Christmas Markets Along the Danube (2012)

Nuremberg • Regensburg • Passau • Aschach • Melk • Vienna
  • 8 days
  • from only:
  • $1095
  • $137 per day
    River Cruise Only
  • 9 days
  • from only:
  • $1995
  • $222 per dayIncludes international airfare and government taxes
IN THIS SECTION:
Detailed Itinerary
It's Included
Featured Accommodations
Trip Extensions
Munich, Germany
Vienna, Austria
Optional Tours
Know Before You Go
Air information
LearnMore
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Customize your trip

Learn how to customize your River Cruise, or view standard air routing and travel times. The choice is yours with our True Choice program.

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Customize your trip

With our True Choice Program, you can choose to stay longer before or after your trip on your own, or combine two vacations to maximize your value. Here are more ways to create the Grand Circle Cruise Line River Cruise that’s right for you:

  • Choose our standard air routing, or work with us to select the airline and routing you prefer
  • Make your own international flight arrangements directly with the airline, applying frequent flyer miles if available
  • International airport transfers to and from your ship or hotel are available for purchase
  • Stay overnight in a connecting city before or after your trip
  • Request to arrive a few days early to get a fresh start on your vacation
  • Choose to “break away” before or after your trip, spending additional days or weeks on your own
  • Extend your vacation with our optional pre- and post-trip extensions
  • Combine your choice of Grand Circle Cruise Line vacations to maximize your value
  • Upgrade to business or premium economy class

The air options listed above will involve an additional fee of $100 per person for confirmed requests (as well as incremental airfare costs based on your specific choice). This service fee will be waived for Inner Circle/Sir Edmund Hillary Club members.

Or, when you make your reservation, you can choose our standard air routing, for which approximate travel times are shown below.

(Vienna)

GATEWAY

TRAVEL TIME*

Newark, New York (JFK), Washington, DC (Dulles)

11hrs

Atlanta, Philadelphia

12hrs

Boston, Minneapolis, Tampa

13hrs

Dallas, Denver, Detroit

14hrs

Houston

10hrs

Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco

15hrs

San Francisco, Seattle

16hrs

* Estimated total time, including connection and layover. Actual travel time may vary.

The information above reflects approximate flight times from the gateway cities listed to Vienna, Austria. Routing is based on availability and subject to change. You will receive your final air itinerary approximately 14 days prior to departure.

(Nuremburg)

GATEWAY

TRAVEL TIME*

Boston, Detroit, New York (JFK), Washington, DC (Dulles)

11hrs

Atlanta, Chicago, Newark

12hrs

Houston, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Seattle

13hrs

Denver

14hrs

Dallas, Tampa

15hrs

San Francisco

17hrs

San Diego

19hrs

* Estimated total time, including connection and layover. Actual travel time may vary.

The information above reflects approximate flight times from the gateway cities listed to Nuremburg, Germany. Routing is based on availability and subject to change. You will receive your final air itinerary approximately 14 days prior to departure.

REFER and EARN

Earn increasing rewards as a Vacation Ambassador

REFER and EARN as a Vacation Ambassador with
the BEST referral program in the industry

Inspiring new travelers to join the Grand Circle Cruise Line family is a rewarding experience—both for you and your new travelers.

Share your love of travel with others and, for each referral who embarks on a Grand Circle Cruise Line trip, you will earn $100 in CASH or credit. With your 4th referral departing on a 2012 departure, your reward increases to $200 in CASH or credit per person. And once you refer 8 travelers departing in either 2012 or 2013, you'll earn a FREE trip valued up to $4,500 per household—which will bring the total value of your earned rewards up to $5,600.

And you are also passing along savings to your new traveler: We'll instantly deduct $100 off the cost of their reservation when they mention your name and Customer Number while reserving.

To learn more about the benefits of our Vacation Ambassador Referral Program, please call us toll-free at 1-800-221-2610
or click here.

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Pre-Trip: Munich, Germany

3 nights from only $495
Munich, Germany

Join us on an optional pre-trip extension to explore one of Europe’s most culturally rich cities, with more museums than any other city in Germany. The Alte Pinakothek (Old Picture Gallery) alone has nearly 900 paintings on display, with major works by Durer, Rubens, and da Vinci. The largest university community in Germany, Munich offers enchanting contrasts, from sidewalk cafés serving mouth-watering sausages and locally brewed beers to public squares graced with historic churches, monuments, and statuary.

Single Supplement: FREE

Please note: Availability and price may vary by departure date. Please call for details.

Munich, Germany, is a pre-trip extension on the Nuremberg to Vienna itinerary and a post-trip extension on the Vienna to Nuremberg itinerary.

It's Included

  • Accommodations for 3 nights at the Renaissance Munich or similar
  • 3 meals—daily breakfast
  • Sightseeing—Munich city tour, including Christkindlmarkt; Rothenburg
  • Exclusive services of an experienced Grand Circle Program Director
  • All transfers
  • Optional Tours—Neuschwanstein Castle ($105 per person)
Day 1
Day 1 Depart U.S.

Day 2
Day 2 Arrive Munich, Germany

Arrive in Munich this morning, where a Grand Circle representative meets you at the airport and helps you transfer to your hotel.

Enjoy a brief walk with your Program Director to get acquainted with the area around your hotel. The rest of the day is at leisure to relax after your overseas flight, or venture out on your own explorations.

Join your Program Director and fellow travelers for a Welcome Drink before enjoying dinner on your own this evening. Your Program Director can assist you by recommending a restaurant.

Munich offers a wide variety of cuisines. And, you’ll certainly want to sample some of the traditional Bavarian specialties such as Bratwurst, Sauerkraut, and potato or bread dumplings. Get into the mood of Bavarian eating, and wash down your meal with good local beer or Franconian wine. And keep a time-honored tradition by having an after-dinner schnapps.
Day 3
Day 3 Munich/ City Tour

Today enjoy a tour highlighting the major sights of this exciting city. See the city’s main square, Marienplatz (with its magnificent Christmas tree), the center and heart of the city since its founding in 1138. Jousting tournaments were held here in the Middle Ages—today there are street performers and musicians to entertain you. The main feature of the square is the New Town Hall with its beautiful Glockenspiel. The carillon’s bells play folk tunes every day, year-round. Its nearly life-size figures perform scenes from Munich’s history, including a jousting match (celebrating the 1568 wedding of Duke Wilhelm V) and a coppers’ guild dance, performed every seven years since 1517 in thanks for the end of the Black Death plague.

See St. Peter’s, the Romanesque basilica that was Munich’s first parish church, and the Church of Our Lady: with its twin onion domes, it is the city’s symbol and one of the largest churches in Europe. You also visit the city’s Christkindlmarkt (Christmas Market), the oldest in Munich, located on the Marienplatz.

The balance of your day is free to relax or do some more exploring independently, with free shuttle bus service available to you in the afternoon. You have lunch and dinner on your own. Ask your Program Director for suggestions and assistance.

You might spend your time exploring the city’s Christmas Markets. Munich also has many fine parks and an excellent zoo, and you can visit the Olympic Park, site of the 1972 Summer Games. You may want to stroll through the Old Town pedestrian zone. Here, you’ll find Theatinerstrasse, a street full of designer clothing shops, and a variety of department stores, restaurants, sidewalk cafés, and bakeries.

Or, gain insight into Munich’s history and culture with a visit to one of the city’s fine museums. The New Picture Gallery houses an extensive collection of works by Monet, Cezanne, and Degas—and the Old Picture Gallery offers a collection of works by old German and Flemish masters.
Day 4
Day 4 Munich/Optional Neuschwanstein Castle tour

Enjoy your final day in Munich exploring on your own.

Or, join an optional excursion to Neuschwanstein Castle. After arriving in Neuschwanstein in late morning, you take a carriage ride to the elaborate castle of Ludwig II of Bavaria, known as Mad King Ludwig. The Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disney World is modeled after this fanciful and fantastic structure, decorated with towers and spires, full of elaborate and richly embellished rooms, and set spectacularly on a high point over the Pollat River Gorge.

Begun in 1869 and left unfinished at Ludwig’s death in 1886, the castle is like a fairy tale come to life. A classic example of 19th-century Romanticism, the castle was built with many technological innovations that were revolutionary at the time—including automatic flush toilets on every floor, hot air heating and hot running water systems, and an elaborate room service system in the king’s bedroom.

During your excursion, you have free time to have lunch on your own and do a little exploring at your own pace. You leave for Munich in mid-afternoon.

Dinner is on your own this evening.
Day 5
Day 5 Munich/Rothenberg/Embark ship

Today you transfer from Munich to Nuremberg, stopping en route in Rothenburg, a charming town still protected by its medieval walls and strategically situated on the Tauber River. On arrival, you stroll through the town’s Christmas Market. You have time for making discoveries on your own, as well as for a lunch of your choosing.

You depart Rothenburg for Nuremberg mid-afternoon.

Before dinnertime you arrive in Nuremberg and embark your waiting cruise ship. You now join the travelers on the main trip, following Day 2 of the main itinerary.