Danube River Cruising

Gate 1. Amadeus Royal May 2008 Danube

This was a special sailing one time round trip Budapest.The normal sailing is from Budapest to Nuremberg or reverse. Another sailing is from Passau to Budapest or Reverse.

We decided to take the only daily non stop flight from JFK to Budapest with Malev airline which code shares with American Airlines. It departs from the brand new terminal 8 at 5:45 p.m. each day arriving at 8:30 a.m.in Budapest.

There are regulated cabs which charge 25 euros to the center of Budapest or to the river cruise ships. It is a sight to see the ships lined up from all the river cruise lines: Amadeus, Viking, Deilman, A’Rosa, Uniworld, Avalon, Grand Circle, Vantage and Gate 1. We arrived at the ship at 9:30 a.m. and there were some passengers still departing.  We left our bags as we had arranged to meet with one of the private guides we use for our clients in Budapest. We were taken for a brief city tour which included:

The Citadel with great views of the City,

The Magnificent Parliament building,

Many beautiful baths,

The church in the cave.

The large city park with Circus and Zoo.  

Hero’s park,

The Jewish Quarter and Ghetto.

There are many fine examples of architecture, bridges and first class hotels along the river front.  As there is so much to see and do the guide offers several half and full day programs including specific tours on the subject of Communism, The Jewish Heritage and The history of Hungary. We stopped for lunch and enjoyed some regional specialties. Lunch for three including beer and soft drinks cost 30 Euros. By the time we returned to the ship it was 4:00 p.m. and we were ready for a nap!

Monday afternoon we took a 12 mile trip from Budapest to Szentendre. Originally founded in the 14^th century by Greek and Serbian refugees, it has become an art center with Baroque stone buildings and cobblestone streets. There are many gift stores with a large range of paprika, Tokai wines, lace, embroidered table cloths an hand made woolen clothing items.  On our way back to the ship we visited a Diamond manufacturing plant.

The evening’s diner was a Hungarian Specialty night. The waiters were dressed in national costume. The menu consisted of Pate, Salad, Goulash, Beef with wine sauce and a specialty dessert similar to tiramissou.  Local Hungarian wines were served and a good time was had by all. After diner there was a music quiz show including the second in command singing a very “pitchy” version of My Way!  There was a very good dou by the name of Teddy & Yanko playing music before dinner and later in the evening for dancing.

9:00 a.m. was a morning walking tour of Bratislavia.

We arrived in Vienna late afternoon. After diner we took a trip around the RingStraster to see the illuminated buildings. We stopped at the “Prater” an amusement park in the city and rode the 110 year old Ferris wheel featured in the Harry Lime film with Orson Wells. Then onward to a small suburb called Grinzing a center for wine taverns that feature “New Wines” from the current year’s production. The wines are served with bread and various spreads. There are roaming musicians playing songs to sing along with.  A great deal of fun was had by all.

The following morning a tour with local guide of the Hofburg Palace with it’s many museums. Two horse carriage rides and musical heritage. Vienna has many magnificent buildings monuments and churches.  There is shopping for everyone and many coffee shops, bakeries, and even Mc Donalds with a Euro menu. Starbucks has free internet access and there are many Internet cafes. We did purchase a “Sacher Torte” a specialty of Vienna to bring back to the ship for our companions only to find out that on the dessert tables for lunch there were several Sacher Tortes that had been made by the chef.  Ours was better!

This evening we attended a concert in one of the palaces. The Sounds of Mozart and Strauss with several musicians, dancers and opera singers to who were well trained performers.

On our return to the ship we were presented with a local delicacy of sausage, breads and warm potato salad along with a cream soup.

Each time we returned to the ship were welcomed with hot or cold drinks and hot or cold towels dependant on the weather.

Thursday we toured the Melk Abbey a palatial building with a very modern exhibition of the history of the abbey and grounds. It is located in the Wachau valley a beautiful segment of the Danube. We walked down through the Village of Melk.   The day we were there it was Corpus Christy with the local population dressed in historic costumes and the local bands playing escorting the procession to the church. The views from the Abbey along the Danube and over the village are stunning.

Food and service: I was impressed by the quality and quantity of food. Breakfast had an assortment of cereals, yoghurts, breads , rolls and a toaster if required. There were cold meats, fish, bacon, sausage, scrambled, boiled eggs and hash brown potato cakes. On a separate table there were assorted fruit juices. The restaurant had tables of 2/4/6 and one table of eight.

Lunch was served buffet style with a menu also on some days. There were many salads along with sandwiches, desserts and a soup. Each night for diner there was a selection of meat, fish or vegetarian option. A small table was set with plates of assorted cheeses and olives. The wine was constantly flowing with beer as an option.  If you wanted soft drinks they were charged to your cabin.

The service was very good with smiles and enthusiasm.

With many different local items on the menu I did hear one passenger make the comment that she did not think the food was good because it was “foreign” I think she may have thought that everyone in Europe should speak English!

Gratuities: The suggested gratuities are 10 euros per person per days for the ship staff and 5 euros per day per person per day for the tour guides. No one on board that I am aware of was not happy to make this payment.

At the time of this review Gate One operates the Amadeus Royal and the Amadeus Symphony. They both have 160 sq. ft. cabins and 4 suites of 220 sq.ft. The bathrooms are quite spacious with good water pressure in the shower. There is a hair dryer in the cabin.  The wall mounted flat screen TV has two movies each day along with CNN, BBC, SKY TV and a Danube river documentary. There are also channels for cameras at the front and the back of the ship.. The Royal has french balconies on the top deck. Both have a small pool, hairdresser and small fitness center on board.

Tours were well organized. You drop off your room key and pick up your boarding tickets for the buses. When returning from a tour there are options to make your own way back to the ship. At certain stops there are shuttle busses provided.

Tour Guides: Gate 1 is using a three guide system. This way you travel everyday with your own tour guide.  It works out well. We had a tour guide by the name of Ibi. She was very efficient, happy and fun.  She knew when to give information and when to stop. Then she would travel up and down the bus answering any questions. The guides were always available on the ship.  On our sailings there were three optional tours with a total price if pre purchased of $119 a very good value.

The last day! Gate 1 uses a very efficient and relaxing system. Color tags were provided for bags which you put outside your door. As there were many people taking 7:00 a.m. flights they departed the ship at 4:00 a.m. Breakfast was provided for them. There were a series of transfers throughout the morning. We were not allowed to purchase a cruise line transfers $17 p.p. it had to be pre booked. We ordered a cab that cost 23 euros. We were assisted to the cab with our baggage. The tour managers were on board the remind us not to forget our passports!  On many cruises on the last morning there was no one to be found to assist with bags or information.