champmason

I may not be very helpful, but I know that ours did not work so we were able to borrow the correct outlet plug from the reception desk.

Does anyone know or remember how many people were on your Gate 1 tours? In other words, how did they split the passengers? We're trying to figure out if we would like to book our own tours, rather than going on the Gate 1 tours, so we could be in a smaller and more customized tours.

During the walking tours we generally had about 4 - 6 guides for the approximately 125 people on board. We all had earphones to listen to the commentary, so that was not a problem. Some of the towns there was a group that was called the photo group that moved slower and did not cover as much ground. That was a good option for those that were not as mobile. We were not assigned a group; just joined wherever we wanted. One thing that we found was by judging the guides by their choice of clothing,we usually had made a good choice. The more flamboyant and colorful also showed up in their personality and made the tour fun. We had some fantastic guides that were very knowledgeable and fun!

Can you tell me if all categories of suites are eligible for the pre-cruise Signature Experience? Thank-you. We are looking at a cruise out of Amsterdam for next spring.

I'm glad you enjoyed your trip. I hope to see a review of your trip in the near future. We are also sold on Gate 1 for river and land tours.

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

We were on a Gate One 14 day trip from Amsterdam to Budapest in May of this year. While I can not compare it to any other lines, we were very satisfied with Gate 1. This was our first river cruise, but 5th trip with Gate 1.

You can see my review that was posted for more information.

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

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

We are leaving this week for the Gate1 Amsterdam to Budapest river cruise, Thank You for the all the wonderful info. 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. The info said no bathing suits or shorts. in dinning room at all meals, I can not think of getting dress up for breakfast or lunch, in dress pants and them put on dress short for tours. Thanks

The dress code for breakfast and lunch were very casual. No problem with wearing shorts or capris. In the evening, some people dressed up very nicely while others were very casual. I would suggest business casual for dinner. Have a fantastic trip! I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. I would love to hear a review from you after you return.

Diane

We returned about a month ago after cruising on Monarch Queen. Not only was a vegetarian meal served nightly, but I saw a few people decline the appetizer and they were served a nice side salad.

We are going on the 9 day Budapest to Munich cruise in October with 2 days in Budapest. Do you have any suggestions for the two days in Budapest? What about the excursions to Salzburg and Cesky Krumlov? Are they worth the cost?

We wish we had stayed an extra day or so in Budapest as it is a beautiful city. Due to my husbands bad knees, we didn't explore as much as we would have liked to. After our morning guided tour, we had a quick lunch and then walked 1/3 of a mile to the enclosed market. It was crowded in places, but a great place to buy a souvenir. Prices were better than in the shops in Budapest. Our guide was from Budapest and he had suggestions as far as what to see in the city. Here are his suggestions:

Hospital in the Rock - Caves--during wartime it was a military hospital then the Communist Party turned it into a secret bunker. Guided tours $15

Parliament Building: 609 rooms Guided tours $18 Reserve online for tours.

Operahouse tour: Renaissance building $12

Covered Marketplace

Szchenyi Spa and Bath: Built in 1903 with several indoor and outdoor pools Barogue environment.

Dahany Synagogue Moorish style building- largest in Europe. Museum and Holocaust memorial gardens. $13.

Salzburg: The cost of the tour was an additional $116.00 each. Although Salzburg was a beautiful and interesting city, in my opinion, that was a lot of money to spend for the tour. We had a 2 hour drive each direction and about 5 hours to spend in the town. Probably 2 1/2 hours was the quided tour and provided lunch. Again, because of my husband's limited mobility with his bad knees we didn't explore as much as we would have liked. Several people took the lift to the top of the hill which they said was great. I am sure that we missed seeing a lot as I know several people that have said that they love Salzburg. Perhaps others on this board can help you more with making your decision. Those that did not take the optional tour stayed in Passau to explore before setting sail in the afternoon to a location that we met them at further south on the river.

Cesky Krumlov: Not in our itinerary. Can't help you with that one.

Nice to see a Gate One river cruise review. I have a couple of questions. My husband and I are booked on the Monarch Empress next year. I've done two cruises with Viking in the past, but this will be my husband's first river cruise. Can you tell me what the range of prices for cocktails in the lounge are? A rough figure is fine. I was told they don't have drink packages, so will do ala carte for our pre-dinner cocktail. Was there time after the daily tour to explore on your own, or are the time frames very tight?

 

TYIA

The price range for the cocktails were from $5-$8. I believe that there were 2 afternoons that a 1/2 price was offered and also one day that Bloody Mary's were half off.

Most days we had time to explore on our own after the guided tour. Depending on the cities, we could either stay in town and walk back on our own or take a shuttle back at a designated time. I can pull my daily itineraries if you would like more information on any city. Let me know about that.

Does anyone know if Gate1 let's you pay tips on River cruises with credit card.

We just returned from a 14 day river cruise with Gate 1. We were able to pay the tips for the crew with a credit card, but the cruise director and the asst. cruise director was paid with cash. When you call your credit card company mention that one of the countries you will be in is Cyprus, as that is where the charge would originate. Our directors said any currency was fine with them.

Champmason: nice review! We also are dedicated Gate1 fans. We did a Russian River cruise with them last fall that was excellent! Another Christmas Market cruise a few years back that introduced us to river cruising. We love their land tours as well and always have found that the tour director is outstanding. You cannot beat their prices so we will keep on traveling with them! [emoji41]

 

 

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A Russian cruise with Gate 1 will be in our future!

Hi, thanks for your great review. We are going Amsterdam to Budapest on the Monarch Baroness in October. Although its a different ship I assume they would be built identical. Could you please tell me what power plugs you needed in the cabins? Also we board in Amsterdam from 3 pm on embarkation day, stay overnight then head off the following day after the usual canal and Amsterdam tour.

As we will be travelling from Brussels the day of boarding the earliest train we can get is 9.50 am arriving into Amsterdam centrale at 11.45 am. Our plans are to go straight to drop our luggage then to the Anne Frank house I am hoping to book on line the tickets for around 2pm. Then back to the boat. Do you think this would work or should I go for later tickets? Do you recall when you actually began to sail out of Amsterdam on day 2.

Good to hear there were lots of Aussies on board, I was thinking our group of 10 could well be the only non Americans on board so hopefully we wont be.

You will need a 220 volt international adapter in the cabin. Our receptionist desk had additional ones to borrow for the whole trip at no charge.

The day you will board the ship a small lunch of various sandwiches and soup were served and then the afternoon was free until the welcoming briefing at 6:00 pm. the Baroness was docked right next to us at the Javakade Leigeplatz 1 dock. Unfortunately, it is not very convenient to Central Station or city center. Probably a 25 minute walk. The closet tram will be about 10-15 minute walk from the docking area. Your dock may be at a different location. On our second day, a free shuttle was offered at various times both ways to get us to the city. We went to Anne Frank on our second day in Amsterdam after lunch at 2:45. Our shuttle left the dock at 1:30 and we walked slowly and arrived at 2:15 with plenty of time to spare. Our shuttle returned at 4:30 to the ship. I think a 2:00 too 2:30 time frame would work for you.

As far as when you depart, I am unsure. The Baroness had left by the time we got back at 4:30.

Happy sailing! Let me know if you have any other questions.

Diane

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.

One evening I was offered a soda in place of wine or a beer. Although it states on the menu there was a charge (don't recall how much), I was not charged for it.

Hi DennyGirl

 

Based on your experience what are your thoughts about planning ahead? Would you escape for breakfast, lunches and dinners instead of using the ship? bring maps? locate restaurants beforehand? Bring a list of landmarks or sites that you would like to visit with extra time?

 

Is it best to bring printed maps for the cities, or are they available on-board the ship? Or, rely upon GPS and apps like GPSMYCITY ?

 

thank you!

We were supplied with a city map every day on the Monarch Queen. We did eat all of our meals on the ship although some would stay in town for lunch and explore on their own before returning to the ship. When the city center was more than 15 minutes walk, a shuttle was supplied to us to go into town and then pick us up at a designated place and time. In some cities we had 2 times available to return to the ship. My suggestion is to check tripadvisor before arriving in each city to find out you would like to do.

We had 66 Australians and about 6-8 passengers from New Zealand. They also booked through Luxury Escapes with a great deal. I can only answer your questions about what we did in Regensburg as we did not stop at Linz and we did an all day tour to Salzburg from Passau. In Regensburg, we just strolled through the city taking some of the back streets. It was a very nice day and we loved the city. Sorry I can't be of much help to you.

We just returned from our 16 day Classic European cruise with Gate 1 from Amsterdam to Budapest. This was our 5th trip with Gate 1 and it met all that we have come to expect with Gate 1. Absolute Perfection! The cruise director, Soma, was extremely knowledgeable about every town, their cathedrals, way of life and the many castles we saw along the way. He went way beyond what should be expected every day of our cruise. He had such a fun personality and was very personable. Soma has been with Gate 1 for 5 years. The assistant director, Armin, was equally as talented. He had us laughing and kept fun in the activities. He organized daily games and dances throughout the cruise along with helping with the organization of our daily tours.

The ship's interior is in very good condition, while the sun deck is a little worn because of the sun beating down on it. There were many chairs, loungers, and tables on the deck. The lounge has very comfortable seating with chairs or couches and tables for your drinks.

It seemed like food was always being served. The breakfast consisted of eggs, bacon, sausage, oatmeal, cereals, fruit, bread and pastries and more. Eggs were cooked to order if you prefer and another breakfast entree was on the menu daily to order. Lunch was also served buffet style with a good variety of dishes every day with ice cream for dessert. Each day had an item that you could order from a menu. A different soup was offered daily and also a sandwich. Dinner was served to you at your table. There was always a fish choice, meat choice, and a vegetarian dish. Also, everyday had chicken breast and a ceasar salad offered. The dinners consisted of an appetizer, soup, main entree and a dessert. Unlimited wine and beer were served at dinner. Great service.

An afternoon tea time was scheduled daily with a choice of dessert. Then, in the evening, at 10:00, another late night snack was served in the lounge. Believe me, you will not go hungry.

Our french balcony room was very nice. It was a bit smaller than the rooms on an ocean cruise. There was ample storage.

Wifi was available most all the time anywhere on the ship. We had a few periods of times that we could not connect because of our location on the river.

Tours were all very good. Most of the local guides were very good. We had a couple of guides that were knowledgeable, but rather boring to listen to. Each tour had anywhere from 3-6 guides for our group of 126. In some of the towns, a photo group was offered that moved at a slower pace for those that preferred that.

If you have any questions, please let me know and I will do my best to answer them.

Don't hesitate to book with Gate 1.

Thank-you for all of the information. My husband and I will be leaving on May 20 for the 14 day Amsterdam to Budapest cruise aboard the Monarch Queen. This is our first European river cruise, but our 5th trip with Gate 1. Never have we felt like we missed out by not taking the more expensive tours. I am hoping that Gate 1 will pull through with flying colors once again.

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!

Last November we used Gate 1 to travel to Cambodia and Vietnam. We had our seat assignments several months in advance.

In a few weeks we leave for Thailand with Gate 1 and we made our seat assignments when we booked the flight in April of this year. I e-mailed the company with my requests for seats and received an answer back within 24 hours. We have been happy with the service that we have received for our two trips.

I hope all your travels are good experiences!

I am looking forward to reading more of your review which includes the cruising portion of your trip. I leave on my 2nd land tour with Gate 1 in a few weeks and was very impressed with the land tours!

Just did it on the Liberty. It is 11:30 out of Miami.

Do you recall what the charge was for the luggage express? We don't fly out until 3:45 pm and that would be very convenient. We then will be other to explore Miami a bit. Thanks!

I have decided that it is not worth the extra worry about whether we can make it. After all, cruising is for relaxing and it sure makes a lot more sense to stay in the warmth of Florida for the extra time rather than going back to the cold in Minnesota!

Thanks all!

Diane

I'm starting to think we should be changing to the later flight. After all, this trip is for relaxing and not rushing from here to there. Also, I'd rather spend a few extra hours in Florida than the cold in Minnesota!

Thanks all!

Diane