I've just been discussing Tauck river cruises. The Cat 1 cabins with no single supplement are definitely a perk. I'm booked on one for a Christmas cruise next year. Not thrilled about being in the lower deck but the price is right and since it will be winter I don't think I'll miss the full height windows as much as I would on a summer cruise.
Thanks to all for your comments on my review. Rick Steves vs. Tauck: there is some cross shopping but I agree, not much. We are an example. We met one (only one in all our tours) couple on our RS Sicily tour who had done Tauck tours as well. They carried well worn shabby luggage and filled their pockets at breakfast with pastries and other goodies. We’d see them eating the leftovers on a park bench while we sat in a cafe. Later we found out he introduced a brand of kitchen appliance to the US which you would know in an instant. He was the president and CEO. This is second house in the Hamptons money but you’d never know! But in general RS attracts a clientele very interested In the cost (although many posters on his blog insist you can have the RS tour experience on your own for much less (they are wrong IMHO)). Many tour members are teachers, pensioners, folks who have saved for years for this trip, but we’ve had our share of doctors and lawyers. You do handle your own luggage so if you have not learned how to pack light, you have a potential problem. The hotels are small, family run. Creaky might be a good term. In 11 tours with them we never suffered for lack of A/C. I think his descriptions of hotels, effort during activities, are exaggerated which helps set expectations and avoid disappointment. The age demographics are much the same as Tauck. Most people on our RS tours were over 50, the majority over 60. Our oldest was 95. (He fought in WW2, Korea and Vietnam!) Tauck tours give you much, much more in the amenities category-hotels, food, drinks, luggage porter, airport transportation-for about double what RS tours cost. The RS philosophy is a hotel is a place to rest your head at the end of a full day of seeing sites. You are there to become a temporary European so you can return on your own some day. Food, unfortunately, is not his thing. (He admitted that pre-pandemic he had never turned on his own stove!) The meals are set. Alcohol is only included on certain tours and even then is limited. So, even though Tauck and RS Europe are in the same business, the products are different and priced accordingly. Both companies have fierce loyalty and we met many folks on both RS tours and our one Tauck tour who had done fr many, many trips with the company. Lot’s of things to decide when you book one versus the other. My late mother would say that’s why Baskin Robbins has 31 flavors!
Also, don’t forget, RS specializes in Europe, Tauck goes all over the planet these days and not just during the summer. When we started traveling with Tauck, I think our first tour was one to Italy, the hotels were small and charming. I liked that. More meals were included and there was less free time. Tauck has changed due to Customer demands/change in taste of what they want to get out of a vacation. They are now more into visiting local people’s homes etc which is a bit nearer the RS experience from how I understand his philosophy. I like to watch his shows. We have only followed one recommendation and that was to a cafe in Vienna and it was horrible. We don’t have to always go ‘cheap’ which seems to be his deal, all the time any more, that’s what we had to do years ago.
@British you are correct, RS is only in Europe for tours although his shows have expanded into the Middle East and he has a book or two on cruising. His operation is tiny compared to Tauck; he has 100 employees. His books reflect his philosophy and are oriented toward the traveler with a budget. They are well researched and, in fact, will all be updated very soon (some have) post pandemic. We learned long ago that the books are very good for sites, local transportation, navigation, finding guides, and much less so for dining. If he refers to a restaurant as a “splurge” it usually is good; all others hit and miss. The hotels trend toward the sort he features on the tours; you won’t see many (any?) you’d find on a Tauck tour. My impression from one Tauck tour is that there were no participants who need to go “cheap”. On RS tours many, if not most do.
FolsomDoc - I enjoyed reading this. We too have taken a few Rick Steves tours and we have found their guides and what we see and learn as good, if not, BETTER than Tauck. We have always had AC in our RS hotels, but have not always had stairs. In Venice, we were on the 5th floor, so we had to carry our luggage up 6 flights of stairs. And, we had to deal with luggage crossing all the bridges in Venice. The hotels and group meals were just OK, but the tours are excellent - and more affordable for me and my husband at this point.
I will admit, the more we travel with Tauck, the more I LOVE the luxury - but I do feel we get a better 'true' European experience with RS.
We have been to Europe many times on our own, we've been on 7 Tauck tours with 3 more booked, and 4 RS tours. We are ready to go to Spain for our 1st time and we are trying to decide if we are going to do it on our own, with RS, or with Tauck.
My first two tours to Europe were on Globus, a more economical tour company than Tauck. They are more of an Ala carte tour company. It wasn't due to the price so much that we went on the Globus tours as it was the itinerary and a lack of knowledge about tour company options. On Globus you handle your own bags and stay in lesser quality, both from the amenities and location perspective, hotels. That said, we didn't know anything different. We enjoyed both tours.
For our third tour, our travel agent recommended Tauck. The tour was the old Greece and Turkey tour on the Wind Star that included Istanbul in the itinerary. Since then there has been nothing but Tauck for us. It was a color TV moment for my wife (once you watch color TV you never watch black and white TV again).
My wife's enjoyment of the overall tour experience (not just the sights and tour guides) probably doubled. She enjoyed the more 'pampered' experience vs what has been described as 'the more European experience' or becoming 'a temporary European'. She enjoyed the "amenities category-hotels, food, drinks, luggage porter, airport transportation" because it made her feel like she was truly on 'Vacation' vs a 'temporary' European.
The Europeans we see when on tour, in general, are working. So the 'true' European experience would be to get a job and go to work, not travel from one tourist location to the next. For me, when I'm on vacation I'm there for a much different purpose than the Europeans that live and work there. I'm not there to blend seamlessly into society, like some spy on a recon mission. I'm there on vacation to see the wonderful sights, experience the wonderful food and history, and to some degree rest and relax.
Comments
I've just been discussing Tauck river cruises. The Cat 1 cabins with no single supplement are definitely a perk. I'm booked on one for a Christmas cruise next year. Not thrilled about being in the lower deck but the price is right and since it will be winter I don't think I'll miss the full height windows as much as I would on a summer cruise.
Thanks to all for your comments on my review. Rick Steves vs. Tauck: there is some cross shopping but I agree, not much. We are an example. We met one (only one in all our tours) couple on our RS Sicily tour who had done Tauck tours as well. They carried well worn shabby luggage and filled their pockets at breakfast with pastries and other goodies. We’d see them eating the leftovers on a park bench while we sat in a cafe. Later we found out he introduced a brand of kitchen appliance to the US which you would know in an instant. He was the president and CEO. This is second house in the Hamptons money but you’d never know! But in general RS attracts a clientele very interested In the cost (although many posters on his blog insist you can have the RS tour experience on your own for much less (they are wrong IMHO)). Many tour members are teachers, pensioners, folks who have saved for years for this trip, but we’ve had our share of doctors and lawyers. You do handle your own luggage so if you have not learned how to pack light, you have a potential problem. The hotels are small, family run. Creaky might be a good term. In 11 tours with them we never suffered for lack of A/C. I think his descriptions of hotels, effort during activities, are exaggerated which helps set expectations and avoid disappointment. The age demographics are much the same as Tauck. Most people on our RS tours were over 50, the majority over 60. Our oldest was 95. (He fought in WW2, Korea and Vietnam!) Tauck tours give you much, much more in the amenities category-hotels, food, drinks, luggage porter, airport transportation-for about double what RS tours cost. The RS philosophy is a hotel is a place to rest your head at the end of a full day of seeing sites. You are there to become a temporary European so you can return on your own some day. Food, unfortunately, is not his thing. (He admitted that pre-pandemic he had never turned on his own stove!) The meals are set. Alcohol is only included on certain tours and even then is limited. So, even though Tauck and RS Europe are in the same business, the products are different and priced accordingly. Both companies have fierce loyalty and we met many folks on both RS tours and our one Tauck tour who had done fr many, many trips with the company. Lot’s of things to decide when you book one versus the other. My late mother would say that’s why Baskin Robbins has 31 flavors!
Also, don’t forget, RS specializes in Europe, Tauck goes all over the planet these days and not just during the summer. When we started traveling with Tauck, I think our first tour was one to Italy, the hotels were small and charming. I liked that. More meals were included and there was less free time. Tauck has changed due to Customer demands/change in taste of what they want to get out of a vacation. They are now more into visiting local people’s homes etc which is a bit nearer the RS experience from how I understand his philosophy. I like to watch his shows. We have only followed one recommendation and that was to a cafe in Vienna and it was horrible. We don’t have to always go ‘cheap’ which seems to be his deal, all the time any more, that’s what we had to do years ago.
@British you are correct, RS is only in Europe for tours although his shows have expanded into the Middle East and he has a book or two on cruising. His operation is tiny compared to Tauck; he has 100 employees. His books reflect his philosophy and are oriented toward the traveler with a budget. They are well researched and, in fact, will all be updated very soon (some have) post pandemic. We learned long ago that the books are very good for sites, local transportation, navigation, finding guides, and much less so for dining. If he refers to a restaurant as a “splurge” it usually is good; all others hit and miss. The hotels trend toward the sort he features on the tours; you won’t see many (any?) you’d find on a Tauck tour. My impression from one Tauck tour is that there were no participants who need to go “cheap”. On RS tours many, if not most do.
FolsomDoc - I enjoyed reading this. We too have taken a few Rick Steves tours and we have found their guides and what we see and learn as good, if not, BETTER than Tauck. We have always had AC in our RS hotels, but have not always had stairs. In Venice, we were on the 5th floor, so we had to carry our luggage up 6 flights of stairs. And, we had to deal with luggage crossing all the bridges in Venice. The hotels and group meals were just OK, but the tours are excellent - and more affordable for me and my husband at this point.
I will admit, the more we travel with Tauck, the more I LOVE the luxury - but I do feel we get a better 'true' European experience with RS.
We have been to Europe many times on our own, we've been on 7 Tauck tours with 3 more booked, and 4 RS tours. We are ready to go to Spain for our 1st time and we are trying to decide if we are going to do it on our own, with RS, or with Tauck.
Terrilyn I commented on your other post.
My first two tours to Europe were on Globus, a more economical tour company than Tauck. They are more of an Ala carte tour company. It wasn't due to the price so much that we went on the Globus tours as it was the itinerary and a lack of knowledge about tour company options. On Globus you handle your own bags and stay in lesser quality, both from the amenities and location perspective, hotels. That said, we didn't know anything different. We enjoyed both tours.
For our third tour, our travel agent recommended Tauck. The tour was the old Greece and Turkey tour on the Wind Star that included Istanbul in the itinerary. Since then there has been nothing but Tauck for us. It was a color TV moment for my wife (once you watch color TV you never watch black and white TV again).
My wife's enjoyment of the overall tour experience (not just the sights and tour guides) probably doubled. She enjoyed the more 'pampered' experience vs what has been described as 'the more European experience' or becoming 'a temporary European'. She enjoyed the "amenities category-hotels, food, drinks, luggage porter, airport transportation" because it made her feel like she was truly on 'Vacation' vs a 'temporary' European.
The Europeans we see when on tour, in general, are working. So the 'true' European experience would be to get a job and go to work, not travel from one tourist location to the next. For me, when I'm on vacation I'm there for a much different purpose than the Europeans that live and work there. I'm not there to blend seamlessly into society, like some spy on a recon mission. I'm there on vacation to see the wonderful sights, experience the wonderful food and history, and to some degree rest and relax.