kenav

My father-in-law is thinking of doing this cruise with his son (my brother-in-law). I don't know much about this company or their Russia river ship - the <b>MS Russ</b>. The rooms seem small - 105 sq ft. and I'm not sure there's a separate shower in the bathroom. Is it a wet room?

Here's a link: http://www.gate1travel.com/cruises/ships/ms-russ/

Anyway, any information would be helpful.

Luv2travel15

I just took a quick peek at Gate1Travel website. Says ship has been refurbished 2011. Cabins are very small but they typically are on river cruise ships. It would definitely be pretty compact in one of them; however, where it will be 2 males occupying the cabin, I am sure they will be able to handle the smallness. The bathroom will probably be small also. We did a river cruise Dec. '09 and our cabin was small (larger than 105 sf) but we were able to fit all our luggage in the cabin and they had lots of built-in shelves over the beds. Bathroom was really small but we made do w/ that also.

I would do a comparison of several river cruise lines and see how large the cabins are, what is included for the cost of the cruise (sightseeing tours, wine/beer at dinner, etc.). There are a lot of newer ships on the market now so you may find larger cabins also.

There are a couple of things to be aware of w/ river cruising. One is the water level. If there has been a lot of rain then the water levels will be high and the ships are unable to transit parts of the river. If this happens they have to use busses to transport passengers from one place to another. However, I am not certain of a Russian river cruise and if this would be a problem. We did a Danube cruise and didn't encounter this. I am only giving you the scenarios of what I read on the Cruise Critic Boards, these are not my own opinions.

I have read mixed reviews about Gate 1 travel. I checked them out myself and they do not offer as many inclusions in their cruises as other river cruise companies. By this I mean they may offer limited sightseeing tours through the cruise line, you will end up paying extra for optional tours. This can add up to more money than if you find a company w/ tours included. Viking and Uniworld may offer more options and they should check these companies out also.

I would suggest that you go to: www.cruisecritic.com and look at the river cruise boards. If you are not familiar w/ that site, when you get on it, look for the Boards category at the top left side, click that open, then scroll down and look for Special Interest cruising, then river and canal cruising. You will find a lot of suggestions, reviews of cruise lines, etc. there. This is what I did when researching our river cruise. You can post on the boards but have to register to do so; otherwise, you can just look at the posts.

Let us know how you make out as I would love to do a Russian cruise. We loved our first river cruise and can't wait to do another one. It is totally different from ocean cruise but we loved the intimate atmosphere of the ship, the friendliness of our fellow passengers, etc. Dining is open seating and you sit wherever there is room at a table. Some people do not like this but we did because we had an opportunity to sit and enjoy conversation with many different types of people. Good luck.

May

kenav

I looked this up on cruisecritic but there is no information.

My husband and I are taking a Viking River Cruise to Russia in October. But the Gate 1 is the one my father-in-law is looking at. Viking is quite a bit more expensive.

mrscpa10

Only used Gate 1 once for a trip to Spain. It is not first class, but all of their arrangements were flawless. They booked our flight, hotel room (equal to a Holiday Inn, but older}. We booked our sightseeing at the hotel-big mistake. Gate 1 was way cheaper for the same exact trip-dollar to euro conversion and a cut for the hotel. If you do not need fancy rooms, but want value, Gate 1 is pretty good.

qwovadis

Gate 1 has a questioable rep fake touts on the boards frquently including Peru here

Cheap rotgut econo middleman with low qality tours cruises usually.

Cruisecritic.com for reviews providers of quality

Affordabletours.com great comp site

1965

We used Gate One for 2 week Greece and Turkey. First week was bus tour of mainland. Excellent guide, accomodations, no complaints. 2nd week was cruise of the islands on Aquamarine, a Greek cruise ship. Pretty bad. So, there are good and bad with Gate One. Guess that can be true of all companies. We also want to do a riverboat cruise in Russia, so am interested in the responses here.

kenav

1965 - What was bad about the cruise?

Jim_Tardio

We have River Cruised with both Gate One and Viking. The Gate One cruise was through Germany visiting the Christmas Markets, The Viking was also at Christmas time.

Viking has slightly nicer accommodations, but Gate One was OK. Tours were equal in my opinion. We, too, are looking at the Gate One Russian Cruise for 2012. It's a fraction of the cost of the Viking cruise, yet offers pretty much the same itinerary.

If you do decide to go with Gate One, please report back. There's not much information about this particular cruise.

kenav

I think my concern about this cruise for my father-in-law and brother-in-law is that the rooms seems very small - 105 sq ft. All of them. Ad there doesn't seem to be a separate stall shower in the bathroom. In the diagram I don't see any. I think I read somewhere that the shower head is over the sink.

<b>For those who have gone through Gate 1 for their cruises - was that your experience with their ships? </b>

I think there is a difference between the ships they use for Western European river cruises vs. Russia.

There is a caveat on their web site:

"As Russian river cruise and tourism industries are relatively young, you will certainly find the physical conditions there are lesser when compared to those of Western Europe. Ships are recently renovated 20-30 year-old vessels. You will find that cleanliness and onboard services are up-to-date."

Gate 1 does not own the ship/boats - they just sell you the tour.

Jim_Tardio

I found a positive review here:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic...st_Russia.html

1965

Kenav-The service was bad at all meals, both Lido and MDR. There were 7 of us seated together at dinner. Had 3 menus between us. On lido for buffet there was no water available and often the iced tea dispenser was empty.Was told to go to bar and ask for a glass of water. Was given a juice sized glass. It was spring break so were some high school groups. The bar staff served them alcohol until bar closing w/o asking for ID's. The shore excursions were disorganized. During the lunch times several groups played cards in the eating area and there were often no tables to eat at. There was an area where they could go for cards and games during that time, but the staff would not ask them to move just until lunch was over. Many diners had to place their trays on a table's edge and eat standing up. Staff was mostly not friendly. We've cruised with Carnival, Princess, Orient Lines,Grand Circle,and have land toured with Trafalgar, and have never had any complaint with any other travel company. We're not at all hard to please.

Jim_Tardio

1965....which crusie was this on? Was it the Russian Cruise with Gate One, or a different gate One cruise?

Thanks for the info.

1965

Jim_Tardio-It was a 2 week Greece and Turkey land tour w/ cruise. The first week was the land portion, and it was just about flawless. The 2nd week was the cruise portion. We still very much enjoyed the whole trip, and didn't let the disappointment in the cruise ship and staff spoil it for us. I give Gate One credit for booking a very good tour guide, accomodations, transportation for the land portion. This was 3 years ago, so things may have improved in their cruise bookings.We hope to take a Russian riverboat cruise in a year or two.

kenav

quovadis - How do you know that "Gate 1 has a questionable rep fake touts on the boards frquently including Peru here"?

dwr437

We just completed a St. Petersberg to Moscow river cruise with Gate 1 June 21st. While the trip wasn't First Class, it was certainly worth the money.
Yes, the room was small. Yes, the shower head is above the sink. But these are minor inconveniences in my view.
The food was pretty good, especially if you like cucumbers. lol. We had assigned seating at lunch and dinner. Breakfast was buffet. (Get there early -- it gets crowded) The service was good but don't expect much in the way of English being spoken. But that's part of the fun of travel, right?
We traveled with 2 other boats most of the time so there were plenty of people hitting any stops. We were very well organized into English language groups.
About the boats. They were the same size. Maybe the rooms were larger but I doubt it.
I recommend the trip with Gate 1. The price was so much better, the tours were well done, the service was good, the food was acceptable.

dwr437

1965

dwr437-May we ask what the cost was? Small inconveniences are a good trade for a good trip and at a good price.

kenav

Thanks dwr437 - I will pass this information on to my father-in-law.

kenav

Room size on Gat 1 boat - 105 sq. ft. for a double. Room size on the Viking River boats - at least 160 sq. ft for a double. So there IS a difference in room size.

dwr437

1965 Non-stop Singapore Air from Houston to Moscow, domestic flight to St Petersberg, travel insurance, cruise, transfers and taxes came to just over $6,000 for two people. Does not include on-board tips.

kenav

Our Viking River cruise price -

Cruise: $1999 pp = $4,000
Flight NY - Moscow (non-stop); St. Pete - NY: $597 pp = $1200
Trip Insurance = $365
Visa = (If going through a company) $340. Much less on your own.

Transfers to ship/airport - if you do this through the cruise company = $320 for 2 people both ways. If you get your airfare through Viking the transfers are free. We didn't, though. Not sure if we're taking their transfers both ways.

$6250 approx, total. This does not include anything we may do on our own but does include all the meals, wine with meals, taxes and tours that come with the cruise.