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Gate1 Danube Optional Tours


dbsb3233
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We're booked on the Oct 12 Gate1 Monarch Princess 14-night Prague to Budapest. We'll probably do all of the optional tours, but there's one that we're unsure about -- the Classical Viennese Concert. Has anyone here done that one? We are interested in perhaps seeing a classic performance while there but maybe by the Vienna Philharmonic or something a little more well known like that. The description of the optional tour sounds it could be a little "low end" (if that makes any sense), and I'm having a hard time finding out anything more about it.

 

It would certainly be more convenient, since I presume the tour just picks us up and returns us to the ship. But it doesn't sound like it's too hard to find our way around on our own should we choose to get our own tickets to something else in town, right?

 

Thanks for any help.

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We're booked on the Oct 12 Gate1 Monarch Princess 14-night Prague to Budapest. We'll probably do all of the optional tours, but there's one that we're unsure about -- the Classical Viennese Concert. Has anyone here done that one? We are interested in perhaps seeing a classic performance while there but maybe by the Vienna Philharmonic or something a little more well known like that. The description of the optional tour sounds it could be a little "low end" (if that makes any sense), and I'm having a hard time finding out anything more about it.

 

It would certainly be more convenient, since I presume the tour just picks us up and returns us to the ship. But it doesn't sound like it's too hard to find our way around on our own should we choose to get our own tickets to something else in town, right?

 

Thanks for any help.

 

The docking location is not close to downtown. So if you do plan your own concert you will need to plan for transportation to and from the ship. In most towns the docking location was very convenientm Vienna was the exception as it is from other lines as well.

 

The concert was entertaining, but it was basically an event for tourists. A few musicians, and a few dancers. Certainly not the Philharmonic.

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The docking location is not close to downtown. So if you do plan your own concert you will need to plan for transportation to and from the ship. In most towns the docking location was very convenientm Vienna was the exception as it is from other lines as well.

 

The concert was entertaining, but it was basically an event for tourists. A few musicians, and a few dancers. Certainly not the Philharmonic.

Thanks. That's kinda what I figured, but it's hard to tell from their brief description. I'll explore some other options.

 

 

The ship dock at Reichsbrücke Dock, right?

 

 

Maybe we'll consider seeing a concert by the Vienna Boys Choir. Their venue is about a 1.5 mile walk from that docking location, which isn't too bad. We're OK with just walking that far.

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Thanks. That's kinda what I figured, but it's hard to tell from their brief description. I'll explore some other options.

 

 

The ship dock at Reichsbrücke Dock, right?

 

 

Maybe we'll consider seeing a concert by the Vienna Boys Choir. Their venue is about a 1.5 mile walk from that docking location, which isn't too bad. We're OK with just walking that far.

 

We docked near Nussdorf. If you start at the Nussdorf label on google maps satellite view and follow the river towards Vienna you will see the docking locations. Not walking distance at all. The Nussdorf Bahnhof station is about a quarter mile away.

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We docked near Nussdorf. If you start at the Nussdorf label on google maps satellite view and follow the river towards Vienna you will see the docking locations. Not walking distance at all. The Nussdorf Bahnhof station is about a quarter mile away.

Oh that sucks. Yeah, that's a little too far out to waste that much time walking. I'll have to figure out transportation options.

 

 

Did Gate1 provide a shuttle into town, or was everyone just on their own if they chose not to do a Gate1 optional tour?

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Oh that sucks. Yeah, that's a little too far out to waste that much time walking. I'll have to figure out transportation options.

 

 

Did Gate1 provide a shuttle into town, or was everyone just on their own if they chose not to do a Gate1 optional tour?

 

Gate1 only provided the transportation related to the included and optional tours. The CD did provide information and help for people that wanted to use public transit or a taxi.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Dbsb, we're on the exact same cruise right after you. Please keep us updated on what you decide to do and what you find. We are also looking for an option that is not the ship's offering of the tourist concert. As far as I can tell, the ship stays in Vienna that evening, so at least we don't need to worry about the timing and missing the ship. Is that what it looks like to you?

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Dbsb, we're on the exact same cruise right after you. Please keep us updated on what you decide to do and what you find. We are also looking for an option that is not the ship's offering of the tourist concert. As far as I can tell, the ship stays in Vienna that evening, so at least we don't need to worry about the timing and missing the ship. Is that what it looks like to you?

I have an email into Gate1 trying to confirm the times we arrive and depart Vienna those 2 days. Should hear back in a day or two. Obviously the ship gets in early enough the first day to get to their optional concert, but the Vienna Boys Choir concert that day is 5:30pm which is probably a few hours earlier than theirs. And the website itinerary says they stay in Vienna the next evening but I just want to make sure that doesn't mean leaving before 11pm, which is probably when we'd make it back to the ship after an 8:15pm concert. I know there's always the chance of buying tickets for something on our own and then they go to waste because we're late, but we're OK taking that risk as long as we know that the assumed times look OK.

 

 

Here's a few of the links I found on concerts. It's too soon for the Philharmonic schedule yet, so we'll probably start looking more closely in April or May.

 

 

https://www.wienerphilharmoniker.at/concerts/list

https://www.viennaconcerts.com/

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I have an email into Gate1 trying to confirm the times we arrive and depart Vienna those 2 days. Should hear back in a day or two. Obviously the ship gets in early enough the first day to get to their optional concert, but the Vienna Boys Choir concert that day is 5:30pm which is probably a few hours earlier than theirs. And the website itinerary says they stay in Vienna the next evening but I just want to make sure that doesn't mean leaving before 11pm, which is probably when we'd make it back to the ship after an 8:15pm concert. I know there's always the chance of buying tickets for something on our own and then they go to waste because we're late, but we're OK taking that risk as long as we know that the assumed times look OK.

 

 

Here's a few of the links I found on concerts. It's too soon for the Philharmonic schedule yet, so we'll probably start looking more closely in April or May.

 

 

https://www.wienerphilharmoniker.at/concerts/list

https://www.viennaconcerts.com/

Just keep in mind that scheduled arrival time is just an estimate. Unlike ocean cruise ships, river cruises schedules are impacted far more frequently by a number of issues, including river levels, river traffic, gate operations, local dock masters, etc.

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We were on a Viking cruise and did the classical concert they offered. I forget the name of the group that did it, but it was for tourists, and it was very good. I think it was the Vienna Residence Orchestra. The venue, the Palais Auersperg, was very nice, and the convenience of being picked up dockside, and brought to the concert hall made things very easy. I believe this particular group does a lot of these "tourist" concerts, but it was composed of accomplished musicians and singers. We had a very enjoyable evening.

Edited by Cary Cruiser
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Dbsb, perfect! I tried calling Gate 1 awhile back but they couldn't answer any of the questions for me. I hope you have better luck. I'm especially interested in whether they are in and stay in Vienna on the night of the optional concert. That would help us a lot. Also I would love the times of the Salzburg tour.

 

I sent a message to the Budapest Festival orchestra and they said their schedule would be posted in April and we should be able to buy tickets then. I will try and post in this thread when that happens, if you're interested. I'm taking a class right now on The Orchestra and when I asked the professor what he recommended, he said to get to the Budapest Festival if we could.

 

Cary, in this same class, the professor frequently mentions how this area is a musician's paradise, so I imagine that any paid concert is going to be good with wonderful musicians.

 

RDC, yes, we understand that the river cruise schedule are less dependable than ocean cruising, but thanks for the reminder. I will double check that tours are refundable if we miss a port due to circumstances beyond our control. As for concerts, I think we just have to take the chance.

 

Thanks everyone!

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We were on a Viking cruise and did the classical concert they offered. I forget the name of the group that did it, but it was for tourists, and it was very good. I think it was the Vienna Residence Orchestra. The venue, the Palais Auersperg, was very nice, and the convenience of being picked up dockside, and brought to the concert hall made things very easy. I believe this particular group does a lot of these "tourist" concerts, but it was composed of accomplished musicians and singers. We had a very enjoyable evening.
Thanks Cary. I saw it mentioned in a TA post that that one maybe be Viking exclusive, but who knows. Even if it is, I'd guess the one Gate1 uses is probably similar.

 

Personally I probably wouldn't know the difference. But one of the guys in our travel group is a retired music teacher and musician, so I thought we'd go for a big name orchestra if we could do it. We saw the London Symphony Orchestra perform last year following a UK cruise, and that was great. He really appreciated the opportunity to see one of the world's preeminent orchestras.

 

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

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Those on the Salzburg tour left the boat about 8.30 am by memory and met up again with those on the boat further down the river about 5.30 - 6 ish.

The people we spoke to who did the tour all really enjoyed their day but all also commented about it being a very long day.

We had spent 8 days in beautiful Salzburg prior to boarding the Monarch Baroness in Amsterdam.

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Thanks Tara, I did see on one itinerary that the ships continues sailing on that day and the Salzburg tour joins up further down, but it doesn't read that way on our itinerary. Hopefully DBSB can clear that up by contacting Gate 1 directly.

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Thanks Cary. I saw it mentioned in a TA post that that one maybe be Viking exclusive, but who knows. Even if it is, I'd guess the one Gate1 uses is probably similar.

 

Personally I probably wouldn't know the difference. But one of the guys in our travel group is a retired music teacher and musician, so I thought we'd go for a big name orchestra if we could do it. We saw the London Symphony Orchestra perform last year following a UK cruise, and that was great. He really appreciated the opportunity to see one of the world's preeminent orchestras.

 

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

The Vienna Residence Orchestra at the Palais Auersperg was the same for Gate1. An entertaining evening. A nice, but crowded venue with all of the river boats and other tour groups.

Edited by RDC1
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The Vienna Residence Orchestra at the Palais Auersperg was the same for Gate1. An entertaining evening. A nice, but crowded venue with all of the river boats and other tour groups.

Thanks. I'll pass the info on to out little group and see if they're interested.

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  • 4 weeks later...
Dbsb, did you ever hear back from Gate 1?
I did, but I was very disappointed in their reply. It was unclear and didn't really answer what I asked. I kinda got the feeling they only wanted to answer in a way that steered me toward THEIR optional tour. Not a total surprise, I suppose, but disappointing that they weren't more straightforward answering what I was obviously asking.

 

Bottom line is that since dinner can be served on the ship while moving, the only thing we can tell is that they plan to dock by 7:30pm Day 8. It's probably before that, but whether the plan is to dock around 2pm or 7pm, who knows? (I say "plan" because we all know it can vary, or even be skipped entirely if conditions screw up their plans.) As for departure, it appears to say we dock 2 full overnights and don't leave until the morning of day 10, if I read it right.

 

Anyway here's what I asked and what they answered:

 

=====================================================================

Question: We are planning to get tickets (independently) many months early to a few concerts in Vienna, but I wanted to confirm that the ship is normally docked early enough and late enough. We're looking at a 5:30pm concert on Day 8 (Friday), meaning we'd probably need to be getting off the ship around 4pm. And on Day 9 (Sat), we're looking at an 8:15pm concert, meaning we wouldn't make it back to the ship until as late as 11pm.

 

The itinerary says "The ship will remain docked in Vienna this evening", but I don't know how late that actually means. Do you think we'd be safe getting tickets for both of those? Any advice on the ship timing those days would be appreciated.

 

Thank you.

============================================================

Thank you for your inquiry! For Day 8 we offer the Vienna Concert as an optional tour. Dinner is at 6:00pm this evening and then the concert optional tour is at 8:15, so 7:30 you would need to meet to group to go to the concert and then you return around 10 pm. That night the ship is docked over night and will also be docked on Day 9 and will remain there until the next day.

 

Maggie

Reservations: Service

===========================================================

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