and a great tour guide for Dachau & Third Reich if you are interested.
The markets there are good, but certainly no better than what you will see on your cruise - for us, it's just an easy way to get home.
You'll have no issues being a solo- people are so friendly and most all of us include the solos in meals, etc. You'll have ample invitations
terrilynn many thanks for this information! I'm glad you filled me in on the too-short time for the markets in Vienna and Nuremberg. I'm def going to be extending. I'll start looking into hotels asap.