We travelled with a Gate 1 arranged river cruise on the Amadeus Royal on the Danube from Nuerenberg to Budapest this year. Gate one arranged cruises are cheaper than others, and there is a reason for it. The ships they use (from Lueftner, in our case) are older, in need of modernization, not as attractive an interior, old carpet, tired looking cabins, almost no space for your clothes, etc. This was our first Gate one arranged trip and our last. We will not travel with them again...and we cruise several times a year.

For example, the promised internet worked intermittently, more often not. It never worked when underway, and frequently didn't work even in port. No excuse for that.

Be wary of the cabin you get! The room we booked was a mid category, but we were shortchanged. The room itself was smaller than the others in the same category and the window was 25% smaller than others in the same category. When we complained to the Gate 1representatives on board, they shrugged their shoulders and told us to contact our travel agent. When we complained to the Lueftner front desk, they said that it wasn't their problem, it was a Gate 1 issue. After NUMEROUS letters, Gate 1 offered us $50 total refund, after paying more than $6000! We wanted the $500 upgrade fee we had paid to be returned, since we didn't have a truly upgraded cabin. If we had known what we were getting, we would have booked alternate dates, or in retrospect, with a different company. But they were not honest with us from the beginning with their description of the cabin. Read more