Danube River Cruise by Mickey Scalera (October 2016)

I was invited to do a Danube River Cruise on the Monarch Empress, a brand new Gate 1 vessel.

Truthfully, my expectations were not high because it was Gate I , but I was pleasantly surprised.

 

The Empress went into service in March of this year. The maximum capacity is 144 passengers, the vessel has 72

spacious outside cabins, 58 with a French Balcony. The bathrooms were a good size w/a large walk-in shower.

 

The food was very good; breakfast was a buffet, lunch and dinner were a la carte w/an optional buffet. Dinner

consisted of 4 or 5 courses, not huge courses, just enough to fill you comfortably. The servers were always willing

to accommodate you w/an add’l entrée should you want to sample something else.

 

It was smooth sailing all the way. The journey took us thru 16 locks, which was very interesting to experience.

We cruised from Regensburg, Germany to Budapest, Hungary, stopping at the ports of Passau,  Melk  and Vienna in Austria, and Bratislava in Slovakia.

 

Daily shore excursions were we conducted by conducted by very knowledgeable, English speaking guides. After the tours we were given ample time to explore the cities on our own.

 

The only city we could not access by foot from the vessel was Vienna. It was a good 20 minute ride from the river to the downtown area. I did find that disappointing.

 

We did experience high water levels at points, prompting the vessel to depart earlier than scheduled from one port. Fortunately it was not high enough to force us to do a cruise/bus tour as others have been had to do!

 

One thing I was not aware of before this cruise was the rafting of vessels. The rivers are so saturated w/vessels that they line them up very closely and passengers pass thru the other vessels lobbies to get to shore. The negative is the loss of light and privacy. You could reach out from your balcony and touch the vessel next to you.

 

All in all, it was a great trip! From feasting on bratwurst and beer in Germany’s oldest restaurant, to enjoying a concert featuring the world’s largest church organ (17,774 pipes!) to a classical Viennese concert,  to strolling along the cobblestone streets of beautiful Bratislava, ending in the fascinating city of  Budapest; it was a wonderful experience!