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WOW----Gate 1--Monarch Queen--May 20, 2017 Review


champmason
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Thank You Diane, I forgot to say it was on Gate1 Monarch Queen, I'm happy about the dress code, We have been on may cruise ships[24] and this is also there rules, so I will give a review when we get back, I was so happy to find yours, we will be going from Budapest, after the cruise to, Venice Italy for 1 week and Rome for 1 week. Looking at next year with Gate 1 China, 14 days, Vietnam for 10 days and then back to Hong Kong for a 17 day Princess cruise to Sydney Australia. And it is nice know the names of the Cruise director Soma, and assistant director Armin. Thanks Again Ken

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Thank You Diane, I forgot to say it was on Gate1 Monarch Queen, I'm happy about the dress code, We have been on may cruise ships[24] and this is also there rules, so I will give a review when we get back, I was so happy to find yours, we will be going from Budapest, after the cruise to, Venice Italy for 1 week and Rome for 1 week. Looking at next year with Gate 1 China, 14 days, Vietnam for 10 days and then back to Hong Kong for a 17 day Princess cruise to Sydney Australia. And it is nice know the names of the Cruise director Soma, and assistant director Armin. Thanks Again Ken

 

So nice that you can take the extra time to explore more of Europe while you are visiting. Our first Gate 1 trip was to Vietnam and Cambodia. It was fantastic. We are looking at booking our 6th trip with them in the near future. Enjoy!

Diane

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We had a great trip on the Monarch Queen (first river cruise... first cruise) - Regensberg to Budapest. A couple photos from the trip below. This was a trial run for us to see if we would like river cruises and it was a success. Gate 1 did a great job, no complaints, met some very nice people on-board, and the price certainly made it easy for us to give it a go...

 

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I have only one question, what was the dress code for breakfast and lunch, with the heat there this time of year, dress shorts is what we thinking of wearing, and dress pants for dinner.

 

We found the dress code to be very lenient, the ship was well air-conditioned so pants or shorts is fine. And as for the tours... you should definitely wear comfortable shoes and attire, especially if the forecast is for warm days.

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What about the excursions to Salzburg and Cesky Krumlov? Are they worth the cost?

 

Cesky Krumlov was not offered in our trip but if offered we would have probably signed up for it too. We did take the optional trip to Salzburg. Although before we got on the bus we went on an early morning walk around Passau (self-guided) which is a pretty little town. Otherwise, we would have missed Passau entirely because the bus meets the ship further down the river. The trip did include a lunch, although I would have rather wandered into a local restaurant instead. The lunch was a turkey schnitzel, which was so-so, a similar experience to ordering the chicken option at a wedding ;), but others thought it was fine... so what do I know? and honestly it's just lunch, it was more important that we were in Salzburg. What's that saying about the small stuff...

 

Was worth it worth going? - I would have regretted not going to Salzburg for the single reason that I don't know if we will ever have the chance again, and the cost was minimal since we were already in the neighborhood. We enjoyed the excursion including the bus trip through the meticulous farmland.

 

 

View from the Salzburg - Hohensalzburg Fortress via the funicular:

 

hx9GH7

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks for all of the information and reviews in this thread on Gate One. I just booked a cruise for my husband (his first trip to Europe) on Gate 1 Budapest to Nuremberg, 11 days this summer. I have previously been on Viking and AmaWaterways, (with my sister) and from all of the reviews I don't need to be concerned that Gate One isn't a reputable river cruise provider. Now I just have to wait until June 2018. Got a suite too!:D

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Thanks for all of the information and reviews in this thread on Gate One. I just booked a cruise for my husband (his first trip to Europe) on Gate 1 Budapest to Nuremberg, 11 days this summer. I have previously been on Viking and AmaWaterways, (with my sister) and from all of the reviews I don't need to be concerned that Gate One isn't a reputable river cruise provider. Now I just have to wait until June 2018. Got a suite too!:D

 

 

Enjoy! I hope you love it as much as we did. Of our 5 trips with Gate 1, this was my husband's favorite. I would love to see a review comparing the various lines when you return.

Diane

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Another thread says that beer and wine is free at dinner but soft drink 4 euro each. Is this also your experience? As non drinkers we dont care if others enjoy their wine or beer but I would have thought soft drink or juice would be provided for the non drinkers as the cost of soft drink is a lot less than the price of wine and beer.

Just returned from the Monarch Empress last week. Beer, wine, and soft drinks were free at dinner. You could purchase wine, beer or soft drinks at lunch, but nothing was free at lunch. Strangely enough, there was free champagne at breakfast in the area by the juices!

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  • 5 weeks later...

My review on Monarch Queen Amsterdam to Budapest. Our fist trip with Gate 1 and we will be using them again, what a wonderful trip, the ship, the crew, the country's we visited, everyday there was a tour of the city we docked at, [included in the cruise] we did not do any other side trips that the ship offers for a price, others did and love them, others said they were just OK, some with long bus rides. The ship was so clean, and taken care of, the rooms are some what small but with french doors they worked out fine. Our carped in our room was looking a very little worn, but I could live with that, the only thing I could find wrong. The food was good, something new offered up every night, with a grilled chicken breast and baked potato, there were four or five thing offered each night. The wine and beer flowed every night. We went to the stake house[ seafood, lamb, two time and love the food offered there. We became friends with the man that had been on a Viking cruise last year,on a river cruise,told us the only thing he found different, in the two companies, was they offered two appetizers and two desserts to pick from, were Gate 1 only offered one of each, but for the price, he loved Gate 1. Well again I will not go on and on about how good this company and cruise was, and end it here.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Monarch Empress Sept 17-24

We just finished a 12-night package with Gate1 Travel: 2 nights in Budapest- 7 night cruise and 3 nights in Prague.

 

We loved Budapest. We arrived 3 days before the start of our package and really enjoyed Budapest. We like walking so we never took the tram or subway except when we went to the Szechenyi Bath. Take the “Freetours” and you will not be disappointed. We did the general 3 hour tour of Pest and Buda, the Communist tour and finally the Jewish Quarter Tour. I learned so much...

 

Now, let’s talk about the river cruise. It was our first river cruise but we have cruised with HAL, Cunard and Celebrity before. The ship was very nice. I have 0 complaint to write about. The workers were outstanding and the wine was flowing endlessly during dinner. We found the food was better on this river cruise than our last few cruises with HAL. The service was better as well but mind you they had only 140 passengers to keep happy. Several guests told me it was as nice as Viking and AMA Waterways. There is no pool on the sun deck Nd no bicycle to borrow. There is a small gym but did not have time to use it.

We did not purchase the extra tours as we were doing Cesky Krumlov on our own after a Prague (I am writing from there) and tomorrow, we are leaving for Salzburg.

All port of calls were great. We took the bus in Linz and went to a former Concentration Camp ‘Mauthausen’ on our own. In Passau, we attended an organ concert at the church and toured around. Regensberg is very pretty, very busy but you will all love it...

 

Prague is extremely pretty BUT it was my least favourite of 3 cities (Vienna-Budapest-Prague) just because the customer service is so bad. Our guide to a Terezin had mentioned it and laughed it off but I began to understand that same day what she was talking about... It really left a bad taste in my mouth (even the Info Centre was not helpful, disinterested and rude).

 

I would definitely recommend Gate1 Travel to anyone. You can not beat their Quality/price. I also live their slogan: ‘More of the World for Less’.

Try Gate1, you will not be disappointed...

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So pleased to read these gate 1 river cruise reviews. We booked the Classic European 16 day (really 14 nights) from Budapest to Amsterdam, May 20th on the Monarch Princess.

 

It was a fantastic price and I admit to booking it on a whim and without much research. Since then, I've been worried we made a poor and hasty decision. There is so little info out there about Gate 1 river cruises. You've all set my mind at ease.

 

I was concerned with all the "gate 1 is a budget line...budget, budget".. While we appreciate our creature comforts, (we usually sail with Celebrity) we don't need luxury, and it appears that Gate 1 offers good value for the money.

 

 

Excited for our first river cruise. Thanks to everyone who took the time to post!

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Durberville, Hope you mean it starts on the 21st or I will miss the boat.. They have us flying in on the 22nd.

 

I am also a little worried about the "Monarch Princess" as no one knows anything about the boat. Called and emailed Gate1 and all they know is what is written on the website. I don't think they have chartered it yet and it is sailing under another name but no one knows ......

\

This will also be our first river cruise.......look for Charlie the lost American living in Quebec....

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Durberville, Hope you mean it starts on the 21st or I will miss the boat.. They have us flying in on the 22nd.

 

I am also a little worried about the "Monarch Princess" as no one knows anything about the boat. Called and emailed Gate1 and all they know is what is written on the website. I don't think they have chartered it yet and it is sailing under another name but no one knows ......

\

This will also be our first river cruise.......look for Charlie the lost American living in Quebec....

 

Ah yes! I'm sorry. (we're leaving home on the 20th to have one day pre cruise in Budapest)

 

Now you've got me worrying about the boat! Haha! I'm hoping it's very similar to the Monarch Baroness and Queen. It is a tad newer apparently.

 

Look for Maggie...the lost Canadian living in the States. 😮

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  • 1 month later...
  • 2 weeks later...

So happy to find this thread! It appears that many different sailings are posting here. I enjoy reading about all the itineraries and opinions. Do you recommend I start a thread for our specific sailing, or continue to post here?

 

We will be sailing on the Baroness in August 2018 - the 14-day Danube with Prague and Budapest. Anyone else out there joining us?

 

We usually do "private tours" when we travel, but the prices for the optional excursions do not seem unreasonable. Is that other people's opinions as well?

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  • 1 month later...
  • 3 weeks later...

We will be on the same cruise as you and did the same thing - just booked it on a whim.

 

Susan

 

 

 

So pleased to read these gate 1 river cruise reviews. We booked the Classic European 16 day (really 14 nights) from Budapest to Amsterdam, May 20th on the Monarch Princess.

 

It was a fantastic price and I admit to booking it on a whim and without much research. Since then, I've been worried we made a poor and hasty decision. There is so little info out there about Gate 1 river cruises. You've all set my mind at ease.

 

I was concerned with all the "gate 1 is a budget line...budget, budget".. While we appreciate our creature comforts, (we usually sail with Celebrity) we don't need luxury, and it appears that Gate 1 offers good value for the money.

 

 

Excited for our first river cruise. Thanks to everyone who took the time to post!

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Duberville, Did you ever find out anything about the "Monarch Princess"?

 

Not a thing, charlou. Looks like you and I...and now “Susan” (hi!) will be going on this cruise just hoping for the best!

 

If I do stumble across anything I’ll post it here. We’ve got a few months yet. :D

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We was on the Monarch Queen last Aug Amsterdam to Budapest and it was a wonderful ship and everything we could ask for, there are places to rent bikes, and cars in each of the small towns we visited, but we took each of the city tours and spent a hour or two in the city s looking round and got back on the ship and it would sail, in the afternoon, not much time to bike or car. Drinks on the ship were not bad vodka soda was $.4.50 Euro, the steak house [ they had lamb seafood and other things to order] on the back of the ship was the best,with small groups and we went there several times. We spent three nights in Amsterdam and wished we spent more and left Budapest that day for two weeks it Italyand happy we did, we are not fans of Budapest. Take US $1.00 and $5.00 and $10.00 for tips to the guides each day,

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Finally! I've been looking for more detailed information on the Gate 1 Danube Cruise. We are booked in October 2018 for 14 nights, starting in Prague and ending in Budapest. We are a fairly large group and usually book private tours for a lot of things and I need some information on timing, although I know things change. If anyone can help me with what their schedule was like, I would be very grateful.

- In Prague, on arrival day, what time was the welcome cocktail and meeting at the hotel?

- On the first day in Prague, what time is the morning tour over? If I want to plan a private tour of Terezin, what time could we start?

- In Linz, how long was the full day in Salzburg? Does the ship stay in Salzburg until the tour gets back? If I want to book a private tour, what time can we leave and what is a safe time to be plan to be back so we don't miss the ship?

- How long was the Schonnberg Palace tour? Some of us would like to the ship's tour but I also want time to explore and shop in Vienna.

- The itinerary says that after Melk Abbey, we sail to Vienna. Does that mean that the ship docks in Vienna that night, with the optional Viennese concert? If we wanted to make our own arrangements for a event that night, can we not worry about getting back to the ship on time?

- This is our first Gate 1 trip and first river cruise. We know that on the usual ocean cruise you don't get timing info until on board, but I can usually find detailed itineraries on the boards. In fact, many people post the daily schedules, but I haven't found this info here. Does Gate 1 provide anything before we go? I know it isn't probable, but thought I should ask.

 

Thanks everyone for the great tips on this thread. I feel better already. (Yes, I'm one of those people who loves the planning and likes to know what is happening.)

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