Megan Singleton: BloggerAtLarge.com writer on Christmas market cruises

Everyone loves a Christmas market, and travel expert Megan Singleton's examining an unconventional method to explore some of the best overseas.

Megan's explored some of the best Christmas markets from the cruise ships, and she's revealed whether or not she recommends the experience. 

Read more about Megan's travel tips here.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudgin
from News talks'b.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
It is time now to talk travel, and I'm joined
by blogger at Lune dot com Megan Singleton.

Speaker 3 (00:17):
Good morning, good morning, so festive. Oh my gosh, I
love this time of year so much.

Speaker 2 (00:25):
I knew you would, but you have had some extraordinary
sort of Christmas y experiences. And I know that today
we're going to talk about the European Christmas markets because
they that's really a destination trip, isn't it. It's sort
of a bucket list for a lot of people to go.

Speaker 4 (00:40):
Definitely, it had been on my bucket list for years,
and so two Christmases ago we did that. We cruised
along the Danube starting in Vienna, and then we added
on a few nights at the end to spend Christmas
Day in Paris. But if I do it again, I
just thought i'd share today with your listeners what I
would do differently, because I definitely would like to do

(01:01):
it again, and I'd probably go on a different river
and see different markets.

Speaker 3 (01:05):
The Germans are amazing.

Speaker 2 (01:07):
I imagine. Megan, if there's something that you're keen to
do next Christmas, you would be starting to think about organizing.

Speaker 4 (01:12):
It now, Yeah, definitely, And actually you'll be getting some
good deals soon after Christmas. Typically, you know, before Black
Friday and things like that came along, we would see
the sales kick off from Boxing Day. But I would
if you're thinking about doing it for next year Christmas
twenty six, I'd be definitely looking to scoop up a
deal in January and book it.

Speaker 3 (01:33):
So there's lots of cruise lines that do it. Avalon
is amazing.

Speaker 4 (01:38):
We went on them and they have these little Juliet
balconies that you can slider like a ranch slider door back,
and your room sort of feels like it's a meter wider,
but you've actually got this balcony that's right there, but
it's in your room. If you know what I mean,
you don't step out on Twitter. It does make your
room a meter wider. Sorry, But then the doors roll
back and there you are.

Speaker 3 (01:57):
Right on the river. Beautiful total along.

Speaker 4 (02:00):
But the Christmas markets open sort of mid to late
November and they run until Christmas Eve. Some of them
goes through to New Year's Eve. So I didn't actually
find Christmas Day very Christmas Eve and so I would go.
Next time, I would do an earlier December Christmas Markets cruise,

(02:21):
and then I would not stay over because like and
when you add Christmas Day in Paris, like we did,
it's frightfully expensive. It's probably the most expensive night to
be staying there. I didn't really find it wasn't easy
for us to find a hotel or anywhere to have
a Christmas Day lunch. There's a lot of people. Paris
was heaving with tourists on Christmas Day or getting selfies

(02:43):
at the Eiffel Tower from nationalities that don't celebrate, and
I just sort of hadn't really factored that. In all
the French people were probably in their own homes and
the shops were all closed.

Speaker 3 (02:53):
But you could barely move for the tourists. So that's
what I would do differently.

Speaker 4 (02:57):
I'd say, do the Christmas Markets cruise a little earlier
in the month and either be home for Christmas Day
or maybe you're off with family in another part of
the world.

Speaker 3 (03:06):
That's what I would do differently. Huh.

Speaker 2 (03:08):
Okay, that's really good advice because everyone sort of thinks
it's so magical. It's very magical Christmas unless you've booked
the restaurant months in advance and got yourself organized. Be
a little bit disappointing.

Speaker 4 (03:21):
We ended up on a cruise along the same river,
which was a buffet Christmas dinner and that was nice.
I mean, you know, and you could go up and
have a Christmas dinner up the Eiffel Tower. You're talking
two hundred euros a pop to do that, just to eat,
but not that it was lovely and I absolutely my
heart was stolen by the Christmas markets. Vienna was my favorite.

(03:41):
The food, and Frankfurt probably was the best. You know,
you go also around those markets, you go to live
opera shows and things like that.

Speaker 3 (03:50):
Just incredible.

Speaker 4 (03:51):
I've got a post on what to wear get all
rugged up warm.

Speaker 3 (03:55):
Yeah, so I'll definitely do it again.

Speaker 2 (03:57):
So Megan, just really quickly. So you said the shops
were shut on Christmas Day? Do they do also sort
of Boxing Day as a public holiday and things?

Speaker 3 (04:04):
So look, we left on Boxing Day out of Paris.

Speaker 2 (04:11):
You need to need to do your research because you're right.
You don't want to be somewhere where it's all public
holidays and you.

Speaker 3 (04:16):
Can't do much.

Speaker 2 (04:16):
No very good advice, wonderful, thank you, so much Meghan.
Meghan will have blogs about this all over Blogger at
large dot com if you're thinking that the Christmas markets
and cruising is your kind of thing.

Speaker 1 (04:29):
For more from the Sunday Session with Francesca Rudgin, listen
live to news talks it'd be from nine am Sunday,
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