Best Of
We are back from our RENDEZVOUS ON THE SEINE RiverCruise
Quick overview = it was flawless - amazing weather, great food, guides, excursions. We flew RDU>ATL>CDG in Premium Select on AirFrance & flew home direct CDG>RDU. Flights uneventful.
We traveled w/another couple - it was their 3rd Tauck Trip w/us and our 10th Tauck Trip. We arrived one day pre-cruise & used our GoT at Hotel Lutetia. We arrived at the hotel by 0830 from CDG & our rooms were both ready. We pushed thru & did a full day of a little shopping, Luxembourg Gardens, exploring, eating, etc. It was all of ours 1st time in Paris. The hotel was fantastic and full of history (Nazi). Miley Cyrus was also staying there, so the crowds outside the hotel were a little crazy at times. The next day we explored until we met the coach at the hotel at 1415 for transfer to the ship.
Our ship was the MS Sapphire. Our guides were Carmen from Croatia, but lives in Madrid -- Darrow from the States, but lives in Nice -- Dan from Transylvania. Our Cruise Director was Lindsey from the UK, but lives in Rouen. They were all fantastic. The food and service on the ship was top-notch all the way around. We did have a 1920s party one night in celebration of Tauck's 100th Anniversary.
Day#1 - Paris - Versailles & a surprise visit to the Louvre. Versailles was so gorgeous. We had the standard tour, plus a special tour only for Tauck guests of many rooms/wings not open to the public. We had ample time to explore the gardens before boarding the coach back to the ship for a wonderful lunch. After lunch, we had a surprise visit to the Louvre which was not on the itinerary. While we were only there for a couple hours, we did get to see major highlights-- the Medieval part, the Mona Lisa, Venus, Sphinx, the Stairway to Victory, the popular paintings, and sculptures by Michelangelo.
Day#2 - There was a choice of excursions today - we chose a City Bus Tour which took us to many of the Paris highlights w/stops for photos - Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, the major streets, a Military Museum & current Military Hospital & cathedral where Napoleon is buried. Then free time on our own in the Latin Quarter (Tauck gave us 30Euros per person for lunch). We were back on the ship by late afternoon and began sailing to Normandy.
Day#3 - Rouen (Home of Joan of Arc). We loved this stop. There was an optional tour that left early to go w/the Ship Manager & Maitre D to the farmers market where they buy cheese, veggies, tomatoes, etc. I'd say about 1/3 of us went on this. We had a small tour of the town before arriving at the Market where we got to sample many types of cheese. The market was so nice - lots of cheese, seafood, all types of meat, pastries, all types of veggies. We met the rest of the passengers at the cathedral for our main tour of the town - the cathedral is 12th Century and was stunning. We learned a lot about Joan of Arc and saw where she was burned and toured the church dedicated to her w/stained glass windows from 1456. The famous restaurant that Julia Child ate in which made her fall in love w/French cooking is also in this town in a 1/2 timbered home from the 1500s. Tauck gave us all another 30Euros per person for lunch in town this day-- but we opted to return to the ship for a delicious lunch and salad bar from the Farmer's market that morning. Rouen was a fabulous town, my favorite from the trip.
Day#4 - Choice of excursions today -- Etretat & Honfleur VS Caen WW2 Museum & the Bayeux Tapestry -- we chose the later since the main reason we did this trip was for Omaha Beach & the American Cemetery. I would have loved to have been able to do them both & wish Tauck would add a day to this tour so we could have. The WW2 museum is very well done. It would certainly take a full day to see it all. We then went to Bayeux, where we had lunch on our own, and then saw the Tapestry which was pretty incredible to see.
Day#5 - Omaha Beach & American Cemetery-- a long day, but the reason most of us chose this tour. We started at Pointe du Hoc, which I had never heard of before. It's where the US Rangers had to climb cliffs to reach land. Germans were in bunkers. Often they cut the ropes of the US Rangers. We got to see & enter the German bunkers here. We then went to lunch at an old house that is now a small hotel - gorgeous with more gardens to see (Wisteria was in full bloom and all over the area). Next, on to Omaha Beach for about 30min - then to the American Cemetery. It's a powerful day & Tauck did it all very well.
Day#6 - Caudebec-en-Caux -- quaint town with 1/2 timbered homes, stunning cathedral, pastries, good shopping. Got back on the boat and sailed to Abbaye de Jumieges - ruins of an Abby from 654 - this was an unexpected highlight for us all. One of my favorite things to have seen on this trip.
Day#7 -- Les Andelys -- town built in the 1st Century BC to the 12th Century -- another quaint town with 1/2 timbered homes, a cathedral, and incredible history. We then drove to some ruins from the 1100s. Final stop was an organic farm that also makes apple ciders, apple brandy, mustards, honey, candy, body creams, etc.
Day#8 -- Giverny Monet's Gardens -- another highlight! Tauck gets us in 1.5 hours before it opens to the public. The gardens were unbelievable! We got thru the entire garden area and some of the house before it opened to the public. We had free time to explore, see a museum, walk thru the town, and see the church.
Day#9 -- Debarkation -- we booked another 2 nights at Hotel La Tamise on our own which was near the Louvre. We did LOTS of walking, touring, eating, shopping, saw NotreDame, saw an incredible Bach-Beethtoven-Vivaldi concert at St. Chappelle's which is one of the most beautiful cathedrals I've seen in all of Europe...full of gold & stained glass windows.
I must say, this was one of the most casual-dressed tours we've been on. Lots of jeans and sneakers in the Compass Rose Dining Room. Even saw a few men wear shorts. On the night we went to the Chateau for dinner, about 30-40% of men wore a sports coat, no tie, a couple men had on suits. One husband and wife wore jeans with a golf shirt for him and a casual t-shirt for her.
We go back to Europe in December for another Tauck Tour and want to book Savoring France, The Duoro w/Lisbon & Madrid next. One of our TGs, Carmen, is moving to the Rome, Almalfi Coast, Sicily Small Ship Tour which also looks amazing.
terrilynn
Recap of Paris, Normandy, Brittany & the Loire Valley – Apr. 25-May 7, 2025
This small group land tour was outstanding! Details on the itinerary are included in the trip description and in previous posts made in this group. Our very friendly and fun group included 22 people; 10 couples and 2 people traveling solo.
Highlights – the awesome tour director Jaqueline B. made the trip so organized. She was very well prepared each day with information about what we were to see. She has a wonderful sense of humor and kept us both informed and entertained. She is a pro in every way and has done this tour many, many times, yet remains enthusiastic and fresh. Our bus driver Vincent was great – very safe and attentive to the needs of the passengers.
The local guides hired by Tauck at each destination were top notch. The standout was Ed on the Normandy beaches day.
My husband and I prepared in advance of the trip by watching several documentaries and movies related to D-Day and WWII. It is not necessary because we received information from both Jaqueline and Ed but it enriched our time at Normandy. Ed highly recommends seeing the 1962 movie The Longest Day as one that is highly accurate (we had seen in advance at home). He had opinions on the accuracy of other movies and books but we didn’t feel any of our preparation in advance was wasted. It was a very moving day.
In case you haven’t been on a Tauck land tour, know that it is Tauck’s procedure to switch the names above the bus seats each day so that no one claims a seat for the entire trip. This worked fine and was a good reminder of names in the early days as we could see them posted above the seats.
The small group tours stay at Le Meurice Hotel in Paris. This is almost reason enough to book a small group! The hotel is superb in every way. It is in a very convenient location, as were all the Tauck hotels on this trip.
Tauck pays in advance for the services of the concierges, bell captains, housekeeping and servers at each hotel. I was glad our TD pointed this out so there was not a question of individual tipping. Of course, you are welcome to leave extra, but she indicated that they are “very well compensated” by Tauck (via our tour cost, of course).
The subject of dress code/suggestion comes up frequently. I will relay some anecdotal information from our tour. Each time we had a group dinner, the TD reminded us of the suggested “business casual” attire. That leaves a wide range of interpretation, and it is not “enforced” in any way. Some wore what they had been touring in that day and others changed for dinner. Totally a traveler's choice. We had three more “special” dinners – my words:)...
The welcome dinner was held in the beautiful room where the Versailles Treaty was drafted at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Versailles where we all stayed. About 6 or 7 men wore sport coats and shirts, no ties.
The dinner cruise on the Seine in Paris (our arrival night in Paris) was private, just for our group of 22 and was a beautiful night. Two men wore sport coats (one being my husband as I wanted a dressier picture as we floated past the Eiffel Tower).
The farewell dinner was held at Le Meurice and this was the night the TD said to bring out our Coco Chanel dresses! She was joking but it wouldn’t have been out of place – the overall clientele of the hotel in the restaurants and bar were very dressed up. Nine of the ten men in our group wore a sport coat. Again, it is everyone's vacation to dress as they feel comfortable.
Final thought – Day 10 is the first full day in Paris. Tauck has a bus tour overview of the city with a couple stops for pictures in the morning and a walking tour in the afternoon. Both are optional. We had our own plans that day but heard back that people enjoyed both the bus and walking tours. This is the day to make plans for other things you might want to see – for us it was top of the Eiffel Tower tickets and a visit to Montmartre. Look ahead to see if there is anything you want to get tickets for in advance (Louvre, L’Orangerie, Rodin museum, etc.) You will also want to note which days which museums are closed. Our tour included a tour of Musee d’Orsay on the last day in Paris.
All in all it was a wonderful tour I would highly recommend. Itinerary is great and for us - what made it outstanding were the people on the tour - other guests, the TD and bus driver, locals guides and everyone we interacted with at hotels.
Surgie
Re: America's Canyonlands May 13, 2024 Tour
We did this tour in the fall of 2022 and absolutely loved it. We were both 70 and I wished we had done this tour a few years earlier but we kept up with our fellow travelers just fine. It was so nice to stay in the parks themselves. We had been to the Grand Canyon years ago when our kids were young, but didn't do extensive hiking with them. On this trip, we really enjoyed the hiking - it made us feel so much more a part of the national parks. I would suggest that you bring clothes you can layer. We did a sunrise hike at the Grand Canyon and there was a definite chill in the air - I wore a hat and gloves. When we did the float trip on the Colorado River, I started out with a fleece but it warmed up quickly and I didn't need it after the first hour. I would definitely bring sunglasses and good shoes (sneakers) for hiking. Our TD told us we didn't need to dress up for the farewell dinner. My husband wore a nice shirt, but I don't think any of the men wore a suit. I wore slacks and a nicer top, but nothing special. Since retiring, most of our trips have been international. This trip reminded me of the wonderful sites we have right here in the US.
cvc
Re: Essence of Japan Tour Improvements
I will offer a different opinion on Gero Onsen. We are on this tour now and left there yesterday. My husband and I really enjoyed the experience and I know that others in our group also liked it. I did not poll the group, but did not hear of anyone that hated it. Those that didn’t love it seemed to appreciate the experience.
I used the beautiful outdoor bath twice and the private one in our room once.
I also liked the experience of the traditional Kaiseki meal. I tried everything and liked most of the dishes that were served.
The Onsen was a wonderful opportunity to stretch my comfort zone and have an authentic Japanese experience. And the staff at the Onsen were helpful and kind.
Re: Recent K&T Classic travelers: please advise re duffel
I know this info gets lost in the ‘history’ file, but I will try once again. You need very little for this trip. Three sets of safari clothes … one you area wearing, one for tomorrow, and one in the laundry. We have done K&T
four times and we always overpack. I brought five safari shirts and never wore two of them. Five sets of underwear and socks, and two pair of shoes. One pair will need cleaning after the Maasai village visit. You need a warm jacket for the early mornings. If you get cold easily, a hat and gloves might be good. I would not have enjoyed our last trip as much without binoculars. Those are all the clothes you ‘need’. Everything else is extra, and may never leave your luggage. The pace of this trip is a level five. You go from very early in the morning until bedtime non-stop. You will rarely have time to change clothes. You do get an opportunity for a little rest at the Mt. Kenya Safari Club.
Sealord
Re: Trip Report Aegean Voyage, Istanbul to Athens, April 2025
Part 2
Day 8: Bodrum, Turkey. Gullet boat transport from cruise terminal to port area. Then, a walking tour up to Castle and its museum dedicated to Underwater Archeology discoveries. Afterwards, an opportunity to walk up to the site and ruins of the Tomb of Halicarnassus. Very interesting. Gullet boat transport back to cruise terminal. At 3:00 pm, gullet boat cruise of the harbor area, and the boat anchored off a cove, where a handful of us went swimming. Very refreshing. A great day and a good way to say goodbye to Turkey and our wonderful local guides.
Day 9: Santorini, Greece. We were so happy to visit Santorini, especially after the February earthquakes has shut down the Island. Cruise ships are still limited, so we were one of only two ships visiting, meaning that we did not have to deal with crowds. Beautiful sail in as the sun came up. This is a tender port, using local tenders. For now, all guests are tendered to the ferry port, as the other tender port is still closed. It was a beautiful day, and the wildflowers were blooming. First we had a guided tour of the ancient archeological site of Akrotiri. Then, we went to Fira, where we had time to explore. We had lunch on our own at a restaurant overlooking the caldera. Then we drove to Oia, the town known for the blue domes. We had time to explore the town, take pictures of the domes, walk to the castle area, and stop for a liquid refreshment. A wonderful day. This was the night of the wonderful outdoor barbeque dinner on the ship.
Day 10: A sea day. It was nice to relax.
Day 11: Itea, Greece. When we booked this trip, i knew that we would be in Greece on Greek Orthodox Easter weekend and that would impact the tour. Itea is the port that provides access to Delphi. This was Good Friday, and Delphi was closed in the morning. So, we had an opportunity to take a long walk along the lovely waterfront and pop into a Church during Good Friday services. After lunch, we headed to Delphi, where we had an excellent guided tour of the site and the Museum. It was a warm, sunny day and the site was very green, with wildflowers.
Ordinarily the ship transits the Corinth Canal in the afternoon, after morning visits to Delphi. We were scheduled to transit at night, which would have been a unique experience. During dinner, the Captain announced that due to high winds, the water levels in the Canal were too low to transit. Thus, the ship was going to dock and passengers disembark, at Katakolon. While disappointing, we took this in stride, as these sorts of things happen when cruising.
Day 12: Athens, Greece. Instead of arriving in Athens in the morning, we had a four and a half hours bus ride. It was a pretty drive, and we stopped at the Corinth Canal to take photos from above. This also meant that the morning visit to the Acropolis was cancelled - and it was closed Easter Sunday. Fortunately, we had visited the Acropolis on our previous trip. The group had a quick buffet lunch at the Grand Bretagne and then toured the National Archeological Museum. The Hotel, the Grand Bretagne, is nicely located on Syntagma Square near the Paraliament Building and within walking distance to many sights. The food was good and the rooftop bar and restaurant, where breakfast was served, have a fantastic view of the Acropolis. Our room was on a quiet courtyard, which I liked, as the Hotel is on a busy street. It was, however, quite small, with little space for a second suitcase and to spread out a few things. The desk was covered with the coffee/tea service and cups, glasses for the minibar and piles of books and magazines. But, the bed was comfortable and the bathroom nice, and the closet was fine. We did go up to the rooftop pool for a quick swim, and enjoyed it.
In the evening, our TDs offered an orientation walk. They pointed our some restaurants and some sights. Afterwards, we kept walking to the area next to the Agora, below the Acropolis, and dinner at an outdoor cafe overlooking the ruins. Afterwards, we further explored the area.
Day 13: Easter Sunday in Athens. This day was unique to our tour because of the holiday. We started out with a guided bus tour along the amazingly empty streets, stopping at the Olympic stadium for photos. Then, we went to the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, where we had a tour, including the rooftop gardens, with great views of the Port and the City, then toured the new opera house, and the Library. Then, we went to a beautiful seaside restaurant, Ark, where we had a multicourse Easter lunch, which was excellent. Lots of lamb. After returning to the Hotel, my husband and I walked through a nearby park to Hadrian's Arch and the Temple of Zeus and watched the changing of the guards at Parliament. Cocktail party and dinner that night at the Hotel. Excellent dinner, but I could only sample it, after our big lunch.
Day 14: We had a reasonable morning transport time to the airport. Smooth checkin, and flights, Lufthansa to Munich, and then Munich to Chicago.
We really enjoyed the tour. Highlights for me were Turkey, Mykonos and Santorini. Later, I will post some thoughts on attire, etc.
Reflections of Morocco
Reflections of Morocco
We are just at the end of a tour of Morocco. It has been fantastic and escalates the country to one of our favorites.
We liked the way the government tries to help farmers and the poorer people by no taxes for them and affordable housing.
Compared to the Middle Eastern Arabic countries we have visited, Morocco is far more relaxed about tourist’s clothing when going into Mosques. As long as people are wearing short sleeved t shirts and longer length shorts, it is fine.
It was incredible how many unfinished homes and apartments there were, all over the country. Many people run out of money and just stop, who knows whether they will ever be completed.
This was a great month for us to visit, Spring, and because there had been rain in March, all the wild flowers are in bloom, red, orange, yellow, white, purple. The apple and almond trees were in bloom in the low areas and in the High Atlas Mountains there were blooming apple trees and white flowered cherry trees. Orange trees are full of fruit everywhere and tiny dates are forming on the date palms.
Marrakech is so different from the rest of the country. It was fascinating to see the differences between all the cities and the small villages in the Atlas Mountains including the Berber villages. We even stopped in a ski town that looked like a French ski resort…that one was certainly a surprise.
Our favorite seaside town was ESSAOUIRA, This had a long long promenade and a fishing port and ancient Medina and souk which was much more manageable in size.
We stopped off for lunch in Agadir, another seaside town geared mainly to German and other European tourists. Apparently lots of flights to there.
We love any Roman ruins, so VOLUBILIS was wonderful.
We stayed overnight in a charming boutique hotel in OUARZAZATE and visited the nearby village that has many movie sets from past American movies like this year’s Gladiator ll.
We hiked down into the Todra gorge, thankfully the bus was waiting at the bottom to take us back out.
We had a serious hike high in the Atlas Mountains and reached exactly 6000 feet before it got too rocky. We had great views of the snow capped mountain. Also nearby was a gorgeous Richard Branson owned hotel, it sure would be nice to overnight there. Our tour director has seen Richard hiking several times, I’m jealous!
Our favorite tagine were the beef and prune one and the chicken one which had a citrus sauce with preserved lemons. Ok, the lamb one was good too. We will be trying these out at home. The Moroccan noodles are short and have sprinkled cinnamon on them. The oranges are so sweet and the slices also sprinkled with cinnamon.
The medinas are just incredible and the souks a great place to get lost forever more.
What to buy? It’s best to shop at local cooperatives for quality. Rugs were lovely but not for us. We visited a pottery in Fez that used a really good white clay which is far more robust than the red terracotta clay used for the pots you see in the souks. I say this with some authority because I’ve taken pottery classes in the past and when we went to this one in Fez, I had a go on the wheel and made a pot. It was a bit tricky because the foot driven wheel was set up for a right handed person and I’m left handed…I’ll have to take pottery lessons again. I bought a quite big platter which hopefully will make it home in one piece.
Look out for Berber made silver jewelry. I found an antler horn cuff bracket with silver inlay. We went to another silver coop and most of the ladies bought things. We went to an Argan cooperative and bought things there. We drove through the Rose Valley and had coffee in of course a rose cooperative where you could buy rose water and cosmetic potions.
My husband and I experienced a hammam where we were in a stone steam room together, flimsy paper patties, a man and woman threw warm water over us, soaped and scrubbed us down with very very rough ‘gloves’ which felt like course sandpaper, enough to actually burst a vein in my hand and created a large hematoma. We then had to stand up while a bucket of cold water was tipped over our heads. All Moroccans go through this experience about once a week. It was a bit strange having a young man around to see my nakedness and then another when we got the post hammam massage.
Many ATM’s around. We felt very safe.
Will be glad to answer any questions.
British
Re: Family Fun Along the Seine: Paris to Normandy (7/3)! Day 3 tour change
Do Not listen to Henry. He agitates on purpose.
Re: Received Luggage Tags
I’m with Sealord. There are few companies today that think about and recognize their customers. Who genuinely want to show appreciation to those who helped it survive and thrive for 100 years. To think one man had an idea - crazy at the time - but pursued it and the end result has led to thousands of people having memorable moments, and it’s that company that reaches out to YOU to Thank You. I can’t count the number of posts I’ve read about what “Tauck Surprise” occurred on a journey. Hey, those cost money too! I hear no complaints though. And look a little deeper, there weren’t just baggage tags in the shipment. A beautiful memories box was included also. One this family will certainly use and cherish its contents. So, thank you Tauck for this wonderful gift. I look forward to my next four scheduled journeys with you!
