Our Christmas present to us is a riverboat cruise on the Rhine. Haven't been able to find any comments on this board or trip reports. Would like to hear from people that have done one. Their suggestions, comments and tips to make the best of the adventure would be appreciated.

We have done Christmas markets cruises on both the Rhine and the Danube. We preferred the Danube trip, as Regensburg and Passau had very interesting old towns. Melk is a special place. Cologne and Dusseldorf on the Rhine were more modern cities.

We went with Grand Circle cruises and were very pleased with their itineraries, the staterooms and food, and the tour directors.

Holiday Market cruises are great fun and a wonderful experience as the cities on the Rhine like to decorate everything for the season. It will be cold but as long as you have all the warm clothing with you that should not be an issue. Make sure that you have warm socks, gloves and hats so that you can spend time walking around the various cities you'll visit. I am taking a group on the Uniworld cruise from Cologne to Basel leaving Dec 14 and we also have groups on Danube cruises on AMA Waterways, the Crystal of river cruises.

You should also check www.cruisecritic.com and go to the forum for "River and Canal Cruises" under the Special Interest heading of their boards. There's also a forum called "Other Cruise Lines" where people put a lot of comments about river cruises.

We are going on Grand Circle also so it was nice to hear that you were pleased with the ship,etc. We live in the south so the cold weather will be fun(for a short time!)Was it icy and did you have to worry about slipping on the ice? Would tennis shoes work? I do have some timberlake boots. Does the ship dock so that you can go and come at will to the towns? Did you have snow? Were you able to sit on the deck for a bit without freezing and view as you cruise? Did people dress up a touch for dinner or was it come as you are? Do you find unique Christmas goodies or is it "made in China" items? Thank you for your suggestions!

It was cold, but we didn't have any ice or snow. We did have some rain. I wore my timberland boots every day off the ship. I wouldn't suggest tennis shoes. We really needed our winter jackets, hats, and boots.

We had lots of free time to explore on our own. For example, in Cologne, we took the tourist train to three Christmas markets other than the one around the cathedral. We also went to the Chocolate Museum. In Speyer, we chose not to take the optional trip to Heidelberg and rented a car for two days to explore the villages where some of our grandparents lived. If the ship was not docked close enough to Christmas markets to walk, Grand Circle provided shuttle buses for those of us who stayed in the city center.

On our trip, it was never warm enough to sit on the sun deck, but we found chairs in the lounge to view the sights and went out to the deck to take pictures. We usually wore our jeans and sweaters to dinner but did dress up a bit for the farewell dinner. We found lots of fun Christmas decorations and small gifts at the markets - it was hard to tell if they were made in China or Germany. Leave lots of room in your suit case or bring an extra to bring back purchases.

Grand Circle did an excellent job of providing lots of Christmas spirit with decorations, food and drink, and small gifts. You will have a wonderful time!

lilla describes most of what we experienced with our GCT Christmas Markets on the Rhine River cruise, and I agree with almost everything that's recommended. Nice job! I'll add that this is not necessarily a shopaholic's trip. Many men don't realize this and may hesitate going because of the tour's title. The markets are right off the ship and in front of a magnifcent cathedral, and there's a friendly competition city to city. But you'll also get a great history from your tour guides, both on the ship and off. Also cultural information city to city. About dinner: On our cruise no one wore jeans to dinner; rather, long skirts or dresses, some slacks with dressy blouses; men in shirt and tie, jacket or sweater with no tie. Grand Circle stresses casual dress for all tours, but we found that passengers on their river cruises (we've done 5) dressed up for dinner.

PS. Locals told us it normally doesn't snow until January or February.

Thank you all! We are not going for the shopping. We are hoping it will be a fun,relaxing trip. We want to see the Christmas lights, do cold weather (we often have our air conditioning running on Christmas)and see the the old cities,and their sights. Glad to hear there is much more to it. We were on an OAT trip this past Christmas in the Red Sea and was suprised that folks didn't even try to spruce up for Christmas Eve/Day. We will be there Christmas Eve and fly out Christmas day. I'm mainly concerned about warm clothing. You need more than a fleece pull over right? I do have some silk long underwear (if they still fit!) from years ago. Don't own wool. That will be our biggest challenge. Do you need rain/boots? Was it windy? Damp cold? Dry cold? Biting cold?

We like the cool temps for a chamge too. No biting cold. I didn't take rain boots. I wore short leather boots. It rained in Cologne. Our folding umbrella was welcome that one day. I didn't take a parka. Most days were in the low to mid 40s and dry. I wore a 3/4 length wool camel coat with white winter beret, gloves, and scarf everyday outside. It was perfect! (We live in the south too, so I wear these things to visit family up north or for Europe in winter.) For extra warmth if needed: a light sweater of silk or a cashmere blend works wonders. If not that, take a silky white shirt and layer it with a long sleeved knit top. A fleece vest is also a neat trick. I bought support hose at JC Penney for warmth. Wonderful! You can leave them on to wear with your long skirt for dinner. You are in for the exact time you say you want. Have a great one!