How To Choose Your Festive River Cruise With TUI

This is a sponsored post for TUI River Cruises.

So, you’re considering a festive river cruise with TUI – I can’t blame you, they’re a wonderful way to escape the cold weather at home and spoil yourself on the build-up to Christmas (or even over Christmas itself).

But with so many great options to choose from, how do you go about it? What are the steps involved in booking the cruise and what choices will you need to make?

Let’s take a look!

1. Start with the itinerary

First things first, you’re going to need to decide which itinerary suits you best, based on the date and the ports that you’re visiting.

The festive TUI river cruises sail to some of the best ports in central Europe, primarily Germany but not exclusively so. And there are different options across the itineraries so you’ll need to do some reading to decide which sounds like the most exciting one for you.

You might prefer some of the bigger cities such as Frankfurt, Dusseldorf, or Cologne. Or it could be the scenic destinations such as Koblenz, Mannheim, or Rudesheim that are more interesting to you.

There are different combination options, so have a look at the dates you’re able to travel and the itineraries offered for those, and make your decision. There’s always the option of another cruise next year if you can’t find one this year which ticks off all your chosen destinations!

2. Full Board Plus or All Inclusive?

With your itinerary selected, you’ll need to decide what board you want to go for.

As standard, a TUI river cruise is Full Board Plus. This means you get your breakfast, lunch and dinner included, along with a selection of drinks.

During breakfast, that’s your teas, coffees and juices. For lunch and dinner, you’ll be offered a range of inclusive house wines, beers and soft drinks.

If you wish, you can pay to upgrade to All Inclusive, which means you can enjoy a much wider range of drinks, at any time of the day. This includes beers, ciders, branded spirits, premium Lavazza coffees, speciality teas and more.

Hot chocolates are included with All Inclusive too, which may swing it for you when planning a festive cruise – there’s nothing better than returning to the ship after a chilly night walking around a beautiful market, and warming yourself up with a delicious and lavish hot chocolate!

3. Pick your cabin

Next, you’ll need to decide on your cabin. You’ll need to decide whether you want a standard cabin, a superior cabin with more space to unwind, or a suite with the most room and the added extras of a daily breakfast-in-bed service and a nightly turndown service.

With the category chosen, you’ll then decide whether to pick your own location for an added fee or let TUI pick it for you. It’s entirely up to you, but unlike ocean cruise ships, there aren’t really any bad locations you’ll definitely want to avoid on a river ship, as all come with river views.

4. Decide on your flights

With those big decisions made, all that’s left to do is finalise the details of your festive cruise flights. You’ll have a recommended option by default but you can check out alternative options from other airports, some of which might be more local to you.

You can also decide whether to select your seat on the plane, and there are upgrade options if you really want your festive cruise to kick off in style with more space and legroom. Some cruises may also let you add on extra luggage allowance, too.

And that’s it – you’ve picked out your perfect festive TUI river cruise and can start looking forward to exploring charming Christmas markets, dining on delicious food, and just generally soaking up the amazing spirit and sense of adventure that these cruises offer!

5. Anything else?

There are other things you might want to consider when you’re planning your festive TUI river cruise, such as whether you want to drive to the airport that day or treat yourself to a hotel stay the night before you fly out – especially if you’re concerned about the UK’s delightful winter weather causing any hold-ups!

But the great thing about TUI river cruises is just how much is taken care of for you. You don’t need to worry about getting from the airport to the ship once you land – that’s all sorted.

There are no tips to pay either once you’re on the ship. If you want, you don’t need to spend a penny extra once you’re onboard, and not every river cruise line can say that!

Final word

Planning a TUI river cruise isn’t too complicated – it’s just about finding the date and itinerary that matches what you want.

With TUI’s river cruises being so inclusive of extras already, there’s not much else you need to worry about – just the finer points of choosing your perfect cabins, deciding which drinks you want paid for in advance, and sorting the flights.

It’s all extremely easy, meaning you can just relax and start looking forward to an exciting festive cruise and the memories you’ll make.

Related posts

• Festive Sailings Across The TUI River Fleet
• Why Spend Christmas On A TUI River Cruise? 10 Reasons It’s Better Than Staying At Home
• Regular vs. All Inclusive TUI River Cruises