River Cruises Christmas and New Year
Christmas cruises 2024, 2025, 2026, 2023 New Year's Eve
All River Cruises Christmas and New Year cruise offers listed here are just itineraries and not cruise deals for sale. Vessels are ordered alphabetically. Comparing all the ships in the River Cruises fleet is a most convenient way to select the best for you Holiday voyages as departures (homeports, dates), destinations (regions, visited countries), itineraries (ports of call, arrival dates, port times) and also to compare cruise prices.
CruiseMapper shows cruise prices per person. These are only indicative fares on the ship's lowest category staterooms. All rates are based on double occupancy (twin share) and don't include cruise line or travel agency promotions, group booking rates or any other special offers and discounts.
| Date | Ship | Itinerary | Price from |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 Dec 23 | 
DCS Amethyst | 11 days, round-trip Danube | $1620 |
| 2023 Dec 23 |
DCS Amethyst Classic | 10 days, round-trip Rhine | |
| 2023 Dec 26 |
DCS Amethyst Classic | 7 days, round-trip Rhine | |
| 2023 Dec 27 |
MS Lady Diletta | 6 days, round-trip Rhine | |
| 2023 Dec 27 |
MS Lady Cristina | 7 days, round-trip Rhine | |
| 2023 Dec 27 |
DCS Amethyst | 7 days, round-trip Danube | |
| 2023 Dec 28 |
MS Elegant Lady | 6 days, round-trip Rhine | |
| 2024 Dec 20 |
MS Lady Cristina | 7 days, round-trip Rhine | $1257 |
| 2024 Dec 20 |
MS Sans Souci | 7 days, round-trip Elbe | $1467 |
| 2024 Dec 20 |
DCS Amethyst | 7 days, one-way from Linz to Passau | $1134 |
| 2024 Dec 22 |
DCS Amethyst | 5 days, round-trip Danube | $755 |
| 2024 Dec 22 |
DCS Amethyst | 12 days, round-trip Danube | $1891 |
| 2024 Dec 22 |
DCS Amethyst Classic | 11 days, round-trip Rhine | $1674 |
| 2024 Dec 22 |
DCS Amethyst Classic | 4 days, round-trip Rhine | $528 |
| 2024 Dec 26 |
DCS Amethyst Classic | 7 days, round-trip Rhine | $1242 |
| 2024 Dec 27 |
MS Lady Diletta | 6 days, round-trip Rhine | $1296 |
| 2024 Dec 27 |
MS Sans Souci | 7 days, round-trip Elbe | $1886 |
| 2024 Dec 27 |
MS Elegant Lady | 6 days, round-trip Rhine | $1257 |
| 2024 Dec 27 |
DCS Amethyst | 7 days, round-trip Danube | $1242 |
| 2025 Dec 19 |
Viking Sobek | 7 days, round-trip 11 Night Pharaohs and Pyramids Cruise and Land Tour | $7499 |
| 2025 Dec 26 |
Viking Sobek | 7 days, round-trip 11 Night Pharaohs and Pyramids Cruise and Land Tour | $7499 |
| 2026 Dec 18 |
Viking Sobek | 7 days, round-trip 11 Night Pharaohs and Pyramids Cruise and Land Tour | $7999 |
| 2026 Dec 25 |
Viking Sobek | 7 days, round-trip 11 Night Pharaohs and Pyramids Cruise and Land Tour | $7999 |
Christmas river cruises are among Europe's top-selling Holiday travel deals. The riverboats operate on the most popular European rivers and major inland waterways, including Rhine, Danube, Main, Main-Danube Canal, Moselle, Seine. All larger-sized river ships depart from homeports in famous cities and operate voyages to popular regions in France, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania.
Generally operated with all-inclusive fares, European riverboats provide premium hotel amenities, comfort, boutique-style interior, spacious staterooms (many with French Balconies), gourmet meals, complimentary tours, and boat transfers. Some river cruise deals are also inclusive of airfare (one-way or roundtrip international flights).
Christmas river cruises in Europe generally include the following amenities - all meals (formal dinners and cocktail receptions), beverages (European wines, beer and soft drinks during lunch and dinner), bottled water (in stateroom), 24-hour beverage station (specialty tea/coffee, juices, snacks), tours and excursions (guided by English-speaking experts, and mainly to UNESCO sites), Holiday-themed guided programs, onboard enrichment and live entertainment (by guest lecturers, resident pianist, local performers), gratuities, taxes, ashore use of Nordic walking sticks, bicycles and Quietvox devices (portable audio headset system).
Next, are listed the most visited European river port cities by destination.
- Rhine River - Basel, Kehl (to Strasbourg), Germersheim (to Heidelberg), Mainz, Rudesheim, Cologne, Koblenz, Mannheim, Dusseldorf, Nijmegen, Utrecht, Arnhem, Breisach, Speyer, Worms.
- Danube River - Budapest, Vienna, Krems, Linz (to Salzburg and Oberndorf), Durnstein, Passau (to Munich), Grein, Melk Abbey, Bratislava, Deggendorf (to Theresienthal), Regensburg, Esztergom, Visegrad, Mohacs, Novi Sad, Belgrade, Vidin, Ruse, Giurgiu (to Bucharest), Oltenita, Braila, Tulcea.
- Main River - Nurnberg (Rhine–Main–Danube Canal), Bamberg, Kitzingen, Wurzburg (to Rothenburg), Wertheim, Frankfurt, Rothenfels.
- Elbe River - Lutherstadt Wittenberg, Meissen, Dresden, Bad Schandau, Decin.
- (France) Seine River - Paris, Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, Vernon, Les Andelys, Rives-en-Seine, Honfleur, Rouen, Giverny, Auvers-sur-Oise, Poissy, Le Havre.
- (France) Rhone River - Lyon, Chalon-sur-Saone, Beaune, Vienne, Tournon-sur-Rhone, Viviers-sur-Rhone, Valence, Macon, Arles, Pont du Gard, Avignon.
- (France) Garonne RIver - Bordeaux, Pauillac, Blaye, Bourg-sur-Gironde, Saint-Emilion, Libourne, Cadillac, Cubzac-les-Ponts, Gironde Estuary.
- (Portugal) Douro RIver - Porto, Bitetos, Regua, Pinhao, Barca d'Alva, Vega de Terron (to Salamanca).
- In Ukraine (Dnieper River) and Russia (Volga River) cruises during Christmas and New Year are not available.
To search for Christmas and New Year river cruises by departure port, country, and company, you can use the CruiseMapper's Xmas cruise finder. Be sure to select "River" in the "Ship Type" box.
Next tables show all River Christmas New Year cruise itineraries as ships, departure ports, call ports (dates and arrival/departure times) and regions.