Prague, Czech Republic
April 29, 2022
We have been so lucky with our last two trips with Gate 1 being partially filled due to the pandemic. Ecuador was a group of 14 people and Egypt was 15. The boat in Egypt held 300 passengers and there was only two tour groups for a total of around 40 with a crew of 60. Lots of room, no rush at the buffet line and we really got to know each other. So, we got to our Danube River cruise orientation on time to find a group of around 20, then 30, then 40 before stopping at 50. Our tour guide said that we will be using 2 tour buses for excursions. On the plus side only two couples appeared younger than us and the rest were not that much older. As we all introduced ourselves many were adventurous travelers which we have found to be the case with Gate 1 tours. I noticed a preference for easy to care for travel shirts, pants and lots of running shoes. Nothing high maintenance, good. For once me and my stupid foot may not be the slowest of the bunch.
During the introductions a younger couple (around 50 years old…) mentioned that they had recently been to Ecuador and we instantly bonded with each of us sharing our Ecuador stories. They were both originally from Russia and we had another connection from our 2016 trip there; we had many enjoyable meals with them throughout our trip.
Cruising the Danube 