AmaWaterways runs 41 Christmas market sailings in 2026 across four itineraries on the Rhine and the Danube. Unlike Viking, plenty were still on sale when we checked Ama's own site on 3 November, with Rhine fares from $4,249. Here's every sailing checked against the markets' 2026 dates, what the fare covers, and the dates that land on a closed market.
Fares are Ama's own US prices per person for the cheapest cabin, port charges included, checked on 3 November 2026.
$5,449 for 7 nights
Basel to Amsterdam2–9 Dec, AmaPrima
Colmar, Strasbourg, Baden-Baden, Heidelberg, Rüdesheim and Koblenz before you reach Cologne and Amsterdam, and every one of those markets is open the day the ship calls. It's the sailing we'd pick on this route.
$4,349 for 7 nights
Basel to Amsterdam16–23 Dec, AmaPrima
The same route a fortnight later for $1,100 less, and still before Strasbourg, Rüdesheim and Basel close on the 23rd and 24th. The Amsterdam to Basel sailings in late November are cheaper still, but Amsterdam's Museumplein market hasn't opened when they leave.
No fare shown on 3 November
Nuremberg to Budapestor the reverse
Two days in Nuremberg, then Regensburg, Passau, Melk, Vienna and Budapest. Ama's site listed all 16 dates but showed no fare for any of them on 3 November, so ask Ama or an agent what's left.
No fare shown on 3 November
Budapest to Vilshofenor the reverse
Three sailings on AmaMagna with three days in Budapest, Vienna, Dürnstein, Linz and Passau. The catch is Dürnstein, whose little market only opens on four short runs, and none of these three sailings lands on one.
$4,249 for 7 nights
Amsterdam to Basel24–31 Dec, AmaLucia
Christmas Day on the Rhine for the lowest fare Ama shows this season. Don't book it for the markets, because Rüdesheim, Strasbourg and Breisach have all closed by the time the ship gets there.
Every departure Ama's own site listed on 3 November 2026. Green has a fare and can be booked, gold is listed with no fare showing, 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 · 20 sailings · $4,249–$5,549
Basel to Amsterdam
Amsterdam to Basel
Market gaps. 25 Nov (Basel start), Basel isn't open yet, Amsterdam isn't open yet. 26 Nov (Basel start), Amsterdam isn't open yet. 25 Nov (Amsterdam start), Amsterdam isn't open yet. 26 Nov (Amsterdam start), Amsterdam isn't open yet. 28 Nov (Amsterdam start), Amsterdam isn't open yet. 24 Dec (Amsterdam start), Rüdesheim has closed, Strasbourg has closed, Breisach has closed.
7 nights · 16 sailings · no fares shown
Nuremberg to Budapest
Budapest to Nuremberg
Market gaps. 25 Nov (Nuremberg start), Nuremberg isn't open yet. 19 Dec (Nuremberg start), Melk has closed.
7 nights · 3 sailings · no fares shown
Budapest to Vilshofen
Vilshofen to Budapest
Market gaps. 29 Nov (Budapest start), Dürnstein is closed that day. 13 Dec (Budapest start), Dürnstein has closed. 6 Dec (Vilshofen start), Dürnstein is closed that day.
7 nights · 2 sailings · no fares shown
Basel to Amsterdam
Every dated market on this itinerary is open on the days these sailings call.
Ama publishes its day list for one direction of each Danube itinerary. For Budapest to Nuremberg and Vilshofen to Budapest we've checked the same ports in reverse order, which matches Passau's port register for the AmaSonata sailings we could test.
Each card follows one 2026 departure through every port, with the market's status the day the ship is there. Ama doesn't publish port times online, so where a card says a trip or a free afternoon, that's from the line's own day list.
AmaWaterways · AmaPrima
Basel to Amsterdam · 2–9 Dec · 7 nights · from $5,449 per person, checked 3 November 2026
Embark
Colmar trip
Market and old town, Baden-Baden in the afternoon
Heidelberg or Speyer, then on to Rüdesheim later in the day
Rüdesheim by day, then the Rhine Gorge to Lahnstein
Afternoon ashore, optional Cologne
Utrecht in the morning
Disembark
The 25 November sailing of this route boards in Basel the day before Basel's market opens. Port times aren't published online, so ask Ama.
AmaWaterways · AmaSonata
Nuremberg to Budapest · 2–9 Dec · 7 nights · no fare shown on Ama's site, checked 3 November 2026
Board in Nuremberg
Disembark
Ama's site listed this date with no fare on 3 November 2026. Passau's port register has AmaSonata in Passau from 08:30 to 11:30 on 5 December, so this direction gets a morning there, not an evening.
AmaWaterways · AmaMagna
Budapest to Vilshofen · 29 Nov – 6 Dec · 7 nights · no fare shown on Ama's site, checked 3 November 2026
Board in Budapest
Disembark
Ama's site listed this date with no fare on 3 November 2026. Dürnstein's market opens on four short runs only, and the ship calls on a day between two of them.
AmaWaterways · AmaVenita
Basel to Amsterdam · 1–8 Dec · 7 nights · no fare shown on Ama's site, checked 3 November 2026
Board in Basel
Disembark
The Christmas Markets version of Swiss Alps & Rhine Castles. Ama's site listed it with no fare on 3 November 2026.
No sailings match.
Pick a port and the day your AmaWaterways ship is there. We'll tell you whether its market is open and how far it is from the dock.
Ama costs more than Viking for the same seven nights, but more of the trip is in the fare, and in November you can still get a cabin.
In the farePort charges of $250 per person are in the fare, along with a daily Sip & Sail cocktail hour and wine, beer and soft drinks with meals. Ama also lists Wi-Fi, every onboard meal, a dinner in The Chef's Table restaurant, specialty coffee and tea, all-day snacks and a welcome cocktail reception in the fare, along with a Cruise Manager and a Wellness Host on most sailings.
Flights, upgrades and the pre- and post-cruise hotel stays cost extra, and solo travellers pay a 50% supplement in a standard stateroom.
✓ Excursions with gentle, regular and active options
Against the restAma runs 41 Christmas sailings, against 171 for Viking and 27 for Scenic, and its Rhine fares of $4,249 to $5,549 for seven nights come to about $607 to $793 a night, against $471 to $600 for Viking's seven-night Christmas sailings. What you get for that is more in the fare and, this year, availability, because Viking had sold all but one of its 2026 Christmas sailings by November.
Evenings are where Ama is middling. Passau's port register shows 55% of Ama's calls this season with an hour or more in port after 16:30, behind Viking at 71% and well behind Emerald and Uniworld.
Markets are at their best once the lights come on, so how long your ship stays matters as much as where it goes. Passau's port register lists every Ama call from 20 November to 23 December 2026, 31 of them. 55% give you at least an hour in port after 16:30.
The pattern depends on direction. The same ship can spend a whole evening in Passau one week and leave before lunch the next.
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.
An evening by the cathedral, or a morning coffee before the stalls are even open.
Ask Ama for port times before you pay. The line doesn't publish them online, but it has them, and an evening call in Passau or Vienna is worth more than a cheaper fare.
A few things on Ama's Christmas pages that are easy to miss before you book.
Ama says AmaStella and AmaLea have swapped itineraries for the rest of 2026, so every sailing listed for AmaStella now runs on AmaLea.
The 25 November Basel to Amsterdam sailing on AmaCerto is a wine-themed departure at $5,249, and it boards in Basel the day before Basel's market opens.
The 5 December Amsterdam to Basel sailing on AmaViola is shared with Smithsonian Journeys and costs $4,849.
The 24 December Rhine sailing and the 19 December Nuremberg to Budapest sailing spend Christmas on board. Most markets have closed by then.
21 of the 41 sailings, every Danube and Swiss Alps date, had no fare on Ama's site on 3 November. That can mean sold out or not bookable online, so ask before you plan around one.
Ama's Rhine ships on these sailings take 156 to 162 guests, and most cabins have its twin balconies.
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. Cologne, Strasbourg, Basel, Colmar, Baden-Baden, Düsseldorf, Nuremberg, Regensburg, Vienna and Budapest each have a full CW guide with 2026 dates, hours and what to eat.
Ama's seven-night Christmas Markets on the Rhine sailings cost $4,249 to $5,549 per person for the cheapest cabin on 3 November 2026, port charges included. Ama showed no fare for its Danube Christmas sailings that day.
Yes, at least on the Rhine. On 3 November 2026 all 20 Christmas Markets on the Rhine sailings showed a fare on Ama's site. The 21 Danube and Swiss Alps sailings were listed with no fare, so check with Ama.
For markets, Christmas Markets on the Rhine from Basel to Amsterdam on 2 December. Every market on the route is open the day the ship calls, with trips to Colmar, Baden-Baden and Heidelberg on the way.
Excursions with up to six choices a day, all onboard meals, wine, beer and soft drinks with meals, a daily cocktail hour, Wi-Fi and port charges. Flights and hotel extensions cost extra.
On just over half its calls. In Passau's port register for this season, 55% of Ama's calls give you at least an hour in port after 16:30.
Amsterdam's Museumplein market opens on 3 December, so the three late-November Amsterdam to Basel sailings and the 25 and 26 November Basel to Amsterdam sailings all spend their Amsterdam days before it opens. The 25 November Basel departure also boards a day before Basel's market, and the 24 December sailing reaches Rüdesheim, Strasbourg and Breisach after they close. On the Danube, the 25 November Nuremberg departure boards before Nuremberg's market opens, and Dürnstein's short market runs miss all three Icons of the Danube sailings.
Viking is cheaper per night, but almost every 2026 Viking Christmas sailing had sold out by November. Ama costs more, includes more, and still had Rhine sailings to book. Our river cruise guide compares every line.