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Hotel Room Categories?
We just booked the west-bound cruise for May 13, 2019, and are just starting to figure out what questions we have.
One of them is ... does anyone know which room categories are booked in the hotels in Budapest and Prague? Does it differ depending on the stateroom categories one has booked?
Terry
One of them is ... does anyone know which room categories are booked in the hotels in Budapest and Prague? Does it differ depending on the stateroom categories one has booked?
Terry
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On occasion if the hotel has space you might get lucky with a larger room, a view, etc. We've mostly had standard rooms but also lucked out and gotten a suite with a view a few times. It's luck of the draw. Plan on the basic and be happily surprised if it's better.
Terry
An update based on our Blue Danube cruise in mid-May...
I was unable to match the hotels' description of their room categories with our actual rooms, so have no clue what category we were in. We stayed in two hotels, the Kempinski Hotel Corvinus in Budapest then the InterContinental in Prague. Both were fine hotels, and as noted above, very well located.
We were surprised at the Kempinski, after reading various places that Tauck personal hand out the hotel keys, that we were directed to the hotel registration desk. The reason was soon evident - the clerk offered me an upgrade for an additional charge. I was put off by this as it seemed to me against the "everything's included, no sales" approach, though admittedly Tauck did not itself make the offer. Nevertheless, I accepted the offer and we had a marvelous large room overlooking Elizabeth Square.
At the InterContiental Tauck people did hand out the keys as expected, and we had a totally adequate room on a high floor with a very nice view of the river.
I have never heard of an upgrade being offered at a Tauck hotel and certainly not with a cash price.
My BS light is flashing. (;-)
Seaload, would you like to see the receipt?
On river cruises we've never been handed room keys by Tauck staff. At the start we're always a day or two before the tour start so we haven't even met the TDs. At the end the hotel is ready for us but we still had to interact with them directly. The same for the first hotel on land tours. It's only later in the tour the keys are handed out without having to stand in line and check in.
Mostly we've had perfectly standard rooms but at the Savoy on one stay we got a huge room, in Wales we and about half the tour got waterview suites and on this last tour most (all?) had river view rooms at the Intercontinental Budapest!
No hotel staff has ever offered an upgrade. Maybe they thought Terry was asking about it. If you asked something like "does this room have a view" then maybe a receptionist could say no but if you upgrade you would. If you emailed a hotel before a tour and asked that I would expect they would say that. When we wanted to be given a room that was ready early in Amsterdam the hotel wrote back that they could only guarantee it If we paid extra. I told them thanks, no but would take our chances. Turned out they did give us a room hours before the official check in time. Never hurts to ask.
I've contacted hotels early to arrange to have a room ready early and for a view, e.g.- castle-view in Edinburgh. I've never been asked if I wanted an upgrade. You need to account for the language barrier.
Claudia,
No, I didn't ask any questions about the room. He made the offer totally unsolicited, which I didn't understand the first time and asked him to repeat, and he did.
We arrived the official day of the start of the cruise, that is two days before we boarded the ship. The Tauck directors were at the desk 15 feet away, and we were directed to see them next for the handouts.
This I think is contrary to the Tauck way of doing things. It should be brought to Tauck’s attention. If I was offered this ‘option’ I would have immediately brought it to Tauck’s attention. I did so recently on a different issue and was immediately given compensation by Tauck for the ‘error’. They do not like their brand to get sullied.
Sealord,
It didn't in the confusion of my initial contact with Tauck staff think of mentioning it to them then. But I did mention it, and my discomfort with it, on my questionnaire at the end of the cruise. I didn't ask for any response, and five weeks later have not heard from Tauck on the issue.
Terry, have you traveled wit him Tauck before, I am guessing maybe not because you would know that getting an upgrade is not usual. Tauck often gets the best rooms. And anyway, you spend so little time in the hotel rooms. And even more common, you leave the rooms so early in the mornings, any view is not visible.
Above is the view of a room I got in a recent Tauck hotel before a small ship tour.
British,
The issue isn't getting an upgrade, but being asked by the hotel to pay 100 euros for it.
Sorry that this happened to you on what I assume was your first Tauck experience. I have travelled with them on land tours and riverboat cruises, and while I have received upgraded hotel rooms, I was never asked to pay for them. It was just the luck of the draw. If you travel with them again, I agree that you should bring up anything that makes you uncomfortable at the time. It sounds to me like the clerk was hoping to take advantage if they could.
One time we had a tour director who kept mentioning a gratuity, and all of us who were experienced Tauck travelers knew that this was unacceptable and not the Tauck way. I found out later that he was no longer with them and they had heard complaints about it from a number of guests.
Maybe I'm dreaming, but doesn't Tauck on a very few select tours offer choice of hotel upgrade? Terry, we had a similar experience for a pre-tour night in Stockholm, but with a different company...and we ended up in a presidential suite with four rooms.
I’ve seen maybe two tours that offer hotel upgrades when I have been looking at tours over the years
On reflection I see that one reason I didn't mention this at the time to the Tauck staff is it was happening just 10 or 15 feet away from them, so I assumed they knew about it.
As I said, I did mention it on the feedback form, and in fact said I would have been more comfortable had Tauck made the offer when I booked.
I suppose the hotel was trying to sell unsold higher grade rooms, and they claimed they were offering a discount. One of the hotel chains I use offers discounted upgrades in advance on an "as available" basis - if you agree and the upgrade is available when you check in you get it and pay for it, otherwise not charge. Works for me.
Terry, when on Tauck tours, we spend so little time in the rooms, for us, the most important thing is the location of the hotel, then that we have a clean room and maybe hot water. I still think you are being taken advantage of by the hotel and not Tauck. If it was the day the tour began, its usual for the tour directors to be available at a certain time for questions. Otherwise, the first time you meet them is at the Welcome meeting. I am going on my first River cruise with Tauck next week, I’ll see how it differs at the hotel. I’ve been on a couple of small ship cruises with Tauck and on the start day they are there at times they tell you in advance. But usually, we arrive one or two days early, to avoid jet lag. I’d hate to start a tour on the day of arrival.
So how much time did you spend in your hotel during the day? Was it worth the extra $100 when you spoke about it to others on the tour. Was anyone else offered an upgrade to your knowledge?
Will you travel with Tauck again?
British,
Actually, we did spend a fair amount of time in the room, considering. We walked around a bit after arrival, then returned to prepare for the opening dinner. It was rainy and unpleasant the next day which prompted us to end our free afternoon earlier than we might have in nicer weather. The following day the bus pickup was at 10:30 so we weren't out too early, and after walking around a bit returned to the room. So I think we enjoyed the nicer room, and probably got our money's worth. Had Tauck made the same offer when we booked we probably would have taken it and been happy. We often choose mid-range or better rooms when we travel. My issue only was that it was unexpected after seeing all the "all inclusive" talk about Tauck.
As I've already mentioned, the Tauck staff was 10 or 15 feet from the registration desk, in clear sight of one another, when we checked in. After checking in to the hotel we walked a few paces to the Tauck desk to get the handouts, and maybe the Vox boxes (not sure we got them then).
We never discussed the issue with other guests, nor did we talk to any of the others about their rooms there. For all we know they could have gotten the same rooms without paying. :-)
We would certainly use Tauck again if we find a trip that appeals to us. This issue would in no way influence that decision. All in all, Tauck's performance was very impressive. Our reservation is only that we are not frequent travelers, and don't have a "wish-list" of places we want to visit. It's been five years since our last "big trip." We're not all that fond of guided tours. Even Tauck's very good performance on this cruise does not encourage us to take a land tour. It was the river cruise that attracted us to this tour.
British,if it's like all our cruises the TDs (at least 2) will be at the Tauck hotel in the morning of Your Day 1 usually at a desk in the lobby as Terry mentioned. Gives you a chance to meet them, ask questions, pick up an extra luggage tag for anything you want to go to the boat but don't want to lug around while touring on your own. You'll also get the time to be back at the hotel for transport to the ship. This assumes you're starting the trip in Amsterdam and using GofT for a free night in the Tauck hotel. If starting from Milan it might be different and more like a land tour start. We had that on the Seine but the TDs were at the Versailles hotel that morning and then we met them again at dinner that night.
Sealord, whom did you contact at Tauck regarding the issue you mention above? Was it Guest Relations, or someone else? I experienced a similar incident on a recent river cruise (although unrelated to a hotel).
Claudia, thanks for the info. Our tour begins in Milan and we arrive a day early and staying three days extra in Amsterdam. We will be out of the hotel first thing on the day the tour begins because we have a guided tour of the inside of the Duomo as we know the tour of the city only includes the outside of the Duomo. Then we will see what else we can do before the time of the Welcome dinner. One thing I am excellent at is getting ready fast, I can take a shower, wash and dry my hair and full make up in around twenty minutes at a push.
Maximgr, I am thinking the issue Sealord had was the same one I had on the same tour, I was on the tour and he was on the next one. I think he called Tauck. I wrote a nice letter and was contacted very promptly. I had negative comments but also gave suggestions for improvements which I believe were useful and may be implemented. They thanked me. I was offered a nice compensation which I was not asking for or expected. I’m not going into more detail than this. On all our tours, we have only had to do this once before. And that was not a major issue, it was an incorrect description of the last day of a tour where we were told we were not leaving until lunchtime but it ended up being very early morning. So most of us were awake for almost twenty four hours before we even got onto our flights home.
Sealord, message me privately if you want to compare notes.
Terry, we really enjoy guided tours with Tauck. Before retirement, they were a very efficient way of getting to see the world when the amount of vacation time in the US is so small compared to the 7 weeks I got in England and the 5 weeks Mr B got. We quickly realized that Tauck knows where to be when, they stay in better hotels than we would have done and it meant we had little planning to do apart from during any free time. We learned quickly that at the start and end locations it can be a good idea to extend the stay so you can see more in those cities. In fact, I think Tauck may deliberately have it so that there is plenty more to see in the start city than they take you to because they DO want you to arrive early to avoid the inconvenience of people missing the start of the tour if planes are delayed. I’m sure that is why they offer the gift of Time so liberally.
We only think of vacationing without a tour these days if we are going to stay in one city, such as London.
Rain—-On one recent tour, I think we were in the Kempinski in Budapest, I often forget the hotel names, we had rain on one of the free afternoons. Most people did cut their touring. We went out for a quick lunch, we took a hotel umbrella because it was bigger than ours, And it was stolen in the cafe, so we ran through the streets to visit the sites we wanted to see and had a great, though wet time. Admittedly, we knew we had time for our things to dry off as we dread having to put wt things in a suitcase that might get moldy.
We have only toured with one other company one time, and that was a disaster, so we stick with Tauck.