Christmas markets are in full boom during the holiday season. The smell of freshly baked goods fills the air surrounding the festive wooden booths selling artisan gifts. We'll visit several markets during this cruise for an authentic German holiday experience, including those in Speyer, romantic Heidelberg, the Christmas Market of Nations in Rüdesheim, and Koblenz.

Day 1
Boarding.Cruise to Koblenz overnight.

Day 2
Cruise to Koblenz.Optional excursion: Koblenz, the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress, and free time at the Christmas market.

Day 3
We’ll spend the morning cruising the romantic Rhine River to Rüdesheim.Optional excursion: Tour of the city by tourist train, a visit to the mechanical music cabinet museum, and free time at the Christmas market.(2)In the evening, Drosselgasse awaits you with its numerous cafés, bars, and music.

Day 4
We'll spend the morning cruising to Speyer. Enjoy some free time in Speyer OR optional excursion: Heidelberg and its Christmas Market.Our ship will cruise to Strasbourg.

Day 5
Disembarkation.

This superb Premium ship that sails on the Rhine, was named after the Marquis de Lafayette, a great figure in French history and hero of the United States War of Independence. Completely renovated in 2014, the MS Lafayette is an intimatesized Premium ship, 90m long and 10m wide. It can accommodate 82 passengers, in 43 double or single cabins, spread over two decks. The size of each cabin is between 10 m2 to 15 m2, has all amenities and provides guests with all the comforts they need during their stay. The contemporary interior is decorated in gray and sand tones, combined with mauve and lilac shades. Located on the upper deck, the restaurant, where all meals are served during the cruise, offers delicate cuisine in a refined setting, where large windows allow guests to fully enjoy the panorama. On this same deck is also the lounge / bar with a dance floor and central bar. The sun deck is the ideal place to relax and admire the landscapes, offering comfortable sun loungers, as well as a large shaded area.

CroisiEurope has a fleet of Prestige category boats with cabins, which ply the most beautiful rivers in Europe. Spacious and light, they offer a welcoming and refined setting. Accommodation capacity varies from 100 to 180 passengers depending on the boat's design. At the cutting edge of technology, their facilities offer comfort and safety.

Carefully maintained and partially renovated each year, the CroisiEurope fleet is largely made up of recently built vessels, less than five years old, all with Veritas certification. The leading European river tour operator, our company owes its international reputation to its seriousness, its dynamism, its sense of innovation and its recognised value for money of long standing.

Vessels are rated four-star and food is superb – as you’d expect on a French-owned cruise line, staffed by French chefs and with top French and German wines aboard. One cruise of the Rhone and Saone Rivers in France concentrates on gastronomy and traditional French cusine, visiting Collonges Abbey, renowned for its great French chef, Paul Bocuse.

CroisiEurope is a family-owned and operated firm, with brothers and sisters running different aspects of the company and keeping a close eye on all operations to ensure excellence.

River cruising offers much free fun. Wake in the morning and observe the passing riverside scenery through your cabin window – perhaps from your bed. Gaze upon village churches or a patchwork of fields sparkling in the morning sun.

CroisiEurope’s network traverses a phenomenal number of European rivers and waterways. They range from the Guadalquivir and Guadiana (flowing through Spain and Portugal respectively); the Douro in Portugal, the Po and Venice Lagoon in Italy; the Rhone in Provence, plus the Seine from Paris to the Normandy Coast. And there’s more: the Moselle, the Neckar, the Saar, the Oder, the Havel, the Baltic Sea, the Camarge, the Rhine, the Main and the mighty Danube; the Tisza and the Black Sea; the Belgian and Dutch waterways. Everything from tulip time in Holland to Christmas Markets in Germany.

Drinks included with on board meals: mineral water, house wine, beer, fruit juice, and tea or coffee.