Liveish Gate 1 Monarch Queen- Prague to Budapest- Trip Report

[CruiseIreland]

Day 5: Fitful night's sleep and 6.30 am alarm. Everyone out and on coach by 8.20 so we left on time. Guide commentary most of the way to 1st comfort break. The Cruise Director broke the news that we would be embarking the ship at Vilshofen rather than Regensburg. Many groans but good news is that Gate 1 will bus anyone interested to Regensburg tomorrow and stump up €15 pp for lunch. I think we might skip the excursion and spend a day on the ship.

 

We stopped after 30 minutes or so for a comfort break and arrived at Pilsen at 10.15am. There was a 45 minute walking tour of Pilsen which is beautiful. 

Church of St. Bartholemew, Pilsen 

Square in Pilsen 

Then free time and meet again at 12.50. Another comfort break later, we finally arrived at Vilshofen and our ship.

 

Embarkation was very quick, no scanners or questionnaires, just passports and off we went. Ship looks very nice. 

Monarch Queen 

Shower

French Balcony 

Bed

After introductory meeting with CD and many staff, dinner was a lavish affair, 3 starters served to us and then a choice of New Zealand lamb, John Dory and a veggie option. Wine was served freely. Entertainment after was a very talented guitarist who was billed as 'rock and roll'. He was very good but only played for about 50 minutes, maximum. Not sure how the entertainment is going to pan out. More tomorrow. Ken 

 

Edited August 18, 2023 by CruiseIreland

[notamermaid]

 

23 minutes ago, CruiseIreland said:

Embarkation was very quick, no scanners or questionnaires, just passports and off we went.

Good to read that everything went smoothly. Have a good night and a good day tomorrow. If you are going to Regensburg be prepared for a hot day.

 

notamermaid

 

[ural guy]

Glad you got to stop in Pilsen.  We stayed 3 nights there before our November cruise, a block from the main square shown in your picture.  There was a festival going on for the patron saint, and had a great atmosphere, and tons of gluhwein to sample.  A nice brewing city, the brewery tour took you into the fermentation caves and was a fun visit.

 

We missed out first stop also and boarded in Passau, what you experienced happens unfortunately, and sounds like you'll make the most of the change and relax a bit.

 

How many people are on your cruise?

[CruiseIreland]

Greetings from Vilshofen! We decided to forego the tour to Regensburg in favour of a lie in and relaxing day on ship. However, we were wakened by the lovely Cruise Director, Georgina, over the PA, marshalling  the tour group at 8.45. It was then that we realised that breakfast ends at 9 so we scrambled to the dining room and just made it. After breakfast, we decided to explore Vilshofen, which didn't take too long, in fairness. Very nice, neat little town. We walked uphill towards the monastery. It's quite a climb in this heat. Near the monastery, there's a pretty, plain little church and cemetery. Pic of little church:

 

Pics of monastery. Very plain inside.

 

Back in Vilshofen, we visited the town church, mu h more ornate. Pics here:

 

Sailed from Vilshofen at 2.15  en route to Passau to meet our shipmates from the Regensburg tour. 

 

More later. So far, we are impressed by Gate 1 and Monarch Queen. Crew are lovely. Ken 

 

Edited August 19, 2023 by CruiseIreland

[CruiseIreland]

Lovely sail to Passau. Bit of a queue at the lock, so we docked, temporarily, upstream from the lock and the coaches from Regensburg were diverted to that location. 

Night shot of Passau from the ship

 

Dinner was less lavish than first night but, nevertheless, excellent. 

Caprese Salad

Tenderloin of Pork - excellent. Not pictured, Wild Garlic soup and Vegetable Consommé, Nougat Parfait and Fresh Fruit plate. Wine was good and three pours each night 👏.

 

Entertainment last night was 'Guess which song will attract the most dancers. DW did the estimates and I wrote them down. To our surprise and delight, we won a bottle of win and a box of pralines. 😋😋😋 Attendance at the entertainment is poor so far, only about 20 last night. 

 

Edited August 20, 2023 by CruiseIreland

[CruiseIreland]

Passau: What a beautiful town. We woke up to find that Viking Mimir had tied up next to us overnight. Access was across the sundeck as was our gangway to the Quay. We left at 9am for the included walking tour. Very good and interesting. St. Stephen's Cathedral is huge but there was lot of scaffolding inside and Mass was going on so no pics, unfortunately. Some pics of Passau:

 

 

Edited August 20, 2023 by CruiseIreland

[CruiseIreland]

We left Passau at 1pm and sailed to Aschach, Austria, to rendezvous with the coaches from the Salzburg. On the way, we had to lower the bridgehouse and canopies on the sundeck due to a low bridge entering the lock at Jochenstein. Video won't load but I'll try when I get home.

Ken 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[CruiseIreland]

We sailed from Passau to Schlogen, not Aschach, and waited about an hour for the Salzburg busses. Sailing since and expecting to be in Melk in the morning. Tonight's dinner was excellent. Pics here;

Appetiser: Chicken Avocado Tartare 

Clear potato essence: Chinese cabbage, Udon noodles and mushrooms 

Asparagus cream soup with creme fraiche

Filet of Seabream, water cress radish salad, tarragon lemon sauce, asparagus, artichoke, herb new potato. 

Braised beef, gravy and red cabbage, potato dumpling 

Tiramisiu, wild berries, Bailey's sauce

Fresh, sliced fruit of the season. 

All very good.

 

Entertainment was a Trivia Challenge. Tough, especially the Logo round. We came third. Good turnout, about 50, but they pretty much all cleared out by 10pm. To the top deck to watch Linz as we passed through at about 10.15. Very pretty. Early start to Melk Abbey, 8.30am. Ken 

Edited August 20, 2023 by CruiseIreland

[JordanF]

When we were on the Gate 1 Danube trip earlier this year there was decent entertainment and pretty much it started at 9 and ended at 10, after which most people headed to the cabins.

[CruiseIreland]

Melk: We docked overnight at Melk and assembled for the, included, guided tour to Melk Abbey. Short bus ride and we were issued with entrance tickets and we were divided into 4 groups, colour coded according to the bus we opted for before we left the ship. Our guide was excellent and we were led through rooms of the Palace wing, the library  formal room and we were then free to experience the church and the gardens. There are several WCs available, free of charge. No photos are allowed inside so I will post a few external pics.

Entrance to the Abbey 1718 over the gate

Inner courtyard (Prelate's courtyard)

View of the Church from the walls

We were free to take a bus back to the ship or walk down, which we did. Easy enough walk but lots of uneven steps.

View of Abbey from Melk street 

Melk Street

Turret house in Melk street

We will move on to Durnstein at 1pm and will have an opportunity to explore there on our own. Ken 

[CruiseIreland]

Today's lunch was a Bavarian theme: suckling pig, shank of veal and sausage featured. As there were no tours ashore, there was quite a queue for the lunch. Rather loud Bavarian music was piped into the dining room. We sailed at 1pm and Georgina, the Cruise Director, gave a commentary from the sundeck as we sailed through the Wachau Valley. Some photos:

 

 

Arrived at beautiful Durnstein 

View back up the river

Street View

More street

 

Vienna tomorrow. Ken

[ural guy]

CruiseIreland-  Looks like you had good weather for your sail through the castle area.

 

Can you get lunch and dinner in the small lounge at the rear of the ship?  The grill guy use to set up just outside, had some great meals there.  Not being foodies, it was perfect for us.

[CruiseIreland]

3 hours ago, ural guy said:

CruiseIreland-  Looks like you had good weather for your sail through the castle area.

 

Can you get lunch and dinner in the small lounge at the rear of the ship?  The grill guy use to set up just outside, had some great meals there.  Not being foodies, it was perfect for us.

@ural guy.we're melting here. Giving 95 for Vienna tomorrow. Is that the Cotton Club Lounge? No mention of any grub there. In fact, having seen the sign on the corridor today, I asked the Cruise Director about it. She had to ask the receptionist so it's not a feature this cruise.

[Canal archive]

Thanks for the photos ahhh memories!

[ural guy]

Yikes, that heat doesn't sound fun at all.

 

Thanks for asking, yes it was called the Cotton Club.  The River Voyager originally had a jazz theme.   Billie Holiday and I think Dizzie Gillespie and Louie Armstrong pictures were posted throughout the ship. 

[CruiseIreland]

1 hour ago, ural guy said:

Yikes, that heat doesn't sound fun at all.

 

Thanks for asking, yes it was called the Cotton Club.  The River Voyager originally had a jazz theme.   Billie Holiday and I think Dizzie Gillespie and Louie Armstrong pictures were posted throughout the ship. 

That explains the decor! Very musical, even the carpets!

[CruiseIreland]

Vienna: Another early start as we were scheduled to leave on the guided tour at 8.30am. This tour is included in the cruise fare. Very good guide who narrated our 30 min drive into the city, pointing out buildings of interest and, importantly, the pick up point for the return to the ship and the later shuttle stop, which are one and the same  Schwedenplatz. We had an interesting 45 minute walking tour, narrated by our guide on the 'Whisper' devices. These work well. Only thing is there is only one earpiece on the cord. If you prefer to have sound in both ears, you can bring standard headphones with a jack. A few pics:

 

Lippanzanner stallion on way to work 

St. Stepan's Cathedral

We finished up with and obligatory cake and coffee. 

Sluka coffee and cake shop recommended by our guide, very nice!

 

A couple of things to note about Vienna: it's huge and there is so much to see so a guide is very useful. Second, it is very hot at the moment, so it's difficult to see a lot. It's definitely worth a return visit. 

 

We decided not to do the optional tour to the Schonnbrun Palace nor the evening recital at the Hofburg, both very popular with our shipmates. 

 

Dinner tonight was a buffet to enable to concert goers to get away. Pics: 

Grey mullet and creme of onion soup,

 

 

[Canal archive]

Thank you CruiseIreland Vienna is one of my favourite cities not least because it is so easy to get around, pity it was so hot, very debilitating.

[CruiseIreland]

Last night's entertainment was a multimedia quiz, followed by Karaoke. Small crowd as many were out at the concert. We were due a lie in this morning as the ship was not due in Bratislava until 11am. However, our Cruise Director wanted someone from each stateroom to attend the meeting at 9.30am about disembarkation on Friday. Today's walking tour of Bratislava commenced at 11am. Very pretty town and the tour guide was very informative. Some pics;

St. Martin's Church with Holocaust memorial in foreground. 

St. Martin gives his cloak to a beggar

Altar in St. Martin's 

Remains of St. Reparatus in the Church of the Annunciation. 

Old Town Hall 

Back street- much dereliction in the back streets, Fixer Uppers galore.

Alley view to Castle 

 

These are just a few views. Beautiful town. Worth a visit. 

 

Yesterday evening, during dinner, we moved the ship as we were rafted to another and we would be leaving first today. I took a video which I will post when I get home, as the WiFi is not strong enough here. More tomorrow as we arrive in Budapest.

 

Tonight is lavish Farewell Dinner, a night early! Ken 

Edited August 23, 2023 by CruiseIreland

[CruiseIreland]

Celebration dinner was a six course affair. Stand out was the filet of beef. There was the parade of the baked alaska, followed by the parade of housekeeping, catering and bar staff. Good atmosphere and fun. We were offered second helpings most nights but only last night did I accept. Some food pics:

Turkey Carpaccio ( it was cooked)

Cream of Mushroom Soup

Shrimp with Saffron Risotto 

Beef filet, photo doesn't do it justice 

Baked Alaska

 

Entertainment was a game called Majority Rules, a quiz where the correct answer is the answer submitted by the most teams. Great fun and a bit risqué. The Activity host, Nico, is great fun and works hard to generate an atmosphere of fun, and succeeds. The Cruise line provided a complimentary drink to all in the lounge, wine, beer or soft drink. Great fun. 

 

Last night we passed through the deepest lock of our trip, with a drop of 59 feet. We were accompanied by our shadow this week, Viking Mimir. Interesting experience. A couple of pics; can't upload videos. 

 

 

We will arrive at Budapest about 8am. Arrival will be narrated by our Cruise Director, Georgina, who's from Budapest. 

 

We will have a tour of Budapest in the morning. Ken 

Edited August 24, 2023 by CruiseIreland

[ural guy]

Do you have extra time in Budapest?  Plenty to see and do there, one of our favorite big cities.

[CruiseIreland]

3 hours ago, ural guy said:

Do you have extra time in Budapest?  Plenty to see and do there, one of our favorite big cities.

We have an extra night because of flights. Intend to photograph the Parliament building and, hopefully, visit the Dohany Synagogue which we saw briefly this morning. 

 

Any suggestions for a must see other than these? Ken 

Edited August 24, 2023 by CruiseIreland

[Daisi]

If you didn't get a night time cruise, take one of them.

 

[ural guy]

The night cruise is a good idea.

 

You said earlier you enjoyed history, here is a WW2 hospital you can visit:

https://budacastlebudapest.com/hospital-in-the-rock-nuclear-bunker-budapest/

 

We really enjoyed Memento Park, they collected Communist era statues and put them in one place.  They have them cleverly arranged, they have a statue of Lenin giving a fiery speech, and a group of soldiers are arranged with their backs to him.  It does take a subway/bus combo or taxi to get to.  Spouse and I thought this was very well done.

https://www.mementopark.hu/en/home/

 

If you are tired of history and castles, the Budapest zoo was a nice break.  Many of the buildings are gorgeous and constructed to look like castles and anything but a Monkey house.  The animals appeared to be very well taken care of and the enclosures are a decent size.  This was easy to get to on line one of the subway.  It's the oldest subway line, only a few feet below street grade, and has gorgeous wood and brass trimmed cars.

 

Or just wander along the Danube, and later go look for the Columbo statue, and if you find it, reward yourself with ice cream.  If you fail, console yourself with ice cream.

 

Enjoy.

[Second seating]

Esterhazy cake or anything chocolate at Cafe Gerbeaud!!!

 

Second seating