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River Cruise

Magnificent Europe with Christmas and New Years Eve

2025

River Cruise

Magnificent Europe with Christmas and New Years Eve

Magnificent Europe with Christmas and New Years Eve

Experience Christmas in Europe as you cruise in luxury on our most popular river cruise, and for good reason. Start in Amsterdam before heading along the Rhine, stopping at quaint German towns on the way. Enter Austria, and explore Vienna, then culminate in Budapest.

15 day River Cruise

Itinerary

15 days / 14 night River Cruise

Day 1

Arrive Amsterdam, Embark Ship

Day 2

Amsterdam

Freedom of Choice

Day 3

Andernach

Signature Experience

Day 4

Rüdesheim

Freedom of Choice

Day 5

Miltenberg

Day 6

Wurzburg (Christmas Eve)

Freedom of Choice

Day 7

Bamberg (Christmas Day)

Day 8

Nuremberg

Freedom of Choice

Day 9

Regensburg

Day 10

Passau, Salzburg, Linz

Signature Experience

Day 11

Melk, Durnstein

Day 12

Vienna

Signature Experience

Day 13

Vienna (New Year's Eve)

Freedom of Choice

Day 14

Budapest

Freedom of Choice

Day 15

Disembark Ship, Depart Budapest

Cruise

Trip Inclusions

Discover the inclusions provided on your tour, ensuring a stress-free journey where every detail is taken care of.

Experiences in 14 destinations
Freedom of Choice inclusions
14 nights on a brand-new luxury river ship
A total of 41 meals and a wide range of onboard beverages
In-suite dining and beverage service in all suites
The services of an expert cruise director
Transfers, port charges and gratuities
Exclusive – Travel to a traditional restaurant overlooking Salzburg for a ‘Sound of Music’ show

Tour Highlights

These exclusive or unique events are designed to deepen your experience, taking you on an inspiring journey beneath the surface of local history, culture and traditions. What's more, these once-in-a-lifetime moments are often not available to a regular traveller. The following experiences are just a taste of what we have prepared especially for you.

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Namedy Castle

Princess Heide von Hohenzollern graciously welcomes APT guests into her home, Namedy Castle, a royal escape set near the Rhine River in Germany. After wandering through the castle and its manicured gardens, you’ll attend a cocktail party, where a pianist sets the mood.   

Cocktail Party and Private Performance at Vienna’s City Palace

After dinner, head to the princely family of Liechtenstein’s City Palace in the heart of Vienna, where we have arranged an exclusive cocktail party and private recital, just for you. A full orchestra will perform classical masterpieces by Mozart and Strauss. You will also be enchanted by an operatic recital.

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Gaisberg Mountain Lunch and ‘Sound of Music’ Show

Be welcomed by a Jagdhornbläser – a hunting horn blower – into a rustic, traditional restaurant on the Gaisberg mountain overlooking Salzburg. Enjoy a welcome drink as you soak in the scenery before savouring a delicious lunch, followed by a show featuring music from the classic film, ‘The Sound of Music’.

What's On Board

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Label images as (Artist's Impression)
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Come aboard the APT Solara and APT Ostara

With a host of alluring features, our brand-new, ultra-modern river ships, APT Solara and APT Ostara, offer unmatched opulence and style when travelling along the Rhine, Main and Danube Rivers. Whether enjoying a cocktail up on the Sun Deck or retreating to your spacious, light-filled suite, there is so much to discover on board.

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2023 Photoshoot aboard the AmaReina.
New ship build design process for MS Ostara & Solara with Lou Tandy, Paul Hecker and Hamish Guthrie

Purpose-built for European Rivers

Crafted in Melbourne by the globally acclaimed Hecker Guthrie design team, our brand-new vessels seamlessly blend contemporary elegance with timeless allure, drawing inspiration from Europe's waterways, seasons, and locales.

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The Wachau is the landscape in and around the Danube valley between Melk and Krems an der Donau in Lower Austria, about 80 kilometers west of the federal capital Vienna. In 2000 it was added to the list of UNESCO World Cultural and Natural Heritage as the Wachau cultural landscape with the Melk and Göttweig monasteries and the old town of Krems.

Sustainability Initiatives

Our ships utilise the most advanced and environmentally friendly technology currently available, which has earned us Green Award ‘Gold’ status. We champion eco-conscious best practices with no single-use plastics, and menus that minimise food waste.

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Personalised Service

A high crew-to-guest ratio offers impeccable onboard service and all suite categories feature indulgent in-suite dining. Your ship will have a dedicated Cruise Director on board, superb entertainment and a wellness host.

What our customers are saying

What a amazing tour. The countries and the villages we visited with all different history. Special thanks to our tour director. What a loving, caring and knowledgeable person.

Europe

What a cruise it was. Everything was excellent, from the crew, accommodation, meals, tours - we could not find a fault in anything.

Europe

What an experience, words are hard to find to describe these tours, anybody thinking of travelling with APT will never regret it.

The APT river cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest has to be the measure that all other travel is measured against. It was living the dream! APT will be our recommendation to all.

Europe

We will recommend our friends to travel with your company and I am sure they will share the same experiences as we did. The entertainment, you provided was again first class.

Europe

This trip was the holiday of a lifetime for us and thanks to the excellent team of APT staff we had a wonderful experience. We will certainly be planning another trip using APT in the future.

Europe

We will recommend APT River Cruising highly, and hopefully may even be able to join in again one day. Thank you for showing us a wonderful part of the world....

Europe

The on-board entertainment was great and we danced many a night away as well as meeting some lovely people. What a wonderful introduction to Europe - loved every minute.

Europe

Frequently Asked Questions

Trip Notes

  • Itinerary, inclusions and pricing are subject to change 

  • Prices are for land/cruise only. Flights not included unless specified. 

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