A comparison of Gate 1 vs Viking

[ninaks]

Just took my 3rd river cruise. I did the first 2 with Viking(Rhine and South of France) and enjoyed them very much. This time we took Gate 1 down the Danube on their new ship. The Gate 1 cruise at the time we booked it was $1000 less per person than the same trip and dates on Viking. I couldn't find much information out there on Gate 1 river cruises before I booked, so i thought I would share my thoughts on comparing the two companies. All 3 of my cruises have been wonderful and I really have no major complaints about any of them. I will do a trip review later when I recover from my jet lag....

 

Ship: On Viking ,I was on a new longship and for Gate 1, their brand new Monarch Empress. Both ships were very nice. I think the bathroom was nicer on Gate 1 with a better shower. Gate 1 had nice seating on the top of the ship in the front that Viking didn’t have, but Viking had the great Aquavit lounge in the front of the ship that Gate 1 didn’t. Both ships were great. Gate 1 ship was smaller, with max capacity of 144 vs I think 100 more on some Viking ships. I liked the smaller ship

 

Staff: Loved the crew on both ships. One thing I liked on Gate 1 better was they had 3 cruise directors, not just one. You worked with your same cruise director on all your excursions.

 

Excursions: Local guides for both companies were very good. Viking did a better job with getting you inside places, such as cathedrals or castles, where I felt Gate 1 would take you on the outside and tell you the history but then left it up to you if you wanted to take the time later to explore more inside. On the Danube, I really wanted to go to Salzburg and only Gate 1 offered that as an optional tour, but not Viking.

 

Food: This is where Viking excelled. Gate 1’s food was good but they didn’t offer nearly as many choices each night. Also they didn’t tie the food at all to the area you were visiting. Viking’s food was better tasting. Both ships had good food, Viking was just a step up.

 

The little extras: Viking did more little things such as giving you a water bottle to you as you left the ship or handing you a drink as you came back from an excursion.

 

Entertainment on the ship: Both had very good piano players but Gate 1 did more shows at night to entertain such as a Crew talent night or Dance Bingo. They also had a movie one day and a history lesson taught through a family stories of one of the Cruise Directors.

 

So for the money savings, I was very happy with Gate 1. I am happy to answer any specific questions.

[4774Papa]

Just took my 3rd river cruise. I did the first 2 with Viking(Rhine and South of France) and enjoyed them very much. This time we took Gate 1 down the Danube on their new ship. The Gate 1 cruise at the time we booked it was $1000 less per person than the same trip and dates on Viking. I couldn't find much information out there on Gate 1 river cruises before I booked, so i thought I would share my thoughts on comparing the two companies. All 3 of my cruises have been wonderful and I really have no major complaints about any of them. I will do a trip review later when I recover from my jet lag....

 

Ship: On Viking ,I was on a new longship and for Gate 1, their brand new Monarch Empress. Both ships were very nice. I think the bathroom was nicer on Gate 1 with a better shower. Gate 1 had nice seating on the top of the ship in the front that Viking didn’t have, but Viking had the great Aquavit lounge in the front of the ship that Gate 1 didn’t. Both ships were great. Gate 1 ship was smaller, with max capacity of 144 vs I think 100 more on some Viking ships. I liked the smaller ship

 

Staff: Loved the crew on both ships. One thing I liked on Gate 1 better was they had 3 cruise directors, not just one. You worked with your same cruise director on all your excursions.

 

Excursions: Local guides for both companies were very good. Viking did a better job with getting you inside places, such as cathedrals or castles, where I felt Gate 1 would take you on the outside and tell you the history but then left it up to you if you wanted to take the time later to explore more inside. On the Danube, I really wanted to go to Salzburg and only Gate 1 offered that as an optional tour, but not Viking.

 

Food: This is where Viking excelled. Gate 1’s food was good but they didn’t offer nearly as many choices each night. Also they didn’t tie the food at all to the area you were visiting. Viking’s food was better tasting. Both ships had good food, Viking was just a step up.

 

The little extras: Viking did more little things such as giving you a water bottle to you as you left the ship or handing you a drink as you came back from an excursion.

 

Entertainment on the ship: Both had very good piano players but Gate 1 did more shows at night to entertain such as a Crew talent night or Dance Bingo. They also had a movie one day and a history lesson taught through a family stories of one of the Cruise Directors.

 

So for the money savings, I was very happy with Gate 1. I am happy to answer any specific questions.

 

From your comparison, I would opine that Gate 1 was a better value, considering the very significant cost difference.

[ninaks]

Yes, IMO, I believe Gate 1 the better value if you are on their new ship. There is one thing to keep in mind though. Gate 1 only uses a very few ships so if there are issues , there probably isn't a ship they can transfer you to, where Viking probably can. We had no issues on our trip, but I have read several reviews where viking moved people to a different ship due to water levels.

[Tara Jane]

Great reading thank you so much. I have booked a Gate 1 Amsterdam to Budapest for next October on Monarch Baroness, older but at a great price of $2999 AUD pp I don't mind.

I was a bit concerned as we don't hear about Gate 1 here in Australia and I found this trip on a travel website. We now have a group of 8 friends travelling together so it will be a lot of fun anyway I am sure.

Were entry costs to the castles included? I am wondering why they only took you to the outside.

I did do the same itinerary 9 years ago with APT and loved all the stops.

Looking forward to reading your trip report when you get around to it.

[ninaks]

We went inside the Melk Abbey and that was included, but the rest, we did not go inside. The Schoenbrunn palace was an optional excursion you had to pay for if you wanted to go there. There is plenty of time on your own so you can go where you want and nothing costs that much. I think you will love Gate 1. They were very organized and the staff was great.

[Marigold252]

We went inside the Melk Abbey and that was included, but the rest, we did not go inside. The Schoenbrunn palace was an optional excursion you had to pay for if you wanted to go there. There is plenty of time on your own so you can go where you want and nothing costs that much. I think you will love Gate 1. They were very organized and the staff was great.

Thanks, Nina, for your review. It echoes what I reported about Gate 1, without your comparison to Viking. An example of Viking getting you "inside", where Gate 1 only got you "outside" was in Passau at St. Stephen's Cathedral with it's huge pipe organ, the largest cathedral organ in the world. Our guide took us there before the noon concert, including inside, so we could take pictures and buy tickets for the concert if we so desired. They were 4 Euros each. We returned later to hear the concert, but no photos are allowed during it. The Viking tour included the concert.

 

 

 

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[Clay Clayton]

We went inside the Melk Abbey and that was included, but the rest, we did not go inside. The Schoenbrunn palace was an optional excursion you had to pay for if you wanted to go there. There is plenty of time on your own so you can go where you want and nothing costs that much. I think you will love Gate 1. They were very organized and the staff was great.

 

FWIW, during our Viking cruise last April, the Schoenbrun Palace was also an optional excursion. as always, YMMV.

[FuelScience]

Thanks for the report. It's nice to hear from folks who've taken different lines and can make informed comparisons.

 

FuelScience

[1stimecruiser]

Thanks for the Viking / Gate1 comparison. I've done their land/bus trips and recommended them to friends. They are good for the price point.

[dodger1964]

Thanks for thread.

 

We did our first river cruise this year on Viking Gullveig from Budapest to Nuremberg.

 

We might try again with different line, but there is no way we could have found a much cheaper cruise than this one.