Best Of
Re: Bait and Switch for Switzerland Tour of September 7 to 17 2023
Arthur Tauck Jr. at age I think 90, still demands to read a good portion of the feedback forms daily.
When people mention on these forums about the fewer numbers of people on tours that used to be consistently sold out, I know they must have lost a lot of customers as well as Tour Directors during the Pandemic. The tourism industries can’t cope with the changes, still. The start of this thread was about failure to get train tickets. Does anybody know the true story? Was it the train company or Tauck? Did the train company have the staff to run the special train or carriage. I’d love to know.
British
Re: Antarctica tours with a flight over Drake Passage
My wife and I were on the Tauck Patagonia tour in October of 2024. Really a good tour! When we got home we decided to finally go to Antarctica. Like some here, I do not do well in heavy seas, so our research led us to Silversea. We'll be flying to King George Island and getting on the ship there. We do return over the Drake though! But my feeling is...ok, I get the full trip in before I have to deal with that, hah. This is not the place to post a review of Silversea, but when we've done the trip I'll drop a note on my drake crossing. We are not doing this until Feb 2027 though.
ChrisW12
Re: Miscellaneous questions about this tour
We only use €s for incidentals or for light meals at an outdoor café or boulangerie/patisserie. Credit cards are widely accepted. We enjoy picking up some wine, fruit, cheese and a baguette and having a picnic on a park bench, saving the wine for relaxing in the hotel. As you say, it is very much a personal choice. Enjoy the tour!
kfnknfzk
Re: Canadian Capitals and Niagara Falls 2025
Credit cards are very widely accepted in Canada. I would get $50 to 100 for incidentals at an atm at the airport when you arrive. While US$ bills are accepted in most places in Canada, if you go to a local merchant with US$ you will likely get a poor conversion to C$ and get change in C$
PF606590
Re: Antarctica tours with a flight over Drake Passage
Look at Qwark Expeditions for the fly over options.
Re: Antarctica tours with a flight over Drake Passage
I wish I could remember the company I saw that was featured on a TV show. It flew to Antarctica missing the Drake Passage to King George Island and there was even a built in component whereby you arrived in South America several days before incase your planned schedule flight was canceled because of bad weather, so you could go another day and not miss your boat. Here is one company I found just now. https://www.aurora-expeditions.com/expedition/antarctic-peninsula-fly-the-drake/ ( I’m not sure we are supposed to post direct links)
SeaLord is joking about carrying your suitcases for a mile.
My feeling is that Tauck will eventually have a fly option.
If like me, Antarctica does not excite you for other reasons than the Drake Passage, then I recommend an extensive trip to Patagonia. We went with Tauck several years ago and loved it. We wanted to go again and recently returned after traveling with another company which visited many more places including Tierra Del Fuego, Martillo Island where we walked amongst two types of penguins ( with no snow and ice and no poop smell) and our day at the Perito Moreno glacier also included the boat ride right up to the glacier, Valparaiso…These being some of the highlights. The tour includes hikes, even up the sides of a volcano, so you have to be fit. PM me if you would like more details.
But like I said, I’m sure Tauck will offer a flight option someday. I suggest people call Tauck and express interest in this.
For me, going to Antarctica just because it completes a visit to all seven continents is not a good enough reason.
British
Re: New Ships for the Seine and Rhône Rivers
When we traveled on MS Grace there were 110 passengers, and it never felt crowded. We have booked a Rhone River cruise for 2026 on the new Lumiere and are looking forward to it.
Alina