P&O Iona Northern Europe Christmas Markets Cruise Take 2

Our first cruise was actually the P&O Iona Northern Europe cruise, where you’re meant to visit Christmas markets. However, due to the steep terminal bridges and being cruise newbies, we only managed to see one market in Hamburg. It was magical, and we had a great time, but this year there were a few changes. For one thing, My brother and sister-in-law decided to join us, and my brother wanted to make the most of every opportunity. We would also be missing Hamburg due to a bad storm, which meant missing out on the only very easy-to-get-to Christmas market.

PS – I have more posts about this cruise, from my outfits every night to accessibility onboard the P&O Iona.

P&O Iona Northern Europe Itinerary

I say that Hamburg is the easiest Christmas market to get to because the other stops include Rotterdam, which does not have a market itself; Zeebrugge, which requires a half-hour journey, and finally Le Havre, where no one could easily find any information about a market, but it did end up having one!

The first time we did this cruise, Le Havre wasn’t on the itinerary, and instead we had an overnight stay in Rotterdam.

Stuck in Southampton 

After hearing that we would be missing the most magical Christmas market we had ever been to, the reason for rebooking this cruise, my brother took it upon himself to make sure we saw every Christmas market we could, no matter what. Here’s how we turned missing out on the best Christmas market on this cruise into seeing FIVE other incredible markets around Europe. Yep, that’s right. Five markets! How? Well it wasn’t cheap, but it was relatively easy and I’d actually highly recommend.

First off, we couldn’t set sail all weekend but we were allowed off the ship. Not many people seemed happy about this but then the Captain said that one of the best Christmas markets the UK has to offer is a short journey away in Winchester. So, we headed to Winchester until the storm passed, and made that joke about it blowing over at least 50 times.

Winchester Christmas Markets

Winchester Christmas Markets were so impressive that I would recommend arriving a day early for your Christmas cruise to visit them. There is so much to see and do. I would recommend getting there early, as by the time we left, there was a queue of hundreds waiting to get in.

We were immediately told that there are ramps to make sure we could get around to see everything which I appreciated it. There’s nothing I hate more than missing out on inaccessible stalls at a Christmas market.

There was so much to see and buy, with really high-quality stalls and a huge food hall too, but we didn’t try any food here as we were too excited to get back on board. Below is my Tiktok from the day and what we got up to that evening.

@georginagrogan_ Part 2: Christmas market cruise was unable to set sail so we headed to Winchester Christmas Markets and they were beautiful #winchester #christmasmarkets #winchesterchristmasmarket ♬ original sound – Georgina Grogan

Sea Days

We were so glad we got off board for a few hours on Sunday as being on the ship from Saturday to Wednesday would have been super long! Here’s what we got up to on our sea days:

@georginagrogan_ Part 3&4: Christmas Cruise on the P&O Iona ❤️ If you have any questions about the Iona or the nothern europe cruise let me know! I’ve been on 3 times now and done this cruise twice! #christmascruise #pandocruise #cruise ♬ original sound – Georgina Grogan

Rotterdam – Royal Christmas Fair The Hague

Rotterdam is a gorgeous cruise port with tall buildings and lights, you really don’t expect it! On our first cruise my dad and partner Alfie headed to the famous food market at Rotterdam but this time my brother was in search of a Christmas market and so, we headed to The Hague.

Travel tip: Do not get in a taxi directly outside the cruise terminal. Instead, book an Uber to get a much cheaper price, even if you need a big van for everyone.

These markets were so worth going to, they’re not just in the city centre like most so everyone is solely there for the markets and not just trying to get to work. It makes for a much nicer browsing experience as everyone wants to make sure they see everything. We got there just before it opened which was even better as it meant it was a lot quieter.

There were so many incredible things on sale and the food was amazing. Between seven of us I don’t think there were many stalls left that we didn’t try something from! There was so much choice, lots of places to sit down, including a bar inside too if you needed a break from the cold. The Royal Christmas Fair at The Hague ended up taking the best Christmas market spot and we all recommend going!

@georginagrogan_ Part 5: Royal Christmas Fair The Hague, Netherlands Onboard the P&O Iona Christmas Cruise and we stopped at Rotterdam, a 30/49 minute taxi and we were at these incredible markets! #thehague #christmasmarkets #royalchristmasfair #pandoiona #christmascruise ♬ Elf – Main Theme – Geek Music

Zeebrugge – Bruges Christmas Markets

For Zeebrugge we needed to use the shuttle bus to get to the cruise terminal and then there were taxis waiting there, but thanks to being ripped off in Rotterdam, we knew to make sure to use our phones to lock in an Uber price. We were very fortunate, as our driver offered to return for us at a set time from the same place, which was conveniently right outside Bruges Christmas Markets! I mean, feet away from the entrance, extremely kind!

We were early again so only some stalls were open so we had a big look around the town, which was absolutely stunning. Every single shop and restaurant had the most incredible designs and displays. Again the stalls were really high quality things and the food was amazing. This market had a seafood stall so of course I tried most of the menu!

Again this was so worth the 30-I hadn’t been on a train since using a wheelchair. It looked stressful, and from what I had seen, it often went wrongminute taxi ride and another trip we’d all really recommend!

Travel Tip: DO NOT BUY THE NOUGAT FROM ANY MARKET. Unless it’s in a pre-done bag marked with a couple euros, it is an absolute con and cost me 50 Euros having ‘the minimum’ piece. They are very aggressive and we talked to other people back on the ship who had also fallen for this tourist trap.

@georginagrogan_ Day 6: P&O Iona Christmas Market cruise, Zeebrugge to Bruges Christmas Markets (I posted in the wrong order) #zeebrugge #bruges #pando #pandocruise #iona #christmas #christmastok #christmasmarkets #brugeschristmasmarket ♬ merry christmas everyone sped x – libbyy

Le Havre Christmas Markets to Rouen Christmas Markets

There was very little information on Le Havre Christmas markets and the cruise Facebook page had us worried that there would be nothing to do at this port. Le Havre DOES have a Christmas market. It’s located in front of the Hotel De Ville and it’s really lovely with a Merry Go Round, Ferris Wheel, a few stalls, and the typical Christmas market food, but we didn’t know this until much later on in the day.

So, my brother was back planning and decided we were going to take a train to Rouen Christmas Markets. I hadn’t been on a train since using a wheelchair. It looked stressful, and from what I had seen, it often went wrong. When I went to look online, it immediately said it wasn’t a wheelchair accessible route but my brother is an accessibility Queen and wasn’t having any of that, so off we went. We spoke to a woman at the train station desk. It was mostly nods and ‘oui’, but she booked us on and it was a breeze!

The trains were so fancy and it was a really comfortable 50 minute ride. The town of Rouen is beautiful. Fifteen minutes later, we turned a corner and were greeted with the most breathtaking view of the cathedral and some gorgeous Christmas markets. The most impressive thing we saw were temporary ramps that had been put down on top of plastic so that they could be removed without damaging the cobbles. So clever and inclusive.

There were beautiful stalls here so we had a good look around and a nibble before heading back off to the train via a few french bakeries. When we got back we saw the clock tower where the markets in Le Havre were meant to be and decided to go take a look so we can confirm they’re really lovely!

@georginagrogan_ Part 6: P&O Iona christmas market cruise, Le Havre to Rouen christmas markets via train! ❤️ This was very spontaneous but the group pages had us worried that the Le Havre christmas markets weren’t very good so we researched the best ones nearby and had an amazing day! #pando #pandocruises #christmasmarket #lehavre #rouen #france #christmascruise #cruise ♬ original sound – Christmas Countdown

So, there you have it! Obviously this is a very extra way to go about this cruise but if you want to see Christmas markets, you need to put in a little effort to travel to them and it’s so worth it.

Usually on my cruise posts I talk more about what we got up to on the actual ship but this post is long enough so just head over to my travel section and take a look through of what we did on previous cruises. I’ve also got daily vlogs of all three of our trips on the Iona on my Tiktok!

If you have any questions about cruising, feel free to pop up or leave a comment below.