Tauck’s New App
Thought i’d better start a new thread before this discussion gets lost in the spam thread. As I mentioned on that thread, both of my upcoming trips ( May and June) have been downloaded on the app. Now that i’ve had a chance to explore it a bit more, I have to say it is incredible! Sorry Alan, Ed and Ken...whose trips are not yet available. Not only is there a day, hour, minute, second countdown, there is a present temperature, local time and currency converter, the detailed itinerary is listed, and then for each stop there are maps (with pins in places of interest, etc.), info about accommodations, places to explore with more details, restaurants, Tauck favorites, etc. . I even noticed a brief review from Fodor’s for one of the places. The guest list will also be available once the tour starts. I have only scratched the surface with my brief description. Also, the photo graphics are beautiful. Ken was correct when he noted that much of the handbook info is there as well! Very impressive!
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No notification. I just lucked out. Frankly, I missed the entire anticipatory momentum and never realized exactly what they were working on until it was mentioned on the spam thread. Keep checking back for new additions, I guess. They have my profile/personal info, and I also noticed that when I signed in they had “traveling with us”since (or, “guest”...can’t remember wording) since 2000...interesting.
Joyce
"Loyal Patron since 19XX"
When I installed the app I had to give it a new password (different from my guest connect one here) because it isn't long enough for the app. Kept fiddling with my phone, had them sent me an email for password reset, still wouldn't load. Finally logged out and then back in - viola - our upcoming trip loaded.
Looking forward to using this for our next adventure.
Just saw “loyal patron” when Ed signed up...the app is so cool it has even piqued his interest!
Me too!
I tried all sorts of things, logging out/in, changing password, loading the app on my wife's phone, creating an account for my wife, etc. but still nothing but the welcome page and "Your trip is not available within the app yet" Booo! This is killing me!
Does the app have a notes section where the user can input misc info and notes?
I did notice the displays are slightly different between the iPhone and iPad. Also, "profile" and a few other drop-downs, were active on the iPhone but not on the iPad. Only "Home", "Help", and "Logout" in the upper left menu were active on my iPad. Since my trips are not available, "itinerary," "explore," "guest list," "maps," "more" at the bottom of the screen do not work.
Also, the display will only rotate 180° on my iPad.
I am surprised your Africa trip is not listed. I wonder f they are doing the info by trips or client?.? British has mentioned having a number of trips in the chute. British, are all of your planned trips included, or just the Vietnam one?
To answer your questions: I do not see a place for notes or input. It just seems to be informational only, not interactive. I think the guest list will not be available until the trip begins...that is fluid document that probably has many changes right up to the start date. While I have the app on phone and IPad, I try not to use the phone as the print is so small. However, I did not notice a difference , and my phone seemed to have all of the same drop-downs, categories, etc. . The mystery continues...
Nowhere for notes etc on the app. Alan, I admire the tremendous detail you go into for your trips. I certainly think I take more care of researching for my tours than the average Tauck customer, but not in your league, I'm too busy. I know it seems as if I am on this website a lot, but I usually tune in to relax when I sit down for a cup of tea and a break and it's great for my early morning insomnia. The rest of the time I am on the go, in fact, I never realized how much I buzz around the house until Mr B retired. I like the clock ticking down until the start of the tour on the app, I just have to figure out if it includes the real start of the tour for us which is several days before the official Tauck start date.
It will be interesting to see when the names of participants appear on the app and if it is accurate because so many of the cards we have been given at the start of the tour have names of people that do not appear.
I do my planning on my laptop from my recliner while "sort-of" watching TV in the evenings. It is my other entertainment and something to engage my brain.
I usually set the countdown timer I use on the homepage I built for my browser (pictured in the other thread) to the departure time of the first flight, though in the past, I have also used the time we must leave the house for the airport.
I use EXCEL to track home finances. One 'sheet' is dedicated to 'Trips,' and I use it to forecast costs so I know how much money I will need and when. Major items like trip deposit, airfare (if not done through Tauck), trip balance and any major pre-paid fees for private excursions/guides are automatically entered (and updated if changed), into the main finances page. I don't track routine on-tour expenditures (meals, cabs, souvenirs, etc.)- that would be a pain and I don't really care. Besides, I haven't found an app for my iPad that gives decent functionality to EXCEL to do it. I do my airline/flights 'what if' planning there too. The 'Trips' sheet also has a countdown timer on each upcoming tour, though it only display days, not days, hours, minutes, seconds, like my homepage : ) 80 Days, 00 hours, 20 minutes, 43 seconds to Blue Danube! : )
I would assume we won't get the Guest List until the start date. I also notice under the My Itinerary, if you click on a particular day is has a Daily Agenda. I assume this will be a detailed one with times. When I clicked on it I got "Sorry, but this isn't available right now. The daily agenda will appear prior to this day commencing." This could be very useful if the TD is good about keeping it up. On our last tour the TD handed out a 2 page daily schedule for the trip with detailed times, but on a few occasions made some changes on the fly. Ended up with a family of 8 being late for a group dinner.
The real question is what connectivity we'll need when actually on the tour. WIFI and/or phone connectivity? Our new phones are suppose to be compatible with Europe so hopefully we'll be covered either way.
Alan, keep trying. I was about ready to call Tauck when mine finally popped up.
And look how often we get questions because people aren't comfortable with or don't know how to do a simple forum search (hopefully it is not because they are lazy). I think paper will endure for quite awhile- there are still too many places that have poor or no Wifi or cell service. Also, certain app data will need to be quick and easy for the TD to update- they are pretty strapped for time as it is. Hopefully, much (most?) of the info will be downloaded to the phone/tablet rather than reside on the cloud.
And last but not least, I don't think anyone, especially the TD wants to see everyone with their head buried in a phone or tablet when they should be paying attention to the TD, a presentation, or the tour's wonderful sights. I believe that is one reason Tauck is supposedly conflicted about providing Wifi on buses. We had Wifi on our bus briefly on Best of Italy two years ago, but we used up our initial allotment and additional bandwidth, graciously provided by the bus company, fairly quickly. Until we lost signal and my map aged out (I didn't download the maps), I was able to use the tablet's GPS to track our progress and to help identify hill towns along our route through Umbria and Tuscany. (I also used it to be the first one on the bus to spot the Duomo and Leaning Tower in Pisa : ) )
You can always temporarily delete any email accounts from the device. I mainly use my phone for pictures.
I completely agree with you. I do not (nor intend to) use my ipad or iphone app to dictate anything during my trip. However, this app is a great tool for those of us who want to do some pre-planning. I find that while on a trip I can barely keep up with the daily handouts (which I am sure will not change) and keeping up with my personal log of the trip, as well as organizing my suitcase, downloading my daily photos, connecting with family back home, having a cocktail or two, conversing with fellow travelers...well, you get the idea...but, I am certainly enjoying exploring this app for our upcoming trips!!
Joyce
Oops! Went to show spouse and it has disappeared.
Joyce
Glad to hear you like the new app! We actually haven't made the app available yet on every single one of our tours, though we're aiming to have it available before the first departure of every trip this year. (We still have some hurdles to clear and some ducks to get in a row before that will be a sure thing, but it is what we're shooting for.)
If your trip is available in the app (which at this point is a little over half of them) you should get an email inviting you to install the app after you/your travel agent makes the final payment. Once it's installed, you can log in with your Tauck.com email and password, and should be brought right in.
If you're not sure if your trip is available, or you're seeing anything funky like tours disappearing, give us a shout at esupport@tauck.com - we'd love to help!
-Tim
Thanks for the clarifications on the app. Looking forward to my trips showing up.
Tim- one of the reservations types told me there is actually a plan for installation of tours - I don't remember, so I may be wrong, but something about 70% are done, and US tours and cruises are next/will be last?
Yup, we have a roadmap in place for how we're doing this, and that will cover every tour sooner or later. As for what percentage, it kind of depends on how you count the tours — if, for example, you count The Blue Danube: Eastbound and The Blue Danube: Westbound as one tour that runs in two directions, or as two separate ones. Regardless, though, things are going well, and we're over 50% by any standard.
The next batch we're focusing on rollout out is mostly our river and small ship cruises; a good chunk of US tours are already out, however, and we'll be doing them again shortly as well, when they get closer to starting for the year.
-Tim