After spending the morning exploring Keukenhof Gardens, we returned to Amsterdam and our last night on the MS Monarch Queen. It was King’s Day in the Netherlands, and Amsterdam had come alive by the time we returned. Be sure to check out King’s Day and our adventures in Amsterdam on our previous blog. Disembarkation…
After exploring Enkhuizen and the Zuiderzee Museum, our boat sailed overnight, returning to Amsterdam as our river cruise drew to a close. But before we formally disembarked the boat for the final time, we had one last activity, and for most of us, it was the reason we booked this Gate 1 Travel Tulip Time…
After we visited Dordrecht and Kinderdijk, we headed to the next port, the city of Enkhuizen. Docking in Enkhuisen We arrived in the port city of Enkhuizen. Located in the Province of North Holland, the city developed into an important fishing and trading village. The name has appeared in various spellings as early as…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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,…