Review: Gate 1 17 Day Danube River Cruise with Warsaw, Krakow, Budapest & Prague

We took this trip last month, September, 2016, and I'm posting my review here on the main river cruise forum since neither Gate 1 nor the Monarch Empress are listed in the drop down menus for posting reviews.

Our air was booked through Gate 1 and the included transfer from the Warsaw airport to the Sofitel Hotel went smoothly. At the hotel we were greeted by our cruise director, Gary, and during dinner we were briefed on the trip, received our badges and receivers/earpieces for touring, then had a needed night's sleep in our very comfortable room. This turned out to be the pattern for the entire trip with all aspects being handled with ease.

Hotels: We had a total of eight nights in hotels and all were at least 4*, the rooms were all very nice standard business rooms with refrigerators, electrical outlets at the desk, hair dryers, toiletries, etc. The beds have comforters with duvets, no top sheets, as is standard in most of Europe. All rooms had bathtub/showers and were very deep. The included breakfast buffets were all nicely laid out with plenty of hot and cold selections including non-dairy and gluten free items. All the hotels were in excellent locations that allowed us to walk into the old part of the towns.

Buses: Standard large motorcoaches were the transportation for our group of 38. Some of the busses were nicer than others, but all had a rack above the seats to handle small personal items. Our luggage, including wheeled carry-ons, went into the baggage compartments under the bus. On occasion, the bus would have an emergency toilet. We never had to handle our luggage except the last morning we brought ours down ourselves before boarding the bus to the airport. On all other occasions, we would put our luggage outside our rooms before breakfast and porters would take it to the bus.

Tours : Some were walking only, some included a bus ride for part. Be prepared to walk on uneven surfaces and up and down stairs! On all the tours we had very good local guides with the exception of the occasional short "orientation" walk that would be led by our tour director.

Monarch Empress: What a beautiful ship! Quiet Elegance...excellent service...very good, beautifully plated food...seasoned travelers...could not ask for more!

Room: We walked into a spotless room that still had a "new" smell. The far wall is nearly all glass with a French Balcony in the center covered with sheer curtains and room darkening drapes. There was more than adequate storage between shelves, closet, drawers, and the space under the bed for luggage. The bed was very comfortable but the comforter was way to heavy for me so I asked for a top sheet and when I returned to the room, the bed was remade! The bathroom was well laid out. No tub here, just a shower with a few inch lip to step over. Toiletries were in small bottles packages and there is a shaver/toothbrush outlet and a hair dryer.

Electrical Outlets: On the wall by the desk there are two Euro 220 outlets and two US 110 outlets, but these only accept electronic plugs that have two narrow prongs. You cannot plug a curling iron, with one prong wider than the other, into them but must use an adaptor in the 220 outlet so the curling iron must have universal voltage. There is also a 220 outlet at each night stand.

Dining: All meals are served in the dining room, with the exception of an early bird breakfast in the lounge. There is no assigned seating and most tables hold 6 guests. Breakfast and Lunch are buffet style with hot and cold selections. There was an omelet station for breakfast and fresh pasta or sandwiches for lunch. Soup of the day was available at lunch. Dinners were from a menu with two entrée selections in addition to the chicken dinner and salad that was always available. There was an appetizer, soup and dessert as well. Each night there was a white and a red wine to go with dinner, freely poured, or you could have beer. We had different wine selections every night.

Dress: The public rooms were not cold, so there was no need to bundle up to go to dinner. Dress was nice casual. No ties and few sport coats, no fancy tops on the ladies, even on the evening of the farewell dinner. It was long pants and collared shirts for men and long pants or capris and nice tops for women throughout the cruise. I don't think anyone was turned away from the dining room due to their attire!

Entertainment : This is not what river cruising is noted for, but we did have some enjoyable evenings and some laughs. Hungarian dancers and singers performed the first night, there was a cruise employee show, a piano player and the last night Hansi and his one-man umpa-pa band entertained us.

Ports: We were docked right in town some of the time and could walk off the ship and explore. Other times we were bused a short distance into the town. There were 123 passengers on the ship and three tour directors. Our group stayed with Gary but often there were only two busses going on an excursion so one group would get divided between the two others. It's not long before you get to know a few people.

I'm done! If I missed anything, just ask. It was a fabulous trip and my DH and I were very impressed with Gate 1. Many of our fellow travelers had multiple trips with them. This was our first trip with Gate 1, but hopefully not our last.

Thank you so much for your report. We are booked on Gate 1 Amsterdam to Budapest next October. A group of 8. I have done the same on APT but we couldnt resist the price so decided to give them a go. Not well known in Australia so it is comforting to know you had a great cruise.

Thank you for the review, very helpful. We are booked with 4 others on Monach Queen late September from Ams to Budapest. Like Tara Jane we received an email via a travel promoter and the price on Gate 1 was to good to resist. Going by the reviews I have read I think we are going to very happy with our first river cruise and Gate 1.

what hotels did you stay at in Prague and Budapest?

We are trying Gate1 for the first time in June. We will be doing a 14 day land tour in Spain and Portugal, followed by a river cruise starting in Prague and ending in Budapest.

what hotels did you stay at in Prague and Budapest?

 

We are trying Gate1 for the first time in June. We will be doing a 14 day land tour in Spain and Portugal, followed by a river cruise starting in Prague and ending in Budapest.

Sounds like a great trip you have planned. Are you with Gate 1 for the whole trip? Gate 1 has a policy of booking hotels within walking distance of the town center or Old Town. In Budapest we were at the Intercontinental, right next to the Chain Bridge...best location possible! The Sofitel is next to it. In Prague we were in the Art Nouveau Palace, just off Wenceslas Square. It was a substitute as the original hotel was being renovated and wasn't ready yet.

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Sounds like a great trip you have planned. Are you with Gate 1 for the whole trip? Gate 1 has a policy of booking hotels within walking distance of the town center or Old Town. In Budapest we were at the Intercontinental, right next to the Chain Bridge...best location possible! The Sofitel is next to it. In Prague we were in the Art Nouveau Palace, just off Wenceslas Square. It was a substitute as the original hotel was being renovated and wasn't ready yet.

 

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We are in different hotels. In as good a location in Prague (Hotel Imperial), not as good in Budapest (Hilton). At least those are the hotels listed in the reservation.

Both trips are with Gate1.

Thank-you for your great review. My husband and I are scheduled for a 16 day cruise in May 2017 aboard the Monarch Queen. This will be our first European river cruise, but it will be our 5th trip with Gate 1. We can not say enough wonderful things about this tour company. Every trip we have been on have been extremely well organized with absolutely fabulous tour managers. Don't let their low prices scare you to think that they are not notch. It sounds like you had a great trip. Thanks!

Hi! We are booked on the AmaWaterways Serena-Romantic Danube- leaving Vilshofen on April 3, 2017 to Budapest April 10, 2017. Staying in Budapest for 3 nights. Any suggestions for lodging? Looking forward to our first river cruise! Any suggestions from transportation from the Munich Airport to Vilshofen? Our flight arrives at 10:15 AM on the 3rd and the cruise transport doesn't pick us up until 2:00 pm! I certainly don't want to be at the airport that long. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Marigold,

Thank you so much for taking the time to write and post your review. I've been curious about Gate 1 and your experience is very reassuring.

Joy,

My TA booked me into the Sofitel Chain Bridge in Budapest. A wonderful hotel in a great location, with a good breakfast buffet and service-oriented staff. I highly recommend it.

Roz

Joycraft

AMA, to my knowledge, uses Sofitel Chain Bridge

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Hi! We are booked on the AmaWaterways Serena-Romantic Danube- leaving Vilshofen on April 3, 2017 to Budapest April 10, 2017. Staying in Budapest for 3 nights. Any suggestions for lodging? Looking forward to our first river cruise! Any suggestions from transportation from the Munich Airport to Vilshofen? Our flight arrives at 10:15 AM on the 3rd and the cruise transport doesn't pick us up until 2:00 pm! I certainly don't want to be at the airport that long. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks!

You can take the train from Munich Airport to Freising then transfer to Vilshofen; it takes about 2 hours, depending on your connection. Very easy to get information in English at http://www.bahn.com.

I'm not surprised that you were happy with your Gate 1 cruise. I've traveled several times with them, although never on a river cruise, and was always very satisfied.

There were a couple of things I missed in my review. Our cabin on the Monarch Empress had bathrobes and slippers. And there were glasses of iced tea in the lobby when we returned from excursions. I can't think of anything Gate 1 missed for our comfort.

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You can take the train from Munich Airport to Freising then transfer to Vilshofen; it takes about 2 hours, depending on your connection. Very easy to get information in English at http://www.bahn.com.

Thanks!

There were a couple of things I missed in my review. Our cabin on the Monarch Empress had bathrobes and slippers. And there were glasses of iced tea in the lobby when we returned from excursions. I can't think of anything Gate 1 missed for our comfort.

 

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We're with Gate1 Budapest to Prague 21 APR - 3 MAY '16.

I did Yangtze River Cruise & Shanghai, Xian, Beijing with Gate1 last SEP/OCT. I am so impressed with their competence that I've book this Danube trip with them.

I really appreciate your review, Marigold, as I've been concerned about the Ship. Glad to hear Gate1's riverboats are up to acceptable standards.

I had a fantastic China trip, but the Victoria ship was a little mouldy.

I'm arriving in Budapest a little early & have book a "docked riverboat" for a 5 day stay before moving up to the Hilton. It's right across from the Hungarian Parliament. Has anyone any experience staying on or eating at this hotel?

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Thank you so much for your report. We are booked on Gate 1 Amsterdam to Budapest next October. A group of 8. I have done the same on APT but we couldnt resist the price so decided to give them a go. Not well known in Australia so it is comforting to know you had a great cruise.

tara jane....I would be interested in knowing what you thought about APT as we are doing amsterdam to budapest with APT

We did Gate1's Budapest to Amsterdam in November aboard the Sound of Music, which has since left the G1 fleet. We were very happy with everything - from the boat and crew to the food, tours, and our cabin. Afterwards, when asked for feedback via email, I received a thoughtful reply and thanks from the CEO.

My review of our trip is in this forum.

Hi Marigold,

We are booked on the same trip for September 2017. It will be our first time with Gate 1 and appreciate your review. We are curious to know if you took any of the optional tours, like the Wilanow Palace or the Wieliczka Salt Mine. If so, could you tell us what you thought of them, and how strenuous they were, especially the steps at the Salt Mine.

Hi Marigold,

We are booked on the same trip for September 2017. It will be our first time with Gate 1 and appreciate your review. We are curious to know if you took any of the optional tours, like the Wilanow Palace or the Wieliczka Salt Mine. If so, could you tell us what you thought of them, and how strenuous they were, especially the steps at the Salt Mine.

We didn't do the Wilanow Palace tour. The Wieliczka Salt Mine is truly unique and we're glad we included it. It's a long walk, partly on rough, uneven surfaces, a lot of stairs, mostly going down, but an elevator takes you back up to the top. I found the air to be less than desirable in some areas, but had no problem breathing. I would not recommend this excursion to anyone who has mobility issues, but it's not really strenuous, either. I hope this helps you make your decision.

Marie

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Marie

Thanks for your reply. It helps a lot. I was concerned about the steps in the mine, Since there is an elevator to bring us back to the surface, I feel more comfortable doing the tour.

Wayne

tara jane....I would be interested in knowing what you thought about APT as we are doing amsterdam to budapest with APT

We did the Mekong River and Halong Bay cruise with APT, can highly recommend them. We would book them again. They market primarily in Australia where you are. Top notch guides, tipping included in the price.