7 Days in Europe – Christmas Magic Along the Rhine

The trip is open to any member or ally of the LGBT+ community. While the vast majority of our guests tend to be gay men, we're happy to welcome anyone who is friendly, welcoming and has an open mind.

No, Viva Cruises is a mainstream, river cruise line open to anyone that launched in 2018. It was started by the renowned Swiss shipping company Scylla AG, which currently owns a fleet of 40 ships. They have dedicated themselves to comfortable travel on water - with a convincing all-inclusive offer for their guests as well as exclusive destinations in Europe. The MS VIVA TWO ship is the second new build of VIVA Cruises with 95 cabins accommodating up to 190 passengers Although we will be joining a ship with other guests, our small gay group trip of approximately 20-40 gay guests will offer daily group meals together, group shore excursions, cocktail hours, group activities and more!

You should plan to fly into Germany at least the day before the cruise starts. We recommend flying into Munich so your flight should arrive in Munich on December 21st or before. This is to ensure you have enough time to board the ship, should there be any flight delays or cancellations.

You can either get a hotel in Munich the night before the cruise and then take the train from Munich to Passau on the morning of December 22nd or fly into Munich and immediately take a train to Passau and spend the night there. Either option is fine, it just depends on your preference.

We recommend staying in the city center somewhere near the central train station. That's both for the convenience of getting the train to/from Passau, but also where all the interesting sights and Christmas markets are located. You can find a list of recommended hotels in our Munich Gay Guide.

Generally speaking, embarkation/check-in begins two hours before the start of the journey; therefore, usually from 2pm since the ship departs at 4pm from Passau. Disembarkation on the day of departure begins after breakfast, at 9:30am at the latest. Embarkation in Passau is either in Lindau or in Passau's old town. You will receive the arrival information via email shortly before the start of the trip.

Düsseldorf has its own international airport (DUS), with easy public transportation into the city center. The airport is approximately 18 minutes from Düsseldorf Central Station by direct public transportation.

The ship will normally dock near Düsseldorf's Old Town, and the exact embarkation location will be confirmed in your cruise documents before departure. From the airport or central station, you can also take a taxi directly to the ship.

Our cruise ends in Basel, which is served by EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg (BSL). Bus 50 connects Basel SBB train station with the airport in approximately 20 minutes.

For additional international flight options, Zurich Airport (ZRH) is also a convenient alternative and can be reached from Basel by train.

The exact docking location in Basel will be provided in your final cruise documents.