Anyone take a river cruise w/Gate 1?

[LLD]

Been researching and Gate 1 Travel has Europe river cruises operated by Luftner River Cruises. Some of their ships are the MS Amadeus, MS Princess, MS Royal and MS Elegant. Never heard of this line. Has anyone ever gone on one with them? If so, how did you like it? How about compared to Viking, Avalon and AMA Waterways? Doing some heavy research and need help! thanks! :)

[Mac Traveler]

I've taken a few land tours with Gate 1 and they where great. Very good company that takes care of you.

 

I my brother took the Egypt tour with Gate 1 with a Nile cruise and he said it was great.

 

Have not taken a River Cruise with them but have one booked for next year. Looking forward to it because of the good job they do.

[pacmom]

We were just on the Amadeus Symphony----avoid her. She is badly in need of reno. Carpets in passageway are spotted and worn. Cabins also worn. We were on an alumni cruise from our university or would not have considered her. We were on the lowest deck, so we had decent A/C. Those in the suites and upper level had little A/C. There seemed to be a major A/C problem in the lounge. Food was good, but service was extremely slow--2 hours for lunch, fortunately we were sailing most afternoons. There were also sections of the dining room that were quite warm. Also no elevator or chair lift. The sun deck was lovely with a hot tub and chess set. The canopies over the deck chairs allowed a lot of light thru, so no real shade. The staff was wonderful, cabins kept very clean. Towards the end of the trip there was some type of plumbing problem. Water kept coming up in the shower drain.

We were docked next to another Luftner boat the Elegance--chartered by Viking's German division. She looked much nicer than the Symphony. With all these lines you need to research the vessel-age, amenities and last reno. Gate 1 has a good reputation, haven't seen any really negative about the company. Pat

[cole]

We did the Rhine River Cruise in 2008 with Gate 1 on the Amadeus Royal and were very satisfied with the ship and the crew. We felt very taken care of and had no complaints as to the service, food and experience. My understanding is that they lease the ships each year, so your experience might be different with the accommodations if they are leasing different ships. I would check the reviews of the particular ships before making a decision, but would certainly recommend the company if the ship received good reviews.

B. Cole

[H2Otstr]

We went on a Gate 1 tour two years ago. The boat was the MS Bolero. We started in Vienna on Thanksgiving day, visited several Christmas Markets (this was not a Christmas Markets tour though), and ended in Basel. There were three tour directors. All three were very good; food was good, seconds on the meat was offered, and wine was free flowing. Was a very nice trip.

[pacmom]

My complaints were about the boat. The staff were great, but the dining room service was extremely slow at lunch. Would rather a full buffet at lunch. Seconds were nver offered and the only reason wine was free flowing was our alumni director balked at his members paying for wine at dinner after paying quite a bit for the trip. The first evening they even tried to charge for iced tea. Have only heard good things about Gate 1, would sail with them if the itinerary and boat were what I wanted. Pat

[LLD]

Thanks everybody for the input. I do see that Gate 1 has some nice itineraries. I checked their web-site to see their river cruise ships but I am just not sure. I know sometimes you can be on a cruise and for some wild reason one week is just a crazy week full of issues and then the next week, no issues and things go smoothly.

 

Pat, I appreciate you being upfront about your experiences. I am sorry that you experienced the things you did on your cruise. I hope your next travel ventures are top notch! :)

[dawcruiser]

My wife and I recently did 15 days in Egypt which include 7 days cruising the Nile. We LOVED our trip. BUT I would compasre our ship with a Carnival ship not a Princess. The ship was worn but everything else was excellant. Our guide was fabulous. The price was very very good.

 

Don

[pacmom]

LLD, thanks for the kind words. Since it was an alumni trip we couldn't pick the boat. It was a good trip. If the boat had been better it would have been a great trip. We are up in double digits for river cruises, so can tell if a boat needs refurb. Pat

[LLD]

Hi Pat, with 20+ river cruises---you are the river cruise pro!! :)

I am sure if you say it needs to be refurbished then it needs it! These boards are so helpful. I have been on so many ocean cruises and I am truly considering taking a river cruise. I want something different and want to see more of Europe where cruise ships obviously cannot go. I do like to be on a ship where I only unpack once and have meals included. I travel a lot with my Mom and she likes the convenience of ship travel and I want to be sure she is comfortable and we have a good time. We have always enjoyed our Mediterranean cruises and Europe tour trips so I thought a river cruise may be a great match!

 

If you have any other advice about river cruising I would love to hear more, such as what lines are good, any helpful info etc... Thanks again.

[pacmom]

LLD, when I said double digits, I meant over 10--wish it were over 20. Hope to get there one day. Pat:)

[LLD]

Why was I thinking 20?? OK Pat, now you have to make sure you hit the "20" mark! Still think you are the river cruise pro regardless! :)

Hope you are enjoying the weekend!

[superoma]

We took the Amsterdam to Budapest River cruise with Gate 1 in July 2009 on the MS Diamond. The ship was almost brand new at the time, only on the river since March 2009. There was an issue with the AC in the lounge some of which was compounded by the many windows letting the sun in, and we did have sunshine!!

 

We loved our river cruise and our Gate 1 guide. We are doing an Adriatic cruise with Gate 1 in September and a Thailand/Cambodia land vacation in April. They have decent prices and our experience on the Diamond was great.

 

We like Gate 1 because we could choose to buy excursions if we wanted and not have them included in the price. My DH and I are both German so language on most the cruise was not a problem and the savings were good for us not having the excursions included.

 

Now, to give you another perspective - the couple travelling with us did not like the food, found the ship too warm, etc. etc. So, different people will experience different things.

 

We love the intimacy of the river boats and the nearness of the shore. I could go on and on, but you get the drift. Grab a river cruise - you will love it. We are using Viking on the Elbe in October. Gate 1 had nothing on the Elbe and of course Peter Dielmann no longer sails river cruises. Most of their ships have been purchased by Nicko Tours.

[addie19]

I was on the MS Viktoria in Dec 2006. it was fantastic! went down the danube from passau to budapest. the food was great, and it was a very relaxing trip. the gate 1 reps were entertaining and the ship staff was very accomodating(especially after there was an outbreak of stomach flu onboard). i would definitely do another gate 1 cruise--the nile is at the top of my list as is the yangtzee, just haven't found the right time or price to do it again yet!