I didn’t mean for this to be a contest or an opportunity for people to be condescending. This is a travel forum where people share experiences, tips and help each other. As I said, this was a recent phenomenon ( Sept 2022, and April 2023). The emails were informational, had practical tips for pre tour money exchange, airport transfers ( in certain countries the drivers cannot come into the airports) , and pre tour activities. Voikk - I hope you can get your transfer from the train station! You are doing 2 back to back tours. You deserve some flexibility on their part.
I've never received an email from a TD in 11 tours and don't expect one. That said, if one arrived I wouldn't mind.
I think each TD probably has their own way of doing things, within the Tauck guidelines. Some probably feel that pre-tour emails help in their preparation and make the tour go a bit smoother, whereas other TDs probably feel there wouldn't be enough added benefit or that they might actually just create additional work and therefore don't send them.
I'm good either way.
It's kind of like the packing cubes that some people have been receiving. I don't expect them, but I wouldn't mind if they showed up.
We've been contacted by a TD before a trip, via e-mail twice.
More recently we actually received a personal phone call from our TD!!! TD: "Where are you? The hotel said you checked in yesterday?" Me, "We are sitting at home watching TV and hoping our flight gets out tomorrow!" (We were headed to Athens two days before the start of Treasures of the Aegean. Unfortunately, our flight was during the 2022 "Memorial Day weekend from Hell." We finally made it two days later- we literally walked in as the Welcome Dinner was beginning!
I received a pre tour email for the K&T trip last October from a Tauck tour director with lots of great advice/info along with What's App contact info which was really helpful while on tour. This was the only time I received a pre tour communication from any tour director.
I should revise my above comment slightly. I have received What’sApp contact from a TD once we arrived in country, but before the tour started. I haven’t ever received one before leaving for the tour.
Comments
I never had a TD contact me in 16 plus years, had the same TD twice, on land tours and river cruises, never known ahead of time who the TD is.
I didn’t mean for this to be a contest or an opportunity for people to be condescending. This is a travel forum where people share experiences, tips and help each other. As I said, this was a recent phenomenon ( Sept 2022, and April 2023). The emails were informational, had practical tips for pre tour money exchange, airport transfers ( in certain countries the drivers cannot come into the airports) , and pre tour activities. Voikk - I hope you can get your transfer from the train station! You are doing 2 back to back tours. You deserve some flexibility on their part.
I've never received an email from a TD in 11 tours and don't expect one. That said, if one arrived I wouldn't mind.
I think each TD probably has their own way of doing things, within the Tauck guidelines. Some probably feel that pre-tour emails help in their preparation and make the tour go a bit smoother, whereas other TDs probably feel there wouldn't be enough added benefit or that they might actually just create additional work and therefore don't send them.
I'm good either way.
It's kind of like the packing cubes that some people have been receiving. I don't expect them, but I wouldn't mind if they showed up.
We've been contacted by a TD before a trip, via e-mail twice.
More recently we actually received a personal phone call from our TD!!! TD: "Where are you? The hotel said you checked in yesterday?" Me, "We are sitting at home watching TV and hoping our flight gets out tomorrow!"
(We were headed to Athens two days before the start of Treasures of the Aegean. Unfortunately, our flight was during the 2022 "Memorial Day weekend from Hell." We finally made it two days later- we literally walked in as the Welcome Dinner was beginning! 
I received a pre tour email for the K&T trip last October from a Tauck tour director with lots of great advice/info along with What's App contact info which was really helpful while on tour. This was the only time I received a pre tour communication from any tour director.
Voikk32, was your TD Anna? She is Austrian. I don’t think it would be the same TD that Cathy mentions.
I should revise my above comment slightly. I have received What’sApp contact from a TD once we arrived in country, but before the tour started. I haven’t ever received one before leaving for the tour.
My tour director was Stacie Knight and she was fabulous!
We loved Stacie too! We had her on a Christmas market river cruise tour and she was a guest on the Douro river cruise when we went.
I had Stacie for K & T, she is great.
Mother of Poodles I would love to contact you. You have gone to many of the same places we have. My poodle (our third) is the love of our lives