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Reviews 358
Ed Photo
Jun 07,2023Had to log out of Gate 1 twice because of pop-up ads. Very unprofessional.
MCHART
Jun 06,2023We've done 4 Gate 1 trips in the past and this recent trip to Azores was our first independent one. Our tour guides, Phillip and Hugo were FANTASTIC, making the optional trip experiences amazing. We have always given Gate 1 a 5 star rating, but this time it seems the hotel and hotel breakfasts were just ok... below the usual standards for our previous Gate 1 trips. Guess we should have upgraded.
Annette Prather
Jun 04,2023We just returned from a 12 day Morocco trip. Our first and definetley not the last. The hotels were all clean and in good locations. Loved the medinas and the highlight was the Camel ride in the Sahara. We extended our stay in Casablanca for 2 nights, and our guide Mohamad, verified the driver would pick us up at 4 am, and asked the hotel have a to go breakfast for us.. beyond the customer service experience. Our flights luckily were all fine, so that is the luck of the draw these days.. We enjoyed exploring a lot of places in morocco. Yes the bus rides can be long, but the stops were frequent, and prearrange stops with good restrooms. Always had plenty of water available on the bus. Our trip included folks who had been on more that 10 gate one trips, so that was good to know since our first. So next year we are planning another trip.
Sandra Green
Jun 03,2023Just completed the 11 day Essential South Africa tour. I had decided that I would never book with Gate 1 again before I left for the trip. This was due to the number of times that I and the others in my group made phone calls regarding our reservation. We got agents who didn’t follow through, did not return calls, provided incorrect information and a manager who told me we should have gone through a travel agent. The agent was very accommodating when we booked. Having questions and looking for answers, feeling you were a problem was awful. Colleen our tour guide was excellent. She took excellent care of us and only because of her, I would give Gate 1 another chance. Patience is a virtue, and it doesn’t stop when you get a customer’s money. Sandra Green
Lynette Travelyn Howlett
Jun 02,2023Edit: 6/15 I received my air fare from Arch Insurance. The process was unnecessarily convoluted. Here I am with a potential illness, and I am unable to talk directly to anyone, at either company. This would have been fine if the receptionist or travel agent, had asked the 'back office' the correct questions. They come back with an answer to a question you didn't ask. So you go round and round. Bits and pieces of money are sent with no explanation. I felt unheard, and that they were unconcerned about me. Summary. All is pretty well , fiscally, still looking for $121.57. I will travel with gate 1 again, because the guides nd managers are wonderful and extremely knowledgeable about their culture history etc. I will look into other travel insurance companies and consider booking my own flights. As long as you go on trip as planned all is good. ORIGINAL: I have been traveling with gate 1 off and on for many years. I usually get the insurance for most trips. In April we would due to go to Fiji. I was diagnosed with the heart condition And told not to fly travel or exert myself in anyway until after I was cleared by my doctor. I had to cancel the trip of course so I filed an insurance claim the trip was approximately $1,500 per person. We canceled it Under the 30 day mark so gate 1 would only give us 10% of our money back. However, Arch insurance Only gave us $475 back. The indicated Gate one would refund the rest. Odd, bot ok. 6/2/23 I called gate 1 and advised them of conversations with Arch..they said no, call arch and ask if they refund airfare in their policy. They were closed, so I called American Airlines, to find out that $776 had been credited back to GATE 1??!!? The cost of the airfare was 776. Why did Gate One take my air credit and why did arch travel insurance send me $475+/- and CLOSE MY CASE? Gate one has my and traveling partners airfare, and I paid $149 for Arch insurance travel policy through Gate one, only to get $475 back from Arch in Total??? Now I have to call again and find out who has the .money.
Robert Morris Jr
May 31,2023I would like to say for most of this trip to Brazil and Argentina it was amazing but there were some hiccups,sometimes it seems as if we were push for time to leave, I miss something i would like to have seen. Seeing the city of Rio deJaneiro from the statue of Christ The Remeemer and take pictures was a very exciting moment. The Iguazu Falls was a fall to remember I though Niagara Falls was a exciting Fall this is something else. I enjoy the Tradition Gaucho Party the ranch was very nice place the entertainment was, I didn't get to see the museum, i did go to the general store. Here one problem i had at the ranch i told the guide that i did eat farm animal but i did eat fish so I though I would get a fish dinner, even though there were farmers, it has always been notice that there were stream, ponds, creeks and rivers near the farms that had fish in them. Watching them do the Samba and Tango was a a delightful experience. In all it was an enjoyable trip.
Robin Reeves
May 30,2023European River Cruise on Monarch Queen from Amsterdam to Budapest. Queen offered great accommodations from cabins, reception, lounges, dining room to sundeck. Staff was professional and went above and beyond, always pleasant, always smiling. Our cruise director Soma and activities director Danielle were the best ever. Booking was easy, the only negative was when we asked to change cabins in the same category I was put on hold a very long time, could see on line the cabin was changed, but still kept on hold over a half hour to confirm. Airfare and travel insurance is ALWAYS something we book separate from any travel company. This seems to be the biggest issue travelers have so it's best to book it yourself so you have control. We will definitely use Gate 1 Travel again....but book our own airfare and insurance.
Anne Thorward
May 30,2023France April 27 - May 9. We have had several Gale One tours that were Great, but not this one. Basically the accommodations and land travel were not acceptable. Sights were wonderful. First, the Bus was too small for such a long trip. When sitting, my knees hit back of seat in front of me. No space for legs or anything else. Very cramped. Could not use pouch on back of seat in front of me. Overhead bin was very tiny. Secondly, Most Hotels, especially Mercure hotel chain were terrible. No air or windows in the rooms. Asked for fan but not always available. Hotel in Bordeaux was the worst. 1 of 2 elevators not working; very hot in room; no relief in sight; meals too sparse. The only decent hotel was in Lourdes where we could open the window. We understand that air-conditioning is infrequent in Europe, but for the price we pay, Gate One can find better places to stay and still be in center of cities. Tour guide was very nice but seemed uninformed. Gate One tour guides for Greece, Morocco and Sicily were tremendous comparably. Some of her facts about castles etc. differ from most tour books. She needs to use a script as her English is too halted for being a guide. She seemed to often pause mid-sentence thinking for the next word. She frequently asked tourists for the correct word to use. Poor idea to show two 50-year-old irrelevant movies in the bus. Could not see subtitles unless sitting in first 2-3 rows near the screens. We were looking for more history about the country, artists, music, Resistance movement during WWII, French influence around the world, why Paris selected for so many international treaties, etc. Several lunch rest stops were at gas stations. We were captive for expensive, lousy food. It would have been nice to know this a day or two in advance so that we could purchase food elsewhere & bring it with us on those days. In closing, we like Gate One generally and have several friends who used them per our recommendation. Not sure I would suggest it again. Thank you for your opportunity to reply here.
sandra finn
May 29,2023I booked with Gate1 because I had heard good things but my reservation is a mess and I cannot reach anyone who can help - will not transfer me to a supervisor - instead putting me in hold and coming back w incorrect info. They tell me it will be at least 48 hours to reach a supervisor. In meantime I am fully paid but cannot get my flights ticketed and phone agents don’t know why. Pleased to hear back from Gate1 a couple of days after posting this - my booking has been corrected - hoping that I can now relax and enjoy the trip.
W Systems
May 23,2023Had a bad experience with a cancellation but Gate 1 took care of everything. Looking forward to a future trips.
Cindy L
May 23,2023The actual tour itself and guide were great. Only recommendation is make the farewell dinner a private dinner and not a horrible show/banquet food court experience with 400 other people. My 2 star rating comes because Gate1 booked and gave us an imaginary connecting flight, confirmation number and booking number (we made it to America but were stranding at connecting airport due to fake flight). Hours on hold with Gate1 agent trying to get a flight and hours trying to find our bags that the airport didn't know what to do with. No sympathy from Gate1 (all the time on hold was due to Gate1 taking their time to find a flight that would suit their pockets better than our comfort/waiting time to get on a real flight home). Last flight out is what we ended up with because the other flights they couldn't book. Real class act. Next time how about you care about your patrons more than your pocket. You would of made more money from us using Gate1 again then what you saved putting us on the cheapest flight for Gate1 to buy. People/Businesses make mistakes, how they handle their mistakes speaks volumes.
Deborah Gatzke
May 21,2023We have booked 8 or 9 trips with Gate1Travel and loved them all!! We always purchase travel insurance and never needed it until our last trip. I got COVID on Day 6 of a 16-day trip to Ireland and Scotland despite being double-vaccinated and double-boosted). It was a nightmare to get reimbursed!!!! So, when we booked our next trip, we decided NOT to purchase travel insurance. Bad decision I guess. We are to leave for a 10-day trip to National Parks on May 30. We were shocked when my husband was diagnosed with lung cancer a couple of weeks ago. He had surgery to remove half of his left lung. He is recovering fine BUT the doctor does not want him to fly for 4 weeks (change in altitude is not good for a healing lung). I called Gate1Travel to reschedule and they said no because I did not have travel insurance. We will lose 90% of what we paid. I asked if I could take someone else and was told NO. Why not? The trip and side trips have all been paid in full! Has this happened to anyone else? What should we do?
VELMA
May 20,2023First trip with Gate 1 and we were not disappointed! It lived up to everything our friends told us! From the ease of making the reservation to getting back home! We took a 12 day trip to Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia and loved every minute! Well organized, well paced and excellent hotels! Lots of inclusion, with centrally located hotels! Our tour manager, Ivona and driver Milan were the best! Ivona was so warm, kind and funny! What a hoot! An amazing ability to keep 40 people working harmoniously together for 12 days is a testament to her! The meals were wonderful, especially the farewell dinner! We have since booked two more Gate 1 trips since returning a week ago!
Winston Hagborg
May 20,2023A poor customer service experience with Gate 1. My wife and I have been on 8 different Gate 1 trips over the past 20 years that went smoothly. We were to travel for our 10 day tour of Sicily on April 17. On that morning we received an email that our United Airlines plane from Newark to Zurich was canceled. We called Gate 1 and Tina Peterson arrange an alternative earlier flight from JFK, but our return flight would be to Newark. She explained that when we arrived at JFK, to tell United/Swiss Air to book us on their shuttle. When we got to JFK after talking to numerous people, we discovered their was no shuttle. Over the next several days talking with our tour guide, Ahmet and finally Randi at Gate 1, we were told that this was our problem. Randi refused to let us talk to her supervisor. They were unwilling to solve a problem they created. This took many hours, numerous phone calls and intense aggravation, impacting what should have been a pleasant trip. Since Tina told us the wrong information, we think Gate 1 should fix the problem they created. They could have changed our return flight to land at JFK, or at least offered to pay for the $150. cab ride. We will never travel with them again, they can’t be trusted when things go wrong. They are losing a loyal customer for the sake of $150.
Gail
May 12,2023Our tour guide Christi was very personable as well as being very knowledgeable about our stops along the way. She made this whirlwind tour comfortable and enjoyable. Our driver Steve was a steely eyed driver around some pretty tight hairpin switchbacks. We had a wonderful trip experience due to these two wonderful people.
John Sikkink
May 12,2023They canceled our trip to Peru. We bought insurance and didn't get our flight money or insurance back. Kept getting the run around from Gate one and jet blue. They kept blaming each other. Stay away from these companies they will stick it to you. Our group lost alot of money.
Ellen Connally
May 06,2023I just returned from the 7 Day Galapagos Express trip with Gate 1. In a nutshell, this trip kicked my senior citizen butt. It is very fast paced with a lot of walking. I walked more than 5 miles several times. The hiking is for VERY fit and experienced hikers on volcanic rock and uneven stones. The hotel in Baltra was nice but great for mountain goats. There were no elevators and some rooms were up three and four flights of curving stairs. Food and prices were decent. My son, a former Marine, had to rescue two people from drowning when the guide took them snorkeling. These were people with little or no experience in deep water and I questioned why the guide even allowed them to go. There is a lot of getting on and off small boats. I would recommend anyone over 60 or so to see the sights of the Galapagos on the Discovery Channel. I went in the first week in May and the weather was very hot, which made the walking even more tiring. The first day in Baltra we got off the flight and started our hike. We had been up since 4:00 am and the hike lasted until 5 or 6 so everyone was really tired. It's going to take me several days to recover from this trip.
Eileen Shaloum
May 06,2023We just got back from the Gate 1 Ecuador, Andes, Amazon tour ( April 25-April 31, 2023) with our fabulous tour manager Daniel Solano. We were on a Classic Tour but with 20 guests it felt more personal. Daniel took care of our group in the most professional way from start to finish. He called us "family" and we felt like family. He was knowledgeable, charismatic, kind, funny, helpful, considerate- all the very things you hope for in a tour manager. It was because of him, we believe, that our group got along so well and had such a great experience. This was our first Gate 1 trip and now know it will be the first of many more to come. We loved the places and experiences from Quito through the Andes and Amazon Rain Forest. Ecuador is a beautiful and unique country. We have traveled with other companies and on our own and this trip rates 5 stars.
Susan Altman
May 01,2023We are a group of four women who wanted to book a 9-day Classic National Parks Tour with Gate 1. We decided on one date to depart and another for a backup. We called late Thursday (4/20/23) evening, no one answered. We called again Friday (4/21/23) at 9:00 a.m. Three of us already had accounts. One one of us did not. The agent had to setup this account twice, as he lost the first one. We also got disconnected from Gate 1 and they called us back. He also read info to us which took up more time. After 45 minutes, I just had to give him my credit card number. When I gave him my info, the agent stated there is only room for two on the bus, not four. He then wanted to know if the two people were willing to tour without the other two. This entire experience was a nightmare! In addition, there wasn't one supervisor available that I could speak to. A supervisor called me three days later saying the agent followed the correct protocol. It appears customer service is non-existent at Gate 1. They are not the only game in town. I will be using other companies for my future trips. There replies are just computer generated. It appears like they are reaching out to customers who are dissatisfied. But, as usual, Gate 1 does nothing to rectify any complaint. How many of you have heard from them since your negative review?
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VS
Jun 07,2023In general, we liked our "9 Days Classic Alaska" tour, but going to Alaska we, I'm sure like many others, were expecting to see the major attraction, a glacier. And it was planned but didn't happen due to the weather. Yes, the captain was right to turn the ship because of the storm, but Gate One should have planned it better and made another attempt to show a glacier on the next day if the first one fails, instead, we had a half-day bus ride to the next city and half day was just waisted. Our Tour Director, accommodations, and pretty much everything else was great, but not seeing one of the miracles of the world, which pretty much was the purpose of our trip to Alaska was a HUGE disappointment.