I've read and learned so much from this Tauck Forum and the comments and suggestions from Tauckers (Taucksters, Tauckies, Tauckites, Tauckaholics??), that I thought I should now contribute as I experienced my first Tauck Tour and my first river cruise (Grand European Cruise) this past July/August.
While this was my first Tauck Tour, I am not new to group travel nor European and international travel. I've previously traveled several times with Globus, Insight, and several smaller companies who specialize in one country or destination. Throughout my travels, I recall seeing Tauck motor coaches in front of five-star hotels while our tours were at three and four-star properties, and thinking “someday I'll travel with Tauck.”
This past winter I received a mailing from Tauck with an enclosed postcard to check off destinations of interest, so a few weeks later I received my catalogs for Europe and River Cruising. The brochures are so beautifully well done, that I spent quite some time perusing and studying the destinations and itineraries. And what really caught my eye was the opportunity to go on a river cruise with no single supplement for the lowest category cabin. So while I had no plans of traveling this summer and hadn't been to Europe for many years, I rather impulsively called Tauck in February and booked the trip; one of the best decisions of my life.
The ship (MS Esprit) was beautiful, immaculate and glistening. My cabin, while even the lowest category, was very well suited for a solo traveler. It was cleaned twice a day, had a very comfortable bed, plenty of closet space, and I appreciated the coffee maker and small refrigerator with cold drinks. Tauck's partnership with Scylla is seamless, as the entire ship staff was professional and friendly. By the second or third day, I was greeted by name by all the staff.
The food was absolutely delicious! And the service in the dining room was outstanding under the leadership of the wonderful Maitre D'. I am very familiar with fine dining, and every meal and every day, the Compass Rose was just that. Arthur's too was very nice for a snack and a cappuccino.
The shining stars of the entire trip were the three Tauck directors; Sanja, Darinka, and Razvan. All three were superb! They each were highly intelligent, experienced, kind, friendly, patient, and unflappable; I admire them greatly. I was so impressed how we were separated into three smaller groups at each of our destinations, and how one of the three directors accompanied each group along with the local tour guide. This kind of service and individual attention to each passenger is of great value and separates Tauck from the rest.
By the third day on the ship I was so impressed and pleased with everything, I spoke with our Tauck cruise director Yener about booking for NEXT summer, and he was able to connect me with Tauck reservations from the ship. I was excited to book two back to back river cruises that begin in Paris. I think the greatest proof of my satisfaction, praise and commendation for Tauck is that of booking future travel while on my first trip. In fact, I've become something of an unofficial Tauck ambassador. I was praising Tauck to people who were traveling with that “other” large river cruise company who I encountered at our hotel in Bucharest, as well as on the airplanes, and of course since I've returned home.
I'm looking forward to many, many more Tauck Tours in the years ahead. I met a great many fellow passengers who had been on twenty plus Tauck Tours. I have some catching up to do! Funny story, I met a nice woman the first day of our trip and asked if she'd ever been on a Tauck Tour, and she unassumingly affirmed that she had. The first evening on the ship, as we sat together at the Captain's Welcome Toast, our Cruise Director asked for a show of hands of first time Tauck travelers, then those who'd been on ten, then twenty, then thirty Tauck Tours. Then he said that one of our passengers had been on 72 Tauck Tours, this being her 73rd! Indeed, it was my new friend sitting next to me. Wow!
