nav[aria-label="Primary Navigation"] { padding: 0; & ul { list-style: none; width: 100%; display: flex; flex-direction: row; justify-content: start; align-items: start; gap: 30px; padding: 0; & li { margin: 0; } & ul li { list-style: none; } } }

Tauck guests on small ship tours

mjhandle

I’ve been wondering how Tauck guests fit in on small ship trips. I know there is a director for the Tauck people. In what ways are we separated from the other guests? Are the Tauck excursions separate from the rest? Do we ever eat as a group? Is the alcohol package included as it would be on riverboat cruises? The ship we’re thinking of in the Wind Surf. I’ve read that it really needs some updating. What are your thoughts? I appreciate any help you could give. We’ve never done a small ship tour before. Thanks!

Comments

Ken from Vegas

Guests are not separated aboard ship. Tauck excursions are separate, as are any Tauck specific presentations. Tauck usually gets priority disembarking. On the Ponant ships, Tauck sometimes books the entire ship, but I don't think they do that on Windstar. Eating as a group will happen ashore, but not on the ship. Which trip are you considering?

mjhandle

We are looking at the treasures of Spain and Portugal in April 2026. Looks like many of the cabins for Tauck have already been reserved for that date.

British

Do the land tour, you’ll see way more.

Sealord

British does not like boats. We have done the Treasures of Spain and Portugal on the Wind Surf and we enjoyed it a lot. The Wind Surf is actually our favorite ship. We have cruised on all of Windstar’s ships, but we have cruised mostly on the Wind Surf. Their ships are going through a multi-phase renovation process. The public areas of the Wind Surf were redone a couple of months ago. The cabins I think will be redone next year. They do purchase the beverage package for the Tauck guests. They normally have a cruise director and one TD for each forty guests. The Tauck tours are ‘mostly’ separate from the Windstar tours, but there are some shared ‘events’. All of the ‘standard’ cabins are identical … only difference is location. The suites are twice as big, and there are several ‘special’ suites. They have very good food and service. They have an on deck BBQ that is amazing. All the standard rooms are 188 sq. ft., and they are comfortable and nice but ready for a more modern touch. There are portholes, and no balconies. There are no ‘Broadway’ shows, but they do have a band and a duet, and the crew puts on a great show. It is a Motor Sailing Yacht, but they don’t do much sailing in the Med. They sail quite a bit in the Caribbean. Most of the service people will know you by name after the first day or so.

We will be on the Wind Surf in September doing Venice, Croatia, and Italy … not a Tauck trip.

Patrice

Ditto what Sealord said. I enjoyed the first Treasures of Spain & Portugal tour on Wind Surf after Covid restrictions were lifted. There were 22 Tauck guests. Perhaps only 100 Windstar guests, so more crew than guests. We wore a pin to identify us while on board. The optional al fresco breakfast was fantastic. Very attentive service. I like unpacking and having my cabin travel through the tour with me.

MikeHenderson

In my opinion, there are advantages on both sides. From my experience, there's no doubt that you see and experience more on a land tour. The problem with a cruise is that you can only see those things that are fairly close to the port. It just takes too much time to take you further into the country and most people rebel at long bus rides - and corresponding long excursions.

But on a land tour you'll change hotels about ever two days. On a ship, you unpack once and don't repack until the end of the tour.

I found land tours to be a bit more strenuous than a cruise - there are no "sea days" on a land tour.

For some tours, you must take a ship – such as Greek Isles.

My preference is for land tours.

[Added note: I did a cruise recently that included Japan, which I'm fairly familiar with. The excursions from the ship did not, in any way, allow the guest to experience Japan’s unique culture. The ONLY way to really see Japan is by residing in Japan – stay in a Ryokan, in a room with tatami mats, sleep under a futon, eat Japanese food, use a Japanese communal bath, wear a yukata, maybe participate in a tea ceremony, go see a Kabuki or Noh show, attend a sumo event. You just can’t do any of that on a cruise. And yet, people will come away from the cruise thinking they saw Japan.]

Noreen

We like both land tours and cruises. This year we will take two land tours with Tauck and two river cruises in Europe. We like to mix it up. Next year we will take a very long cruise with Silversea and two land tours with Tauck. I agree with Mike that you get a much better feel for the country and culture with land tours, however, packing once is also something we look forward to especially as we get older.

Smiling Sam

Different strokes … There are bus people and there are boat people, and the two may never meet.

Put a different way. 😀

There are people that like to see the sights and people that like to sit around the bar schmoozing with the other guests, and the two may never meet.

Don't get me wrong, I like the schmoozing around a bar, but that's not what I paid thousands of dollars to do.

cvc

We've done lots of land tours and I feel you get a better sense of the area visited with land tours. We are doing more riverboat and small ship cruises recently. I am beginning to have some knee issues and being on a ship allows me to stay back if I am having a bad day. I still have lots of places I would like to visit so seeing these places via ship is a nice compromise for me.

kfnknfzk

When my husband began having mobility issues, we switched to the riverboats. Perhaps it was the ones we chose, but we never felt we missed out on anything. To the contrary, we have had some very culturally enriching experiences on our riverboat journeys. We always supplement them with pre-and-post tour days so we can explore on our own. I do, however, have a few land tours I will do on my own because they are unaccessible by boat and I really wish to experience them; South Africa and Morocco are two examples.

It is a personal choice; the only 'right' way to travel is what works for you. With respect to the question posed about small ships and guests, I have only been on one Ponant tour and all the guests were Tauck travelers.

Sealord

Schmoozing at “Candles”, the steak house on the Wind Surf with our traveling companions and our favorite waiter.

kfnknfzk

Hardly "schmoozing." I see no manipulation or attempts to impress, just like-minded travelers enjoying each other's company.

Sealord

kfnknfzk: I was kidding about the schmoozing … you are correct … we all were just having a good time. We did lots of touring on this trip, and there were even a couple of long bus rides. We do not need to fill every minute with new sites, and we do enjoy having opportunities to relax. In Majorca most of us actually returned to the boat early to escape the heat.

kfnknfzk

Yes, I was kidding as well and knew you were responding to another post. Happy sailing.

mjhandle

One more question that is strictly opinion…Treasures of Spain and Portugal could be in late June or early November. I know they’re so different, but what are some thoughts?

Sealord

I would definitely choose November for the mild temperatures.

kfnknfzk

I have frequently traveled to that region in the fall. Early November is ideal. Moreover, I have not experienced steady rain, just light showers on occasion. The exception was a torrential but brief downpour in Porto, Portugal. A light rain jacket and preferably one with a lining and hood will suffice for outerwear. Light but warm garments such as merino wool and cashmere, or blends of same, will suffice in my opinion. Enjoy!

howard_sandler

We just returned from the Treasures of the Mediterranean small ship tour. Tauck had the whole ship (Ponant). Actually, there were 141 Tauck folks on a ship that held about 160. There were no other guests. It was great from our perspective. Ponant did a superb job.