Savoring France May 8, 2022 Tour Report
Two of us enjoyed this tour, our third Tauck river cruise. Here's a quick summary, followed by lots more detail for those who want it: 73 passengers, 31 crew. Food and service levels very close to pre-pandemic levels, although some others must have felt differently because Tauck sent us each a $500 future credit and an apology soon after the trip. Among those who got tested at the end of the cruise (not all; some, like us, continued independently) there were ZERO positive tests. All in all, a good and enjoyable trip.
STAFFING: I can't recall what a full staff complement is for this ship. We noticed only a very slight reduction in service compared to previous Tauck river cruises: fewer elaborate towel sculptures, waiting time of 3 minutes instead of 1 minute for service at happy hour. One dinner was a buffet, and the reason given was long excursions during the day and need to dine quickly before evening entertainment. There was no printed menu at breakfast, thus discouraging special egg orders. But when we ordered eggs Benedict, staff were happy to oblige.
FOOD and DRINK: Food quality is always a function of the talent in the kitchen. We learned this when we had to do a ship swap (Treasures and Esprit, Budapest to Amsterdam, 2019) Identical ships, kitchens, ingredients, one far better than the other. On the Swiss Emerald on the Rhone in 2022, food was very good and occasionally rose to the level of excellent. No complaints. The evening's featured wines were always of good quality, occasionally excellent. Wines from the bar's wine list were always available, many of them excellent. No extra charge.
EXCURSIONS: Consistently good, never felt like my time was being wasted, occasionally outstanding. I had low expectations for the Camargue bull and horse ranch, but it was great fun. Cooking at Cordon Bleu was a delightful and memorable experience. The cooking "demonstration" at the school of Anne-Sophie Pic in Valence was underwhelming because it wasn't really hands-on. Probably the least favorite. The dinner at the chateau of Uzes was pure magic. Food was only good, not great (you try to serve 70 people all at once!) but the champagne reception, the dinner in the courtyard, the excellent live music, the medieval surroundings made it truly an evening to remember.
BIKE EXCURSIONS: These were offered on days 6 and 7. We did not go on day 6. Those who did said riders and bikes were driven to a hilltop town, and the ride was 90% downhill back to the boat, with just two uphill sections including one "thigh-burner." The ride in Avignon on day 7 was not quite as advertised. It was mostly in the city, not surrounding countryside. Dodging traffic and pedestrians prevented the gawking I would like to have done. When we did get outside the town, roads were largely hemmed in by forest, walls, or hedgerows. Not too scenic. The only hill was the bridge over the river (but plenty of cobblestones!)
TAUCK STAFF: Tour directors Veronica, Riu, and Jean Philippe were all fun and capable. Cruise director Shireen was quite business-like, I'll leave it at that.
THE UNEXPECTED: Impending lock repairs meant we had to hurry downriver, thus missing our stop in Viviers. The alternative was a day cruising, with lectures by the tour directors. Tauck has conjured up such delightful alternatives during past unexpected glitches that we expected a little more. Maybe that's expecting too much.
COVID: As mentioned above, no positive test results on the last day. That came as a surprise. The rule requiring masks whenever not seated on the ship (apparently an EU mandate) was dropped halfway through the cruise. Even before that, guests were pretty sloppy about masking when walking the halls, riding on the coaches, etc. There was a sanitizer dispenser at the entrance to the dining room; it was rarely used, even for breakfast and lunch buffets that were always serve-yourself with common serving utensils. Tour directors only occasionally reminded people to mask up while on the bus.
PHOTO NOTES: I include this in response to a previous query I saw on the forum. My new iPhone 13 pro with 3 lenses was more than adequate for nearly every situation. I took a big heavy camera with 27-200 zoom lens and rarely used it. A wide angle lens came in handy for many situations: group shots at tables, photos at the cooking class, photos of the stunning Pont du Gard (photo tip from the Rick Steves guidebook: for the best angle, don't follow the group on to the walkway parallel to the pont. Instead, continue straight along the river another 50 yards or so, and take stairs and rocky trail down to the beach. The shot back up toward the pont is great, and afternoon lighting (when you'll visit) is perfect.) Telephoto lens came in handy for detail shots of cowboys, bulls, and horses at the Camargue.
After the tour, we spent a few more weeks in France, including a week in the Dordogne (cave art!) and a total of 9 more nights in Paris. The only people wearing masks seemed to be nervous American tourists like us. France was teeming with tourists; dinner reservations were essential, and finding a place to stay if we had tested positive would have been impossible or exorbitantly expensive. That is certainly something to consider until the US test-to-return rule is lifted.
Comments
Thx for your comments.
Tauck must have that all figured out. Based on reports from those testing positive, I don’t think you would have had to find your own hotel.
Riu was one of the tour directors on our Douro River cruise. She lives in Madrid and is fluent in Spanish. I agree that she is delightful. Shireen, also on our Savoring France cruise, was very business-like, as she should be, but was quite personable when I had the opportunity to speak privately with her.
It seems like you enjoyed the tour. Thank you for posting about your experiences.
AlanS--If we had tested positive right at the end of the Tauck tour, we might have gotten logistic help from Tauck. We stayed in France another 17 days. Plus, we would have needed quarantine lodging in Paris, in the springtime, during the French open. Triple whammy! Planning to stay an additional 3 days in Norway after a Tauck/Ponant trip later this summer. Yesterday British posted a statement that " I think Tauck has some sort of rule where if you stay on longer than three days, their insurance doesn’t cover all your trip" so I'm trying to find information about that now.
Excellent job Rick.
I was only addressing the Tauck covered time.
What a wonderful, comprehensive trip report. Thanks -I'll be referring to this many times before our September 17th Savoring France adventure.
Thank you for all the info. I am going August 9th so this will come in handy.
Thanks for taking the time to post this excellent report. Especially appreciated the photo tips as my wife has been lobbying me to leave my camera gear at home which I will now do, relying on my iPhone 13 as you did.
Thanks for the nice report. One question, Is the dinner at the Chateau of the Uzes formal. Do you need a tie and jacket for guys? Thanks.
At the least, most men wear jackets.