Travel Forums Missing (Again!)

[Deleted User]

What's the problem with keeping the travel forums on-line?

This ought to be a high priority for Tauck as reading about your loyal traveler's experiences is a selling point.

Having a web site where this information disappears at regular intervals ISN'T a selling point.

AshvEd

Trick or Treat? How about giving us a treat and fixing the issues that keep taking down the sub-forums. We love the Forum as a way to communicate with fellow travelers and the reliability has not been very good. Fix me please!

[Deleted User]

And again they are gone. I won't say I check every day though I read the latest posts.

I cannot understand why keeping the web site operational seems to be beyond the Tauck IT folks. I've said it before, we are great fans of Tauck and have taken quite a few tours with them which were all great. The web site does not live up to the quality of their tours and is probably hurting their marketing image.

Crackeroo

Portolan, I agree. In 2017, if you don't have a robust website, you will lose out in the long run. I think the average Tauck traveler does not read the forums, so it hasn't mattered. But, when the actual tours have website issues, then you have a problem. And that happened recently with an Ireland tour. What Tauck has going for it is the exceptional service they provide. They probably survive on repeat business and word of mouth. Let's hope they put some effort into it soon.

Magilla Gorilla

I agree with the posts. I went looking for some feedback to plan a second cruise but was again disappointed that the site was not working. I hope your ships are maintained better than this.

AshvEd

I really don't understand why Tauck isn't all over this problem and had it resolved by now. Why are they so silent on their plans for their website?

AlanS

AshvEd wrote:

I really don't understand why Tauck isn't all over this problem and had it resolved by now. Why are they so silent on their plans for their website?

They don't want to get our hopes up.

As of a few weeks ago, they were still not able to determine why the area forum index keeps disappearing (the forums are still there, just the index disappears).

Is anyone else having to sign in each time they go to the Travel Forum Home to be able to reply or start a new topic? "Remember me" is checked and my browser is set to log me in automatically, but for the past week or so, each time I access the Travel Forum Home, I must log out and log back in again to be able to "Reply" or start a "New Topic." It is strange, because each time I access the website, I am in fact logged in (as I should be), i.e. My name, "Welcome Alan" appears at the top, and I can immediately click on and access my data in "My Reservations" and "My Profile" without doing any sort of log-on or a log-off/log on routine, however I don't have forum permissions until I do????? This has happened several times over the years.

Claudia Sails

Weirdly the other day I could see the region indexes but none of the general ones.

Yes, I've had the "guest" while logged on situation lots of times. Will go weeks without it happening then boom its back. No rhyme or reason that I've seen.

AshvEd

AlanS wrote:

They don't want to get our hopes up.

As of a few weeks ago, they were still not able to determine why the area forum index keeps disappearing (the forums are still there, just the index disappears).

Is anyone else having to sign in each time they go to the Travel Forum Home to be able to reply or start a new topic? "Remember me" is checked and my browser is set to log me in automatically, but for the past week or so, each time I access the Travel Forum Home, I must log out and log back in again to be able to "Reply" or start a "New Topic." It is strange, because each time I access the website, I am in fact logged in (as I should be), i.e. My name, "Welcome Alan" appears at the top, and I can immediately click on and access my data in "My Reservations" and "My Profile" without doing any sort of log-on or a log-off/log on routine, however I don't have forum permissions until I do????? This has happened several times over the years.

I have had the same issue that you describe. On occasion I forget to "log out" and when I return to the Tauck main screen, it shows me being "logged in" but have to "log out and in" to post. A bit quirky.

wildcat03

In the past year I have e-mailed Tauck esupport two times They responded both times. The problem was not being able to view 'page 2 or page 3 when there was multiple trips under same destination, in this case Italy. I am like many of you. I do not understand why Tauck has not corrected there "website' issues. This is their livelihood.

AlanS

wildcat03 wrote:

In the past year I have e-mailed Tauck esupport two times They responded both times. The problem was not being able to view 'page 2 or page 3 when there was multiple trips under same destination, in this case Italy. I am like many of you. I do not understand why Tauck has not corrected there "website' issues. This is their livelihood.

I exchange emails with Tauck Tim and also e-Support regularly, mostly to report SPAMMERS, but also about other technical issues like the disappearing Ireland Small Groups tour pages. I reported the log-in issue yesterday (gave them the link to this thread.)

Tim assures me they are working hard on the new website, but could not give me a launch date. Hopefully we will see a post from him tomorrow.

AshvEd

Thanks to all who have corresponded directly with Tauck Tim and e-support. Once they get the basics working reliably, I hope that they would look at ways to enhance the Travel Forums. When following a discussion thread it would be nice to "opt-in" to receive an email when something new is posted, and also when someone comments on your post.

Crackeroo

I agree AshvEd. I also would like a simpler way to add photos.

AlanS

AshvEd wrote:

Thanks to all who have corresponded directly with Tauck Tim and e-support. Once they get the basics working reliably, I hope that they would look at ways to enhance the Travel Forums. When following a discussion thread it would be nice to "opt-in" to receive an email when something new is posted, and also when someone comments on your post.

Crackeroo wrote:

I agree AshvEd. I also would like a simpler way to add photos.

Those features would really be nice. Most of the woodworking forums where I participate have both. Notifications is simple and as you probably know, is something supposedly built into the Tauck forum software, it just doesn't work. Posting photos is the most problematic. To be able to post a photo from your computer, like you can do with other forums and sites like Facebook requires a significant amount of server storage and additional software.

BKMD

Their IT people are incompetant.

Not only are there forum issues, but I've unsubscribed from some of their email series (eg., Colin's World) at least 5 times, and I still get them.

And yes, I have the Guest issue, too.

[Deleted User]

Travel Forums ate gone again as of 1:30 PM EST, Friday the 17th.

TauckTim

Hi all,

I'm sorry that you've been having such persistent issues with the travel forums, lately. We hear you loud and clear, and we have plans to address these issues in the near-to-middle-term, and hope to have some improvements for you all soon.

As AlanS mentioned, we're in the process of redesigning our website; some things are definitely planned, while others are still very much so in flux. As a result of that, since some things are not yet fully built, it's quite possible that they might change.

Naturally, we want to make the Tauck digital experience of the very highest quality, as we always strive to do with our trips. A part of that is being honest with you all about what we're intending to do, and, crucially, making sure not to promise more than we can reliably deliver, which is why we haven't been shouting our plans from the rooftops.

One thing that I can say with confidence that we plan on doing is a long, long awaited upgrade to the travel forums, which would add a lot of features present on other forums out there, like you all were discussing above.

As for more specific, immediate, issues - I do see the missing forum sections, and the logins not remaining persistent. As soon as I'm done writing this post, I'll be following up with our programmers about that, and we'll try to get that resolved as quickly as we can.

Also, BKMD, I'm so sorry to hear that you've had such a bad experience with our forums and with our emails. If you're willing, I'd deeply appreciate it if you'd reach out to me at esupport@tauck.com to tell me more about the issues you were experiencing, so I can get those resolved for you.

That offer of assistance and support holds true for all of you -- if any of you are ever having an issue with anything email, website, or app-related with Tauck, please reach out to me.

Sincerely yours,
TauckTim

wildcat03

Appreciate your response. Look forward to the enhancements.

TravelGuy

Tim:
I believe the Tauck Community is owed a direct response from your CEO, Mr. Dan Mahar, regarding this continuing issue. We have been hearing about improvements in the works for a long, long time. Does he even know there are on-going problems with the forum? What does this do to his brand image?
Please refer my request to Mr. Mahar for his review.

I see that the CEO's name is removed from my post. We know it is Mr. M.

AshvEd

Thank you TauckTim and look forward to a reliable and enhanced experience. I'd be willing to do some beta testing of the enhanced site before it goes live, as long as it doesn't interfere with a Tauck trip.

JDS11

I also hope this website gets improved. As a Tauck traveler, 8 adventures, I usually check this site daily. I have been reluctant over the years to contribute to the forums due to the inconsistency of the site and security concerns due to the amount of spam that appears. I love Tauck BUT it is time to get your website Up To Date !

JDS11

Need I say more.....one minute after I posted....SPAM !!!!!!

JDS11

If you missed it Tauck was quick to delete the Buy Passports and Currency message.

BKMD

Tim,

Thanks for the reply. I'll email you at the address provided.

three4rd

When will this be fixed? This problem has gone on for the past several weeks already.

AshvEd

I exchanged several emails with Tim in IT and they appear to be working on and focused on both a short and long term solution. I shared my frustration with him and believe he understands the impact it is having on their brand.

DEMSIR

I am again having the problem discussed in detail in November, 2017, about missing forums. For the past several visits to this site, only the general discussion opens. Where have all the forums gone, gone to graves everyone of them.

AshvEd

It appears that the website doesn't get any corporate IT attention on weekends or holidays. That's when the Spammers post and can get a few days of exposure before Tauck takes it down. I generally look at the Forum once a day and it is amazing that Tauck can't seem to fix the current product nor get their new website up and running. The Forum has turned into a poor and frustrating experience.

AlanS

AshvEd wrote:

It appears that the website doesn't get any corporate IT attention on weekends or holidays. That's when the Spammers post and can get a few days of exposure before Tauck takes it down. I generally look at the Forum once a day and it is amazing that Tauck can't seem to fix the current product nor get their new website up and running. The Forum has turned into a poor and frustrating experience.

I'm not sure how long it had been going on since I don't normally go there, but interestingly over the weekend I noticed the "General" forums index had disappeared from the Travel Forums Homepage, but the Area Forums were there. Now it is just the reverse!

Hopefully by now almost everyone, at least the regulars, know the area forums still exist, just the index is missing and that there are alternate ways to get to a specific area index to start a new post (New Topic)-

If there is an "Active Discussion" thread on the Forums Homepage about an area where you want to start a new thread, go to that discussion and click on the 'area' in the 'path' (location address) shown above the discussion window. A path will look like this: "Travel Forums Home » Discuss Trips by Region » Africa » Botswana, South Africa & Zambia Forum". Each part of the path is a link. To start a new thread click on "Africa" or "Botswana, South Africa, Zambia Forum." You will be taken to the index for that area where you can read archived threads or click on the "New Topic" button to start a new one.

If there are no active discussions about your area, go to a tour page for a tour in the area where you want to start a thread. At the lower right there will usually be an area called "Travel Forums" that lists some of the most recent discussions about that trip. Select any discussion and then follow the procedures above.

Though a bit more involved, you can also start with a "search" then follow the first set of instructions.

BKMD

In a perfect world (even an imperfect one), all these forum navigation gymnastics shouldn't be necessary.

AlanS

BIG SPAM ATTACK IN PROGRESS!