Christmas Markets Along The Rhine With Tauck River Cruises

Christmas might be over for another year, but back at the end of November Beccy was lucky enough to sail with Tauck on one of their fantastic 7 night Christmas Markets itineraries along the Rhine. Tauck are an American river operator who offer a fully all-inclusive concept, so all your drinks, excursion and gratuities are included which means once you’re on board you don’t need to factor in any costs.

We arrived in Zurich and were greeted by a chauffeur who escorted us to Basel, where we embarked on MS Inspire. Whilst many river ships can accommodate up to 150 guests, Tauck limit their capacity to 110 and you can definitely feel the benefit of the extra ratio on board.
On the first day, being a Christmas markets cruise all the passengers were given some Euros to buy a decoration to hang on an un-dressed tree by reception. This was a lovely touch as we got to take those decorations home with us at the end of the cruise.

   
We started off visiting some lovely towns in the Alsace region of France, were we got to try the local delicacy of Munster cheese – extra smelly but very delicious! The towns of Riqhewir and Colmar were particularly pretty with their chocolate box style houses and colourful tiled roofs. In Germany at the spa town of Baden-Baden we were taken the oldest Casino in the world, at the Kurhaus. This opulent building was absolutely breath-taking and we were treated to charming carol concert by some local school children. In Heidelberg we enjoyed an amazing tour of the old castle and in Rudesheim – which was a personal highlight – we were shown around a quirky music box museum. Tauck use a mixture of their own tour guides and local guides, all of which were extremely friendly and knowledge.

Back on board we were treated to different local delicacies at dinner every night, along with accompanying wines the maître d had picked for us. As well as this they had staples which featured every evening, so you were never short of choice. Apart from the welcome and goodbye dinners, it was open dining so you could enjoy cocktail hour and then just go down at your leisure and this also meant you were able to dine with several other passengers should you wished. They also had a more casual dining venue at the back of the ship named Arthur’s which served food all day. The quality in both venues was exceptional! The staff were also extremely attentive, nothing was too much trouble for them.

We were sad to leave when we finally arrived in Munich and extremely jealous of some of our fellow passengers who were flying over to Prague to join Tauck along their Christmas markets along the Danube itinerary. If you haven’t taken a River cruise but enjoy sailing with the likes of Silversea, Regent Seven Seas and Oceania, we think you’ll find Tauck the perfect fit for quality and service. The Christmas Markets itineraries are extremely popular, so if you fancy joining them at the end of this year, don’t miss out, enquire with us today!