Köln-Düsseldorfer (KD) Rhine River boat cruises are popular during the Advent and Christmas market festive season, while special New Year’s Eve party boats cruise from Cologne and Düsseldorf.
Köln-Düsseldorfer (KD), the largest operator of riverboats on the Rhine River in Germany, has many day-trip excursion cruises during the pre-Christmas Advent period, New Year’s Eve, and some winter weekends. Most Advent Rhine River sightseeing cruises depart from Cologne, but boat excursions are also possible from Düsseldorf, Rüdesheim to the Loreley Valley, as well as Frankfurt on the Main River. Book KD afternoon cruises online or Köln Tourist cruises with music.
In 2026, Christmas market period Rhine boats cruise from Cologne on most days, except Mondays, from 20 November to 20 December 2026. Reservations are essential for special New Year’s Eve party and dinner cruises on 31 December (Sylvester).
Advent and Christmas Market Rhine Cruises from Köln / Cologne
Cologne (Köln) is a popular city to visit for its Christmas markets (Weihnachtsmarkt), old town, famous Gothic Cologne Cathedral (Kölner Dom), many museums, excellent shopping, and easy-going nightlife. Cruise excursions from Cologne on the Rhine River (Rhein) are possible on KD riverboats and smaller cruise lines such as Köln Tourist during much of the pre-Christmas Advent period.
KD offers the following Rhine River boat day-trip excursion cruises from Cologne in the four weeks leading to Christmas:
- Two-hour sightseeing panorama cruises (Nachmittagsfahrten) on Advent afternoons – in 2026, from Tuesday to Sunday. (Around €28 / €10 for children – food & drink optional.) Often with live music and a visit by St. Nikolaus (Santa Claus). Easy to book online.
- Three-hour romantic evening cruises (Abendfahrten) from Tuesday to Saturday nights (8 to 11 pm) with live music. (Around €94 on weeknights / €104 on Friday and Saturday; all-inclusive with buffet and drinks included.)
- Christmas-Advent brunch (Weihnachtlicher Adventsbrunch) cruises on Sunday mornings. (Around €52 / children €29 – food and glass of Sekt included.)
Children’s fares on KD are for ages 6 to 13. Discounts on some cruises are offered to students and seniors (65+).
Christmas-time Rhine cruises are available from late November to the last weekend before December 24. Day-trip and event cruises are never available on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.
Other cruise lines, such as Köln Tourist, also offer Rhine cruises from Cologne. Prices are sometimes slightly cheaper, but KD generally has the wider selection and the smartest boats.
Unfortunately, the popular floating Christmas market on the MS Wappen von Köln boat is no longer operated.
Christmas period cruises are also possible from Düsseldorf — the second city in the KD name. In nearby Bonn, with a more interesting Rhine Valley than either Cologne or Düsseldorf, Christmas Rhine River cruises are usually possible only on December Advent weekends.
New Year’s Eve Rhine River Party Cruises from Cologne (Köln), Germany
KD boats cruise on the Rhine River from Cologne (Köln) on New Year’s Eve to welcome New Year’s Day. These Silvester party boats offer mostly live music and all-inclusive buffets, or disco with free beer (and soft drinks). Boats leave Cologne around 8 pm on New Year’s Eve and return to port around 1 or 2 am on New Year’s Day.
Prices for New Year’s Eve cruises from Cologne are around €259 for the all-inclusive MS RheinMagie cruise, including a festive buffet, drinks, midnight snack, and live music. A dinner alternative aboard the MS RheinVision costs around €239 and includes a festive menu, two glasses of champagne, and entertainment; other drinks are charged separately.
A cheaper alternative is the Silvester party boat MS RheinFantasie with a disco that includes unlimited Kölsch beer and soft drinks for around €159. Further snacks and drinks are available. The disco party boat leaves around 8 pm and returns around 1 am to Cologne.
Winter Rhine River Sightseeing Cruises from Cologne (Köln)
KD’s regular Cologne sightseeing cruises generally end in late October and resume in spring. During winter, the company operates selected special-event and seasonal cruises rather than a regular sightseeing timetable from Cologne.
Winter cruises are most likely on weekends. Traveling by train to cruise on the Middle Rhine is a better option, but reservations are essential.
Best Winter Season Rhine Day Cruise
The best Rhine River day cruises, irrespective of the season, are in the Loreley Valley — a UNESCO World Heritage Site. These cruises are often available in winter and very frequent in summer.
In winter, scheduled KD day cruises depart from Rüdesheim in the morning, stop at Kaub on demand, and pass the Lorelei Rock before reaching St Goarshausen / St Goar (Rheinfels Castle). The boat returns to Rüdesheim / Bingen in the afternoon for a total cruise time of 5 hours — the best way to see the romantic Rhine Valley. Due to the fast-flowing river, the cruise times are less than two hours downstream and three hours upstream.
Reservations are essential for Rhine River day cruises in winter, as the boat only departs with enough bookings. Register an interest by phone (+49-221-2088-318 or at any ticket window). If a group has booked a tour, the boat trip will often be bookable online for individual travelers.
Regular discount deals are often not applied, but it won’t hurt to ask.
- See Best Winter Day-Trip Boat Cruises on the Rhine River in Germany for more details on this KD cruise.
Explore the Rhine in Winter by Train and Boat from Cologne
It is easy to arrange a day trip from Cologne to cruise through the Romantic Rhine Valley in winter — by train, a transfer is usually required in Koblenz. At most small towns on the Rhine, the train station is close to the boat landings for easy transfers from a cruise ship to the railway.
To find the best departure point to start the boat cruise, compare train schedules (pick the town name with KD if available) to stations on the left bank of the Rhine (Cologne, Bonn, Koblenz, St Goar, Bingen, Mainz) and the right bank (Cologne-Deutz, bridge at Koblenz, St Goarshausen, Kaub, Rüdesheim, Wiesbaden, bridge to Mainz). At certain times of the day, the train ride could be much longer, or fewer regional trains are available. It is also easy to reach Rüdesheim from Frankfurt Airport or the Hauptbahnhof.
As only one KD boat per day in winter cruises down the beautiful Rhine River Valley, it is not feasible to disembark en route to see romantic towns with half-timbered houses, medieval town centers, historic churches, or castles. The best way is to stay on the cruise and return to small towns and other sights later by train.
- Winter and Christmas market cruises on the Rhine River are also available from Düsseldorf, Rüdesheim, Bonn, Mainz, Koblenz, and Frankfurt (for the Main River).
More on the Rhine River in Germany
Day-Trip Excursions and Pleasure Cruises on the Rhine River:
- Middle Rhine (Loreley Valley) — UNESCO World Cultural Heritage-listed Area and the best part of the Rhine River for short and all-day boat cruises:
- cruise from Rüdesheim (cruise lines), Koblenz (cruise lines), winter & Christmas
- from Frankfurt — fast trains to the Rhine, or slow boat to the Rhine
- from Mainz and Wiesbaden
- Savings Tips, Best Cruise Lines
- Lower Rhine — Cologne, Düsseldorf, Bonn to Linz
- Special events: Cruises to Rhine in Flames Fireworks, Christmas and New Year’s Cruises in Cologne, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, and Rüdesheim
- Moselle River Cruises (Cochem, Bernkastel-Kues, Trier, Koblenz, Burg Eltz)
- Cruises on the Main River in Frankfurt (or better By Train from Frankfurt to the Best Rhine Cruises)
- Cruises from Worms, Mannheim, Heidelberg (on the Neckar River)
- Cruises from Speyer
- Rhinefalls (Rhine Waterfalls, Schaffhausen, Stein am Rhein, Kreuzlingen) in Switzerland
Tips and Savings on Day-Trip Rhine Cruises
- The best part of the Rhine for day-trip excursion cruises in the Middle Rhine between Rüdesheim / Bingen and Koblenz. See Savings Tips and the Best Cruise Lines cruising in the Loreley Valley.
- Check train times for Germany (and most of Europe) at German Railways.
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