Rhine River Christmas Afternoon Cruise In Cologne

My two adult children (19 and 21) and I arrived in Cologne from the U.S. just before our KD Rhine River Christmas cruise was scheduled to depart. We were hoping it would be a warm start to our holiday. Unfortunately, it wasn’t. While boarding, two young staff members checking names appeared to laugh and repeat my name loudly to each other. I initially assumed it was a misunderstanding, but my son and daughter both felt we were being mocked, which immediately set an uncomfortable tone. The cruise itself was clearly geared toward small children, with a large dance floor dominated by young children playing, while the experienced lounge singers (understandably) performed German Christmas carols. St. Nikolaus appeared midway, entertaining children and visiting each table to discuss guests’ countries of origin—and, surprisingly, world politics. To American guests he mentioned "King Trump" and to UK guests, he mentioned their poor choice in breaking away from the EU. The food choices were limited, pricey, and cafeteria-like. This cruise may be enjoyable for local Omas and Opas with young grandchildren, but it is not well suited for non-German guests, couples, or families with older children. All in, I spent about $165 for this two hour cruise. I did contact KD afterward about the boarding incident. While they said it was investigated and no issue was found, my family and I ultimately did not feel welcome.

My River Boat Cruise on the Rhine was fantastic! My Friends and had a wonderful and fantastic time! We hope to do this again sometime in the Future! :o) It was about 2 - 2 1/2 hours and went up and down the Rhine and past many wonderful sights and was a great way to experience the great city of Cologne! :o)

The boat was very pretty and that’s about where the joy stopped! The entertainment wasn’t brilliant, could’ve done with more Christmas songs. Think it was great for kids but would’ve loved a bit of commentary about where we were or history. The waitress, well she was not happy in her job. Just ordering food or drink was a real chore.

This is a nice and relaxing Christmas cruise experience for a family. The music provided a festive background to enjoy the views outside. Food and drinks were fine but be sure to order early. We highly recommended going outside in the upper deck when coming back into Köln (last 15 minutes of the cruise). It provides for some of the most beautiful views of the city at night and spectacular picture-taking. Our only disappointment was that St Nick visited the table next to ours but skipped us completely. :(

Beautiful boat decorated beautifully for Christmas with good entertainment. We enjoyed it very much.

The Christmas cruise on the Rhine left a pleasant impression. There was a themed programme on board with live music and a visit from St. Nicholas, as well as the option to order food and drinks. We were lucky with our table placement and were close enough to the side of the deck to enjoy views of the city from the water. The food was tasty, and I generally enjoy river cruises as a format.

Nice festive afternoon. 2 hour long cruise along the Rhine with a pianist and singer performing Christmas Carols and a visit by St Nicholas. There is a chance to buy food and drink on board too. Unfortunately for us we were sat in the middle of the room on the lower deck ( you are allocated your table for you ) so not much of a view of things we passed.

The cruise was not what we expected. We were under the impression from the listing that this was a very casual sight seeing cruise on the river. However, what we quickly realized was that this was something entirely different. We were assigned seats—and therefore were not anywhere near the windows to see any sights. Additionally, this seemed to be fully focused on Christmas music and the arrival of Nikolaus. While it was clear that food and drinks were not included with the fare, we did not expect to be sat at a table and assigned a waiter. The decor was neon colors and it was a mix of Christmas songs in English and German. I would also note for anyone looking to book this cruise, that the age demographic seemed to skew MUCH older. While an… interesting…. experience, it was not at all what we signed up for. And once you’re on the boat, you can’t get of soo 🤷‍♀️ 3/5 for the laughs

Lovely ship singing ECT but the service on the ship was horrendous we ask three different bar tenders for a drink it took 45 minutes to get served. I was going to order food but didn't bother as drinks took so long. It was really just a restraunt on water. Any way that is just my opinion.

The ship was beautiful, service was wonderful, music was great as was St. Nicholas! Very enjoyable cruise.

This was a huge disappointment. I booked a Rhine River Christmas cruise expecting stunning night views of Cologne, but instead got a marathon of Christmas music and sing-alongs. You’re assigned a table with strangers and stuck there the entire time. The upper deck and front area? Basically off-limits except for smokers. Everything felt geared toward selling food and drinks, not sightseeing. As a visitor, I wanted to see the city lights and enjoy the river—not endure hours of forced festivity. If you’re local and love holiday karaoke, maybe this works. For travelers seeking views, avoid at all costs. I honestly wanted to jump overboard and swim back. ~ TechTrek Globetrotter Exploring the world, one gadget at a time.

A perfect afternoon, thank you. Food was amazing, father Christmas was totally wonderful, really looked the part, very kind to everyone on the ship. Our seats gave the best view. Staff were very efficient and polite. Thank you again, we will return for another next year.

Scenic trip along the Rhine in a comfortable boat. The food & drink are good value with generous portions, served by friendly helpful staff. The entertainment was suitable for the season although the singers have such soft voices anyone who missed a few hours sleep could be soothed into a nap. This is not a criticism! My only complaint is that I had to telephone the company to confirm the dock.

Very well put together. A very relaxing festive 2 hour cruise along the Rhine. Clean & comfortable ship with great views.

Excellent. Seats allocated on arrival ., lovely waitress ready to take our orders on arrival Well worth the money,

The cruise never happened… I reached before time walked the entire stretch of river but there was no trace of any cruise by the KD tours… Kiosks mentioned by the customer care service were not even functional… I would like a refund in this case… Horrible experience…. kept searching for the cruise the entire time and even the customer service was extremely poor and had no idea about it…. Refund the money please

The boat was so festive and enjoyable. Nice job, food good and drinks perfect. This was a couples family event and great way to spend the afternoon.

River cruise was very good. Only downside was the poor instructions on where you board the boat. No staff on duty at kiosks and no update from company.

Relaxing cruise, Xmas music with visit from St Nikolaus, nice pictures of Cologne skyline at sunset would recommend

Bigger ship than we thought, seats reserved at a table so check in when you board. Food seemed not bad from what we saw and had.

We had a great time on this river cruise. The staff created a festive holiday environment and there was live music and food and beverages available for purchase.

It was a short cruise but it was all the time a person needed to eat a nice dinner. It was a large boat with lots of crew members to help should you need help. The dinner was delicious and it was a served dinner. Everyone was very polite and helpful.

Positives- entertainment was great, food was cheap and service was very quick. Lovely views especially from on the deck. It’s worth it just for the photos. It was a lovely relaxing afternoon on the last day of our trip. The time of day was perfect you could see everything lit up on the way back down the river. Negatives- wasn’t too much of an issue but be aware the tables are shared (6 to a table) as there was 2 of us we shared with two ladies from Germany. The only really negative comment I have ( which we were aware of before due to other reviews) is the comment about Brexit from St Nick. He came around everyone’s tables to chat, there were a group of English kids to our left and behind was an English family, of which he didn’t make a comment to them regarding brexit. But when arriving at our table all he asked was where we are from and just replied Brexit when we said from the Uk, we said yes we did leave the EU and he just walked off. It was really awkward and put a sour taste on the ending of the trip. All he had to say was thanks for coming to Germany/enjoy the rest of your trip. It was really rude especially when a) it isn’t current and b) we didn’t even vote for it. What has a Christmas cruise got to do with UK politics? Seems this is his go to comment and it’s very unnecessary and rude. We did complain to the staff to make them aware. We are paying customers at the end of the day and it was a disrespectful interaction. I hope someone is actually reviewing these comments and makes a note of his unprofessionalism.

The cruise was wonderful, and the food was ok, but not great. We mostly signed up for this trip for an opportunity to see the Rhein via boat, so the advent show was not our main priority. The boat was very nice and the views were fantastic. The families and children enjoyed the show very much, and I would definitely recommend this for families with young children. My wife and I are on our honeymoon, so the show didn't much appeal to us, but the crew let us go on the top deck and it was very romantic with a good view of the city. The crew was very nice and accommodating, and the food service was quick with affordably priced food and drinks. Thanks for the boat tour!

Put your feet up and enjoy this picturesque cruise down the Rhine, Gluhwein or bier in hand. Delighted to meet Saint Nick and join the Christmas carols

Where the boat was moored up was difficult to find out. The information is unclear and located on a board at Number 3 and number 7 mooring points. Outside of that we enjoyed the event.

Superb Christmas experience and puts you in a very festive mood. Would do it all over again. Let’s do this again next year!!!!

Four of us took this trip on 4th December. We all thoroughly enjoyed the 2 hour cruise which took us upstream for an hour or so before returning to Koln with the flow. We were seated on the upper deck with another couple. Our waiter was attentive and efficient. We chose not to eat as we had dinner reservations later on but the drinks were fine and reasonably priced. There was some live music and it was a lovely festive occassion. There was just one problem and that was the opinionated St Nich. He came around the tables and upon reaching ours and discovering we were British, he chastised us for being "Brexiteers" Didnt expect a polical dressing down. Despite this , I'd still recomend the trip, it's good festive fun. Carl and Gillian Wood and friends.

Food was good and the Xmas songs, although sound muffled a bit the voices of singers. The afternoon was great thought.

The directions for the departure was wrong and we almost missed the cruise as we had to run approximately 600/700 metres from pier 8 as per directions to actual departure pier 2 Only I phoned I wouldn’t have known The cruise itself was enjoyable with good bar service and live entertainment

Lovely boat, lovely views, good food and drink on offer while we sailed. Had trouble finding our boat - tickets said stance 3 or 7, K-D ticket office closed and shuttered and boat turned out to be stance 2 - found by luck. Also lucky we were allocated seats at a table at the front - further away from the ‘entertainment’ which was the only thing that let the trip down - intrusive and fairly awful live singing of Christmas songs - if you are at all musical it will hurt.. and St Nicholas came round the tables which again could have coped without but it was a Christmas cruise I guess …

We had a great time on this Cruise, it was as much fun and as cheesy as you'd hope. Food was decent and reasonably priced along with drinks. Music/Entertainment was good fun Now, St Nick... Great with kids, played his role well... But, he was happy to chat and pose for photos with everyone unless you came from (his words) "Brexit Island" and were one of "Idiot Johnson's Brigade" Personally thought it was funny as we'd already heard about his antics but there was no need for it really If you're in Cologne book it , you'll have a lot of fun

Had a great time Boat was beautiful, service was efficient, entertainment was pleasant and we met Father Christmas. What more could you want?

In the booking they did not mention the name of the cruise or the place to embark! The meeting point on the booking does not even exist! Fortunately I could txt to ask and by the time I got a response, it was a nightmare getting a cab and landing at the cruise!!! So please elaborate place to meet so that tourists don’t get lost and miss the cruise! Thankfully they started few minutes late and I was able to board it! Other than that it was fun once I could relax!!!

The cruise itself was great. Trying to find the location to board is very difficult. There should be a sign of some sort on the dock. We ended up finding it with no time to spare. We also found that our assigned table was given away. We would have been looking over the entertainment but since the seats were given away we were far from the entertainment in other seats. Also when I had this problem there is only a live chat that no one answered. There should be a phone number to call

It’s hard to imagine what we got for our money. After a trip in Budapest we anticipated a similar experience. The entertainment was appalling. We had a drink each and Luke warm apple strudel, which had no flavour. In reality cologne does not offer much from the river and it was a waste of our time and money.

This was a fun little cruise! There was singing and a surprise appearance from Father Santa (who is garbed in Bishop’s hat and robe). German and English holiday songs that people sang along with. Very pleasant and joyful!

The trip was enjoyable. The meeting point was at pier 7 (as directed by ticket) but no KD staff, however found out from another passenger the boat was at pier 2, some 5-10 mins walk away, we could have easily missed the trip. On board we were directed to our table at the rear. We couldn’t see the show as behind the curtains, however it was lovely and secluded, with a wonderful views from the rear of the vessel. The live entertainment was cheesey Christmas music. With the star of the show a young child who was invited up and had a spur of the moment sing song, heartwarming. We had a meal each, which was reasonably priced, pork schnitzel and steak chips. The wine and beer standard restaurant prices. Overall a pleasant trip to be had on the lead up to Christmas. But do check with the operator the Pier Number before arriving.

Enjoyed live Christmas music and Father Christmas. Ship was beautifully decorated with lights and trees.

It was a great atmosphere on this boat. You couod not help but feel a little more christmasy after taking this trip, even though all the entertainment was in German and ww had no idea what was actually being said. The food and drink were reasonably priced and tye service was good.

The write up for the trip could have been better. We arrived on the boat and were directed to our table on the first floor at the front of the boat. We stayed at our table for the full length of the excursion and did not see any of the advertised live entertainment. From our experience it was more of a restaurant experience with a festive feel to it. The food and the service was excellent and was very reasonably priced. I don’t know what the entertainment was like but would still recommend the trip for the food if nothing else.

Myself and my two young children booked the cruise as a last minute treat to start our Christmas. We loved the experience until the Santa came to our table voicing his political views when he had discovered we were English. He said, “you don’t want to be part of our union then, so we will build a big brick wall just the same as Trump has because he’s so good at building big walls”. He didn't wish my children a merry Christmas and moved on to another table. My children were extremely disappointed as they waited a long time for him to come and sit at our tables. No matter what current political problems are in the world, he doesn’t know if I chose to vote in or out of the European Union, he therefore had no right to be judgemental and discriminative. Extremely disappointed after we had such an amazing boat journey. I wish I could rate on just the Santa as I would rate “terrible” however the boat experience and all other staff were outstanding. The rate is purely based on his comments

We thoroughly enjoyed it all from the onboard entertainment to the service. Highly recommended, if you fancy a relaxing experience after the hustle and bustle of the delightful Christmas markets this is the ideal excursion.

we found the entertainment poor , was told no food included. then found food on board . which was a bit pricey all together not worth the money

Went for a relaxing afternoon but was spoilt by small children running around. The staff were really good no problems with them and the band was OK.

Excellent trip very comfortable and relaxing way to travel. Brilliant staff and Santa is a big person who delights the children on board

<p>This was a great way to spend the late afternoon. The food was good. The service for drinks after the initial service was not good and we had to try and find our wait person. The music was great!</p>

<p>A terrible experience! Difficult to find the boat- wasn't given the name. Also, was not told the vouchers had to be exchanged for tickets. Once we got on the boat, it took forever to place a drink order. Once we placed the order, it took forever to receive our drinks! I ordered a pot of coffee and never got a cup so I couldn't drink it. We never were able to place a food order and we were hungry. Tried to place the order when we ordered drinks but were told to wait.saw our waiter only two times however, he was quick to show up to bring our bill!</p>

<p>Excellent value for money. Large and modern boat with lovely crew and staff. We will be back to do it again next year.</p>