It probably won't matter which side you select- you won't be spending much daytime cruising and when not cruising you'll be ashore and won't be spending much time in your cabin. Other than lights in the distance, you can't see much when cruising at night and sunset comes early. Also, when docked, you may be rafted along side another river boat sometimes one on each side though this is not as common on an XMAS Mkts cruises. FYI, regardless of direction of travel, river boats ALWAYS dock with their bows facing into the current- on the Danube when docked you will be facing generally northwest since the river flows northwest to southeast. When docked, the side facing land also depends which side of the river the town is located- on your cruise all the towns (the Altstadts) except Nuremberg, which is on the north side of the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, are on the south side of the Danube.
Hmmm, looks like my comment did not go through. So if the original does appear, please forgive the repetition. There is not a lot of beautiful scenery between Vienna and Nuremburg and most of your cruising time will be after dark, so even less to see. You will also spend a lot of that cruising time negotiating the locks and once you've seen one or two, you've seen them all. Also be aware that the locks make the wifi very spotty unless Tauck has improved on its system. It is a great trip for visiting the markets. Have a wonderful time.
I'm currently on the cruise in a lower level Cat 1 cabin port side. Mostly it seems we've been tied up to the dock on that side which has limited what I could see. However as others noted there isn't that much time to view scenery in part due to the very short days and we have also had ships tied up to our other side. Basically doesn't matter. Choose based on cabin type.
The cruise itself isn't much to talk about, but it is the stops that you take over there to see the various Christmas markets and vendors selling their items on this particular cruise (I had been on the Danube and Rhine river Christmas markets in the past and I especially enjoyed the one on the Danube (many vendor along that river). :-)
You cruise at night, so the side of the ship doesn't matter. You will be out of your room early in the morning and it gets dark at 4 in the Winter, so you will rarely see the outside from your cabin. On rare cruising during daylight, you'll want to be in the Panoramic Lounge so you can see both sides of the river. We take this cruise almost every 3 years and we've been on both sides - it doesn't matter at all.
If you've traveled with Tauck before, you get a GIFT OF TIME which is one free pre or post night in a hotel - I'd take that in Vienna as their hotel is amazing there. You must ask for this and there is a deadline.
In Nuremberg, def HOTEL VICTORIA - we stay there every other year. It is quaint, privately owned, free breakfast, an easy walk to the markets, and right across the street from the train station - you can actually walk underground to get there. Also, Tauck will pick you up from the Train Station for free, so that makes it so easy - just walk across the street and meet them.
Check HOTEL VICTORIA out on TripAdvisor, but book directly with the hotel - book ASAP - it may already be booked for this year as it is so easy, nice, clean and close to the markets and within the OLDE TOWNE wall. I don't recommend the Hotel Tauck uses in Nuremberg - it is far from the Markets, not within the OLDE TOWNE wall and it is nothing special.
Second that on Tauck's hotel in Vienna. Very well placed to walk or take a tram to most all the markets or other sights. The rooms were very nice. My group of 6 women traveling solo in Cat 1 cabins all had great rooms.
Htjt1111 --- I personally don't think it matters which direction you go - we've done both directions -- and we always extend on both ends -- we prefer to end in Nuremberg as we like to fly directly home after we extend several more days at the end - so we eventually take the train to Munich for a couple days and can fly home direct from Munich. We also find the market in Nuremberg has everything - so we tend to wait till we get there to buy stuff so we don't have to carry it around for 2 weeks.
We are going Westbound again in 2025 with about 12 of our friends. You did not go wrong booking eastbound, but I do suggest you add a few days to pre and post cruise. There is VERY little time in Nuremberg and you will want more. Vienna has many markets and things to see that are NOT included with Tauck, so def extend there too. I do not recommend the Tauck hotel in Nuremberg as it's too far from the markets and there are better and cheaper places to stay. If you have the GoT, use it in Vienna and try to add a couple more days there also
Comments
It probably won't matter which side you select- you won't be spending much daytime cruising and when not cruising you'll be ashore and won't be spending much time in your cabin. Other than lights in the distance, you can't see much when cruising at night and sunset comes early. Also, when docked, you may be rafted along side another river boat sometimes one on each side though this is not as common on an XMAS Mkts cruises. FYI, regardless of direction of travel, river boats ALWAYS dock with their bows facing into the current- on the Danube when docked you will be facing generally northwest since the river flows northwest to southeast. When docked, the side facing land also depends which side of the river the town is located- on your cruise all the towns (the Altstadts) except Nuremberg, which is on the north side of the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, are on the south side of the Danube.
Hmmm, looks like my comment did not go through. So if the original does appear, please forgive the repetition. There is not a lot of beautiful scenery between Vienna and Nuremburg and most of your cruising time will be after dark, so even less to see. You will also spend a lot of that cruising time negotiating the locks and once you've seen one or two, you've seen them all. Also be aware that the locks make the wifi very spotty unless Tauck has improved on its system. It is a great trip for visiting the markets. Have a wonderful time.
I'm currently on the cruise in a lower level Cat 1 cabin port side. Mostly it seems we've been tied up to the dock on that side which has limited what I could see. However as others noted there isn't that much time to view scenery in part due to the very short days and we have also had ships tied up to our other side. Basically doesn't matter. Choose based on cabin type.
The cruise itself isn't much to talk about, but it is the stops that you take over there to see the various Christmas markets and vendors selling their items on this particular cruise (I had been on the Danube and Rhine river Christmas markets in the past and I especially enjoyed the one on the Danube (many vendor along that river). :-)
We are cruising from Nuremberg to Vienna on the Christmas Cruise so my question is there a favorable side to stay on, Port?
Also best hotels to stay in Vienna and Nuremberg? TIA
You cruise at night, so the side of the ship doesn't matter. You will be out of your room early in the morning and it gets dark at 4 in the Winter, so you will rarely see the outside from your cabin. On rare cruising during daylight, you'll want to be in the Panoramic Lounge so you can see both sides of the river. We take this cruise almost every 3 years and we've been on both sides - it doesn't matter at all.
If you've traveled with Tauck before, you get a GIFT OF TIME which is one free pre or post night in a hotel - I'd take that in Vienna as their hotel is amazing there. You must ask for this and there is a deadline.
In Nuremberg, def HOTEL VICTORIA - we stay there every other year. It is quaint, privately owned, free breakfast, an easy walk to the markets, and right across the street from the train station - you can actually walk underground to get there. Also, Tauck will pick you up from the Train Station for free, so that makes it so easy - just walk across the street and meet them.
Check HOTEL VICTORIA out on TripAdvisor, but book directly with the hotel - book ASAP - it may already be booked for this year as it is so easy, nice, clean and close to the markets and within the OLDE TOWNE wall. I don't recommend the Hotel Tauck uses in Nuremberg - it is far from the Markets, not within the OLDE TOWNE wall and it is nothing special.
Second that on Tauck's hotel in Vienna. Very well placed to walk or take a tram to most all the markets or other sights. The rooms were very nice. My group of 6 women traveling solo in Cat 1 cabins all had great rooms.
Why is the Westbound favored over the Eastbound. We are scheduled Eastbound. Going in 2025
We did west so that our gift of time at the start would be in Vienna where there are several markets and other sights to see.
Htjt1111 --- I personally don't think it matters which direction you go - we've done both directions -- and we always extend on both ends -- we prefer to end in Nuremberg as we like to fly directly home after we extend several more days at the end - so we eventually take the train to Munich for a couple days and can fly home direct from Munich. We also find the market in Nuremberg has everything - so we tend to wait till we get there to buy stuff so we don't have to carry it around for 2 weeks.
We are going Westbound again in 2025 with about 12 of our friends. You did not go wrong booking eastbound, but I do suggest you add a few days to pre and post cruise. There is VERY little time in Nuremberg and you will want more. Vienna has many markets and things to see that are NOT included with Tauck, so def extend there too. I do not recommend the Tauck hotel in Nuremberg as it's too far from the markets and there are better and cheaper places to stay. If you have the GoT, use it in Vienna and try to add a couple more days there also