luvn2cruzzz

I indeed shared this experience with Gate One Admin. with the hope that 'corrections' can be made, especially with regard to the CD's. As for laundry, very expensive accommodations as it cost us $17.50 US for 5 tee shirts to be washed. There is no time to do laundry in port and bringing the Tide was only good for undergarments.

Don't get me wrong, there were many people who loved the trip and tipped well, I am just a bit more particular with higher expectations.

Keep me posted about your experience!!!!!!!

Thanks for the laundry info. Desperation may be a motivator!

River Cruise – Prague to Budapest – May 11, 2016 through May 22, 2016

 

Trip review:

Flights:

Handled through Gate One- very tight and uncomfortable squeeze on British Air, attempted to upgrade after arriving in Prague for the return flight, British Air told me to call Gate One, Gate One told me to call British Air, refused an upgrade by both despite having a severe handicap of degenerated hips with pending surgery, (not as bad when booked trip a year ago). Airport transfers were all timely. Heathrow airport layovers are a horror unless you are fortunate enough to be arriving and departing from the same terminal. Gate One should book flights with layovers in Gatwick, Frankfurt, or Munich, anything but Heathrow.

Ship- Monarch Empress

Brand new ship, beautiful, staff excellent, entertainment a bit ‘hokey’. Food was hit or miss, some choices were excellent, others not my taste. Chicken and potatoes as a fall back nightly was mundane, additional alternate choices would have been nice. Breakfast bar was mediocre, Oatmeal watery, bacon and potatoes always cold. Best bet was omelet station. Worst was design of where they stationed the self serve salad station/breakfast bar- the kitchen doors literally opened right as you were getting your plates, this was on both sides of the U shaped bar, I was hit by the kitchen doors more than once. The wait staff was, however, excellent at all meals.

Despite being promised Wi-Fi, that was a solid untruth, Wi-Fi was VERY hit or miss, mostly miss. It was rare that we had Wi-Fi and availability to get out to the web. For 21st century travelers, the ability to connect with the internet is a must. Gate One needs to ensure that consistently strong and secure Wi-Fi connections are treated as a standard and not as an amenity. Guests noted that the Monarch Empress administrative website (not accessible by guests) was secure and consistent.

Hotel in Prague- Hotel Imperial

Excellent, clean and historical hotel, café was wonderful as was the included breakfast buffet. Centrally located, easy to get everywhere by foot or tram. Would definitely stay there again.

Departure/arrival days were a bit chaotic and hectic as Gate One was not the only tour group using the hotel. They should stagger departure and arrival times, this would better serve the guests.

Tour Directors: Mr. A and Ms. B

Overall, not that impressed with either one. Mr. A. was very through but not at all warm or overly helpful. His knowledge base was ‘well schooled’ and he was able to answer many questions.

Ms. B. on the other hand, shared too many personal opinions and personal information about being a single mother, X- spouse tragedy and then subsequent divorce, all in an attempt to elicit sympathy by burdening guests with information we did not need to hear on the coach following an all day tour of Salzburg. Guests travel to escape the cares and woes of the world. Furthermore, her cultural bias and blatant discriminatory orations about the ‘gypsy problem’ were in my opinion, highly unprofessional and racially/culturally stigmatizing. She furthermore shared her own opinion about how The Sound of Music movie is disliked by the Salzburg people and how it was an untrue fairy tale. Many, many Americans and other world travelers love this film and did not need to hear her personal bias towards the film.

All tour directors should be made aware that the tour is not about them.

The Tour Directors’ and crews’ heavy-handed attempts to coerce guests into tipping generously were off-putting. We were reminded about tipping on multiple occasions towards the end of the cruise. Guests did not appreciate lengthy discussions about tipping. If Gate One staff is so dependent on tipping, perhaps Gate One should ensure that its employees and agents receive adequate compensation. Guests should not be made to feel responsible for the livelihood of Gate One staff.

 

Excursions:

Overall, they were good; some could have been more historically and fact based with less detail about shopping spots. We also could have used more time on our own and had more options of transfers back to the ship; this was especially evident in Vienna and Budapest. In addition, some of the local attractions such as the Fisherman’s Bastion and St. Matthias Church should have had optional advanced ticket purchases provided to those who wanted to tour them in Budapest as it was not explained that tickets were necessary.

 

Overall, I thought it was a good value for the money and a very educational and enjoyable experience. However, some of the best times for us were the places we found away from the ship, especially the restaurants and shops. Next time we will probably go on our own having now been exposed to these wonderful places. The River Cruise experience was very good; I highly recommend it for ‘first timers’.

Welcome back! I just posted asking for someone just back and then saw this post from you!. Can't say I am so eager to do this trip now that I have read about your experiences. I didn't think it would be deluxe but this sounds very basic. Friends have had better experiences with Gate 1 but they were on land tours only and not in Europe. I appreciate getting a heads up about the food and the tours. Your description of tour guides was almost funny though I am sure at the time it was not. It was a lesson on what not to do as a professional tour guide. We are planning to do the Salzburg tour and I hope that she is not going to be with us. That would be ultra unpleasant.

I am wondering about any laundry possibilities on the boat. We are doing Warsaw and Krakow before we board in Budapest and then end in Prague so laundry will be urgent. I have not seen it listed anywhere so I am thinking it doesn't exisit for passengers.

What time did you leave Passau and Linz? We are hoping to do tours those days and would still like to see the towns and wondering if there will be time or if we sail shortly after we return.

Thanks so much for sharing your experiences with us! Really appreciate it.

Hoping to find someone who is recently back from Gate 1 Monarch Empress to ask a few questions of.

Thanks!

It's a bucket list trip for us, also. I first saw this itinerary several years ago and had been keeping an eye on it. The new ship tipped the scales for us. Looking forward to meeting you.

Marie

We had thought of doing a land tour to those destinations but decided this would be easier and hopefully it will capture the essence of each place. Our daughter taught in Krakow several years ago and we are so happy we will get to see what she loves so much. Are you planning on taking any of the optional tours?

Laurel

This is wonderful to hear. We start our trip with Gate 1 in Warsaw on Sept 6, embark the Monarch Empress in Budapest on Sept 11, disembark on Sept 18 and continue on to Prague for three days. This is our first river cruise and our first trip with Gate 1. We're going to let them take care of us!

So good to hear from someone on the September 6 tour! This is our first river cruise and also our first experience with Gate 1 and we chose it for the itinerary which checks off some of our remaining bucket list. Two couples we know have done land tours with them and were very pleasantly surprised with their experiences so we are hopeful that ours will be the same. The Monarch Empress looks lovely.

Laurel

hi to everyone who crossed the atlantic on the regal, I live here in newfoundland Canada and was in st john's when you docked , I have sailed on princess may times the last two cruises on the royal and going on the royal again on oct 21 , I was wondering what you guys thought of nfld and your visit here and does anyone have pics thanks

I was on that cruise and thoroghly enjoyed our visit to St. John's. The welcome was first class with the music playing, the Newfoundland and the chocolate Labrador greeting us as well as the women who came on board to the Piazza who distributed maps and provided excellent information to make our day the best. Someone on our roll call told us about Rocket Bakery and Cafe and that since we would be there on a Tuesday to go and enjoy the local musicians who stop by to play traditional music. We did just that and had the best time! The send off was incredible with the ships in the harbor playing a 'symphony' with their horns for 13 minutes! And then the sailaway seeing all of the waving people lining the roads and Signal Hill where a musket salute was heard as we sailed out of the harbor. Definitely a memorable day and we thank the Newfoundland people for a warm and wonderful welcome.

We were on this cruise which we loved. The itinerary was wonderful, the ship is beautiful though too big for our taste. We even had a good time in spite of the lack of central staircase! Yes, it would have been nice but the lack of wasn't worth even thinking about. The service in all of the venues we visited was very good. Our only complaint was the food which we found to be poor to mediocre and that included the Crowne Grill where we loved our steaks but that was all. And the service there was not outstanding to say the least. The layout of the Horizon buffet was definitely an improvement from other ships we have sailed on. Wish I could say the same about the food. Of course we found things that were okay and we definitely didn't starve. Our favorite food venue was Alfredo's--and the service was outstanding. Best tiramisu. Would go there after dinner for dessert! The production shows were the best we have experienced at sea and the remainder of the entertainment was standard cruise fare. We came away with warm and wonderful memories of a lovely cruise and new friends.

We are sailing on Friday and luggage didn't arrive with us. Wondering what Princess will do for us if we sail without it. Oh, we bought the air through them. Thanks.

Thanks, all. I just had never seen that before so will just do what we always do and go early and get on the ship!

We have not sailed on Princess in many years but on other lines. Our experience is that when you get to the dock you check in and when your group is called you board. Or if we have status on that line, we are whisked away onto the ship. We received an email from Princess yesterday advising us of their 'progressive check-in' procedures. If you have arranged your own transportation you board by deck and each deck has a time allotted to it. Our deck which by the way is not at the bottom of the ship, is not until 4:00 which is quite disturbing. I keep thinking I am reading this wrong or don't understand it somehow. Can someone please shed some light on this? Thanks in advance.

I don't know Terry, the sail into Oslo was far better than Bergen, and Oslo was pretty awesome. But it seems the OP may not be going to Oslo.

Not going to Oslo this cruise. Have been before but don't remember the sail in or out. Now Stockholm, that is a different story. Just magical!

I guess I will have to do the fjords another cruise and just enjoy what I can see on this one regardless of how spectacular it is or not. Thanks so all for their comments.

Thannks so much for your answers. That is what I was afraid of and the one tour that would take you to see a very large fjord is not offered by Princess on this sailing. Oh, well. Next time.

I am a little geographically challenged in this area of the world and was wondering if you sail through fjords into Bergen. We will be coming form Kristansand. Hope we get to see some lovely scenery before we start our sail to Scotland.

Thanks, Bruin Steve, for your frank accounting. I have to say I am shocked to say the least that in a basic verandah cabin there are no sofas. I hear that there are no bathrobes either. I know I want to reserve my impressions of Princess to my own experience, however, from what you have shared, and I realize it is one person's opinion, HAL which I am most familiart with, seems to be a superior cruise product. Anytime dining on that line is almost seamless with one dedicated dining room and rarely a wait except possibly on formal nights and then only for a few minutes. And they never allow traditional diners in the anytime venue. The show lounge handles the passengers well in two seatings though can be croweded for the very popular shows. It amazes me how you can be owned by the same corporation and be so different. We have had positive experiences on X except for one cruise when we were on the very tired and worn Summit in a concierge class cabin that had none of the concierge class amenities. We were told ithey weren't offered on that ship! Then why sell that class?! But we had a wonderful time on the sailing. I guess when you pack 3800 people on a ship such as the Regal you have to give up something. Though the Silhouette is not that much smaller and it had the features that we have come to expect in a verandah. Celebrity and HAL have a very different feel but I like them both and hope that Princess will be close to them in cruise experience. And how bad can it be -- we will be on a cruise!

Thanks so much for your comments. We are booked on an upcoming Princess cruise so it is helpful to hear what we have to look forward to. We are 4* Mariners on HAL and Elite on X so it is hard to only be Ruby on Princess! We enjoy the free laundry on HAL (we send it out every day!) as well as the half-price specialty dining and coffee drinks. Plus the cabins tend to be bigger on that line. On X we are Elite so have internet minutes, happy hour, etc. with them. Yes, HAL tends to be older on its longer cruises but on its 7-day Caribbean, it is a mix. X seems to be a bit younger. We have had great food on both lines but since RCCL bought X, the food has definitely changed and not for the better. Entertainment on both has been a mix of great and not so good. We love HAL's itineraries and sometimes we find Celebrity's lacking or just not interesting to us. The Princess cruise we are going on was chosen for itinierary which when you have cruised a lot is usually the deciing factor. Now if we could just take what we love about each cruise line and make one with those ingredients...I can dream!

In recent years we have sailed on several Holland America cruises and some on Celebrity. It has been several years since we have chosen Princess and we would appreciate hearing the reasons you are loyal Princess cruisers over those two lines. We all have our favorite for different reasons. Why is Princess yours? Thanks!

Just did a half day city tour today and Anna was our tour guide. Would highly recommend her and the company. Professsional, friendly, and informative.

Sorry. Didn't read carefully. You faxed it in! Of course!

May I ask how you did this online? Did you scan in your certificate? I usually mail in a copy.

Thanks.

Scheduled for the crossing on NADM are:

 

Capt. Unk at this time

HD Marco van Belleghem

GRM Susana Beleo

DRM Riza Harsyahdu

Ex Chef Martin Kusin

Ex HK Hadi Rochadi

 

Always subject to change!

Thank you!

Would you know who is staffing the NA for the crossing?

Thanks so much!