Chitraveler - I appreciate hearing the good and the bad. Thank you. Was Arthur’s open for breakfast and/or lunch on either your Douro or this more recent Seine cruise? Did the 3 guests who voluntarily tested positive isolate on the ship or leave the tour?
I find it interesting how positive cases have been handled on different river boats/trips. We had one positive case on day 3 of Savoring France….immediately isolated/quarantined. Plenty of empty staterooms so easily accomplished. Spouse moved to another room. Only other case was found on the Antigen testing date at the end of our trip. Reading about chitraveler’s story was disconcerting!
Arthur's was not open on the recent Seine cruise. They had a coffee machine set up and some cookies. On the November Duoro River cruise Arthur's was open for coffee, tea and cookies 24 hours. In the evenings they had a beautiful buffet of Portuguese cuisine for about a dozen guests every night. You had to reserve it but it was easy to do. It was excellent in all ways. Arthur's also had a simple lunch menu that was good. The Andorihna is a beautiful ship and the staff was exceptional. There were no Covid cases during the Duoro trip.
The 3 guests on the Seine cruise were isolated in their rooms and later left the ship. However, the virus must have already started to spread as many became sick after that. There was no additional testing for cases unless you requested it. People started showing symptoms and they were tested and positive. They were quarantined but the ship ran out of rooms so not everyone could separate. They allowed an individual of a couple to continue to mingle with the group as long as they were negative and their spouse was positive.
I wish we had the option for a small group Portuguese dinner or light lunch at Arthur’s, but that’s not available on the Andorinha right now. Oh, how we all miss the “old days” of travel and being able to get what you expect! Well, we still have the breath-taking views, and the delight in being on this new riverboat.
That is sad about Arthur's especially given the design of the Andorinho which really focused on the sun deck. And because it would be nice to eat outside with fresh air.
I too have been looking forward to trying some Portuguese and Spanish dishes.
I am back with an update on AON reimbursement for travel interruption and delay. We began our claim process on May 4 and were unable to obtain claim documents until May 11. We submitted them online the same day and our claim has been "assigned" which is part 2 of a 4-part process. Most discouraging is learning that the 5 days spent in quarantine in a Paris hotel are only partly covered. The maximum reimbursement is $2K per person (under trip delay) and our hotel bill was $6.5K. Several couples did as we chose to do and got individual rooms. This was because we were sick at different times and did not want to risk cross contamination and reinfecting the other person. Tauck has also alerted me that it cannot be of assistance once the claim is filed so AON's decision is final.
As for the reimbursement, we paid $1600 for AON insurance and IF we receive the maximum $4K, that means AON only paid out $2400 total. It also means that we are left to pay the additional $2500 hotel bill. The cost of our rooms varied daily. Axelle obtained hotel rooms for a large number of people at various locations and hotels were unaware that groups of Covid positive guests were checking in to quarantine. (I know this because I asked Axelle if the hotel was aware of our condition.) We were both too sick to check prices or transfer to another location even if we had realized how the daily rates were fluctuating.
As for the tour directors that chitraveler mentions, one of the trainee directors was also very sick and continued on the tour for several days with a congested cough. Knowing that several passengers were infected, it would have been wise for the directors and other staff to be tested daily.
The $2k per person is what I thought was the reimbursement for hotel. Good idea to research and bookmark possible hotel/lodging alternatives beforehand. Also how restrictive quarantine rules are where you're going. Of course that assumes the covid positive test comes at the end of the tour. Hard to prepare if it happens mid-tour.
Interested in most recent Rendezvous on the Seine reviews. We are on the May 31st tour. Were menu lunch and dinners available or just buffets. Were you able to get room housekeeping daily. Any changes in your excursions? Did many passengers test positive on the trip? Thanks for the reviews.
Nallen, fyi -- buffet for lunch in the Compass dining room has been the norm since at least 2014. Arthur's is the only restaurant that had a lunch ala carte menu.
Note the clarification that I was talking lunch not dinner in the Compass dining room. I've only ever had ala carte dinner but this year could be different.
For anyone ending a tour or cruise in Paris and potentially getting quarantined, the place we planned to stay last year was one of the Citidine hotel/services apts. They have multiple Paris locations, studio & 1 bedrooms plus things like wifi, laundry rooms, gyms, front desk, etc.
September 2019 on the Emerald (Savoring France) we ordered off the menu in the Compass Rose, but that was on the Rhône, pre-Covid, with full staff. Seine cruising meals are apparently served as buffet.?? Interesting.
Thank you Claudia -Great tip. I hope to be in Paris in October.
Comments
Why would you flag someone relating an actual experience on a recent trip?
The flagger doesn’t like negative reviews about Tauck
The flagger doesn’t seem to like you either. 😜
Yes I know!
Chitraveler - I appreciate hearing the good and the bad. Thank you. Was Arthur’s open for breakfast and/or lunch on either your Douro or this more recent Seine cruise? Did the 3 guests who voluntarily tested positive isolate on the ship or leave the tour?
I find it interesting how positive cases have been handled on different river boats/trips. We had one positive case on day 3 of Savoring France….immediately isolated/quarantined. Plenty of empty staterooms so easily accomplished. Spouse moved to another room. Only other case was found on the Antigen testing date at the end of our trip. Reading about chitraveler’s story was disconcerting!
Arthur's was not open on the recent Seine cruise. They had a coffee machine set up and some cookies. On the November Duoro River cruise Arthur's was open for coffee, tea and cookies 24 hours. In the evenings they had a beautiful buffet of Portuguese cuisine for about a dozen guests every night. You had to reserve it but it was easy to do. It was excellent in all ways. Arthur's also had a simple lunch menu that was good. The Andorihna is a beautiful ship and the staff was exceptional. There were no Covid cases during the Duoro trip.
The 3 guests on the Seine cruise were isolated in their rooms and later left the ship. However, the virus must have already started to spread as many became sick after that. There was no additional testing for cases unless you requested it. People started showing symptoms and they were tested and positive. They were quarantined but the ship ran out of rooms so not everyone could separate. They allowed an individual of a couple to continue to mingle with the group as long as they were negative and their spouse was positive.
I wish we had the option for a small group Portuguese dinner or light lunch at Arthur’s, but that’s not available on the Andorinha right now. Oh, how we all miss the “old days” of travel and being able to get what you expect! Well, we still have the breath-taking views, and the delight in being on this new riverboat.
That is sad about Arthur's especially given the design of the Andorinho which really focused on the sun deck. And because it would be nice to eat outside with fresh air.
I too have been looking forward to trying some Portuguese and Spanish dishes.
I am back with an update on AON reimbursement for travel interruption and delay. We began our claim process on May 4 and were unable to obtain claim documents until May 11. We submitted them online the same day and our claim has been "assigned" which is part 2 of a 4-part process. Most discouraging is learning that the 5 days spent in quarantine in a Paris hotel are only partly covered. The maximum reimbursement is $2K per person (under trip delay) and our hotel bill was $6.5K. Several couples did as we chose to do and got individual rooms. This was because we were sick at different times and did not want to risk cross contamination and reinfecting the other person. Tauck has also alerted me that it cannot be of assistance once the claim is filed so AON's decision is final.
As for the reimbursement, we paid $1600 for AON insurance and IF we receive the maximum $4K, that means AON only paid out $2400 total. It also means that we are left to pay the additional $2500 hotel bill. The cost of our rooms varied daily. Axelle obtained hotel rooms for a large number of people at various locations and hotels were unaware that groups of Covid positive guests were checking in to quarantine. (I know this because I asked Axelle if the hotel was aware of our condition.) We were both too sick to check prices or transfer to another location even if we had realized how the daily rates were fluctuating.
As for the tour directors that chitraveler mentions, one of the trainee directors was also very sick and continued on the tour for several days with a congested cough. Knowing that several passengers were infected, it would have been wise for the directors and other staff to be tested daily.
The $2k per person is what I thought was the reimbursement for hotel. Good idea to research and bookmark possible hotel/lodging alternatives beforehand. Also how restrictive quarantine rules are where you're going. Of course that assumes the covid positive test comes at the end of the tour. Hard to prepare if it happens mid-tour.
Interested in most recent Rendezvous on the Seine reviews. We are on the May 31st tour. Were menu lunch and dinners available or just buffets. Were you able to get room housekeeping daily. Any changes in your excursions? Did many passengers test positive on the trip? Thanks for the reviews.
Nallen, fyi -- buffet for lunch in the Compass dining room has been the norm since at least 2014. Arthur's is the only restaurant that had a lunch ala carte menu.
Note the clarification that I was talking lunch not dinner in the Compass dining room. I've only ever had ala carte dinner but this year could be different.
For anyone ending a tour or cruise in Paris and potentially getting quarantined, the place we planned to stay last year was one of the Citidine hotel/services apts. They have multiple Paris locations, studio & 1 bedrooms plus things like wifi, laundry rooms, gyms, front desk, etc.
September 2019 on the Emerald (Savoring France) we ordered off the menu in the Compass Rose, but that was on the Rhône, pre-Covid, with full staff. Seine cruising meals are apparently served as buffet.?? Interesting.
Thank you Claudia -Great tip. I hope to be in Paris in October.