This cruise has been on my bucket list for years. I've seen a few Christmas Markets in other European countries, however some of the ones on this trip were remarkable. We cruised from Basel to Amsterdam from Nov 25- Dec 2, 2013.

My husband and I spent the night before the cruise in Basel at the Best Western Merian am Riem. Our room was right on the Rhine River with a wonderful view of the river and old town. Basel has 2 Christmas Markets. We walked across the bridge to the first one, enjoying our first Gluhwein of the trip. After a lunch of sausages and wine, we walked to the older, larger Market. There were many different items to purchase at this Market. You think you will see the same thing at each market, however that isn't the case. Each town has unique items to buy. If you see something you like, buy it.

The following day we took tram #8 to the end of the line and walked about 15 minutes to our boat, the Viking Sun. We only do carry on luggage, so all we had to do was roll our suitcases. There isn't very good signage to where the Sun was docked, we had to ask a few people for directions. Read more