I had not traveled with a tour before and I had heard horror stories from friends and family about tours they had been on. I was very happy with our tour and accommodations. We saw so many wonderful things. The local guides were great. The bus drivers were great. She was amazing and handled all the different personalities of our group in a professional way. She is amazing. My one issue was the shopping. While I wanted to shop and did indeed purchase an expensive jade bracelet and pearls, I did feel the sales people in the jade store and pearl store were a little too aggressive. As a person from California I found it disturbing to be constantly followed in a store by a sales person and called "lady, lady". But, I still bought what I wanted to buy.

Everything are went well & good service.

Gate 1 travel did an outstanding job on providing a top flight tour and a very reasonable price.

We had a wonderful time and memorable experiences with our Danube River cruise, meeting new friends along the way. We get to see a lot scenic locations. Overall we did have a great time..

The tour more than met our expectations. One thing that we were not happy about is that they assigned us to a different tour director during the trip. We booked the 2 day pre-cruise option in Amsterdam and the tour director there was great. When we transferred to the boat, they explained that because there were more people on the boat, it was necessary to spit the group among 3 tour directors. Unfortunately, we were assigned to a different tour director. She was not as personable or as knowledgeable as our previous director. We often found ourselves tuning into our previous director channel during the walking tours to glean the additional information that he provided. Fortunately, the other director was our tour director for the post-cruise option in Lucerne.

Tour was great, we saw and did a lot. The boat was comfortable, but on the older side.

Knowledgeable and friendly staff. Food service was plentiful and consistently good, not lavish. Wished we had more time to spend in each location, but I am sure that is similar on all cruises of this type and timeframe.

The new boat was fabulous with many amenities, conveniences, and was state of the art. The entire crew, reception staff, wait service, tour directors, kitchen staff, entertainment, cabin staff, etc., was exceptional. The food exceeded our expectations. We would not hesitate to book again with the operator.

Our group of 10 have just gotten back from the 14-day Danube river cruise tour from Prague to Budapest The trip was very nice and each one of us enjoyed it very much. The destinations are beautiful, service was good and food was good. We want to give a special thanks to our travel consultant who was very professional, detailed and friendly from the time of booking all the way until departure. Because we booked a land tour, our travel consultant helped arrange the transportation from the Prague airport to the hotel we stayed at. She also booked the trip for us from Prague to Cesky Kromlov. Every booking went smooth and excellent. This was the most memorable trip we have ever had. Plus we got a very good deal compared to other companies. Thank you to AffortableTours.com! :)

Great value for money.

I loved the Monarch Empress. It met our needs. The whole tour was great and the staff in the boat was just the best.

I relayed a message to the tour manager that we could have spent another 30 minutes or so in Melk at the Abbey as there was little or no free time.

This trip was beyond expectations. Hotel accommodations were superior, really great. Staffs attended to every needs. Monarch Express operations went beyond expectations. The dining staff was exceptional... everyone on board was very professional and courteous and helpful throughout. The Captain maneuvered the ship around tough circumstances with locks. The tour guides on ALL the city and extra tours were superior, very knowledgeable, courteous, mindful of seniors, bus etiquette, et al. The chef and food prepared was EXCELLENT, expecially the unbelievable soup creations, and all meals delivered. This was a fun and interesting trip which I will do again with GATE1.

This was our second cruise on Gate1's Monarch Empress. The crew and facilities are both very good.

I would suggest that instead of lengthy bus rides the traveler should be able to fly as an alternative.