Need advice on optional tours on Danube

[ninaks]

We are leaving on a Gate 1 Danube river cruise on their new ship the Monarch Empress on Sept 25th. I am looking for advice from anyone that has taken a Danube cruise on which of these optional tours they recommend and why. I know people have different tastes but I could really use some other people's experiences to assist me in making these decisions. Here is a list of optional tours

1. Schonbrunn Palace or Classical Viennese Concert (they are on the same day so can't do both)

 

2. Full day Cesky Krumlow - would have to miss day in Linz for this tour

 

Let me know what you think please

[Floridiana]

Schoenbrunn Palace is one of the great European Palaces, similar to Versailles in France.

 

Linz is not that interesting.

[Hydrokitty]

I totally agree with Floridiana...Schonbrunn is a beautiful Palace and grounds that rivals Versailles. I've been to both and I wouldn't miss either one of them.

The Viennese concert was nice but not worth missing Schonbrunn, IMHO. You can hear Strauss waltzes in your living room and the ballet parts were charming but I really think they were mostly students.

 

Cesky Krumlov wasn't offered when we did this trip, but from what I read on CC it's not to be missed. Haven't been to Linz either, but I would still choose Cesky Krumlov.

[onespots]

Cannot comment on Cesky Krumlow, have not visited.

 

Very impressed with this Schonbrunn Palace & we have visited many palaces included some outside of Europe. These grounds are large & very well maintained. Allow plenty of time for outside areas. We were able to do this on our own. The inside tour is timed & you move quickly thru some of the rooms. Still very educational with many beautiful objects. We purchased several postcards to help us remember what we had seen on this tour. No picture taking was allowed during our visit. ( this may have changed now ? )

Certain you will enjoy your time during this visit.

 

 

 

 

Happy Travels, John

[Got2Cruise]

Are you certain the concert is during the day. Our cruise and other cruiselines went during the evening

 

 

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[ElmwoodPark]

We just got back from the Gate 1 Monarch Empress cruise yesterday. We did the classical concert in Vienna option. I was disappointed. The concert was in a small hall and lasted a total of one hour. On the last night of the cruise in Budapest, the cruise line brought on some local entertainers in the lounge and I thought that was more enjoyable than the classical concert.

 

We did not do the palace tour but talked to others that did. Everyone enjoyed it, but as most things on the cruise was rushed and did not have much time to really take in the entire site.

[CILCIANRQTS]

Another vote for the Palace - breathtaking!

Concert is second (or third) tier musicians, singers and dancers. Nice enough, but NO comparison to the Palace!

 

CK is a very beautiful and quaint city that is easy to get around. I'd recommend it highly, but never been to Linz, so can't compare.

[ninaks]

I would love to hear about your cruise ElmwoodPark. I haven't heard from anyone who has been on the Monarch Empress on the Danube. How was the crew, the food, the tours? Thanks for the advice

[ninaks]

Are you certain the concert is during the day. Our cruise and other cruiselines went during the evening

 

 

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Sorry, I meant it was on the same date, not day. It is offered at night

[PopPopBear]

Sailed the Danube on Viking this past April.

 

Like others have said Schonbrunn Palace is impressive and comparable to Versailles. If you like touring palaces it's a must see.

 

My wife and I would visit Cesky Krumlov again for sure! Very picturesque village. Locals were very nice. Only sights in Linz were of those as we departed and arrived for trip to Cesky Krumlov. Cruisemates that hoped to see Linz were disappointed as it was a Sunday and most places were closed. It did not appear to be a touristy city, near the dock anyway.

 

That my two cents.

[Got2Cruise]

Sorry, I meant it was on the same date, not day. It is offered at night

 

 

We did both and we were glad we did. It was a lovely way to end the day in Vienna. But the CD did warn that it might be too much for some

[Capt_BJ]

Our Danube cruise last year was our first (and only so far) river cruise .... (different line btw) .. these comments are directed to a first timer ....

 

(btw we had a bunch of OBC so could have taken any extra tour at no cost):

 

- many of the extra tours happened while the boat (there are boats on rivers and ships at sea) was moving. We would have gotten on a bus for a tour ... the boat would continue along the river .... and the bus would meet the boat later. Never having been on the Danube b4, we were perfectly happy to stay on board and enjoy the view.

 

- Vienna was an exception as the boat was sitting in the same place while folks went off on this extra cost excursion (a similar private concert seems to be offered by every line, every cruise ..... don't think 'exclusive') In our experience they brought folks on board for entertainment that nite as well ... Folks who went to the concert enjoyed it ... and those who stayed behind enjoyed what they got too .....

Edited August 30, 2016 by Capt_BJ

[Hydrokitty]

 

- many of the extra tours happened while the boat (there are boats on rivers and ships at sea) was moving. We would have gotten on a bus for a tour ... the boat would continue along the river .... and the bus would meet the boat later. Never having been on the Danube b4, we were perfectly happy to stay on board and enjoy the view. .

 

That's too bad, Capt. We were on Vantage and with only one exception did we leave on an excursion from one dock and return to another.... that was Weltenburg, where we got off the boat, visited a monastery/biergarten and then took a small boat through the Danube Gorge, rejoining our river boat in Kelheim. That was because the river boat was too big to navigate the gorge and I don't think Vantage still does it.

 

As for the Viennese concert...if OP can do it, it's worth it but it's not worth giving up Schonbrunn for...and you're right, everybody does it.

Edited August 31, 2016 by Hydrokitty

[I_r_a]

Hey Nina,

 

>Full day Cesky Krumlow - would have to miss day in Linz for this tour

 

No comparison - CK

 

Enjoy your day.

 

Ira

[caviargal]

Hey Nina,

 

>Full day Cesky Krumlow - would have to miss day in Linz for this tour

 

No comparison - CK

 

Enjoy your day.

 

Ira

 

We are not fans of Linz either. Generally we head to the train station and spend the day in Salzburg and we will do that again in October.

[marysb]

We highly recommend Schoenbrunn Palace.

 

We were lucky enough to do both the palace and the concert. Our ship docked in the evening in Vienna and we did our own independent booking of a concert. It was touristy and they played the old chestnuts, but it was still wonderful... the setting, the quality of the music and musicians and eveb just hearing live music. Then we wondered around the city at night and the buildings were beautifully lit up. The evening was finished off with a Sacher Torte and coffee at the Sacher hotel. Then a quick taxi back to the ship.

 

You can see the photos from our blog

 

Concert in Vienna: http://maryandnormtravel.blogspot.ca/2013/10/vienna-by-night-sept-22-2013.html

 

Schoenbrunn Palace (and the morning city tour): http://maryandnormtravel.blogspot.ca/2013/10/vienna-sept-23-3013.html

 

If Ihad the chance to go to C-K I would jump at the chance. Linz was a charming city to walk around, but I have heard wonderful things about Cesky Krumlow.

Here is what you would miss walking around Linz ;) http://maryandnormtravel.blogspot.ca/2013/10/linz-austria.html

 

Enjoy! - you can't go wrong no matter what you do... sooo much to see.

 

Mary

[Valley Girl of VA]

We loved CK. Here is our blog post on it. Didn't feel there was too much to see in Linz

 

https://airlandandsea.wordpress.com/2015/08/04/cesky-krumlov-czech-republic/

 

Jane

 

 

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Edited September 3, 2016 by Valley Girl of VA

[jpalbny]

My personal perspective - may not work for everyone. We were on the Danube this past April.

 

Schönbrunn is beautiful, and easy to visit on your own. We visited the palace and the gardens in 2013, while we were in Vienna as part of an independent land-based trip. You can buy tickets online from home, before you leave. There are timed entry tickets, and tickets which allow you to visit at any time.

 

The river boats dock 5 minutes from a U-Bahn station, and you catch the U1 to the U4 to Schönbrunn. This year, you cannot miss your stop, because the U4 train ends at Schönbrunn due to track work. If you are not afraid to DIY, it would probably be cheaper to visit on your own - and you will have as much time as you want to wander the gardens rather than being on someone else's timetable. They are not to be missed, if the weather cooperates. You could spend a half day here easily. And you can time your visit to fit your schedule.

 

We enjoyed the optional concert in Vienna (through Uniworld) very much. We had debated whether to do it or not, and we ended up being very glad that we did.

 

We have not visited CK but IMO and IME, there are enough things to do in Linz for a day if you want. We did not finish all the items on our itinerary and we would happily revisit later to do the rest.

 

You can make a day trip to Salzburg for sure, but Salzburg has a lot more to do IMO. So for caviargal, or someone else who's been there before, a day trip to Salzburg to revisit some favorites makes good sense. For someone who's never been to Salzburg, hopping a train for a quick independent day trip may be daunting. We spent the better part of two days there (Salzburg) and missed a lot. Just a consideration.

 

You have many excellent options here, and part of the frustration is that you cannot see everything at once...Lord knows, we have tried! :p If you want more information, I outlined our day in Linz (and some post-trip time in Salzburg) in my review of the River Beatrice cruise.

Edited September 4, 2016 by jpalbny