This was our 8th time over to the Christmas Markets - it was our 5th Danube Xmas Market River Cruise (we've done one with Uniworld, one with Viking, one with AMA, and this was our 2nd Xmas Danube Cruise with Tauck). We have done the Rhine once and we have it booked again Dec.2023 -- the itineraries have changed each time. We have also gone to Europe twice on our own in December and done the markets and different towns by train.
The last time we did the Danube for the Xmas Markets was in 2018. Overall, our trip was great. We went with our friends who had never been to Europe or traveled with Tauck - they loved it. I have 100s of amazing photos, but I took them with an iPhone oriented vertically which means they will load sideways onto this site - so I will not be posting photos.
I did get to meet MaryFrancis from this forum - she was on the same trip - so that was fun. She went on to do the YuleTide Cruise to follow, so I'm hoping she'll post a review of that trip.
We flew Delta/AirFrance to CDG to Vienna with no issues. We did use the Apple AirTags - all bags arrived as scheduled.
We did 3 PreNights in Vienna at the Tauck hotel, Hotel Imperial -- which was fantastic. The location was very good. Walkable to everything we wanted as far as the OldTown area and the main Xmas Markets. It is VERY close to the "LOCALS" favorite Xmas Market - it is basically a couple blocks behind the hotel - it is an Arts/Crafts market, very good items and in front of a gorgeous church (Karlskirche) -- it's the Resselpark area and we highly recommend this market and cathedral (Karlskirche) to visit.
We spent lots of time in the Old Town area - the lights are gorgeous - we didn't notice any cut-backs on the lights like we had read about due to the energy crisis and war. We walked to the other Xmas Market at MariaTheresien Platz - another smaller market, but worth seeing with great photo ops. Then we walked across the street to see the Holfburg/Habsburg Palace/Museum - more amazing photo ops and a great way to enter the OldTown a different way. Turning down the road by the Opera House near the hotel is the main way to get to the OldTown - but if you have time, def enter both ways. The hotel will give you a map and mark all the markets for you.
Def spend time at St. Stephan's Cathedral - pay the 6 euros to take the elevator to the top for spectacular views. There is also a small, but nice Xmas Market around St. Stephan's.
Seems we met the Tauck TGs in the Lobby at the hotel at 3pm for transfer to the boat. We usually get the Cat 1 room as we'd rather spend our money on a longer stay in Europe, but this time we upgraded to the Cat 3 LOFT cabins and we LOVED them. We have them booked for December 2023 also. It did get dark by 4pm, so we weren't in the rooms to enjoy the window, but the larger shower and bathroom area was very nice. That evening, after a buffet dinner, they took us to the CityHall Xmas Market which has amazing lights and is also a very good market. We didn't have much time there, but enough to see the lights and get some photos. In retrospect, I wish we had gone there during the day on one of our PreDays in Vienna so we would have had time to see all the stalls. Our time there with Tauck was very short and not enough time to see everything at all.
On our 1st full day in Vienna with Tauck, we went to Schonbrunn Palace - this was our 2nd time there. They do have a private Xmas Market which is one of the best on the tour - but you only get about an hour to see the private market after a tour of the palace. We did get thru all the stalls, but we had to rush through it.
Then we boarded the motorcoach and went into the OldTown for lunch in a palace - this was a disappointment and many people agreed.
We had rather have had more time at the Private Market at Schonbrunn and had lunch there at one of the Market Stalls.
The food was buffet and it was very average at best. They also had a 'corny' family singing some very 'American-ized' songs. I wish they would have at least had a more European group there as performers - we could have seen the 'family act' anywhere here in America. I would have much preferred European Xmas music or a string quartet, etc. The food wasn't good either. If this is still offered next year, I would skip it for sure. I do hope they at least get different performers - they were cute, but silly, and not what we expected in a palace and from Tauck.
Another thing that was new since our last Tauck River Cruise were these HUGE TVs all in the lounge covering most of the windows displaying a FAKE fire making 'crackling' noises. It irritated most of us all week long. They are at every window, blocking the view, and making fake fire noises. I begged them many times to take them down (they are able to 'sink' them into the window sills and hide them) - but they never did. I paid lots of money to look out the windows and they were mostly blocked by fake fires. They even kept that crackling noise going during the two performances that Tauck brought onboard (a violinist & pianist and an acapella quartet)- I could hear the crackling more than the music and it was disrespectful to them. One of the men in the quartet even made a comment about them.
I will finish the rest of my review later. To end on a positive note - the TGs, TD, staff, and town guides were outstanding. More to follow later this week.
