Gate 1 Monarch Governess, May 26, 2023 Cruise Review: Danube with Budapest and Prague

[JordanF]

My wife and I just returned from an excellent trip from Gate 1, including a week on the Danube on the Monarch Governess, with a pre-cruise in Budapest and a post-cruise in Prague.  As usual, Gate 1 delivered!

 

This was out third trip with Gate 1.  We booked out airfare through them, so out airport transfers were included.  All flights and transfers went off without a hitch.  Our hotel was ready for us in Budapest.  It was the Corinthia, which was very nice and located centrally—we walked everywhere.  The Viking Cruise people were also there.  We had a great time in Budapest.  The included tour was excellent, as were the two optional tours we took—the dinner and show tour, and the taste of Budapest tour.  We had plenty of time to explore on our own as well.

 

On to the boat.  The Monarch Governess used to be an Avalon boat, and it remains in great shape.  The crew was friendly and efficient.  The meals were very good.  There are a few less meal options at dinner than you might find on some of the more expensive cruises, but there were still three unique entrees plus a couple of always available choices.  There were not always options for some of the appetizers.  Wine, beer and soft drinks flowed freely at dinner.  While the wine was officially limited to one white and one red each evening, my wife prefers Riesling and they always provided it.  The housekeeping staff was great, and our room attendant, Putri, was superb.  While wifi was included, it was slow and balky—it reminded me of dial-up.  Bring your bathing suit—there is a nice hot tub on the top deck.

 

The included tours are all very good, and there was always free time in port.  There was an optional tour, to Salzburg.  We did not take it as we preferred to skip four hours on the bus, and instead enjoyed a very nice leisurely day of mostly cruising, plus some time in Passau.  The folks who went to Salzburg reported positively.  There were also two optional tours in Vienna—we skipped the afternoon tour to the palace but took the evening tour to a classical concert.  The concert was excellent.  We just felt that with the morning included tour, having three tours in one day would be too much, and also limit our free time in the city.

 

Our tour manager, Martin, was super organized, knowledgeable and friendly.  The activities director, Laura, was awesome.

 

Like most river cruises, this was port intensive.  We were in a new port every day, except one day, when we had two ports.  As these countries recently suffered under *** and/or communist oppression, I came away with a renewed appreciation for the United States, both for its freedoms and for its willingness to stand against these oppressive regimes. 

 

Our post-cruise Prague was excellent.  We were at the Imperial Hotel, another excellent and centrally located hotel that other more expensive cruise lines also stayed at.  We took the optional tour to the Terezin concentration camp—very sobering.  Prague is now in a free and open country, but it was not so long ago that the British declared “peace in our time” and delivered this country to the ***, which was followed up by 40 years of Soviet cruelty.  Prague is delightful—may it always be so. 

 

In two weeks we saw many places we had not seen before, with a terrific cruise in the middle of it.  Gate 1 delivered value, excellence, attention to detail and friendliness. 

[twototravel]

@JordanF Laura (if the same person) was our activities director on the Empress several weeks ago. She said she was moving to another ship; maybe yours? 

[JordanF]

Could be.  Here's a picture.  She's the one in the middle (as the name tag makes obvious 🙂)

[KShuman]

I cannot compete with @JordanF's eloquent review or great photos, but I was on the same Gate 1 River Cruise with Amy/Jordan and agree with his positive comments about the staff, meals, ship, etc.  I thought all the staff was superb and as Jordan mentioned - Laura was a great activity director.  Our tour manager, Martin went out of his way to help me with a transfer to Prague after the cruise ended in Regensburg.  So he earns rave reviews from me as well.

 

I did take the optional tour to Vienna to the Schonbrunn palace and really enjoyed the history (as well as the beautiful gardens).  Because we learned a lot about Maria Theresa during the palace tour it was helpful as we heard more about her in other ports, specifically Germany and Prague.

 

I also agree with @JordanF that the WiFi onboard wasn't great.  We were have extended family health issues back in the U.S. while we were traveling and the poor WiFi caused some aggravation. If it had been a 'normal' vacation I probably wouldn't have cared as much about the lousy connection since I do really try to 'disconnect' while traveling, but the WiFi was one of the few things I would say needs improving.

 

This was my first Gate 1 trip and first river cruise and my husband and I will consider another one since Gate 1 delivered such value - I really wasn't expecting to see so much in such a short period of time.

[gnome12]

1 hour ago, KShuman said:

I also agree with @JordanF that the WiFi onboard wasn't great.  We were have extended family health issues back in the U.S. while we were traveling and the poor WiFi caused some aggravation. If it had been a 'normal' vacation I probably wouldn't have cared as much about the lousy connection since I do really try to 'disconnect' while traveling, but the WiFi was one of the few things I would say needs improving.

Might I suggest to people in the same situation to invest in a local SIM card with lots of data and ignore the wi-fi. On a European river cruise you will always (or virtually always) have cell service. You will have European roaming, so you can use it in multiple countries. 

[KShuman]

That's a great suggestion @gnome12.  I knew I could buy a local SIM card, but just decided weeks prior to the cruise I wouldn't 'need' it.  Of course, we were on the cruise when we found out about our family member's health issue and by that time - I wasn't prepared to go looking for a SIM card in our next port of call.  Thanks for reminding us all that we do have options when it comes to staying connected! 

[CastleCritic]

nice review.  I would also suggest if you found the "post communist" perspective interesting, head the other way when you get a chance.  The countries further down the Danube are at different stages of recovering from the communist period (and in some cases, recent wars and the fallout from them).

 

Yes its a very interesting perspective for sure, the guide I had in Budapest spoke of being a schoolgirl during the communist period and I had a 1:1 guide who spoke of the Prague revolution while standing on the spot she had been in 20 or so years prior facing down armed police.

 

As for cell service, Ive never gotten a card for Europe I just pay AT&Ts $10/day extortion (it caps I think at 10 days or something) I could just tether to that but generally if the ship wifi is down, so is the cell signal anyway.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Since switching to T-Mobile we never have to worry about connectivity while traveling.  I'm so happy that Verizon can't hear me now...

[CruiseIreland]

Thank you for your very interesting review. We're doing the same trip, in reverse, in August so I'm delighted to see a review of a Gate 1 trip. Ken 

[bonship]

Great Review!  We took our first Gate 1 river cruise in April to Netherlands and Belgium on tulip cruise and loved it.  This was our third river cruise and by far the cheapest.  Gate 1 is 20-30% cheaper than other companies and very comparable.  We had taken several Gate 1 land tours and thought we'd see how they did in the river cruise category.  They delivered in every respect!

[JordanF]

55 minutes ago, bonship said:

Great Review!  We took our first Gate 1 river cruise in April to Netherlands and Belgium on tulip cruise and loved it.  This was our third river cruise and by far the cheapest.  Gate 1 is 20-30% cheaper than other companies and very comparable.  We had taken several Gate 1 land tours and thought we'd see how they did in the river cruise category.  They delivered in every respect!

Thanks, and I'm glad you liked your trip.  We definitely noticed that we stayed in the same hotels and saw the same things as the other companies.  If you squint, you can see a few places where Gate 1 saves some money (slightly fewer food choices, free beer and wine at dinner but not lunch, and I guess the wifi).  But the boat was very nice, the crew was terrific, and we saw the other companies' tours when we were on our tours.  Gate 1 does engender customer loyalty--one person on our trip was on their 16th Gate 1 trip!

[Guest ldtr]

23 hours ago, JordanF said:

Thanks, and I'm glad you liked your trip.  We definitely noticed that we stayed in the same hotels and saw the same things as the other companies.  If you squint, you can see a few places where Gate 1 saves some money (slightly fewer food choices, free beer and wine at dinner but not lunch, and I guess the wifi).  But the boat was very nice, the crew was terrific, and we saw the other companies' tours when we were on our tours.  Gate 1 does engender customer loyalty--one person on our trip was on their 16th Gate 1 trip!

We have found Gate1 to be similar to Viking (with some menu differences, gate1 more local cuisine with fewer appetizer choices) at a lower price point and better payment terms.

[ljvander]

We are doing this same cruise in late September. We have done Viking and it’s great to see such positive reviews. Did you consider the walking portions of tours to be extremely strenuous? I know they say on the description it is, but wondering if it’s actually true. I talked to one of Gate 1’s agents who just went on this one and said “you won’t gain a pound for sure” on this trip.

[JordanF]

16 hours ago, ljvander said:

We are doing this same cruise in late September. We have done Viking and it’s great to see such positive reviews. Did you consider the walking portions of tours to be extremely strenuous? I know they say on the description it is, but wondering if it’s actually true. I talked to one of Gate 1’s agents who just went on this one and said “you won’t gain a pound for sure” on this trip.

Have a great trip!  For the most part the walking tours were not very strenuous.  We had a few guests who had limited mobility and they participated in most of the walking.  As mentioned in my review, we did not go on the optional tour to Salzburg.  As a result, we spent the day on the boat and then ended in Passau.  Gate 1 provided us with a tour of Passau--be advised that the river is quite a bit lower than the cathedral, so you will need to walk of a bit of a hill.  I will also mention Durnstein (a great little town!).  There is no tour in that stop, but  Gate 1 offered a morning hike up to Durnstein Castle (a ruin).  My wife and I left earlier than the organized walk and did it on our own.  It is a pretty hefty walk up hill, and probably best skipped if there are mobility issues.  Just enjoy the delightful town.

 

Besides what I have just mentioned, the walking is not too difficult.  For example, for the tour of Prague, busses took us to Prague Castle, we walked around there, and then the busses took us back down to the river.  From there we walked to the Old Town Square, which was not very far (but you also need to walk back to the hotel, another 15 minutes).  However, there was an option to not get off the bus at the river, and it took those who wanted back to the hotel.  In another example, in our tour of Budapest, there was a portion that included a bit of a walk (guessing around 1 mile).  There was an option to stay on/around the bus.

 

I do not want to downplay the walking.  There is a fair amount, and there are a lot of cobblestones.  But is is mostly level, and the distances are not huge.  However, I do not consider the walks to have been "extremely strenuous," or even strenuous except as noted above.  I am 64 and was one of the younger members of the group.  Most, but not all, were reasonably fit and mobile for our ages--but Gate 1 knows its customers.  

 

I have included pictures looking at up at an down from Durnstein Castle.

 

 

[CastleCritic]

Durnstein!!! /shakes fist.

 

When I visited I was supposed to do that castle hike but it was too rainy and they canceled it and we just walked around town for awhile. (its a neat little town).  Then I tried to do it myself on an accelerated schedule and messed my foot up for the rest of the week and still ended up turning around half way up :(.

 

One castle that has eluded me.....next time.

[ljvander]

5 hours ago, JordanF said:

Have a great trip!  For the most part the walking tours were not very strenuous.  We had a few guests who had limited mobility and they participated in most of the walking.  As mentioned in my review, we did not go on the optional tour to Salzburg.  As a result, we spent the day on the boat and then ended in Passau.  Gate 1 provided us with a tour of Passau--be advised that the river is quite a bit lower than the cathedral, so you will need to walk of a bit of a hill.  I will also mention Durnstein (a great little town!).  There is no tour in that stop, but  Gate 1 offered a morning hike up to Durnstein Castle (a ruin).  My wife and I left earlier than the organized walk and did it on our own.  It is a pretty hefty walk up hill, and probably best skipped if there are mobility issues.  Just enjoy the delightful town.

 

Besides what I have just mentioned, the walking is not too difficult.  For example, for the tour of Prague, busses took us to Prague Castle, we walked around there, and then the busses took us back down to the river.  From there we walked to the Old Town Square, which was not very far (but you also need to walk back to the hotel, another 15 minutes).  However, there was an option to not get off the bus at the river, and it took those who wanted back to the hotel.  In another example, in our tour of Budapest, there was a portion that included a bit of a walk (guessing around 1 mile).  There was an option to stay on/around the bus.

 

I do not want to downplay the walking.  There is a fair amount, and there are a lot of cobblestones.  But is is mostly level, and the distances are not huge.  However, I do not consider the walks to have been "extremely strenuous," or even strenuous except as noted above.  I am 64 and was one of the younger members of the group.  Most, but not all, were reasonably fit and mobile for our ages--but Gate 1 knows its customers.  

 

I have included pictures looking at up at an down from Durnstein Castle.

 

 

Thank you so much for that useful information. I think Gate 1 caters to maybe a more mobile and slightly younger clientele but good to know that it’s not super strenuous or there are options. My husband is not quite as active as I am due to an accident, but is perfectly able to walk reasonable distances.

[JordanF]

3 hours ago, ljvander said:

Thank you so much for that useful information. I think Gate 1 caters to maybe a more mobile and slightly younger clientele but good to know that it’s not super strenuous or there are options. My husband is not quite as active as I am due to an accident, but is perfectly able to walk reasonable distances.

You're welcome.  I cannot say for sure that Gate 1 caters to a younger/more mobile clientele--but I can say that we frequently saw tours from other lines, and they seemed to be more or less doing what we were doing.  At least as for as the basic tours of the main places, I think things were pretty similar.  At least that's what we tell ourselves since we paid less! 🙂

[Crusin6]

On 6/20/2023 at 3:37 PM, ljvander said:

Thank you so much for that useful information. I think Gate 1 caters to maybe a more mobile and slightly younger clientele but good to know that it’s not super strenuous or there are options. My husband is not quite as active as I am due to an accident, but is perfectly able to walk reasonable distances.

We did gate1 Egypt in January and at 65 I easily climbed up inside the Khufu pyramid.  Did camel rides too.  We had several 80 to 85 year olds on this trip….burial chamber climb and camels didn’t stop them either 

[JordanF]

13 hours ago, Crusin6 said:

We did gate1 Egypt in January and at 65 I easily climbed up inside the Khufu pyramid.  Did camel rides too.  We had several 80 to 85 year olds on this trip….burial chamber climb and camels didn’t stop them either 

Shameless plug for Egypt:  this was one our favorite trips ever!  Our trip was a couple of revolutions ago, but here is my review, FWIW:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/441764-review-gct-nile-dec-17-31/#comment-7575493

 

[ljvander]

On 6/20/2023 at 7:33 PM, JordanF said:

You're welcome.  I cannot say for sure that Gate 1 caters to a younger/more mobile clientele--but I can say that we frequently saw tours from other lines, and they seemed to be more or less doing what we were doing.  At least as for as the basic tours of the main places, I think things were pretty similar.  At least that's what we tell ourselves since we paid less! 🙂

Do you remember if the Parliament Bldg. was within walking distance from where the ship docks in Budapest?

[CastleCritic]

8 minutes ago, ljvander said:

Do you remember if the Parliament Bldg. was within walking distance from where the ship docks in Budapest?

That depends on your definition (and the specifics of that ships docking appointment), its right on the river, but it could be a mile or more to any given mooring.

[CruiseIreland]

8 hours ago, ljvander said:

Do you remember if the Parliament Bldg. was within walking distance from where the ship docks in Budapest?

We docked, on Monarch Queen, beside the Central Market Hall. G maps show it as 2.5km walk to Parliament. We walked it on our last, independent, day, from the Dohany St. Synagogue. It's not as long as from the ship but it was very taxing due to the heat. Along the way you come across the 'shoes by the Danube' memorial which is worth seeing. Of course  the exact dock location may vary but I would say not by much. Ken 

[JordanF]

12 hours ago, ljvander said:

Do you remember if the Parliament Bldg. was within walking distance from where the ship docks in Budapest?

We were a bit far for walking to Parliament, unless you really like walking.  However, there were river boats tied up in different spots, some closer to Parliament than ours.  Also, for Gate 1, we took the optional Taste of Budapest tour.  While it did include some nice food stops, it also included the shoes memorial and the Parliament building.  This tour was a mix of bus transportation and walking (and was a pretty good tour).

[JordanF]

On 9/10/2023 at 9:55 AM, JordanF said:

We were a bit far for walking to Parliament, unless you really like walking.  However, there were river boats tied up in different spots, some closer to Parliament than ours.  Also, for Gate 1, we took the optional Taste of Budapest tour.  While it did include some nice food stops, it also included the shoes memorial and the Parliament building.  This tour was a mix of bus transportation and walking (and was a pretty good tour).

Here is a more specific answer:  Per Google Maps, the approximate location of our ship was two kilometers (about 1.2 miles) from the Parliament--so not as far as I remembered.