Christmas Cruise Down the Rhine River (and Bruges and Switzerland, Too)
- Brooke
- Sep 2
- 15 min read
There's something exotic about European Christmas markets to an American traveler, used to an oversaturated winter holiday season that starts the minute Halloween ends. While certain news stations will bemoan a "war" on Christmas, the holiday is still an all encompassing event in the beginnings of winter.
And yet, despite its dominance, Christmas in the US simply cannot measure up to the Northern European experience, with its quaint and charming Christmas markets that sprinkle the cityscapes. There's nothing quite like enjoying a warm glass of vin chaud or glühwein and watching the hustle and bustle of friends and family enjoying the twinkle lights and gentle winter warmth of their community.
In December of 2022, Ben and I, along with two friends, embarked on a river cruise down the Rhine on a mission to enjoy several of the region's fabled Christmas markets, in the hopes of enjoying the festive season in a way only Europe can provide. We sprinkled in a day trip to Bruges, Belgium, and extended our stay in the Netherlands pre-sail, followed by an extended visit to Switzerland post cruise. Let me show you how it went!
Itinerary
A solid itinerary is the key for cruising, in my opinion. While I struggle with being on someone else's schedule and having limited time in the towns, I had been fortunate to visit some of these places in the past, and suspect I might get a chance to visit a few of them again in the future. The big difference, and why I'm a little more chill about a river cruise itinerary vs. the itineraries on the bigger ships is that the towns visited on a river cruise - for the most part - can be relatively conquered in short periods of time.
Below, I've included our itinerary so you can see where we went, and as I write up postings, I'll link to them so you can see what took place during each visit.
Day 1 (December 3, 2022): Arrive Amsterdam in early morning
Day 2 (December 4, 2022): Amsterdam
Day 3 (December 5, 2022): Day trip to Bruges
Day 4 (December 6, 2022): Half day trip to Haarlem / Board AmaPrima
Day 5 (December 7, 2022): Morning in Amsterdam (canal cruise) / Depart down the Rhine
Day 6 (December 8, 2022): Morning sail / Evening in Cologne, Germany
Day 7 (December 9, 2022): Sail through scenic Rhine Gorge / Evening in Rüdesheim am Rhine, Germany
Day 8 (December 10, 2022): Arrive Ludwigshafen/Mannheim and take trip to Heidelberg, Germany
Day 9 (December 11, 2022): Full day in Strasbourg, France
Day 10 (December 12, 2022): Arrive in Breisach and take trip to Riquewihr, France
Day 11 (December 13, 2022): Final morning on ship / Arrive Basel, Switzerland, rent car and depart for Lucerne, Switzerland
Day 12 (December 14, 2022): Lucerne to Interlaken to Montreux, Switzerland
Day 13 (December 15, 2022): Montreux to Geneva, Switzerland
Day 14 (December 16, 2022): Geneva
Day 15 (December 17, 2022): Geneva
Day 16 (December 18, 2022): Depart Geneva and head home
The Cruise Ship: AMA Prima
If you know me, or have read the blog a little, you'll know that I am not a cruiser™. Yet, somehow I occasionally find myself on cruises, though it's important to note that we are always with friends and family. During the heady days of COVID, stuck on our tropical islands in the middle of the Pacific, the most exotic thing we could think of was taking a cold cruise down a river and admire Christmas markets. As I've mentioned in previous postings as well as above, Ben and I are a sucker for European Christmas markets, so that was a big tick in favor of this cruise.
Our friends had never been to continental Europe before, and so we thought a river cruise might be a good entry point to them, to experience a glimpse of what makes the continent so special. Another factor was our one friend's dream was to visit Germany, and after much back and forth, we finally settled on an itinerary that wasn't too short, but also wasn't too long (7 days vs. 15 days). We also did some back and forth on the cruise line of choice, before we decided to go with AmaWaterways.
How did we decide? We looked at Ama, Viking and Emerald river cruises, but we had heard good things from some friends and family about Ama (pronounce a-ma, and not A-M-A like we initially thought) that tipped the balance in their favor. And because we booked super early (crossing our fingers that COVID wouldn't cancel it), we got some great deals including a $75 on board credit per person, and other amenities.
And we enjoyed ourselves. The ship and cabin were very comfortable, food was delicious, itinerary was as good as a cruise ship itinerary can be, and the staff very friendly (and incredibly hard working). There was enough to do without being overwhelmed, and the included excursions were exactly what we needed to see the highlights of the towns we visited. Could we have used a little more time in some ports? Of course. But that's the general downside to cruising, so don't mind me grumbling just a little. Would we use Ama again? Definitely. (As of 2025 when this will be posted, we did use them a few months back!)
In the rest of this posting, I'll be sharing about the ship, including our state room, as well as the dining. I'll also include our pre and post destinations, to give you an idea of how you could take a one week cruise and turn it into a two week vacation.
Public Areas
Stepping aboard the AMAPrima, you are greeted by the reception desk. Because we were taking a Christmas cruise, our ship was all decked out in Christmas decorations, setting the tone for what was to come. This was the area where you would do all your comings and goings from the ship, and it would also act as a "front desk" area, similar to a hotel.
Immediately behind the desk was the ship's small elevator. Note the elevator does not reach certain floors, such as the roof top deck, or the Piano deck.
Behind the Reception Desk is the ship's main lounge. There was ample seating throughout, including sofas, as well as arm chairs too. The bar was also front and center, should you need a quick cocktail or something to sip on. In the back left of the picture above you can see the coffee station, which was available all day.
The area in the picture below was where water and iced tea was always available, as well as some quick snacks like little pastries or cookies could be found all day. During other times, such as the late evening snack, or specialty snacks, were also served here. Because we never ate the early or late breakfast here, or had lunch in the lounge, I am not sure how food was served, though this space below seems like it would have been the location.
Below, looking towards the bow of the ship, is more of the lounge.
Below, the bar.
This is the elevator as seen from our floor, the Cello deck.
The hallway of the Cello deck. It was a nice touch to have all of the cabin doors decorated with Christmas wreaths, adding to the festive spirit.
Time to check out the sun deck. I'll be honest, we didn't really use this space much on the cruise due to the temperatures outside. However, during our first night stationed in Amsterdam, we made sure we at least got a sampling of what the ship had to offer. I'm sure during warmer times of the year, sailing from the sundeck would be a real treat.
River cruises don't really have swimming pools like their bigger sea-going siblings do. However, our ship had a hot tub. And I had every intention of going in this hot tub - I came fully prepared with a bathing suit and everything. But alas! I never did make it in there. Next time. :)
There were other activities up on the roof, including giant games of chess as well as a walking track, for those who didn't get all the steps in wandering the various cities we stopped at.
The sundeck also had lots of covered seating, should you need some shade (not that we did during our cruise)...
...as well as plenty of non-covered seating, should you want to sit fully in the sunshine.
Towards the aft of the ship was more relaxed and comfortable seating.
Overall, the public spaces aboard the AMAPrima were super comfortable and included lots of space to spread out. Even during a Christmas cruise when everyone on board was opting to stay inside, we had plenty of room to spread out in the lounge. If the weather had been warmer, and people could (or would) use both the indoor and outdoor spaces, the cruise would have felt even more spread out. Overall, I felt that this ship did a nice job of providing exactly what was needed where it all needed to be.
Our Stateroom
While having nice public spaces is important, it's equally important to have a comfortable cabin. Ben and I were in Cabin 225, located on the Cello deck. This room is considered a French Balcony and Outside Balcony. The room is a decent 210 square feet, and having the double balcony provided a bit of extra space, which you'll see in the pictures below. The other benefit to this category is the ample sized bathroom - one of, if not the, biggest I've ever had on a cruise ship! (The other competing bathroom was on the Regent Seven Seas Navigator, but that was an ocean going ship suite, so not completely comparing apples to apples).
As you can see below, the French balcony area provided a little extra seating area. Some categories below this one do not offer this extra space. For some, it may not seem like much, but this little corner actually came in handy. I will say that I had bigger plans to use the actual balcony than I did, and think if I took a warmer weather cruise it would have been nice to have. However, if I were to do another Christmas cruise or something in a colder time of year, I might skip this category for the balcony (but might consider it for the extra space).
The room also included an ample sized closet, and held our clothes and luggage really well.
Below, the very spacious bathroom. Two things to be aware of. If you note in the picture 4 pictures above, you will see that there is a window of sorts between the bathroom and the bedroom. It is frosted, so you can't technically see in, but if you are sleeping, and your roommate uses the bathroom and turns the light on, it will illuminate the bedroom.
The second thing is that there is a blue light that gets illuminated once you open the bathroom door at night. It doesn't stay on long, but it will also peep through into the bedroom, but overall, I found it to be an effective nightlight.
Above, a view of the balcony from the room. Below, a view of the room from the balcony.
Overall, we found the room to be pretty comfortable. Definitely not the biggest room on a cruise ship we've stayed in, but it fit our needs. Ben will say he didn't get the most comfortable nights sleep in the bed, but I slept fine.
One thing I will note, though, was a quick incident we had on our first night on the ship. When we entered our room, we noticed that there was a leak in the bathroom coming from the toilet area. Something had happened between check out and check in, and when we notified the front desk of this (we didn't notice this until around dinner time), we were told they would try to find the ship's engineer, but might not be able to do so until the morning. In the meantime, we could use the public toilets located near the lobby. This wasn't exactly a great first impression - we were paying x amount of dollars and would have to use public toilets? Thankfully, the engineer was somehow located while we dined, and he/she fixed the issue. Still, if you're used to big ships with tons of staff on board, I share this story as a bit of a warning - the crew is a lot smaller, and things that might get handled more quickly by bigger operations may not be able to be taken care of so quickly.
This incident didn't stop us from cruising with AmaWaterways again, and we will continue to do so going forward.
Dining
One of the benefits of cruising is the all inclusive dining. Below, I'll share some examples of menus and meals we had throughout cruise, so you can get an idea of what the experience was like. I wouldn't assume that the menus would be exactly the same; however, I hope this will give you a glimpse of what lunch and dinner looked like each day.
One of the extra benefits on AmaWaterways is the inclusion of The Chef's Table dining experience. Typically, aboard the ocean cruise liners, these "special" meals can cost extra. But not on AmaWaterways. Dinner at The Chef's Table is a first come, first serve, and advance reservations are required. However, it does not cost extra to enjoy this elevated dining experience, which was a really nice touch!
I apologize for not taking a better picture of the menu. However, you should note that I have a few food sensitivities, and each was handled particularly well. I can not eat gluten or dairy (though the dairy I am not as strict with as the gluten, generally speaking), but because of the bespoke nature of dining at The Chef's Table, my meal was accommodated to my specific needs. It's always a nice feeling knowing you're being taken care of!
Each course at The Chef's Table was delightful - really well prepared, well composed, and a nice showcasing of the ship's culinary talent. Because we opted to dine at The Chef's Table during our first evening aboard, it provided a nice entrée into what we could expect for the rest of our sailing.
Another dining feature that we didn't take advantage as often as we thought we would was the late night snack. We thought our jet lag would get the better of us, having come from nearly half a world away, but ultimately we were too tired from our travels to stay up late each night. However, our first evening on board was the exception. Maybe because we were so excited to be starting the cruise, or maybe because we hadn't yet tired ourselves out too much, we decided to check it out.
And that first evening's offerings were some hot dogs, finger sandwiches, and a sweet pastry treat. There was also some evening entertainment, so we grabbed a drink, enjoyed our snack, and got our bearings aboard the AMAPrima that first night.
Another thing the ship offered was the occasional theme based snack in the main lounge. For instance, they might offer a Rüdesheimer coffee when cruising through the scenic section of the Rhine on the way to Rüdesheim, or in the case below, some sausages as well.
Below is a selection of menus that I captured throughout the trip. Notice that there were always about 3 main course offerings, on top of the food that could be served any time, like a steak dish or salmon fillet. Because of my particular dietary restrictions, I went with the steak dish only once, which I thought was a pretty good success rate for being able to dine off of the regular menu. In general, though, my dessert option was generally just the fruit plate.
Note, though, that I only told the ship about my gluten sensitivity before I boarded. When you book your vacation, they will ask you in advance about any dietary restrictions and you will have to sign some paperwork. If you do have dietary restrictions, it is important to note them then - I can't speak for how accommodating the ship will be if you inform them after you've set sail, so be as up front as possible as soon as possible. Also note that for those who have Celiac disease, the paperwork noted that it would be a challenge to avoid cross contamination. However, things may have changed since I sailed, so it's best to talk to your travel agent or a ship's representative.
All of our dining, other than some snacks in the lounge as noted previously, or at The Chef's Table, took place in the main dining room on the Cello deck. Our group of four used the same table for breakfast, lunch and dinner each day, though seats were not assigned - it just happened to work out this way. We had a wonderful waiter, who always remembered to bring me gluten free toast in the morning. It was a very thoughtful touch that I appreciated.
I should note that I took absolutely zero pictures of breakfast - I'm not sure how this happened, as I generally take a thousand pictures of the most random things! It's probably because I got the same breakfast each day - eggs, toast, fruit and meat. There is a small menu you can order items a la carte from, as well as a small buffet.
Below I've included some pictures of the little food sampler platters that came before lunch each day. You did not have to order these, and they offered some yummy appetizers before your main meal. I suppose if you wanted you could eat these as your main meal, but why not both?
I was pleased again that some of the fried options were provided to me in a gluten free version. However, because we often dined together as a group of 4, 2 of these platters were provided - one with the gluten free option, and one regular.
Below, I've included some pictures of some of the soups, salads, mains, and desserts. Overall, the meals were pretty tasty, and as someone with lots of dietary restrictions, I was pleased by the amount of things I could eat - in fact, I could always have an appetizer, which was usually the soup or a salad, as well as a main from the dinner menu, and not the lounge menu. Dessert, though, as mentioned above, was the only thing that was tricky. However, if you do have a gluten sensitivity but not a dairy one, there were plenty of ice creams that could be enjoyed.
The other thing not really shown above - simply because I can no longer drink alcohol or caffeine - is the alcohol offerings with the meals. Generally, beer and wine was offered at both lunch and dinner for free, though speciality wines and mixed drinks had an extra cost. Soft drinks were also provided with the meals as well, and I often opted for lemonade. Should you want a cocktail or alcoholic drink outside of meal times, the bar upstairs could provide them for you - for a fee. However, there is a Sip and Sail every day, which is their version of a happy hour or some special occasion that included a free drink (such as a welcome glass of champagne or the Rüdesheimer coffee as examples).
Also note that available at all times in the lounge was a fancy coffee machine that could whip you up a caffeinated beverage in no time and for no extra cost. There were also teas available and hot water too.
Due to us having gotten a $75 per person on-board ship credit, we wound up paying no extra money for any drinks on the trip, and had plenty of money left over by the end to use as tips and to buy souvenirs at the ship store. If you're not a heavy drinker, a river cruise can be just right and not break the bank.
Overall, though, the dining experience on AMAPrima was an enjoyable one - everything was well thought out, the food was tasty, the staff super friendly and accommodating, and well presented.
Embarkation and Disembarkation
Embarkation: Amsterdam
This is my second cruise that has departed out of Amsterdam, though the two experiences couldn't have been more different from each other. Whereas my first cruise experience in Amsterdam was a Baltic Cruise on Royal Caribbean, on a massive ship, this one was a smaller river cruise ship, more my style in terms of scale and expectations.
Amsterdam makes a great embarkation city as it's small enough to get around easily, but also has enough things to do for a pre-cruise itinerary. Having spent almost 2 weeks there previously, I really looked forward to getting the chance to spend some more time there again, this time with Ben to show him some of my favorite spots, and explore a few more this time around.
I wouldn't hesitate to do a cruise out of Amsterdam in the future, and in fact, would even be more inclined to take one due to its ease of navigation and convenience from getting there from the US.
Disembarkation: Basel, Switzerland
Well, I can't say much about Basel as we hardly spent any time there. Perhaps that was a mistake, as it's probably a lovely city, but in reality, we enjoyed the places we explored quite a bit that I don't feel like we should have done things differently. Of course, we were off to visit our friend in Geneva, with a few scenic detours along the way, so your milage may vary here. If you don't happen to have any Swiss friends at the end of your itinerary, a longer stay in Basel might just be the ticket.
I will say getting to and from the US will be a little more challenging, but not any less so than departing from Geneva. Just note that if this is your final or first city, you will likely need a connecting flight.
I'll leave you with this picture of Ben on the dock in the town of Iseltwald made famous in the super popular Korean drama, "Crash Landing on You."
Overall Impressions
Overall, while I'm not what you might consider a "cruiser," I did enjoy this experience. As of this final recap (written in July of 2025, while the majority of the post was written earlier), we have since taken our 2nd river cruise with Ama, and are already planning future ones beyond that. If you're looking to experience a few of Europe's Christmas markets and are only looking to unpack once, this is definitely a great option to consider.
For booking our trip with AmaWaterways, we used a travel agent with AAA in the United States. They provide a bunch of discounts, so I would definitely recommend reaching out to your nearest one. If you need a particular recommendation, I would be happy to share my travel agent as she's been wonderful.
Maybe this river cruising will make me a cruiser after all?
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