Finally took a European river cruise

 Gate 1-Monarch Queen River Cruise Experience (After 1.5 Days) Tuesday, October 28, 2024

So far, I’m thoroughly enjoying my experience aboard the Monarch Queen on this Danube River cruise. The staff is incredibly gracious, accommodating, and friendly—everyone offers a warm greeting in passing. Last night, we met the management team and captain; as each person introduced themselves, we learned where they were from and how many Gate1 trips they had taken.

I chose a table with five other travelers for dinner, which gave me a perfect view of the illuminated Parliament building along the Danube. The meal exceeded my expectations: we were treated to both hot and cold appetizers, soup, and then our choice of entrée. I ordered halibut with asparagus and potatoes, beautifully presented and perfectly portioned. Red and white wine were offered with dinner. Dessert was a delicate chocolate lava cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, complemented by a lovely cheese and fruit station where a staff member artistically arranged your selections.

Tea, coffee, juice, and water are available 24/7, along with cookies and fresh fruit. Free internet access is available throughout the cruise, and each guest receives a unique password.

There is no security boarding when boarding or disembarking. The boats dock in town centers.

Breakfast is a real treat, with a wide variety of beautifully presented choices, including made-to-order omelets, pastries, smoked salmon with capers, meats, fruits, cereals, vegetables, and assorted fruit juices.

Our staterooms are well-appointed, with spacious bathrooms. We receive two bottles of water daily in the room, and there are refillable water stations throughout the ship. We must remember to recharge our audio device each night for our tours.

The passenger demographic is largely couples aged 60 to 80, primarily from the USA, with a few from Canada. Surprisingly, I expected to see more European and Asian travelers, but most passengers are American, with several Asian American guests. There are a few solo travelers on board.

The staff hail mostly from Central Europe. The captain is from Slovakia, the hotel director and cruise director are from Hungary, and the activities director is from Brazil, currently living in the Canary Islands and fluent in five languages.

Gate1, it seems, does little advertising. I’ve received their brochures for over a decade and finally decided to book this cruise. After boarding, I spent some time on the sundeck getting to know fellow travelers, many of whom joined the pre-cruise Budapest extension. I’ve planned a post-cruise extension in Prague. Conversations at dinner have been lively, with fellow passengers sharing stories about their travels, from California to Romania and the Czech Republic. There’s a strong sense of camaraderie encouraged by the staff, and guests are encouraged to mingle and build new friendships.

The ship has a small gym, a library, morning yoga sessions, and board games, along with comfortable lounges for watching the scenery go by, both indoors and outdoors. Umbrellas for rainy days are available near the exits—a thoughtful touch!

Today, we took taking a three-hour guided tour. Although I had seen much of the area before, I was looking forward to visiting Heroes’ Square and City Park, two places I had not yet explored.

We returned to the ship for lunch where I finally had some delicious Hungarian goulash and strolled around the area to say my goodbyes to beautiful Budapest. 

After taking too long loops on the hop on hop off bus, a walking tour of pest, a walking tour of Buddha, a walking tour of the Jewish quarter, all of my independent exploration, my three hour plus long visit to The House of Terror Museum that is a powerful reminder of the horrors that individuals endured under fascist and communist regimes,

navigating the city via Metro, having studied the city maps at home, and the ship tour, I might be ready to conduct a few guided tours of Budapest!! 

At 6:45, our cruise Director gave a presentation on tomorrow’s visit of Bratislava in Slovakia. Dinner was wonderful again and I sat with different dinner mates.

I participated in tonight‘s dance game show and danced all the popular line dances until I was sweating with excitement.

The sail-away from Budapest was magnificent, with stunning views of historic buildings and monuments along both sides of the Danube. Until we meet again, Budapest!

Tomorrow: Bratislava in Slovakia.

PS. Please forgive any typos— I will correct this post when I return home.