There's no finer way to spend 7-10 days in December than on a pre-Christmas cruise along the Danube.

You'll cruise the Danube from Budapest to Nuremberg, with a pre-cruise option to visit Prague and a visit to Bratislava when transferring from Prague to Budapest.

Plenty of included shore excursions and exclusive Travel Insider benefits (at no extra charge) make this a varied kaleidoscope of European life, enhanced by the seasonal Christmas markets where a delightful variety of local craft items are offered for sale.

Danube Christmas Markets Cruise 2013 A magical European Christmas cruise experience NOW ON SALE - SAVE 25% OFF REGULAR RATES

Join a small group of 'Travel Insiders' and share the enjoyment of a very different style of vacation on a custom built river boat.   Glide by picture postcard scenes during the magic of the pre-Christmas season in Germany, Austria, Hungary, and optionally Slovakia and the Czech Republic too.

Maybe you've cruised on a gigantic cruise ship before.  Our Christmas Markets river cruise is very different.  The nearly brand new (launched in 2012) river super-cruiser, Amacerto, has only 82 cabins, making for a much more personal and less institutional experience.

The river cruise itinerary is also very different to a traditional ocean cruise.  You never have rough seas, and you're always treated to beautiful views out your cabin window, never just empty ocean.

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Cruise Dates

Start Date and Options

You should leave the US on or before Sunday 8 December 2013, so as to arrive into Budapest on or before Monday 9 December.  You board the ship on Monday afternoon, 9 December, 2013.

Many people choose to arrive a day before the start of the cruise.  This means if you - or your luggage - should miss a connecting flight, or if anything else goes wrong, you still have a day up your sleeve before the start of the cruise.

It also gives you a day to 'de-jetlag' before the cruise gets underway.

We are offering a pre-cruise option in Prague - leave the US on or before Friday 6 December to arrive into Prague on or before Saturday 7  December and enjoy two nights in glorious Prague.  More details in the next section.

End Date and Options

The cruise ends in Nuremberg on the morning of Monday, 16 December.

At this point you're free to either fly home or to extend your vacation as you wish.  In most cases, if you fly home that day, you will arrive back in the US the same day.  You've still more than a week to finish any Christmas shopping!

Pre and Post Cruise Optional Extensions

You are welcome to fly into Europe any time you wish, of course, and to return home at any time, too, and similarly you don't need to limit yourself to simply flying in to Budapest and out of Nuremberg.

We also offer a Travel Insider exclusive extension to enhance your overall tour experience.  Most people choose to take advantage of this too, and everyone who does agrees it adds greatly to their overall European Christmas experience.

Pre-Cruise Option - Prague and Bratislava

We are offering you the chance to spend two nights or longer in Prague, with a rail and coach transfer via Bratislava to meet the ship in Budapest on Monday 9 December.

You can choose from making your own accommodation arrangements and simply meeting us on Monday morning for the transfer and included Bratislava tour, or you can stay two or more nights at our official Travel Insider hotel in the absolute heart of historic Prague. literally just around the corner from the main Christmas Markets and Clock Tower square, in a quiet little courtyard reeking of hundreds of years of history.

We include a feature dinner in one of our favorite traditional Czech cellar restaurants, also right in the heart of Prague (5 minutes walk from the hotel) and a half day city tour of this beautiful city.

Most people will choose to stay three nights (ie leave the US on Thursday 5 Dec and arrive on Friday 6 Dec), although you can of course stay any length of time you wish, and there's plenty to do, both in Prague and via day tours from Prague, to fill in plenty of additional days.

Our transfer to meet the ship in Budapest on Monday is also a big plus.  We take a comfortable train for the longer and somewhat boring distance between Prague and Bratislava, where we are then met by a coach and guide.  We have a walking tour of the heart of Bratislava, time for lunch, and then an interesting coaching transfer on the short remaining distance to Budapest.

Prague is one of the most beautiful and best preserved historical cities in all of Europe (it avoided destruction in WW2).  It has a lovely Christmas market, and is alive with culture, music, and the arts.  Spending time in Prague makes for a lovely start to our Christmas Markets experience, and we strongly urge you to include Prague as a wonderful way to begin your Christmas Markets experience.

Special Savings

Here's a great opportunity to save money on your cruise, together with the convenience of being about to book well in advance.

We have negotiated a special 25% discount but you have to hurry to take advantage of it.

This discount only applies if you book and pay your deposit prior to the end of April.  So, please, hurry.

In addition, you may qualify for an extra $100 saving if you've traveled on a previous Amawaterways cruise (note - this is calculated before the 40% discount).

Plus, there's still more.  You'll get extra values from The Travel Insider - a free tour to Salzburg ($100 value), a tour to and admission into our favorite Christmas Market in all of Europe, and a free cocktail reception party on board, as well as The Travel Insider himself (David Rowell) traveling with you all the way as your personal escort.

Add this all up and you get an amazing value, and yours if you take advantage of it quickly!

About the Cruise/Tour

Like a traditional cruise, this is a fully meal inclusive cruise, and - better than a traditional cruise - it includes a generous amount of shore touring as well.  You won't have to pay extra for your shore touring when visiting the lovely towns and cities as you cruise through Germany, Austria and Hungary.

The cruise of course includes three great meals a day, plus various other snacks, on-board entertainment most evenings, as well as generous opportunities to sightsee, both from the boat as it cruises the river, and while ashore during the many stops.  You typically have time to both participate in a provided tour and also to sightsee and shop on your own.

Indeed, the shopping is part of the experience on this tour, as you visit various local craft Christmas markets in the different towns and cities.  You'll be able to buy distinctive gifts for all your friends and family this year!  And while all meals are available on the vessel, you'll also be able to experience other dining opportunities ashore if you wish.

A nice extra feature is free wine, beer or soda with every dinner.  And if you wish to drink more wine, you'll be delighted at the bargain prices that wine sells for ashore.

While all meals are available on the vessel, you'll also be able to experience other dining opportunities ashore if you wish.  Similarly, the on-board entertainment can be supplemented with visits to clubs and bars and shows ashore - the vessel will sometimes stay in port until late at night, allowing you a chance to experience each town by day and by night.

Because the ship carries a maximum of 164 passengers, everything is more personal.  The crew will remember you by name, and you have a chance to meet other people on board and to create new friendships.  Most people on these cruises seem to be variously middle aged and older.

I have done the exact same cruise, as well as similar Christmas cruises eight times before and almost always with Amawaterways.  I have been consistently impressed with Amawaterways in general, their ships and their crews; and feel this to be undoubtedly the best value, best itinerary, and overall best experience for Christmas cruises in 2013.

More general information about river cruising in Europe can be found here.

A day by day, town by town photo journal of a Christmas Cruise we took in a previous year can be found here.

Why River Cruising

River cruising is simply and absolutely the most comfortable and convenient way to travel around Europe.  You can unpack your bags and get comfortable in your lovely cabin and not need to repack or transfer until the end of the cruise - this in itself is probably all the convincing you'll need!

In addition, European towns have historically tended to be centered around the major rivers, and so river cruising is a great way to get to the lovely historic parts of Europe, at a sedate speed, and in luxurious comfort.

How else could you travel around Europe?  On a bus tour?  Yuck!  By train or car - yes, but then you have an abundance of travel hassles every day.

I've experienced every possible type of travel, and I'm a 100% convert.  River cruising is the best way to see Europe.  Try it, and you'll be sure to agree.

Why Cruise in Winter?

Ha - tricked you.  Early December is not yet winter - it is still late fall.  But, in any event, there are two good reasons to enjoy this cruise at this off-season time of year.

The first reason is simply because it is the off-season.  The crowds of people aren't as crushingly overpowering as they are in the busy season.  For example, at the glorious abbey in Melk, during the summer there are tours departing every two minutes!  When we visit, we'll probably be the only group visiting and so our guides can slow down and show us more things and not rush to squeeze us in between the group immediately before and after.  And instead of 20 cruise ships mooring in (and overwhelming) the small town, we may be the only one, or perhaps there might be one other.

The second reason is to experience the Christmas markets.  Because of the strong Christian tradition in the towns we visit, Christmas is viewed more seriously to start with, and the Christmas markets are a delightful celebration of our shared Judeo-Christian and European heritage.

Yes, the weather is cold, but nothing that several layers of warm clothes can't combat, and our eight previous Christmas Market cruises have generally been blessed with good weather (ie usually no rain, very little snow and not uncomfortably cold).  As yet another Travel Insider bonus, we provide some free handwarmers for you, too!

I heartily recommend this cruise, and at this time of year.  I've loved it the eight times I've done it, and the 200 Travel Insider readers who've accompanied me have been similarly charmed by it.

Try it for yourself - you'll be delighted you did.

About the Amacerto

Our cruise ship for this cruise, the Amacerto is almost brand new (it was built last year), and has been been custom designed to meet the special needs of the Danube, enabling it to operate in less favorable conditions than many of the other boats (ie when the water levels are 'too high' or 'too low').

The boat is what we call a 'super cruiser'.  For a long time, construction techniques and limitations restricted river cruisers to a maximum of about 350' in length, but now, new state of the art design has enabled longer ships, and this ship is 443' long.  This extra space has been used not just to add more cabins, but also to increase the size and spaciousness of the cabins, and to add extra public areas too (like a second dining room, for example).

The boat is definitely long, and also relatively narrow (to fit in the locks).  It is 38' wide, and cruises at 15.6 mph.  This might seem like a slow speed, but it is faster than most of the other cruise boats, enabling the boat to get between towns faster and giving you more time sightseeing.

Dining is single-seating and with no pre-assigned tables, so you can move about as you wish from meal to meal.  Amawaterways even provides a generous amount of complimentary wine, beer and soft drinks with your evening meal each night.

Smoking is restricted to the outside Sun Deck only.

Our cruise has been marketed primarily to English speaking people and the language on board is exclusively English.  This means you won't have the inconvenience of having to listen to every announcement being repeated in four or five different languages, and you can conveniently talk to your fellow guests (and likely soon to be new friends) on board.

Cabin Types

Cabins on the Amacerto are some of the largest of any Danube river cruise boat.

Cabins are typically either 235 sq ft or 210 sq ft, with some 170 sq ft cabins and a few 160 sq ft cabins.  Suites are a huge 350 sq ft in size.

This cabin picture is of a BA category 210 sq ft cabin with both internal and external sun deck/balconies.

There are a great variety of different cabin types to choose from.  We've written a special article to help you decide which is best for you, which you can see here.

And here is a deck plan of the Amacerto so you understand exactly where the cabins are located.  Click the link then choose the Deck Plan tab.

Needless to say, feel free to ask if you'd like further help choosing the best cabin option to suit your needs and budget/value point.

Detailed Day by Day Itinerary
Click this image to have a larger map open in a new window	Click for a detailed day by day itinerary of this lovely cruise vacation. And click for a photo journal showing you the sights and experiences you'll enjoy on your Christmas Markets cruise.

Cruise Cost

Per person pricing for the cruise is shown in the table below.  The crossed out prices are the regular prices you'd pay directly to Amawaterways, the prices below show the special 40% savings you get by joining our Travel Insider group.

Note - save another $100 :

• If you have sailed with Amawaterways (formerly Amadeus Waterways) before, you can take another $100 per person off the gross prices (ie $60 off the discounted prices).

Extras and Inclusions

• Port Taxes are $147 per person.

• Single is extra 50% for cruise; extra $100 for Prague.

• Air can be arranged for you by us through Amadeus or you can make your own arrangements as you wish.  Air fares can be quoted from most cities in the US.

• Rates include a free excursion to Salzburg (a $100 value) as a special Travel Insider bonus.

• Rates include a tour to and free admission of our favorite Christmas Market of anywhere in Europe - another Travel Insider exclusive bonus.

• Rates include an exclusive Travel Insider cocktail party on board Amalyra

• Rates can be discounted by an extra $100 gross ($75 after 25% discount) if you are a past Amawaterways customer

• Prague two night rates include dinner and a half day city tour

You can pay for your cruise using a credit card with no credit card surcharge.  Prague payment is requested by cash/check or with a 3% addition on credit card.

Deposit is required within a week of your booking being confirmed; the balance of your payment is due on or before 6 September, 2013.

Single Share Program

If you are planning to travel by yourself, but would prefer to avoid the single surcharge, we can make a best effort to connect you with another single Travel Insider group member, but can't guarantee to find someone compatible.

What about the Air Fare?

If you buy the Amadeus airfare, they include transfers from the airport to the cruise ship when you arrive into Budapest.  These transfers are convenient, but require you to arrive on the exact day the cruise starts, and/or can easily be arranged by yourself when you arrive at the airport as well, so should not unduly influence your airfare planning (taxis in Budapest are brilliantly simple with a flat fare pricing system so there's no danger of being cheated).

We suggest you check to see if you can use any frequent flier miles you might have for this travel, and/or check to see what the best fare you can get on your favorite airline is, then compare it to the Amadeus rate and make your decision then.

You are therefore free to make your own arrangements, any way you wish, to travel to Prague or Budapest and then home again from Nuremberg, and you can of course make extra stops and arrive earlier or stay longer.  You can choose whichever carrier has the best fare and the best schedules for you, and you can also choose a carrier that you wish to earn miles with.

We'll be pleased to answer any questions you might have about arranging your air transportation, of course.

Most people end up arranging their own air rather than booking through Amawaterways.

Which cities to fly in and out of

This might seem like an obvious issue, but remember that Europe is very small and so if you can't get convenient flights (or fares) on your preferred airlines to and from the obvious cities at the start and end of your tour, consider flying in or out of nearby airports and then using a train to get between that airport and the city you need to be in.

For example, consider flying out of Munich and taking a short 1¾ hour train ride from Nuremberg to Munich.  There is an easy rail connection between Munich Airport and the central city train station.

Similarly, for your arrival, it is only 2¾ hours by train between Budapest and Vienna - you might find it easier to fly into Vienna (if you're not choosing the Prague extension).

Travel Insurance

We generally recommend you should protect against the various types of losses that may occur while traveling, and also to provide medical coverage in the event of illness, by purchasing some form of travel insurance.  We've seen enough times in the past either where people have not had travel insurance and desperately wished they had, or where people have had travel insurance and needed to claim on it, to appreciate the value of this protection.

Please see our three part series on travel insurance for more information, and in particular, please see 2/3 of the way down the second page which lists automated travel insurance shopping/comparison/quoting services to help you get the most appropriate travel insurance at the best rate.

Alternatively, Amawaterways offer travel insurance themselves, with two options, either a 'cancel for medical reasons only' type policy or a 'cancel/defer for any reason' type policy.  These cost $335 or $395 per person respectively, and if you wish this insurance cover, you simply choose it when signing up for the cruise, below.  We suspect you can get less expensive coverages through the shopping service we link to above, but at least with Amawaterways, it is all being handled through the one company.

Here's a link to a PDF with the details of the Amawaterways coverages.

How to Extend or Vary this Tour

There are many ways you can extend or vary this tour.

In addition to the pre-packaged extensions we are offering (see above), you're of course free to add anything you like, before or after the cruise.

We recommend you consider arriving into Europe at least a day before the cruise starts, so as to give yourself a day to resolve any problems that may occur such as missing/delayed flights or losing luggage.

If you have more questions, please don't hesitate to ask.  We're here to help ensure your experience is as good as possible.

Need More Information?

If you've a question or need more clarification, go ahead and ask.  Feel free to send us an email, or call us at (206)337-2317.

As soon as your application is accepted, you will be asked to send in your payment within seven days.

Tour Terms and Conditions

Our standard terms and conditions apply to this tour.

In addition, please note these extra terms :

1.   US citizens require a current passport that will not expire for at least six months after the date of their planned return back to the US in order to be admitted to Europe.  They do not require any European visas.  Citizens of other countries should check with the airline that will transport them to Europe to determine what passport and visa requirements may apply.

2.   Tour price is subject to change prior to full payment being received.

3.   Terms and conditions of the cruise line (AmaWaterways) also apply.  In particular, please note that the itinerary can occasionally (rarely) change if water levels are too high or too low to allow the boat to travel.

The Travel Insider is licensed by the State of Washington as a seller of travel - registration number 602 036 247.

Originally published 9 Jan 2013, last update 03 Apr 2013