Christmas Market
With the gaining popularity of river cruising, many river cruise lines have expanded their holiday itineraries – offering more departures and new destinations. The waterways of France and Portugal are now holiday cruise destinations along with the traditional Central and Western Europe waterways.
And the holiday cruise is not limited to the Christmas Markets; you can now find holiday cruises from Thanksgiving to New Years.
Attesting to the growing popularity of river cruising, Viking River Cruises introduced 18 new ships in 2014 (setting a Guinness world record). They are expanding their holiday cruise market this year by offering Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years cruises. And, they’ve added new itineraries in France and Portugal.
Tauck recently announced that it plans to increase its 2014 Christmas market river cruise departures by 67%. They will be adding an additional ship sailing on its two Christmas-themed itineraries – sailing the Danube and the Rhine. Onboard, they will have activities in keeping with the season, including tree trimming.
To compete with land-based vacations, river cruise lines are promoting the value of holiday river cruising. “Europe’s top hotels can cost as much as 700% more over the New Year’s holiday,” AmaWaterways claimed in a recent statement promoting its holiday cruises.
To entice holiday travelers, AmaWaterways is offering a two-day New Year’s extension in Amsterdam on two of its holiday cruises at no additional cost. They are also offering a Danube cruise that will be in Vienna for New Year’s Eve.
If you don’t have plans for the holidays, you might consider a European river cruise. It is a magical time of year – where the air is filled with scents of lebkuchen (spicy gingerbread cookies) and warm glühwein, the traditional mulled wine of the region.
Contact us and we can help you find the perfect river cruise for your holiday vacation.
