Jim_Tardio

I'm considering booking a Christmas cruise on the Danube from Nurnberg to Vienna. Gate 1 Travel has a great deal if you book by Aug 31.

Has anyone been on this cruise...Or has anyone dealt with Gate 1.

Thanks for any information.

LCBoniti

I have not taken this cruise but I did use Gate 1 for airfare/hotel for our trip to Italy. The base price hotels they offered were in not so good areas so we upgraded. We were happy with both the hotels and the overall price as it was a good deal at that time.

I would not personally take any additional tours they offer but would make your own arrangements for those. Theirs are pre-packaged and a little over-priced for what you get, IMHO.

Their follow-up customer service (specifically when the Florence airport was closed necessitating our departure from Pisa) left a lot to be desired as they did not give us the information on a timely basis and left us scrambling to make last-minute decisions. Of course, this actually worked out for our benefit because we ended up extending our trip an extra night in Pisa in order to make an early morning flight out.

So, bottom-line, I would use them for airfare/hotel after checking on tripadvisor.com regarding their hotel offers.

Hope this helps. At least it bumps your question to the top for others to see it.

Jim_Tardio

Thanks for the info...LC.

Suspaul

We used Gate 1 for a trip to Greece and Turkey in 03 and probably would not use them again, poor customer service. However, I did a solo Christmas Market cruise in late Nov. 2006, starting in Vienna and ending in Nurnberg with Grand Circle Travel, it was wonderful. The GCT does cater to an older crowd but most of the people were active, the accomodations were fantastic, great food and attentive staff, overall it rated a 10 for me. As a matter of fact, my husband and I are doing a river cruise in France with GCT leaving 12/28-1/5/08 and looking forward to it. Just a suggestion.

By the way, the Christmas markets are lots of fun.
Susan

Underhill

I also travelled with Grand Circle and was extremely happy with everything, including the service.

Jim_Tardio

Most of the Christmas cruises seem to follow this same route, regardless of what company is offering it.

This particular cruise is on the MS Bolero, which was built in 2004...so at least it's a newer vessel.

I've booked it because it fits in with the days I need to travel. Hopefully, all will be well.