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.
