So dissappointed
We've cruised with Tauck numerous times. We were scheduled for the Rhine Christmas Cruise in 2020, but because of COVID it was rescheduled to Dec 2021. We got a call two months ago saying our Dec 2021 Christmas Cruise was cancelled because they had contracted the boat out for another venture. We emailed them about it and never heard back, not even and apology. They said we could get our money back or schedule for 2022. Not good customer service.
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Sorry for your disappointment. Email is not the best way to contact Tauck. Recommend you call them tomorrow and tell them what your decision is.
The company is doing their best given the unbelievable circumstances they find themselves in and we commend their efforts. In the future, I would recommend using a Travel Agent (we use a Tauck certified Travel Agent) to arrange for all our trips and air. During the height of the crisis and even now our tours and flights were and are being cancelled. All we do is make one phone call and it is all taken care of. No emails being lost, no hours on the phone with airlines, and refunds almost within a week. Best of all it is at no direct cost to us. Why do it any other way?
Virginia travels, I assume your insurance goes into a Dreamsaver? Have you re-booked any tours?
We still prefer to book with Tauck directly. We have heard numerous stories of people using an agent and not being informed of tour details etc. if you have a reliable agent, then that is good, but not everyone has a relationship with one and certainly not twenty-four hour cover.
We were also affected by this cancellation/change as well. I was not a happy camper either. terrilynn started a thread in January and I added information to it and also started a thread on topic on 20 February. You see in the thread at the second link, I even spoke with Dan Mahar, Tauck CEO, about the issue. You can find the threads in the archives at this link and at this link .
I'm the one who started this thread back in January. We also had one planned in Dec 2020, changed it to 2021, and then got a call from our AAA Travel Agent who told us our 2021 had been contracted out - so now the SIX of us are on a 2022 Danube one. We typically go over every other year for a Xmas Market River Cruise and have done both the Danube and Rhine ones. With all the restrictions that will be in effect in 2021 IF the markets are even open = it isn't something we'd want to do anyway. When we signed up for the 2020 one and then saw all the restrictions that would be in place, we were going to cancel anyway - and then, of course, the markets were canceled.
It's A LOT of money to spend NOT to have the markets and the cruise be the way we love. Masks, no buffets, some cathedrals not open, the food areas in the markets restrictions, etc - it didn't look worthwhile to us at all. IF the markets are open in 2021, there will be such TIGHT restrictions, that we wouldn't enJOY it at all. We love sipping gluwein, eating, etc as we stroll and that won't happen with all the restrictions. Plus, they are so behind on vaccines. We hope by 2022, things will be somewhat back to the way we love it. While we are most certainly disappointed, we also don't want to spent $10,000 and have so many rules and closures and restrictions. We are super grateful our AAA TA notified us in January as we were able to rebook and get the LOFT rooms everyone talks about for our 2022 cruise. I have spoken with HR at Tauck a few times over this issue and they were fantastic to us. We will be traveling with 2 other couples who have never been to Europe or traveled with Tauck.
I, like Virginia_Travelers, commend Tauck for the exemplary job they have done throughout this pandemic. Sure it is disappointing to have a trip canceled, but think of the logistics involved when having to deal with hundreds of vendors, hotels, venues, restaurants, foreign countries, et al.
I have never used the services of a travel agent. I prefer to work directly with Tauck. Besides, I enjoy the personal attention I receive when booking a tour and corresponding airfare. Their attention to detail and superb customer service is unparalleled in the industry.
Safe travels.
British - Our deposits plus insurance costs (usually about $2,200) just gets rolled over to the next booked trip. Yes, we have rebooked. Romantic Germany was scheduled for July 2020 rebooked for July 2021. That will probably soon be cancelled and we will either rebook again for July 2023 (we don't want to go in 2022 because we decided not to see the Passion Play) OR we will roll it over to another tour maybe Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand.
We have also scheduled Egypt for March 2020, then March 2021, and now for March 2022. Those monies were just rolled over with the $500 credit. The credit we receive far exceeds what $2,200 would have earned invested.
Regarding the use of a TA. Our certified Tauck TA keeps us informed of EVERY change in our trips as well as air changes. He not only books our business air but picks out seat assignments he knows we would like. As another example, for our Egypt Nile trip he picked out the rooms aboard the Philae because he knew what we like. He was voted one of the top 50 TAs in the country for a reason. Our TA never delays responding to our questions or forwarding info to us from Tauck. We've recommended him to many travelers including Taucktorians.