" What kind of 3 years old trust the Tauck Air Department? They have done so many nasty things to me on the A Week In Portugal trip in order to put me on the $3000 business class airfare as part of the deal. Should have never taken it. They literally told me I cannot take this one particular flight no matter what or you will forefeit the benefit."
What kind of "nasty things" could they possibly have done? Told you No. Forced you on a plane at gunpoint.
Given that the Take Off With Tauck airfare deal is only offered for that years tours, the airline schedules are available to research within the 10 day window that Tauck allows you to cancel without penalty. If you didn't like the flights and/or prices available thru them you could have (1) booked your own airfare or (2) canceled the trip.
We tried using the Take Off with Tauck airfare deal last year and the air dept could not come up with a combination of flights to/from our home airport that qualified for the deal. Because it was within 10 days of booking the tour I was able to cancel and get all money back.
If you're not happy with what happened henrypoon, some of it's on you. If you want to travel with a different company - Tauck and the rest of us with limp along without you.
franlovestravel - thank you so much for your message with the update re: airfare. I see clearly what you see ---- really difficult to get back home to DFW since the tour doesn't end in Athens. You could take an Aegean flight very early AM from Crete to Athens and then fly home to US from Athens, but you'd have to leave Crete about 2 AM in order to ensure a connection in Athens to Chicago, and then home to Dallas. You could leave a little later and take the Athens to JFK flight, but with jet lag the hours would be crazy by the time you landed in DFW. So...agree with you that this tour needs to be reworked.
henrypoon_66 - I enjoyed reading your messages and have to agree with you re: Week in Portugal tour. I took it in Sept. 2023 and I agree with your description re: food. It was really awful ---- particularly the buffet lunch following the visit to charming Obidos at the traditional estate/horse farm, the Tuk Tuk lunch through Lisbon (yes, we were also squeezed into a tiny room where we could barely move), not to mention the awful lunch in Evora next to the cathedral with the bones. I NEVER send food back, but did so at the lunch in Evora because it was so bad. ...and not to mention the breakfasts at the hotel in Porto. Service was so poor we could never find a table that had been cleared so we had to bus the tables ourselves and the food and coffee were awful. We also poured our own coffee refills because staff was nowhere to be found. Buffet dinners at Convento do Espinheiro in Evora were also a disappointment. I will say the food at the Marriott Praia D'el Rey was actually delish --- best meal on the tour.
Whenever my daughter and I ate on our own in Portugal, we found lots of good food and we dined at a number of outstanding and inexpensive establishments. Even the train station in Porto was amazing and apparently a "foodie find."
I have a question about the flight offerings for Take Off with Tauck airfare deals. When I book flights on my own or through a TA, whether using cash or points, I am mindful of where the flights overfly. The US based airlines are cautious, even if it makes for longer/more expensive flights, but some foreign carriers are not that way. Is there any screening, or does Tauck generally offer the cheapest options without consideration of factors like overfly. Thanks.
I went September 2023 and experienced exactly the same issues you have encountered. The food was truly AWFUL! The horse farm has flies flying everywhere all over the two to three dishes buffet which has sat on the table since the morning. Before serving, we were MADE to go to the stables to look at all the horses for 45 minutes before we could sit and eat. There was no other place any one can escape to wihtin 50 miles of the estate. For the tuk tuk lunch, the table and room was so small and without any air conditioning. It is very difficult NOT to pass out or have some one spilled drinks or stepped on toes. Remember, they used tiny wodden stools for seats. Again, there were flies every where at that restaurant but the kicker was the Evora lunch, the chicken tasted like a piece of rock and has to be sent back. Oh yes, the buffet at Covento Do Espinheiro was also a huge disppaointment and the two Fado singers stayed for 30 minutes, clearly they were amateur college students or street performers. Agreed the dinner at Marriott was the best.
Sevenseas:
Tauck may not be the cheapest depending on your situation. For a lot of people, it is NOT. You should go on line to search yourself to see if you can find something cheaper. Also, you can go on any Asian or European airlines' website to look for the tickets yourself and make the connection within the continential U.S. using your domestic carrier frequent flyer miles. Tauck does not have relationship with Aegean so they will spin so many tales in order to trap you on their preferred carrier. Also, you can tell the Tauck Air Department that you hav e found better flights and asked them to price match.
Does any one think ClaudiaXXX is a paid on line influencer working for Tauck or she works Tauck's Air Department. Some of the details she knows seem to be highly confidential.
No she is not a a Tauck person and neither am I but I take time to listen to the Tour Directors and I’ve taken a tour with Peter Tauck too, that’s the guy who you hear when you call Tauck. Maybe your attitude when you call Tauck rubs people up the wrong way.
Tauck air will book any flight you want but they cannot get special prices, just what you see on line. They in most cases will have to charge you up front. But these days they do that for most tour locations anyway which was not the original way it worked, you did not pay until six weeks before your trip. Also, you cannot use air miles with Tauck. We mostly book our own flights these past few years, we have never had pressure from Tauck to book their flights. They never even mention flights when you book a tour.
henrypoon_66 - Your constant ridiculing and verbal assaults of other people are inappropriate for this forum, or any forum. It speaks volumes about your maturity and character.
henry, you're just sad. No I'm not a social media influencer and Tauck certainly isn't paying me a dime or giving any freebies that anyone else isn't also getting. I'm a retired military officer with a master's degree in research/analysis. Which means I'm naturally inclined to do a lot of reading and research. I'm also honest to the point of bluntness -- all too often. I've been on the forum since 2014 and learned a lot about how to find out information on the forum and on Tauck's website. Something anyone here could do but all too often don't bother to do.
No I don't work for any part of Tauck including the air dept. We have used the Take Off with Tauck airfare deal once for our Oct trip to Italy. The air dept found flights that worked well for us and were the price stated. We tried again last year for Scandinavia and it didn't work as there apparently is a cap on how much Tauck will spend. It may be the summer air prices just made it impossible coupled with living in a city too far from a hub.
We're soon approaching tours 14 & 15 for us. _From experience _I know what Gift of Time is and how to get it. I know Tauck gives you 10 days once you make a deposit on a priced tour to cancel without penalty. I know if the tour isn't priced you can make a deposit & pay for guest protection and have 2 weeks after the tour is priced to cancel getting all your money back. I know how to find the darn packing list that seems to evade all too many people. I know how to use google to check out the weather, the hotel locations, what sights to see. I know how to read history and guide books. I use youtube to visually see sights and get food tips. Sheesh, maybe I should apply to Tauck except I don't need or want additional work.
I've written fairly detailed reviews of most of our tours. Here's links to a few. Feel free to read them and note the things I liked and the things I didn't. I do the same on the comment cards at the end of tours. When I don't like something I try be constructive in my criticism.
Comments
" What kind of 3 years old trust the Tauck Air Department? They have done so many nasty things to me on the A Week In Portugal trip in order to put me on the $3000 business class airfare as part of the deal. Should have never taken it. They literally told me I cannot take this one particular flight no matter what or you will forefeit the benefit."
What kind of "nasty things" could they possibly have done? Told you No. Forced you on a plane at gunpoint.
Given that the Take Off With Tauck airfare deal is only offered for that years tours, the airline schedules are available to research within the 10 day window that Tauck allows you to cancel without penalty. If you didn't like the flights and/or prices available thru them you could have (1) booked your own airfare or (2) canceled the trip.
We tried using the Take Off with Tauck airfare deal last year and the air dept could not come up with a combination of flights to/from our home airport that qualified for the deal. Because it was within 10 days of booking the tour I was able to cancel and get all money back.
If you're not happy with what happened henrypoon, some of it's on you. If you want to travel with a different company - Tauck and the rest of us with limp along without you.
I’ve developed a sudden limp.
franlovestravel - thank you so much for your message with the update re: airfare. I see clearly what you see ---- really difficult to get back home to DFW since the tour doesn't end in Athens. You could take an Aegean flight very early AM from Crete to Athens and then fly home to US from Athens, but you'd have to leave Crete about 2 AM in order to ensure a connection in Athens to Chicago, and then home to Dallas. You could leave a little later and take the Athens to JFK flight, but with jet lag the hours would be crazy by the time you landed in DFW. So...agree with you that this tour needs to be reworked.
henrypoon_66 - I enjoyed reading your messages and have to agree with you re: Week in Portugal tour. I took it in Sept. 2023 and I agree with your description re: food. It was really awful ---- particularly the buffet lunch following the visit to charming Obidos at the traditional estate/horse farm, the Tuk Tuk lunch through Lisbon (yes, we were also squeezed into a tiny room where we could barely move), not to mention the awful lunch in Evora next to the cathedral with the bones. I NEVER send food back, but did so at the lunch in Evora because it was so bad. ...and not to mention the breakfasts at the hotel in Porto. Service was so poor we could never find a table that had been cleared so we had to bus the tables ourselves and the food and coffee were awful. We also poured our own coffee refills because staff was nowhere to be found. Buffet dinners at Convento do Espinheiro in Evora were also a disappointment. I will say the food at the Marriott Praia D'el Rey was actually delish --- best meal on the tour.
Whenever my daughter and I ate on our own in Portugal, we found lots of good food and we dined at a number of outstanding and inexpensive establishments. Even the train station in Porto was amazing and apparently a "foodie find."
I have a question about the flight offerings for Take Off with Tauck airfare deals. When I book flights on my own or through a TA, whether using cash or points, I am mindful of where the flights overfly. The US based airlines are cautious, even if it makes for longer/more expensive flights, but some foreign carriers are not that way. Is there any screening, or does Tauck generally offer the cheapest options without consideration of factors like overfly. Thanks.
Lisajanetx:
I went September 2023 and experienced exactly the same issues you have encountered. The food was truly AWFUL! The horse farm has flies flying everywhere all over the two to three dishes buffet which has sat on the table since the morning. Before serving, we were MADE to go to the stables to look at all the horses for 45 minutes before we could sit and eat. There was no other place any one can escape to wihtin 50 miles of the estate. For the tuk tuk lunch, the table and room was so small and without any air conditioning. It is very difficult NOT to pass out or have some one spilled drinks or stepped on toes. Remember, they used tiny wodden stools for seats. Again, there were flies every where at that restaurant but the kicker was the Evora lunch, the chicken tasted like a piece of rock and has to be sent back. Oh yes, the buffet at Covento Do Espinheiro was also a huge disppaointment and the two Fado singers stayed for 30 minutes, clearly they were amateur college students or street performers. Agreed the dinner at Marriott was the best.
Sevenseas:
Tauck may not be the cheapest depending on your situation. For a lot of people, it is NOT. You should go on line to search yourself to see if you can find something cheaper. Also, you can go on any Asian or European airlines' website to look for the tickets yourself and make the connection within the continential U.S. using your domestic carrier frequent flyer miles. Tauck does not have relationship with Aegean so they will spin so many tales in order to trap you on their preferred carrier. Also, you can tell the Tauck Air Department that you hav e found better flights and asked them to price match.
Does any one think ClaudiaXXX is a paid on line influencer working for Tauck or she works Tauck's Air Department. Some of the details she knows seem to be highly confidential.
No she is not a a Tauck person and neither am I but I take time to listen to the Tour Directors and I’ve taken a tour with Peter Tauck too, that’s the guy who you hear when you call Tauck. Maybe your attitude when you call Tauck rubs people up the wrong way.
Tauck air will book any flight you want but they cannot get special prices, just what you see on line. They in most cases will have to charge you up front. But these days they do that for most tour locations anyway which was not the original way it worked, you did not pay until six weeks before your trip. Also, you cannot use air miles with Tauck. We mostly book our own flights these past few years, we have never had pressure from Tauck to book their flights. They never even mention flights when you book a tour.
henrypoon_66 - Your constant ridiculing and verbal assaults of other people are inappropriate for this forum, or any forum. It speaks volumes about your maturity and character.
henry, you're just sad. No I'm not a social media influencer and Tauck certainly isn't paying me a dime or giving any freebies that anyone else isn't also getting. I'm a retired military officer with a master's degree in research/analysis. Which means I'm naturally inclined to do a lot of reading and research. I'm also honest to the point of bluntness -- all too often. I've been on the forum since 2014 and learned a lot about how to find out information on the forum and on Tauck's website. Something anyone here could do but all too often don't bother to do.
No I don't work for any part of Tauck including the air dept. We have used the Take Off with Tauck airfare deal once for our Oct trip to Italy. The air dept found flights that worked well for us and were the price stated. We tried again last year for Scandinavia and it didn't work as there apparently is a cap on how much Tauck will spend. It may be the summer air prices just made it impossible coupled with living in a city too far from a hub.
We're soon approaching tours 14 & 15 for us. _From experience _I know what Gift of Time is and how to get it. I know Tauck gives you 10 days once you make a deposit on a priced tour to cancel without penalty. I know if the tour isn't priced you can make a deposit & pay for guest protection and have 2 weeks after the tour is priced to cancel getting all your money back. I know how to find the darn packing list that seems to evade all too many people. I know how to use google to check out the weather, the hotel locations, what sights to see. I know how to read history and guide books. I use youtube to visually see sights and get food tips. Sheesh, maybe I should apply to Tauck except I don't need or want additional work.
I've written fairly detailed reviews of most of our tours. Here's links to a few. Feel free to read them and note the things I liked and the things I didn't. I do the same on the comment cards at the end of tours. When I don't like something I try be constructive in my criticism.
Rhine/Moselle
https://forums.tauck.com/discussion/8036/14-october-southbound-rhine-moselle-cruise-report#latest
England Scotland Wales
https://forums.tauck.com/discussion/10920/a-review-by-a-river-cruiser#latest
Best of Ireland
https://forums.tauck.com/discussion/12451/best-of-ireland-16-jun-itinerary-review#latest
Douro plus Madrid and Lisbon
https://forums.tauck.com/discussion/16451/eastbound-tour-26-oct-22/p1
Classic Italy
https://forums.tauck.com/discussion/17333/tour-review-3-17-oct-2023#latest
Canadian Maritimes
https://forums.tauck.com/discussion/18211/17-27-sep-24-tour-review#latest
Please put this to rest
henrypoon_66 Now I'm wondering if we were on the same tour??? As best I can tell, the Portugal tour we were on began Sept. 9.
A week earlier.
Henrypoon_66 OK, may have been a week earlier but I think I saw the same flies -----