Best Of
Romantic Capitals: Paris to Prague (Extra)
My other two posts about this trip were general information. For those who are interested, here's my account of my personal highlight:
One of our earliest stops was in Koblenz. I had taken some photos of the big monument at the confluence of the Moselle and Rhine Rivers. It started to rain, so I pulled my umbrella out of my pocket. A few minutes later, I attempted to take another photo, but did not have my phone. I realized that it must have dropped out of my pocket when I was busy raising my umbrella. I walked back to where I had last taken a photo and looked all around, but the phone was not there. I was resigned to the fact that I had lost the phone, but determined that I was not going to let it ruin my trip. (Really!!)
Back on the riverboat, I approached Katalin, one of the TDs, and asked for her assistance in putting the connection to the daily schedule on my iPad mini, since I no longer had my phone. She sprang into action! She was able to see where my phone was located by using an app on my iPad, and noticed that it was moving. By that time, Sofie and Kristyna had joined us. Katalin called my phone on her phone, and a man answered. Sophie got on the phone and asked whether he preferred to speak in German or English, and when he said "English," she gave the phone back to Katalin, who told him that one of the TD, Elwira, was still on land, and near him. One of the TDs called Elwira, who then called my phone, spoke to the man, and arranged to meet him. She did meet him, and retrieved my phone. I still cannot believe how fortunate I was that it all worked out so well, thanks to the dedication of the Tauck team. Katalin later gave me a lanyard for my phone -- obviously, she didn't want to have to have through that experience again!
MCD
Re: Tauck - it's time to bring back the SPAM flag!
...and delete the ones that get posted.
Re: Our Last Tauck Trip....
BKMD - Counting visits and posts is not relevant or fair. This is a public forum, people have different personalities and interests. Your sarcasm is mean.
Re: Our Last Tauck Trip....
I understand why someone would post about a negative experience, especially if they felt that their complaints were not addressed by the regular chain of management.
Re: what gifts have you received from Tauck this year?
I would like a 5% - 10% off these trips as a seasoned Tauck traveler, instead of the gifts that get stored, re-gifted or never used. Again, I am not unappreciative; just very practical.
Aegean Voyage, Athens to Istanbul, October, 2025
Just back from this splendid trip. For details refer to a very fine comprehensive review by LotusGirl, May 2025. She traveled in the opposite direction but her experiences, for the most part mirrored ours.
As per her experiences a WhatsApp group was set up by the TD’s (there were two) a few weeks before the trip. Tauck solicited our choice of itineraries where there were choices but our TD’s allowed us to change them in real time.
Athens: The Hotel Grand Bretagne was over the top. Our room was large by European standards, perhaps because we requested a bathtub through our TA. Breakfast overlooking the Acropolis was terrific. The only snafu was our visit to the Archeological Museum. This involved an hour wait in line. I don’t think Tauck could have done much about this and a few folks opted out. We visited, again, the Bernaki museum in our free time. A great museum if you love antiquities.
Windstar, Star Legend: we booked a deluxe suite and we were glad to have the extra room. We loved this ship, our first small ship and Windstar experience. The staff knew our name by day two. We enjoyed the main dining and Cuadro 44 where we dined twice (that is being replaced by an Asian themed restaurant). We dined once at Candles and they served a knockout veal chop. But our other choices were just so-so. Unlike LotusGirl we were able to transit the Corinth Canal. Even though that was our singular rainy day it was a great adventure!
Istanbul: the Hotel Intercontinental is fine. Our room was very large, had a great view of the Bosphorous, but was severely lacking in electrical receptacles and water pressure. The breakfast buffet is legendary. We dined one night in their rooftop restaurant and had a fresh fish which was off menu. One of the best meals of the trip.
Overall this was a trip we will long remember. It is very heavy in visits to archeological sites, so if that is not your thing, skip this one. You need shoes with good traction (we wore Hokas) and a walking stick helps. Marble and stone are slippery even when dry and there are many, many steps some of which are steep without adequate handrails. I would strongly discourage anyone who is mobility challenged to book this tour. We had several folks tumble, one serious fall requiring sutures.
This is a decidedly non-detailed review. Feel free to message me with any specific questions.
Edited to add: we flew Turkish Airlines, SFO to Istanbul connecting to Athens. I was concerned about a 90 minute connection. Even though the gate was quite a distance, we made it without a problem. The business class seats were very nice and the food was excellent. The business lounge at Istanbul is worth some extra time and bring an appetite.
A review 2025–Highly recommend
The last reviews I found of the Grand Alaska tour were old so I’d like to give you an updated one. First off, I heard that Tauck may be leaving its Princess partnership which I believe is an upgrade, not a negative. But if they don’t this review will work for you also. I am still on the Grand Alaska tour, returning and ending in Vancouver tomorrow August 23, 2025.
Do not hesitate to join Tauck on an Alaska or any other tour. Yes, the dollars seem higher but the value is actually there. Why? No horrible lines of people, better/faster transportation, healthier travel in a smaller group, personalized travel (almost like an individual tour), mostly all inclusive except Tour Director and Driver tips which they totally deserve!! For example, Tauck took us on a ferry from our lodge location to the cruise port. We were there by 4 pm. The masses arrived by train and bus about 5 pm. Our luggage was in our room when we got through Security and we were unpacked and having our first cocktail as we watched the others arrive. This happened in several locations.
On the cruise I’ve spent about $100 of the $150 credited to me by Tauck. Again…why? Because Tauck has two happy hours where drinks and appetizers are provided AND includes two of the specialty restaurants. If you are a huge drinker or specialty coffee or soda drinker, consider a beverage package using your $150 credit. You can even gamble in the casino with the credit.
In all, I’ve pulled my credit card or cash out only a few times. On shore for souvenirs and to tip really really good tour guides.
Ali M. is our guide and works nonstop to make our travel stress-free. Hard to do with 39 discerning, diverse travelers. Ali is one of the reasons our group has travelers who have been on 5 to 14 Tauck trips. I have another planned already.
Lastly, my point of this review is to ask you NOT to look at just the dollar difference on a trip. Closely consider the comfort, included activities and expertise behind the company with whom you are traveling.
Thanks for listening…I’m off to enjoy another Tauck happy hour along with my great fellow Tauck travelers! Until my next trip….
Video Compilation of our TAUCK Italy Tour - May 2025!
I wanted to share our TAUCK Tour of Italy that we did this past May 2025! Please click on the link to view a compilation video of our journey. We toured Venice, Florence, Tuscany, and Rome for our 20th Anniversary. It was an unforgettable experience that we will never forget!
https://youtu.be/LGpLbUTqJQ8
Amorie
A Week In...Spain - trip report
I had initially booked this tour for May 2024 but got cold feet when I kept hearing it called "A Week in...Pain" --- that certainly caused some concern. But the dates in early Sept. 2025 worked out well so we went ahead with our plans for the 1st week in September. Well, we were wonderfully surprised. It was actually one of our top 2 Tauck trips. Yes, the itinerary was ambitious, but we thought well planned and wouldn't have missed a thing!
Our Tour Director was Susana Olivares who couldn't have been more welcoming, delightful or well-organized. She was always pleasant and hosted her home country with knowledge and ease. Each of the four hotels we stayed out were fabulous --- and this can be one area of concern for me as I've not been happy with some past hotels/hotel rooms in the past. But all four hotels were top notch. Our favorite hotel was in Seville (Hotel Alfonso XIII) and I must say I'm missing my breakfast next to the lovely gurgling fountain in the courtyard surrounded by mini orange tree plants. Seville was also my favorite stop along the way. We also greatly enjoyed the Alhambra Palace Hotel in Granada and will never forget exploring the Alhambra the next morning.
Madrid and Barcelona were important stops as well, but they are large cities so you won't be too surprised that I didn't find them as charming as the smaller stops between the two. Our bus driver was Felipe who was also fantastic and pleasant throughout the journey.
I am a foodie and was delighted to find Spanish food to be quite tasty. Oh yes, and I should also mention that we travelled with a delightful group of folks. No complainers, no braggarts, just a good group of travelling companions.
I was just about to give up on group travel, but this trip has renewed my faith and then some. Yes, it is a busy trip, but we wouldn't have wanted to miss any of the stops along the way. We learned so much about Spain, Spanish history and Spanish culture. Well done to Tauck!
A few additional suggestions:
1) Very happy with the Aon travel insurance offered by Tauck, which was reasonably priced. Our American Air flight was cancelled for the trip returning home and Aon absolutely exceeded my expectations by providing a prompt refund with minimal effort on my part. Still awaiting compensation for the cancellation from American Air, but that is completely separate from Tauck and Aon.
2) Recommend booking a visit to Park Guell in Barcelona. It's lovely and you will recognize the tilework from many photos of Barcelona. We took an Uber, which I cannot recommend, so walked back to the hotel on our own. Perhaps just get the hotel to help you with a taxi?
3) Booked a self-guided visit to Royal Palace of Madrid. Glad we did so as the regular entrance line was quite lengthy and it was great to be able to skip the line and walk in.
4) In Madrid, not far from the Royal Palace, (between Royal Palace and Plaza Mayor) is Market of San Miguel/Mercado de San Miguel. I am really missing it as we ate the best tapas and churros on the entire trip at this market. It's quite busy so we never did find a place to sit down but we made do (ate outside and sat on exterior ledge). We also found a wonderful food court and grocery area in the lower level of El Corte Ingles (sort of the Nordstrom of Spain), which was in the central square. It included sit-down restaurants and you could find every kind of food imaginable.
Hope this review is helpful.
