Nachmittagsfahrt Advent Köln

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.