Viking runs more Christmas market sailings than any other line we checked, 171 of them in 2026 across seven itineraries on the Rhine, Main, Moselle, Danube and Elbe. When we checked Viking's own dates and prices on 3 November, 170 were sold out. Here's the one you can still book, how every sailing lines up with the markets' 2026 dates, and which 2027 sailings to grab before they go the same way.
One 2026 sailing is still bookable, so most of these picks are for 2027, where Viking's dates and fares are already on sale. Every fare is Viking's own US price per person, checked on 3 November 2026.
$3,799 for 7 nights
Passau to Budapest29 Nov – 6 Dec, Viking Embla
The only Viking Christmas sailing of 2026 still on sale when we checked. Every market on the way is open the day the ship calls, from Passau's cathedral square to Vörösmarty tér in Budapest, and it finishes with two days in Budapest, whose markets run to New Year.
2027 from $4,499
Paris to Pragueor the reverse
Paris, Reims, the Moselle villages, Mainz, Heidelberg, Würzburg, Bamberg, Nuremberg and Prague, twelve Christmas markets in all, level with the Rhine & Moselle for the most of any Viking itinerary. All six 2026 sailings are sold out, and only six run in 2027.
2027 from $3,799
Paris to Zürichor the reverse
Paris, the Moselle villages, Strasbourg and Zürich over 11 nights. In 2026 the 12 and 14 December sailings cost $3,999, less than some seven-night Viking Christmas sailings, and both sold out.
2027 from $2,999
Budapest to Passauor the reverse
Last December the same Budapest to Passau sailing stayed in Bratislava until 22:30, Vienna until 23:45 and Passau until 21:30. Seven in ten of Viking's Passau calls this season give you an evening in port.
2027 from $2,999
Amsterdam to Baselor the reverse
Cologne, Strasbourg and Basel, often with two ships leaving the same day in each direction. The Dordrecht stop rarely meets its market, which only runs from 10 to 13 December, and Amsterdam's Museumplein market doesn't open until 3 December.
2027 from $4,499
Berlin to Pragueor the reverse
Berlin, Potsdam, Meissen, Dresden's Striezelmarkt and Prague. Half its 2027 sailings were gone a year ahead, the highest share of any Viking Christmas itinerary.
Every departure from Viking's own dates and pricing pages, checked on 3 November 2026. Green is on sale, grey is sold out, and a red line under a date means at least one market on that sailing is shut the day the ship gets there. Each date shows the ship and the fare.
7 nights · 27 sailings · $3,299–$3,999 · 26 sold out
Passau to Budapest
Budapest to Passau
Market gaps. 18 Dec (Budapest start), Passau has closed.
7 nights · 35 sailings · $3,299–$4,199 · 35 sold out
Regensburg to Budapest
Budapest to Regensburg
Market gaps. 18 Dec (Budapest start), Passau has closed, Regensburg has closed.
7 nights · 75 sailings · $3,499–$3,999 · 75 sold out
Basel to Amsterdam
Amsterdam to Basel
Market gaps. 25 Nov (Basel start), Basel isn't open yet. 25 Nov (Amsterdam start), Amsterdam isn't open yet. 26 Nov (Amsterdam start), Amsterdam isn't open yet. 27 Nov (Amsterdam start), Amsterdam isn't open yet. 28 Nov (Amsterdam start), Amsterdam isn't open yet. 29 Nov (Amsterdam start), Amsterdam isn't open yet. 30 Nov (Amsterdam start), Amsterdam isn't open yet. 1 Dec (Amsterdam start), Amsterdam isn't open yet. 2 Dec (Amsterdam start), Amsterdam isn't open yet. 18 Dec (Amsterdam start), Breisach has closed.
10 nights · 6 sailings · $4,699–$5,799 · 6 sold out
Nuremberg to Basel
Basel to Nuremberg
Market gaps. 17 Dec (Nuremberg start), Breisach has closed. 17 Dec (Basel start), Würzburg has closed, Bamberg has closed, Nuremberg has closed.
11 nights · 12 sailings · $3,999–$4,499 · 12 sold out
Paris to Zürich
Zürich to Paris
Market gaps. 14 Dec (Zürich start), Cochem has closed, Bernkastel-Kues has closed.
11 nights · 6 sailings · $4,999–$5,199 · 6 sold out
Prague to Paris
Paris to Prague
Market gaps. 16 Dec (Prague start), Cochem has closed, Bernkastel-Kues has closed, Trier has closed, Reims is closed on 25 Dec. 16 Dec (Paris start), Bamberg has closed, Nuremberg has closed.
9 nights · 10 sailings · $3,999–$5,799 · 10 sold out
Berlin to Prague
Prague to Berlin
Every dated market on this itinerary is open on the days these sailings call.
Dordrecht's market only runs from 10 to 13 December, so most Rhine sailings call there before or after it. We haven't marked it red because it's a short stop on a sailing day.
Each card follows one 2026 departure through every port, with the market's status the day the ship is there. Where a departure is still on sale we've used it, otherwise a mid-season one. Viking only publishes port times with your documents, so the cards show what Viking lists for each day rather than times.
Viking · Viking Embla
Passau to Budapest · 29 Nov – 6 Dec · 7 nights · $3,799 per person, checked 3 November 2026
Board in Passau
Wachau Valley sailing
Danube Bend sailing
Disembark
The only 2026 Viking Christmas sailing still on sale on 3 November. Viking doesn't publish port times before you book, so ask for them.
Viking · Viking Vali
Budapest to Regensburg · 3–10 Dec · 7 nights · $4,199 per person, checked 3 November 2026, sold out
Board in Budapest
Danube Bend sailing
Wachau Valley sailing
Disembark
This departure was sold out on Viking's site on 3 November 2026, like every other Christmas on the Danube sailing in 2026. In 2027 it runs 44 times from $2,999 per person.
Viking · Viking Egdir
Basel to Amsterdam · 2–9 Dec · 7 nights · $3,799 per person, checked 3 November 2026, sold out
Board in Basel
Middle Rhine sailing
Waal and Merwede sailing
Disembark
This departure was sold out on Viking's site on 3 November 2026, like every other Christmas on the Rhine sailing in 2026. In 2027 it runs 71 times from $2,999 per person.
Viking · Viking Modi
Basel to Nuremberg · 7–17 Dec · 10 nights · $5,799 per person, checked 3 November 2026, sold out
Board in Basel
Main River sailing
Disembark
This departure was sold out on Viking's site on 3 November 2026, like every other Christmas on the Rhine & Main sailing in 2026. In 2027 it runs 8 times from $5,499 per person.
Viking · Viking Hild
Paris to Zürich · 5–16 Dec · 11 nights · $4,499 per person, checked 3 November 2026, sold out
Two hotel nights in Paris
Reims on the way to the ship
Middle Rhine sailing
Off the ship in Basel, on to Zürich
Tour ends
This departure was sold out on Viking's site on 3 November 2026, like every other Christmas on the Rhine & Moselle sailing in 2026. In 2027 it runs 12 times from $3,799 per person.
Viking · Viking Idi
Paris to Prague · 2–13 Dec · 11 nights · $5,199 per person, checked 3 November 2026, sold out
Two hotel nights in Paris
Reims on the way to the ship
Heidelberg, then the Main through the Spessart
Off the ship in Nuremberg, on to Prague
Tour ends
This departure was sold out on Viking's site on 3 November 2026, like every other Christmas on the Main & Moselle sailing in 2026. In 2027 it runs 6 times from $4,499 per person.
Viking · Viking Astrild
Berlin to Prague · 6–15 Dec · 9 nights · $5,799 per person, checked 3 November 2026, sold out
Two hotel nights in Berlin
Board near Potsdam
Saxon Switzerland sailing
Tour ends
This departure was sold out on Viking's site on 3 November 2026, like every other Christmas Along the Elbe sailing in 2026. In 2027 it runs 10 times from $4,499 per person.
No sailings match.
Pick a port and the day your Viking ship is there. We'll tell you whether its market is open and how far it is from the dock.
Viking's fare is simpler than most and cheaper per night than the other big lines, but it sells out first and keeps its port times to itself until you've booked.
In the fareViking lists free Wi-Fi, every onboard meal, specialty coffee, tea and bottled water around the clock, and enrichment talks as part of the fare. Transfers between airport and ship only come if you buy Viking's own flights.
Drinks outside mealtimes and the optional excursions cost extra, so budget for both if you plan to spend evenings at the markets with a glühwein in hand.
✓ A guided tour in every port, with no extra charge
Against the restViking runs 171 Christmas sailings in 2026, against 41 for AmaWaterways and 27 for Scenic. On price it's hard to beat. Its seven-night Christmas sailings were $3,299 to $4,199 per person, while AmaWaterways asked $4,249 to $5,549 for its Rhine sailing and Scenic £3,129 to £4,973 with UK flights.
Where it falls behind is evenings. Emerald and Uniworld stay into the evening on nearly nine in ten of their Passau calls, Viking on seven in ten. And it sells out so early that for most people a Viking Christmas cruise is a 2027 booking.
Markets are at their best once the lights come on, so how long your ship stays matters more than the itinerary map. Passau's port register lists every Viking call from 20 November to 23 December 2026, all 102 of them. 71% give you at least an hour in port after 16:30.
Last December Viking's Budapest to Passau sailing stayed in Bratislava from 14:00 to 22:30, in Vienna until 23:45, Linz until 22:30 and Passau until 21:30. Viking doesn't publish times before you book, so treat those as a guide, not a promise.
Share of each line's Passau calls with at least an hour in port between 16:30 and 21:00. Stadtwerke Passau berth schedule, November and December 2026, as of 21 October.
Two hours of lit-up market one way. None the other.
Ask Viking for port times before you pay. They have them months ahead even though the website doesn't show them, and the direction you sail can turn a lunchtime stop into an evening one.
Viking's 2027 Christmas sailings are already on sale, and the Elbe and Rhine & Main are going fast. These are the lowest fares still on sale on 3 November 2026.
32 departures from 27 Nov to 18 Dec 2027, from $2,999 per person. None sold out yet.
71 departures from 25 Nov to 18 Dec 2027, from $2,999 per person. 6 already sold out.
44 departures from 25 Nov to 18 Dec 2027, from $2,999 per person. None sold out yet.
12 departures from 27 Nov to 13 Dec 2027, from $3,799 per person. None sold out yet.
6 departures from 1 Dec to 15 Dec 2027, from $4,499 per person. None sold out yet.
8 departures from 27 Nov to 10 Dec 2027, from $5,499 per person. 2 already sold out.
10 departures from 27 Nov to 17 Dec 2027, from $4,499 per person. 5 already sold out.
More Christmas market cruise guides. Our Christmas market river cruise guide compares every line, and the Rhine and Danube pages check every sailing on those rivers day by day.
The markets on these sailings. Budapest, Bratislava, Vienna, Regensburg, Cologne, Strasbourg, Basel, Baden-Baden, Frankfurt, Bamberg, Nuremberg, Paris, Reims, Zürich, Prague, Berlin and Dresden each have a full CW guide with 2026 dates, hours and what to eat.
Only one when we checked on 3 November 2026. Danube Christmas Delights from Passau to Budapest on 29 November, aboard Viking Embla, was still on sale from $3,799 per person. The other 170 Viking Christmas sailings were sold out.
In 2026 Viking's seven-night Christmas sailings were $3,299 to $4,199 per person, and the 9- to 11-night ones $3,999 to $5,799. For 2027 the lowest fares are $2,999 on Danube Christmas Delights, Christmas on the Rhine and Christmas on the Danube.
Two itineraries tie at twelve markets each. Christmas on the Main & Moselle runs from Paris to Prague by way of Trier, Mainz, Heidelberg, Würzburg, Bamberg and Nuremberg, and Christmas on the Rhine & Moselle runs from Paris to Zürich by way of Trier, Koblenz, Mainz, Speyer and Strasbourg. Both take 11 nights.
A shore excursion in every port, all onboard meals, beer, wine and soft drinks with lunch and dinner, Wi-Fi and port taxes. Airport transfers are only included if you book Viking's flights.
Often but not always. In Passau's port register for this season, 71% of Viking's calls give you at least an hour in port after 16:30. Emerald and Uniworld do better, at 93% and 88%.
Now. On 3 November 2026 half of the Elbe sailings and two of the eight Rhine & Main sailings for 2027 were already sold out, a year before they leave.
Viking is cheaper and runs far more sailings, but almost all of 2026 sold out early. AmaWaterways costs more, includes more onboard, and still had Rhine sailings on sale in November. Our river cruise guide compares every line.
Very few. The 18 December Danube departures reach Passau after its market closes on the 22nd, the mid-December Rhine & Main, Rhine & Moselle and Main & Moselle sailings miss markets that close around the 20th, and Amsterdam's Museumplein market isn't open for Rhine sailings that leave Amsterdam before 3 December.