The growing popularity of Riviera Travel River Cruises’ Yuletide Market cruises in Europe has prompted the five-star cruise line to offer short-break river cruises from Cologne and Budapest over Christmas and New Year for the first time from this December.
Four brand new sailings have been introduced on the Rhine and Danube rivers, with each offering a selection of cabins that solo travellers can use with no single supplement.
The four new festive sailings, including Christmas Day or New Year’s Day, are:
* Christmas on the Rhine – eight days, round-trip from Cologne, sailing December 21, 2020
* Christmas on the Blue Danube – eight days, round-trip from Budapest, sailing December 21, 2020
* New Year on the Rhine – six days, round-trip from Cologne, sailing December 28, 2020
* New Year on the Blue Danube – six days, round-trip from Budapest, sailing December 28, 2020
Riviera Travel’s Sales and Marketing Executive for Australia, Gina Squirrell, said the line first introduced Yuletide Market cruises on the Rhine and Danube rivers in 2017 and their mounting popularity – particularly with Australians – had led to the launch of new cruises over the main Christmas and New Year festive period. “More and more of our guests were telling us they would love to celebrate Christmas Day or New Year’s Eve on a river cruise so to meet demand we will be offering these special, short-break, festive cruises from this December, “ Ms Squirrell said. “We expect them to prove very popular, particularly with solo passengers, with the opportunity for them to celebrate the festive season with fellow guests and with zero solo supplements available in selected cabins.”
All four cruises will take guests to medieval old towns embellished in winter sparkle, with cobblestone squares filled with carollers, glittering Christmas trees and market stalls laden with roasting chestnuts, hot mulled wine, decorations and gifts.
The eight-day Christmas on the Rhine cruise aboard the five-star river ship, MS Oscar Wilde, from Cologne on December 21, 2020, will visit pretty, chocolate-box towns like Koblenz, Rudesheim, Speyer, Strasbourg and Boppard in Germany and France, with a special Christmas Day dinner and musical performance offered onboard. Fares are available from A$3889 per person, twin-share or for solos, subject to availability.
The eight-day Christmas on the Danube cruise aboard the five-star river ship, MS William Wordsworth, from Budapest on December 21, 2020, will visit Esztergom, Bratislava, Melk, Linz/Salzburg and Vienna in Hungary, Slovakia and Austria, with a special Christmas Day dinner and musical recital offered onboard. Fares are available from A$3839 per person, twin-share. Solo cabins are already sold out.
The six-day New Year on the Rhine cruise aboard MS Oscar Wilde, from Cologne on December 28, 2020, will visit Rudesheim, Frankfurt and Koblenz, with a New Year’s celebration offered onboard. Fares are available from A$2679 per person, twin-share or for solos, subject to availability.
The six-day New Year on the Danube cruise aboard MS William Wordsworth, from Budapest on December 28, 2020, will visit Bratislava and Vienna in Slovakia and Austria, with a New Year’s Ever party and concert recital offered onboard. Fares are available from A$2629 per person, twin-share. Solo cabins are already sold out.
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