Leaving our dock in Antwerp, we set sail for Dordrecht in the Netherlands. The Monarch Queen stopped along the way so passengers on the optional Delta Works tour could disembark. We arrived in Dordrecht about noon on a rainy, grey day. But we still had an awesome time! Optional Delt Works Tour The tour…
Don’t Skip Ghent!
A Surprise Docking Initially, we were to leave Antwerp and sail to Ghent. However, for whatever reason, we were notified early on in Antwerp that we would remain docked there for a second day. On our second day, you could explore more of Antwerp on your own, be bused to Ghent, or enjoy…
Cruising to Antwerp
Leaving Amsterdam on the MS Monarch Queen, we cruised to our first destination, Antwerp, Belgium, which offered a mix of industrial and beautiful countryside, and we loved the views. We arrived at the Cruise Ponton South docking location and, by about 9:15 AM, began a walking tour, followed by a good amount of free…
Tulip Time on the MS Monarch Queen
If you’ve followed our adventures for any length of time, you’ll know this is our second European River Cruise with Gate 1 Travel. December of ’24, we did a German Christmas Market River Cruise sailing from Regensburg to Frankfurt. Ironically, this cruise was also on the beautiful Monarch Queen. When we booked, we tried to…
Exploring Amsterdam – TWICE!
Amsterdam is one of our favorite cities. So, coming in a few days early for our Tulip Time cruise was okay by us, and as we mentioned, the Hotel Jakarta Amsterdam was a great home base. Having explored the city and many of the major attractions on previous visits, we took a very…
Hotel Jakarta Amsterdam by WestCord
The Hotel Jakarta was the Amsterdam hotel included in our Gate 1 Travel Tulip Time Cruise package. We often price-shop before booking an early-arrival hotel. Sometimes we find that extending at the group hotel can be oddly more expensive, and others it’s pretty close. However, as over 65 travelers, we have to look beyond the…
It’s Tulip Time!
This past April, we took a “Tulip Time” River Cruise. It was one of the things that Mark really wanted to do, and we both really enjoyed our time in Amsterdam and the Netherlands in general. There are always several things to consider when booking, from pre- and post-trips to peak-season pricing and,…
Gate 1 Travel Christmas Market Cruise Wrap Up
So we have finally come to the end of our blog series for our December 2024 river cruise. (Yes, we’re very behind, but there’s a lot to share!) So it’s time to wrap up our experience. We’ll give you the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of our Gate 1 Travel 11-day German Christmas Markets…
Don’t Hop On In Frankfurt!
After our incredible Farewell dinner, we departed for our final destination, Frankfurt! We won’t lie, by this point in the trip, we were tired of being cold and usually wet. Thankfully, we had a nice day and a little sunshine. We Skipped The Walking Tour We arrived a bit ahead of our schedule,…
Wertheim in the Rain
Unfortunately, when we arrived in our next port, Wertheim, it was cold, grey, and rainy. Did we mention that, as two guys over 60 who retired in the Yucatan, where the average daily temperature is 79–82°F, cold and rain are not fun for us? Our Walking Tour Our riverboat docked near the edge of…