Best Of

I have always been grateful for the gifts Tauck has given us, but I am disappointed in how they have singled out those who meet a certain requirement. Tauck has always treated their guests equally—whether one has taken a hundred tours or their first. I find this marketing scheme to be quite haughty (for lack of a better word).

I will be donating the hat and using the gift card for purchasing items to give to some victims of the recent fires. I'll share my concerns with Tauck when I send them my 'thank you' note.

"When we took our first riverboat tour, we were told by the cruise director that the shipboard credit and room service were compliments of Scylla."

kfnknfzk, I don't get your point. Yes they are compliments of Scylla (who Tauck contracts with) as a bonus for paying more for a suite. All the gifts and lagniappes we all get on tour are compliments of Tauck as a bonus for traveling with them vs their competitors. Getting a Gift of Time for booking early is a bonus for booking early. Getting a gift on tour for you birthday (as your husband did and as I did) is a nice bonus compliments of Tauck. Packing cubes, coin purses, toiletry bags, etc are nice bonuses for brand loyalty. I fail to see how these extras are any different than rewarding guests for 20 or more tours. At a rough estimate, anyone who has taken 20 tours has paid Tauck a minimum of $100,000. I think that deserves a gift.

There is a beanie I think but it has a huge Tauck logo across it.
When disasters happen, the most useful donations are cash. When people send clothing, it has to be housed and sorted, that all costs time and money and labor, perhaps find a trusted charity and send money to an appropriate place.

Very well said Kathy, thank you.

I'm confused, and may have mis-read previous comments, but I thought if you booked a certain category on a river cruise that you received a credit to use on the boat (spa or gift shop, etc) or were able to have room service. I know I am not given that in my category 1 cabin so definitely not treated equally as someone paying for a category 7. I'm fine w/that extra that someone paying for a higher category cabin receives.

I'm also happy for those who have taken more than 20 tours that they can get the gift of time no matter when they book. I've taken only 6 tours w/7 & 8 already booked and do not see myself ever making it into the "Tauck circle" club, but good for those who have.

I'm also someone who enjoys a free gift and since it's recently been river cruises have only received the 10 euros to use, but would love anything. I'm thankful for whatever Tauck sends.

I have to say, I was glad to see you all were receiving more than just hats for taking more than 20 tours. :-)

Certainly kfnknfzk. If you don’t require the gifts, that’s a nice idea and they will be free advertising for Tauck wearing their logo in the clothing.

In addition, you may not have had time to look at the items, there are only a few, clothing choices are all over $100. I chose a puffer jacket for my husband which costs $254, his current one is really old.

The only thing that worries me, is that if he wears it on tour, he may be mistaken for the Tour director. On one tour we took, people kept mistaking him for the TD as they were wearing the same type of clothing, same height, same fair coloring, it caused quite a laugh.