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Tauck Water Bottles
in Travel Tips
On our last Tauck river cruise (Budapest to Amsterdam 2019) Tauck provided us with refillable, double-walled, stainless steel water bottles to avoid consuming so many throw-away plastic bottles. Everyone filled their bottle each morning at the communal water dispensers on the ship. Is Tauck still using such bottles, or has the communal "watering hole" on the ship been cancelled due to COVID concerns? Wondering whether to take our Tauck bottles when we are Savoring France on May 8. Fingers crossed that neither COVID nor Putin spoils the trip!
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RickS,
We were supplied the water bottles last November on the Douro cruise and, yes, the touchless water machine was at the reception desk area. I didn't know we could keep the bottles! Nothing was said and I failed to ask. Oh, well.
Enjoy the Savoring France trip. It was my favorite river cruise until I took the Douro!
Thanks! The Tauck bottles are on the heavy side, but they keep water cool all day.
My wife tells me the Douro is on our bucket list. We usually add on additional time once we've traveled all the way to Europe. I'm thinking a week somewhere in Spain would be perfect after cruising in Portugal.
I got one of those on a land tour several years ago. I did a couple of tours after that where they were not given out and the common plastic disposable water bottles were used. Some people asked about them and the answer was people complained that they were too small and too heavy.
Personally, I usually bring an insulated bicycle water bottle, as I usually do some biking/hiking on tour. I have one similar to this (made by Polar): https://polarbottle.com/collections/bestsellers/products/sport-insulated-contender
RickS,
My pleasure.
If you are planning a week in Spain after the Douro, why not take the Week in Spain tour? Or if you have additional time you might consider the northern Spain tour. I'd be happy to offer other suggestions. Stay safe and well.
The metal bottles are nice as far as keeping the water cold but definitely heavy. We always travel with Copco refillable bottles that twist open in the center to add ice.
RickS, adding time on is what we're doing at the end of this cruise later this year. Two extra nights at the Madrid hotel then taking the train to Barcelona for 3 more. Considered doing one of the Tauck land tours there back to back with the cruise but couldn't get the dates to line up.
On our tour with Tauck last month, we were asked to take our own refillable water bottles with us, so we chose the lightest we had of our huge stack that keep being given to us wherever we go. It was a land tour. When we got on the tour, we found that they provided the usual plastic water bottles, which of course are much lighter than most reusable ones, so we used those and of course we could grab them straight from the bus cooler when we wanted one. Being British, we are not obsessed with ice cold water, so anything that is not insulated is no big deal to us, the weight is the main thing for us. We were sort of annoyed we bothered to bring our reusable bottles. We rarely use bottled water at home so hope we are excused for our lack of saving the planet on these tours.
We had Tauck's water bottles on the Rhine Christmas Markets cruise in Dec. 2019. I used it on the cruise, but didn't take it home because it was so heavy. (I have my own reusable bottle that I use at home.)
Correction...the water refilling station was not hands-free...you pushed a button. I'm sure everyone feels better now knowing this! I also think that the bottles were not double walled...seemed very thin. They were nice enough, however. Regarding temperature, I always thought that tepid water was better for you (and organs) than cold water.
Plastic everywhere on J&E.
Alan - you might also notice the tabs on soda cans are the removable, litter-prone style that I haven't seen in the US in 20+ years, at least in Jordan.
Yup, we saw that!
We were given reusable, insulated water bottles to use and refill (on the boat) on our recent river boat tour. Wondering if Tauck is doing the same for land journeys as we are taking one in September.
There have not been any reusable water bottles on the 3 land tours I've taken with Tauck since the world opened up.
I got one in Hawaii. I also got one several years ago on another land tour, but I don't recall which one. Between the two bottle giveaways, I've been on several trips with the usual, plastic ones. It may depend on where you're going,if the tap water is potable, and/or local laws. If the tap water isn't potable, there's no point to refillable bottles, unless they have 5 gallon jugs on the bus to refill them.
Such lovely souvenirs!We got those on our trip to Galapagos in December!Touchless refilling on Isabela.We have had other stainless steel water bottles from our other trips as well!
We got them on the Grand Alaska tour a few years back.
We were asked to take water bottles for our last US tour but there were plentiful water bottles which were much lighter to carry so we used those. We don’t use packaged water very much at home so don’t feel so guilty. We could however open up a re-useable water bottle store with all the ones we have received from Tauck in the past. I am sure more energy is used in making those
I could open a reusable bottle museum; it's time to just bring your own & turn down the Tauck handouts. Still not as bad as chopsticks in Japan (another collection of mine, useful for many household tasks). I tried to reuse mine, easiest at breakfast, never could persuade others to do the same; every night I'd start multiplying the tour chopstick numbers in my head. Last statistic I saw was Japan incinerates 24 billion pairs every year. At home reusable chopsticks are the norm; I understand the problem is finally in the public eye.
MarketArt - Problem is third world countries. There may not be an easily accessible place for you to refill a water bottle. I usually bring an insulated bicycle water bottle on trips, not only to refill on tour, but to use during free time when I'm hiking/biking, etc. The metal one Tacuk gives out is too small and too heavy for its size, though its insulation is excellent. Kepps water cold all day.
I was born in England, I just need water, it doesn’t need to be cold 😂😂😂😂
And the quality of the water doesn't matter either, correct! 😂
What's a little Giardiasis or Cholera among friends?
I just meant for frequent Tauckers, no need to have multiple reusables. Event sponsors are always handing out tote bags; I had to start saying no.
I drink room temperature water so I don't care about keeping it cold.
We had beautiful water in the NW of England and Scotland, not so good where we later loved in the Midlands. London water is not good.
Where we live in the US, our water is horrible, very calcified or whatever it is. Even with a water softener it still isn’t wonderful
I might be wrong, but I believe drinking room temperature water is healthier for the body.
For those who like to give back to their community, the free tote bags are great for filling with incidentals, food, craft items, et al, and distributing to senior centers (pre-COVID anyway).
kfnknfzk - Do you me water around 70 degrees F? Obviously a non-temperature controlled room can vary greatly in temperature and therefore ‘room temperature’ water could vary greatly.
Our water comes from a tap, not a room or is it a faucet, I never know what is the correct term, 😂😂. Sorry, I’m outside relaxing and drinking wine.
Give me cold water every time. In fact I often crave it. There's something about it hitting the back of my throat.
I really don't take the temperature of my potable water, Smiling Sam. It is neither cold, cool, tepid, lukewarm nor warm. Better?
My husband's internist believes that unrefrigerated ( do I dare say "room temperature") water quenches the thirst better than cold water and is better for digestion.