Tauck App

Hurray! The Blue Danube cruise (at least the 12 April departure) has been uploaded to the Tauck App!

I'm still exploring it, but have already discovered there are still items that need work- little things like the photo for Linz, Austria in "Destinations" is actually a photo of Salzburg and the Hohensalzburg fortress (the same photo as for Salzburg) and more substantive stuff- most names listed under "Destinations" > "Prague" > "Sights" are in Czech instead of English.

On the positive side, when you select one of the names a rather detailed description of the site and map showing its location pop up. e.g. By selecting "Nerudova ulice" you learn that it is a steep street located in the Hradcany district. It is named after Czech poet Jan Neruda and was the last leg of the "Royal Way." I guess that will force me to select and read each one! : )

The map shows distance from your current location; "Nerudova ulice" is 4450 miles away from me right now : ) Unlike Google maps, it doesn't provide routing.

Comments

  • I'm liking the app. I do wish that the info on sights would include opening hours, ticket prices, etc. Will be interesting to see once a tour starts how the other features like the daily detailed sked will work.
  • I have the app for our current tour. While it is good for site seeing and dining etc it is hopeless for the itinerary because it has been switched around so much by our tour director—-to our advantage I might add, but for reference it is no good because you still have to refer to the handout you are given by the tour director. And one day the itineraries on the app disappeared altogether, so you cannot rely on it as your only reference
  • Our late August trip has loaded however our April trip is still MIA. If they can't load opening hours, prices, etc, then maybe a hot link to the places website would work.
  • British wrote:
    I have the app for our current tour. While it is good for site seeing and dining etc it is hopeless for the itinerary because it has been switched around so much by our tour director—-to our advantage I might add, but for reference it is no good because you still have to refer to the handout you are given by the tour director. And one day the itineraries on the app disappeared altogether, so you cannot rely on it as your only reference

    Yup- before we decide on a tour I make a book by cutting and pasting the website itinerary and images from the internet into an MsWord document. But, at least for this tour, the website itinerary and write-ups are a bit different than the one in the green book, and both are slightly different than the affected days in the option selection document. Obviously they omit the lagniappes. All this makes it difficult to plan or add on-tour activities.

    I hope itineraries will eventually become standardized across the various sources and that it will be easy for TDs to issue daily updates. It will be a learning experience for TDs and anyone who has traveled with Tauck before.

    I am not positive, but my understanding is that the daily go-sheets will continue to be printed as well as promulgated via the app. Called the "Daily Agenda" the link can be found above each itinerary page (below the photo). If you are not on tour or select it early it says "Sorry, but this isn't available right now. The daily agenda will appear prior to this day commencing"

    Of course, if you don't have a cell phone with data service or nearby free wifi, the app will be of limited value, especially if you log off. In that case everything must be downloaded again.

    In any case it is more than we had before.
  • AshvEd wrote:
    Our late August trip has loaded however our April trip is still MIA. If they can't load opening hours, prices, etc, then maybe a hot link to the places website would work.

    Yes it still doesn't have the functionality of Google Maps.
  • Yes, we are still getting written daily agendas from the tour director but they are still no where near what the app daily agenda says, so having the app instead of papers to refer to will not be enough.
  • British wrote:
    Yes, we are still getting written daily agendas from the tour director but they are still no where near what the app daily agenda says, so having the app instead of papers to refer to will not be enough.

    I think it will be very difficult for a single TD to keep the app "Daily Agenda" updated, especially where schedule changes, often late notice ones, are common, e.g. Classic Italy during the Rome stay. What comes first and is more important- an updated app or making sure people are being taken care of or know what is happening or where to be in 10 minutes?

    I wonder how they are doing on the new website? I hope they do some work on the forums and add a few new features like better security, sending an email when a thread has been updated, search on screen name, etc.
  • I am sure these apps are works in progress, and Tauck will be taking feedback from both guests and tour directors to improve their efficacy. While I have enjoyed going through them for our next two trips, I am still researching beyond what is listed and using the app as a stepping off point. I could never see them replacing a printed daily itinerary for a myriad of reasons. The tour can change because of weather, availability of site access, etc. . Who could expect a TD to complete the daily duties of tour directors AND keep the app updated. That does not even begin to address the issue of connectivity and those who are on tour and don’ know an IPad from a Smith Corona!!
  • joycesw wrote:
    . . . . those who are on tour and don’ know an IPad from a Smith Corona!!

    Ouch! Do you suppose there are any of those still around?
  • In museums, Alan!! “a, s,d,f, ...space....j,k, l,;” ...remember typing class?? The dinosaur age!!
  • joycesw wrote:
    In museums, Alan!! “a, s,d,f, ...space....j,k, l,;” ...remember typing class?? The dinosaur age!!

    You mean 'QWERTY' ? I indeed remember typing class. I still prefer a physical keyboard over a screen, especially small screens and using "thumbs" which is why I have a Logitech keyboard/cover on my iPad.
  • Mr B uses the Logitech keyboard on his mini iPad.
    My next question is, I came across the app for our current tour mainly by accident, Tauck never informed me about it. My next tour is Iceland in July, I can’t find anything about that app yet, I forget how I found the other app, any suggestions?
  • edited March 2018
    British wrote:
    Mr B uses the Logitech keyboard on his mini iPad.
    My next question is, I came across the app for our current tour mainly by accident, Tauck never informed me about it. My next tour is Iceland in July, I can’t find anything about that app yet, I forget how I found the other app, any suggestions?

    Once you have downloaded the app (from the Apple, google, etc. store), and once Tauck has activated the tour, you should be able to see the tour and possibly multiple tours if they have been activated. I think someone mentioned they got an email, I did not. I downloaded/installed the app and logged on every day until the Blue Danube finally showed up. Up until that time the app said my tour was "unavailable."
  • British, click on the menu in the upper left corner and it should have a "My Trips" selection. Ideally, all those you have booked should be listed. I only have one so I can't really test that. It make take some logging in/out like Alan did to update.

    I also noticed today some items under the plus sign "More" like a currency converter and current weather, that I had not noticed before. It only had British Pounds to Dollars, so hopefully they add Euro's to that since we'll face both in Ireland.

    I feel like we're all beta testing guinea pigs here. Sort of fun and frustrating at the same time.

    I never got an email about this either. Just read the forum thread and downloaded via the play store.
  • I never got an email either. Guess this is still a work in progress. Out of the four trips I have scheduled, only one is posted. Go figure....
  • I just downloaded the Android app and my Dec trip to Patagonia is available, but not my July Scandinavia trip. Go figure!

    Is there a Windows app available? I went to the Microsoft store and I don't see it.
  • I also noticed today some items under the plus sign "More" like a currency converter and current weather, that I had not noticed before. It only had British Pounds to Dollars, so hopefully they add Euro's to that since we'll face both in Ireland.

    Click/touch the right arrow in either currency box and you'll be taken to a page with two choices: "BY POPULAR" with AUD, CAD, EUR, GBP, NZD, USD, ZAR and "BY COUNTRY" where you'll see all(?) others. 1 USD = 65.1990 BTN : )
  • Thank you all. I used your tips and found our November Patagonia trip. I have to click on that and it will switch from the tour I am on, so I have not opened it. But of course I have two trips before that in July and September
  • Thanx Alan.
  • Contents for our April 21 River Cruise loaded this morning. Thanks Tauck and look forward to exploring this app.

Leave a Comment

BoldItalicStrikethroughOrdered listUnordered list
Emoji
Image
Align leftAlign centerAlign rightToggle HTML viewToggle full pageToggle lights
Drop image/file