Savoring France August 9, 2022
Please let me know any tips for this riverboat cruise. Packing, excursions, tips in Paris, Lyon, etc. This will be my first one with Tauck. Please let me know if there is anyone going on this riverboat cruise so that I may introduce myself
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Biggest tip Helen is read read read. This forum has tons of info in older threads. Packing alone has been discussed a lot. Start with the threads for this cruise, other Rhone cruises, land tours that include Paris, etc. You can also learn a lot from cruises on other rivers. Loads of similarities regarding life on a river cruise. The previous version of this was called French Waterways and was our first. Wonderful cruise and experience with Tauck. Have fun.
Thank you so much for the advice.
Helene, read the posts on this Savoring France thread…a number of us were on this trip in April and May. If you have specific questions, I’ll be happy to answer. Wonderful itinerary…enjoy!
Thank you so much. Im getting excited. I leave in 1 week. are there any final documents I need from Tauck?
Log into your account on the Tauck website. Find this Savoring France cruise on you dashboard, then look for this along the side of your screen. Download your Final Tour Documents from this menu. Save them to a .pdf on a device you are taking with you (phone, laptop, tablet). This document has LOTS of good advice, as well as emergency numbers. We're on this trip next month. Looking forward to hearing your impressions.
Have a great time. I am going on the same trip Sept 17. Please tell us about your trip when you return.
Choc and Brenda. We are on the Sept 10th cruise so I will try to remember to log in and share our experience. safe travels.
Helene, please circle back with your own observations now that your trip has concluded. It’s good to contribute to the knowledge base.
Helene - did you experience any issues due to low river level on the Rhône? I'm hoping France is faring better than Germany. I'll be on the Emerald/Rhône early October for French Escapade.
We leave October 18th. Beginning to get concerned about water levels. Does anyone have current experience on the Rhône?
They have had some rain in Europe that has improved things. I was speaking to friends in England yesterday and it was raining for the first time in ages.
Patrice and JonW - we were on the Aug 9th trip and the water levels were fine - we were actually surprised at how high the water was.
That is good to hear. Thank you Corriez
I have been on many land tours and river cruises with Tauck and have found the degree of "dressing up" varies. How dressy is the Savoring France cruise?
Not very. There is a dinner at an estate that it would be nice if men wore a blazer or dressier. Ladies can get by with slacks and a dressy top.
The degree varies because some cruises have special dinners off the ship at very fancy venues and because each group has a different mix of people with their own understandings, attitudes, experience, etc of dressing up. I've been on Tauck river cruises where virtually every man wore a sport coat/suit and ones where very few did. Our first river cruise was the old French Waterways which was almost identical to the Savoring France cruise and on that every man had a sportcoat/suit for special dinners. That was in 2014 and the entire group were retired or active duty navy members who are used to mandated uniform dressing. I doubt that you'd find a group that large of jacket wearers now on that cruise.
Over the years I've noticed that on board the ship even the crew dresses more casually now than they did before. Most people make an effort for the welcome/farewell dinners on board but on normal nights it's more casual though not jeans, shorts, tshirts, sneakers, flip flops, etc.
Savoring France in 2019 gentlemen wore jackets for the welcome dinner at Fouquet’s, and the dinner at Uzes, and most but not all for the farewell dinner on board.
The Aug 9 level of dress varied quite a bit. I actually expected it to be dressier. My husband wore his sport coat for Fouquet’s and Uzes. I’m noticing it’s really a matter of what you are comfortable with.