Best Of
Re: Hidden Waterways of Flanders and Holland
We will be doing the Springtime Belgium and Holland in early April. There is some overlap of excursion choices and I will try to post as we go along.
Bruges or Ghent. If you have never been or will never be returning to the region, choose Bruges. However be aware that there is more walking and it tends to be crowded during the day. Bruges is best experienced before 11 AM and after 3 PM. If there is any possibility of returning, try to spend a least one night there. There are easy connection through Brussels with from Paris or Amsterdam.
By arriving a day early, I assume that means you will be arriving in Brussels the day before your tours starts which gives you part of the day before the tour starts. Depending on how you travel and your energy level, you could grab the train from Central station to Ghent which is about 40 minutes. The pre stay hotel is about a ten minute walk. The other options is to take a general overview walking tour of Brussels or even a foodie tour. If we had more time we were going to book a tour with Hungry Mary.
We are taking the Art Nouveau tour although it appears longer than the one that you can take. I can' tell by the description which one covers the culinary experience. There will be enough time to eat your fill of waffle, frites, and chocolate during the days you have in Brussels. On the day our tour starts we are going to try to swing over to the St. Gilles area to see the Horta Museum.
I did notice that you have several options in Antwerp. We are arriving several days early and plan to use one of those days to go to Antwerp to spend some additional time there. My understanding is that the Rubenshuis is currently under renovations and the art work as by scattered to several different museums. One of those is the Plantin-Moretus Museum. It is closed on Mondays. We did schedule a private tour of The Cathedral of our Lady. This can be done through their website. There are several of Reuben's masterpieces hanging there.
Ben
Re: Antarctica Tour
Just returned from Feb 1st Tauck/Ponant trip. Just fabulous. The crossing of the Drake passage was mild in both directions. Our tour directors perfect. Very upbeat. On this trip we had Peter Bassett giving us his film making incite. Very enjoyable.
Re: Trains in Japan
For Tauck train trips, yes, you have reserved seats. The tour director will distribute your seat assignment shortly before boarding the train.
I cannot comment on independent train travel because I walked everywhere in the city and did not go far enough where a train ride was warranted.
maximgr
Re: excursions on day 5
The weather, particularly winds, can be quite unpredictable in that region. We traveled in 2023 Apr on a different tour and some changes had to be made to the sequencing of excursions and docking locations, but Tauck did a great job ensuring we saw everything on the published itinerary. I do suggest packing a light rain jacket, preferably one with a hood.
kfnknfzk
Re: Just returned from Tuscany & Umbria
My husband and I are going on A Week in Tuscany/Umberia in May and then connecting with A Week in Puglia right after. There are two days in between these trips when one tour ends, and the other begins so I booked one Gift of Time at the end and the other Gift of Time at the beginning. These are two different trips so I am granted two Gift of Time days! We are staying 5 days on our own in Florence before the Tuscany tour starts. We are not pre-staying at the Tauck hotel, the Santa Maria Novella. We have a short walk to the Santa Maria Novella Hotel from the hotel that I choose to stay in on our own and we will be able to manage that walking with our luggage. I have confirmed with Tauck that they will pick us up from the Santa Maria Hotel to take us to the hotel in Tuscany where the tour will start. I have arranged two private tours in Florence - one being a pizza making class with my husband. Yes, the Santa Maria Novella is centrally located to visit sights of interest.
Re: excursions on day 5
Thanks for both or your comments. As much as I want to see the cliffs at Entretat and the lovely city, we are leaning towards the WWII memorial at this time. I think it will give us an insight into the D-day invasion before we actually go to the battlegrounds and the cemetery. Both by father and my husband's father served in WW II. I have a friend whose father is buried at the cemetery and hope I can find his grave. Sure wish we could do both.
kcook
Re: Best dates to go to Morocco??
Morocco is beautiful in October. TP was never an issue.
Re: Best dates to go to Morocco??
Was never a need for our own toilet paper on our Magic of Morocco trip last year. Even the night in the desert had nice facilities.
Re: Best dates to go to Morocco??
I did not pack toilet paper. I never travel without kleenex in my pocket, but don't remember having had to use it for toilet paper.
MCD
Re: Paris - farewell dinner
They withhold a certain number of ET tickets for daily release and a lot for ticket consolidators etc., for the ride to the top, but you gotta go early in the morning to get them. I didn't want to take the chance and really didn't see how I could get there anyway.
You can also get package deals if you book dinner at the ET restaurant (waaayyy too expensive, food reviews not great, etc. ) or by booking a trip to the top bundled with a cruise or other similar activity- we weren't interested.
If you go to the ET website you can track how often they release a day's worth of tickets, how many days before, and how soon they are sold out- sometimes within minutes. It took several days to figure it out using partial constructive bookings, but once I figured out the system I eventually was able snag tickets online when the time came. I didn't get the exact time slot I wanted but had a window of half hour time slots that would fit our schedule and managed to get the half hour slot past my desired one.
I have notes about this in a 2023 post www.forums.tauck.com/discussion/16935/bonjour-mes-amis-planning-considerations-and-trip-report/p1 where I also talk strategies how to see as much of Versailles as you can in the short amount of time available (we went only one day early.) We didn't use the free Tauck/Waldorf Astoria Hotel ticket but for only a bit more than what we would have paid for extras on a second day but with no entry time restrictions and entry any time, we got annual passes. It all worked out great. Except for one tram ride it involved a lot of walking, however!!!! Your mileage may vary, but it appears I actually posted my Fitbit mileage! 
AlanS