New Gate 1 River Ship 'Monarch Empress'

Ceetee,

Can you advise how the passengers dressed at dinner? I'm trying to follow Rick Steves' advice and not pack too much, and thus, don't want to pack another set of clothes to wear in the evening at dinner. Thanks for any advice you can provide.

I assume CeeTee will be back, but this question has been out here for two days. I have NOT been on Monarch Empress, but I have sailed with a number of river lines and I have done land travel with Gate1. All of these were casual. I have to think that long pants and a collared shirt would be acceptable if not above average; CeeTee could tell if it is a lot more casual than that.

 

Thom

I assume CeeTee will be back, but this question has been out here for two days. I have NOT been on Monarch Empress, but I have sailed with a number of river lines and I have done land travel with Gate1. All of these were casual. I have to think that long pants and a collared shirt would be acceptable if not above average; CeeTee could tell if it is a lot more casual than that.

 

Thom

 

What do think about traveling with Gate1 on land tours. They certainly have some pretty good rates, though sometimes their hotels seem to be a bit away from the center of things. Have your trips with them gone well?

What do think about traveling with Gate1 on land tours. They certainly have some pretty good rates, though sometimes their hotels seem to be a bit away from the center of things. Have your trips with them gone well?

 

I have traveled with Gate 1 on land tours, and their hotels were very nice and well located.

Hello

Any tip on transfer to Amsterdam Schipol international airport after the cruise. Gate 1 offers I think a $70 transport to the airport. Will it be as easy at the river docked to find any even taxi ?$$? Or stick with a prepaid transfer from gate 1??

Hello

Any tip on transfer to Amsterdam Schipol international airport after the cruise. Gate 1 offers I think a $70 transport to the airport. Will it be as easy at the river docked to find any even taxi ?$$? Or stick with a prepaid transfer from gate 1??

Fastest and cheapest is train every 10 minutes from Amsterdam Centraal station direct to Schipol AMS airport. Less than 10 Euros. Many boats (not all) dock within easy walk of Centraal station.

 

Thom

 

add: Ship should be able to call you a taxi if they are difficult to find. Should be relatively inexpensive to get to train station.

Edited August 5, 2016 by TravelerThom

What do think about traveling with Gate1 on land tours. They certainly have some pretty good rates, though sometimes their hotels seem to be a bit away from the center of things. Have your trips with them gone well?

I usually do my own land arrangements, but in 2013 I was on a ship from French Polynesia to Lima and Gate1 had a combo tour that coordinated perfectly with our cruise that went to Machu Picchu and then connected to an Amazon river cruise. The hotels were less than deluxe (not as nice as ones we have had with Grand Circle, Vantage, Viking, etc), but still totally acceptable to our needs (beds, bath, breakfasts were fully adequate). Hotel locations were fine for us. My sample size (1 or was that 2 trips?) is small. Hope that helps.

 

Thom

I usually do my own land arrangements, but in 2013 I was on a ship from French Polynesia to Lima and Gate1 had a combo tour that coordinated perfectly with our cruise that went to Machu Picchu and then connected to an Amazon river cruise. The hotels were less than deluxe (not as nice as ones we have had with Grand Circle, Vantage, Viking, etc), but still totally acceptable to our needs (beds, bath, breakfasts were fully adequate). Hotel locations were fine for us. My sample size (1 or was that 2 trips?) is small. Hope that helps.

 

Thom

 

It does. Thank you.

 

We have usually made out own arrangements traveling. But lately we have taken a couple of land tours and are considering others. We have not yet tried Gate1, but they do have some rates and locations that would fit nicely, linked onto other trips.

Hello

Any tip on transfer to Amsterdam Schipol international airport after the cruise. Gate 1 offers I think a $70 transport to the airport. Will it be as easy at the river docked to find any even taxi ?$$? Or stick with a prepaid transfer from gate 1??

 

Somewhere on Gate 1's website it is mentioned that if a transfer is not included in the itinerary (as when air is booked with them) you usually can get an independent transfer cheaper than what they provide.

Ceetee,

Can you advise how the passengers dressed at dinner? I'm trying to follow Rick Steves' advice and not pack too much, and thus, don't want to pack another set of clothes to wear in the evening at dinner. Thanks for any advice you can provide.

 

Very casual. Husband wore golf shirts and dockers. Pants and silky tops for me. The last night, Captains dinner, I wore a little more fancy top. We traveled with a 21" carry-on and backpack.

Ceetee, may I ask another question, please? Which port were you in when you went to Cesky Krumlov? We want to go but we would also like to see Passau but our itinerary calls for that day to go to CK. I hope it is wrong!

 

We docked at Linz for our Cesky Krumlov tour. In Passau we had a morning walking tour included, went back to the ship for lunch, then went out on our own for the afternoon.

Hi we are also booked towards the end of November from Budapest to Amsterdam 16 days flight time inlcluded as stated on Gate 1 itinerary. Any body familiar with Budapest river docking location for Gate 1, are they on random first come basis.

Any tips on Hotels in Budapest. Any tips on self service laundry, we are traveling Europe and we will have about 10 days of dirty laundry prior to boarding and most hotel laundry services very very expensive.

Do MS Monarch Empress have laundry facility.

Thanks

 

When we first saw our ship it was the day before boarding and we were on the Buda side on Gellert hill. It was double parked in between the Elizabeth and Liberty bridges. When we boarded the next day, it was single parked very close to the Elizabeth bridge.

We stayed at a B&B called Butterfly Home. Loved it. Inexpensive. Fabulous breakfast with extensive offerings. I believe they will do laundry but not sure of cost. No elevator, if that is an issue. Very helpful staff.

We walked to the Central market (at Liberty bridge) and that is also the pick-up for the HOHO bus. We also walked to the ship. There is a shopping street right there that has many name brands and souvenirs. We used H&M.

There was a laundry sheet in one of the drawers onboard but didn't look at it to give you costs.

Just returned from our first Gate 1 cruise on the Rhine. The style of dress most nights in the dining room was whatever you wore that day...mostly shorts. A lot of our tours didn't get back to the ship until just before dinner so that contributed...was a little dressier on final night but only golf shirt and Dockers type stuff. This was on the MS Sound of Music...a ship that they are retiring after this season. The pics I've seen of the Monarch Empress look a lot like the Monarch Queen...just newer.

Can anyone tell me if I can buy local wines and enjoy them on the boat or will they be held by the crew? Also, what is the attire for dinner? Lastly, how enjoyable was the dinner show in Budapest?

Can anyone tell me if I can buy local wines and enjoy them on the boat or will they be held by the crew? Also, what is the attire for dinner? Lastly, how enjoyable was the dinner show in Budapest?

I'm on the Monarch Empress right now and having a fabulous time. The ship is beautiful and the service great. About your wine question, you can buy local wine, open it, and consume it in your room or on the sundeck. The attire for dinner is half casual and half smart casual. Nothing fancy.

 

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We are on the Monarch Empress in a week. Can you tell me if you have taken any optional excursions and how it went? how is the food? any other tidbits you can share?

We are on the Monarch Empress in a week. Can you tell me if you have taken any optional excursions and how it went? how is the food? any other tidbits you can share?

As part of our pre-extension we did the salt mine tour in Krakow and the Jewish interest tour in Budapest which were both optional and well worth doing. On the River Cruise we went to the Viennese concert which was very nice and gave us the added benefit of seeing Vienna at night. We went to Cesky Krumlov today and I highly recommend it. Absolutely charming and not too strenuous. We are opting to stay in Passau tomorrow rather than going to Saltzburg.

The food has been good and nicely presented. There are three entres each night (one is vegetarian) and in addition, a chicken breast dinner is always available. The service is excellent. A white and red wine are available each night and are always different. Or you can have beer with dinner. You are not limited to one glass.

The beds are very comfortable, but if you don't like sleeping with just a duvet comforter, ask for a sheet and the steward will make you bed with a duvet cover as a top sheet.

There is a small refrigerator in the room and the hair dryer is a professional model. The lighting in the room and bathroom is well done. There are plenty of electrical outlets, but if you bring something with a plug that has one prong larger than the other (like a curling iron) you will need an adaptor for it, as the two 110 US plugs on the desk only accept the small prongs of electronics.

Don't hesitate to ask me questions, I'm having such a great time, and I'll do my best to answer them.

 

 

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this is perfect, thanks so much for sharing. It seems it is getting cooler. do you need a coat now? Have you heard from anyone that went to the Palace optional excursion and was that worth it? Anything else you care to share we would love to hear. How is the cruise director?

As part of our pre-extension we did the salt mine tour in Krakow and the Jewish interest tour in Budapest which were both optional and well worth doing. On the River Cruise we went to the Viennese concert which was very nice and gave us the added benefit of seeing Vienna at night. We went to Cesky Krumlov today and I highly recommend it. Absolutely charming and not too strenuous. We are opting to stay in Passau tomorrow rather than going to Saltzburg.

The food has been good and nicely presented. There are three entres each night (one is vegetarian) and in addition, a chicken breast dinner is always available. The service is excellent. A white and red wine are available each night and are always different. Or you can have beer with dinner. You are not limited to one glass.

The beds are very comfortable, but if you don't like sleeping with just a duvet comforter, ask for a sheet and the steward will make you bed with a duvet cover as a top sheet.

There is a small refrigerator in the room and the hair dryer is a professional model. The lighting in the room and bathroom is well done. There are plenty of electrical outlets, but if you bring something with a plug that has one prong larger than the other (like a curling iron) you will need an adaptor for it, as the two 110 US plugs on the desk only accept the small prongs of electronics.

Don't hesitate to ask me questions, I'm having such a great time, and I'll do my best to answer them.

 

 

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and one more thing I forgot to ask... any water level issues? thanks again so much for sharing

and one more thing I forgot to ask... any water level issues? thanks again so much for sharing

Funny you should ask. We were just told tonight the water level is too low for us to sail to Regensburg tomorrow, so we will bus there for our tour and overnight at a dock between Passau and Regensburg. It's going to rain tomorrow so hopefully the water level will come up a bit. You are starting in Budapest, aren't you? Any pretour or post tour?

 

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yes, we are starting in Budapest. We actually arranged a private tour through a guide Rick Steves had recommended. We are doing 4 hours a day for 2 days in a private van going through all sites in Budapest including the Jewish heritage sites and lots of markets.

Curious if there was any particular reason you skipped Salzburg. We were thinking of going to both Salzburg and Cesky. Do you think that would be too much? I hope it rains a lot so we don't miss anything. Keep the information coming! thanks so much

Marie--Sounds like this is all that you hoped for. Happy to hear of your experiences and will file them away when it is our turn again. Thanks for taking the time to post. Friends brought dinner over last night and she made a sacher torte for dessert which was gorgeous and delicious. She thought that since we couldn't get to Vienna she would bring a little Vienna to us! Keep enjoying!

yes, we are starting in Budapest. We actually arranged a private tour through a guide Rick Steves had recommended. We are doing 4 hours a day for 2 days in a private van going through all sites in Budapest including the Jewish heritage sites and lots of markets.

Curious if there was any particular reason you skipped Salzburg. We were thinking of going to both Salzburg and Cesky. Do you think that would be too much? I hope it rains a lot so we don't miss anything. Keep the information coming! thanks so much

We skipped Saltzburg in order to give us a more relaxing day in Passau. Gate 1 has a wonderful land tour that includes Salzburg and some other places we have missed so hopefully that is in our future.

 

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Marie--Sounds like this is all that you hoped for. Happy to hear of your experiences and will file them away when it is our turn again. Thanks for taking the time to post. Friends brought dinner over last night and she made a sacher torte for dessert which was gorgeous and delicious. She thought that since we couldn't get to Vienna she would bring a little Vienna to us! Keep enjoying!

Sounds wonderful! This is our last day...Prague is amazing! It rained all the way here on the bus, but stopped just as we arrived. We had over nighted in Vilhofen instead of Regensburg due to the low water and there were some glitches with the bus bringing us to Prague, but our CD handled the situation with grace.

 

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Sounds wonderful! This is our last day...Prague is amazing! It rained all the way here on the bus, but stopped just as we arrived. We had over nighted in Vilhofen instead of Regensburg due to the low water and there were some glitches with the bus bringing us to Prague, but our CD handled the situation with grace.

 

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With the water level, you experienced it all. It went so quickly! Hope you will post a review post jet lag and re-entry. Safe trip home.

We are leaving April 30 for the Amsterdam to Budapest cruise on the Monarch. I've enjoyed reading all the conversations which have given me a lot of good information! It's our first river cruise, though we've done quite a few ocean cruises. I've never met anyone who didn't rave about their river cruise. I expect we'll really enjoy it. And so many excellent things to see!

 

For people who inquired about Gate 1 land tours, we've done 3 and each one was excellent. I can recommend them all. South Africa was first and outstanding and it's why we decided to try another. So last year we went to India (north) in January and back to South India in November. We've been to India quite a few times independently over the years but decided we would now like everything taken care of for us! They did a first rate job. Wonderful guides, fabulous sights and the hotels were excellent and usually in a good location. The one exception was New Delhi which was a fine hotel except was so far from anything it was worthless except for sleeping. After that they were all lovely with great breakfasts every morning.

 

Would love to hear any more information about this river cruise for people who have gone in 2017.