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Anyone just returned from Rhine River Cruise?
Looking for comments from guests who have just returned from this cruise. Looking at this trip for end of April 2015.
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I am depressed to hear that the tone has been lowered as regards the European dining experience. That is terrible news. This is particularly the case for those who value the art of dining and appreciate the quality of the cuisine and style of service that has set Tauck's sophisticated riverboat experience so far ahead of their competitors. I suppose there is only so much ridicule a chef can take before having to pitch his offerings at the major demographic's common denominator. What a sad state of affairs.
I'm really sorry to hear this. Could I hope this situation was merely an aberration? Does your review reflect the entire trip? I hope you made your feelings clear on the comment form. I know Tauck take guest comments very seriously.
Cheers,
Jan
We were pleased that we selected the combined Rhine and Moselle voyage rather than just the Rhine voyage. Overall the Moselle is much more scenic than the Rhine. The Moselle has vineyards and small towns that can be seen from the ship. Except for the scenic castle stretch, the Rhine is fairly industrial. It does not have many small towns that can be seen while cruising along the river. Apparently the Rhine used to flood frequently before the lock system was built, so towns tended to be built further inland from the Rhine. Consequently bus trips were required to visit the towns. On both the Rhine and the Moselle there were many swans and swanlets to delight us - even in the industrial areas.
The touring and activities were fairly fast paced, and there was not much down time unless you made it. Sometimes the boat would continue along the river while the tour groups were exploring a town, and the buses would later deliver the groups back to the boat further along the river. We were certainly not required to participate in all tours and activities, and it is nice to have options. One sunny day we were enjoying cruising the Moselle so much that we decided to stay onboard the boat and cruise the river in lieu of a bus tour to a castle and wine tasting. It is nice to have options, and Tauck makes it easy to do some tailoring of the trip. If I had it to do over again, I would elect to forego the castle dinner on day 6 and instead remain onboard and cruise the scenic Rhine between Boppard and Koblenz.
The MS Inspire is beautiful, and it was the best looking riverboat of any that we saw on the rivers. We were very pleased with our cabin. It was spacious with lots of storage space. We did not experience very much stacked docking on this voyage. We were stacked in Basel and Amsterdam, but not very many other places. It may have been luck or perhaps Tauck is very good at logistics planning in order to minimize stacking.
We thought the dining experience was very good. The soups in particular were excellent. The food choices were varied and well presented. Based on the experiences of friends who have cruised other lines, we believe that Tauck most likely has the best dining experience of all the riverboat lines. By the way, my husband loves desserts, and he was pleased with the selection. We enjoyed dining at the specialty restaurant Arthur's. Tip: Make you reservation early (soon after embarkation) and try to reserve a date when you will be cruising the river during dinner as opposed to being docked during dinner. We have fond memories of sailing by Moselle vineyards during our dinner at Arthur's.
Cocktails were readily available in the lounge, and the bar manager was friendly and accommodating.
Service onboard overall was quite good. The dining staff had a few very minor issues, but this is to be expected on a new ship with new staff. It will smooth out after a few more sailings.
The cruise director and tour directors were excellent and efficient.
We will certainly consider another river cruise with Tauck. We are considering the Danube, which we are told has many small towns close to the river similar to the Moselle.
How did you find the whole European dining experience (not just the cuisine)? Is it still the sophisticated and elegant dining environment as it has always been? The previous poster described a more down market scene. That part of a Tauck river cruise is almost as crucial as anything you'll see and experience along the way. I don't mean the casual dining area, which is where you'd eat a meal if you don't want the full experience. It's great that Tauck provide an alternative venue for the times when you might be feeling a little under the weather and just need a simple bite to eat. Or when the kids refuse to lose the shorts or denim! Kids! Gotta luv 'em.
You will definitely enjoy a Danube cruise. There are some wonderful stops along the way … Budapest, Bratislava, Belgrade and of course, finishing off at the amazing Roman port of Constanza. Fascinating place! Then there's the almost gothic romance of Bucharest. Eastern Europe is such an amazing region you'll wonder why you've never been before.
Cheers,
Jan
Tauck made every effort to create an elegant dining experience. Most people dressed up for the Captain's Welcome and Farewell dinners. Most of the gents wore jackets without a tie. On the other evenings the attire was mixed in the dining room. Most people made a change of clothes for dinner, but some did not. There was often very little time (say 15 min) between returning from touring and the start of the cocktail hour. There was not much time to freshen up unless one wanted to skip pre-dinner cocktails or have a later dinner. This schedule probably influenced evening dress, and a small percentage of the folks decide to remain in very casual clothes. In the evening people dressed nicely for the specialty restaurant Arthur's. Dress at Arthur's was comparable to that in the main dining room in the evening.
The overall trend in the cruising industry, both ocean and river, is to have less dressy attire. This is true even on the luxury ocean liners, particularly those with port intensive itineraries. Many of those that have cruised for many years lament this trend. However there are many cruisers today that would reject any cruise line that tried to enforce strict dress codes, so the cruise lines need to adapt if they are to remain in business. Thus Tauck can recommend what is appropriate, but they will not have strict requirements.
The Tauck dining experience is still very elegant even if some choose to dress casually.
I look forward to cruising the Danube with Tauck. I would not consider any other river cruise line. I do believe Tauck is the best on the rivers.
Your comments regarding the …"overall trend in the cruising industry" reinforce my view of that travel option. I do know that there is enormous growth in that segment of the industry that caters to committed travellers as against bulk, family tourism. They are distinct sectors. I don't wish to debate the meaning of clean, fresh, stylish, casual, elegant, dressy, smart, practical, presentable, appropriate, classy, tired, careless, inappropriate, ill-mannered. One person's boiler suit is another's white tie & tails. On the right body, of course. However, I am sure that evening dress is not a requirement for this cruise. Isn't that a relief!
Aren't social manners an interesting thing.
Cheers,
Jan
Gary
Jerry
Rod
Cheers,
Jan
We thought dining on the ship was great. Enough really good choices at each meal. Very, very happy with the options and also the service. All of the staff we encountered were very professional, always helpful, and had great personalities.
Loved the boat- accommodations very comfortable. I also was rather surprised that people did not dress for dinner. Some came in same clothes they were in all day; that I found unusual as most Tauck clients do not do that. They did not on the Danube trip. However, that is what makes river cruising so great- it is your call as there is not a dress code. Yes there were days you did not have much time before dinner. How long does it take to change your clothes and freshen up a bit?
Dining was great with many choices and service was great. Since I do not eat dessert cannot comment on that, however, dinner companions were all raving about them. Yes we had a lot of early departures as we had to drive into the towns as generally they are not built to suit tourists who do not want to get up early. You always have the option of staying on board and do "your own thing". I did not book this trip to sleep in; I wanted to see it all. There is a LOT of walking on cobblestones and towns are hilly-many of us had a snooze on motor coach on way back to boat.
Had a wonderful experience and would highly recommend this trip!
Thinking that all the sites would be BY the river is surprising to me.
The only negatives were during breakfast when there did seem to be some confusion if you ordered hot food - eggs, pancakes, etc. Do you order from the chef directly or take your seat and order from the waiter? There were a couple of instances were the wrong order came or to the wrong table. Also the dinner off the ship at Pont du Gard was not my favorite as the only entrée was roast lamb - I don't like lamb but my husband does and he enjoyed it.
I'm quite happy that dressing up every night wasn't an issue. The first night on we were exhausted and later than expected due to a screw up by TGV. Quickly unpacked our bags and headed to the already in progress happy hour. Several glasses of Moet & Chandon and life was looking much better. No one ever wore really casual clothes like short shorts or track suits. Most wore the clean casual clothes they had spent the day in. The last night out everyone made an effort and dressed up a bit. Frankly, I wished I'd left more dressy clothes home and had packing room for souvenirs.
As for our plans next year, we are thinking of the Oct southbound trip on the Inspire. We can't decide on which stateroom though. Would appreciate some help from those who have traveled the Inspire (or Savor) this year. We had a Cat 4 (150 sqr ft) on the Ruby deck of the Swiss Emerald and loved it. Not sure whether to try for 1 of the 3 Cat 2's on the Ruby deck or go for one of the new loft cabins.
Are rooms 228 or 229 noisy? Do they have the same layout as 215 i.e. the standard shape of the 150 sqr ft cabins? They look different in the deck plans. A review on another website said all staterooms on the Inspire came with in room coffee makers. I know the loft rooms do and probably the other large staterooms but what about the smaller rooms?
We are sailing southbound on the Inspire next week and I will definitely post my observations as I've done in the past on our Tauck trips. We've booked a loft cabin which I'm very excited about - they give the appearance of space to move about and separate from the sleeping area, an idea I love. You are rarely in your cabin, so a balcony in cold weather isn't necessary.
We, too, have found that many do not dress anymore for dinner and I frankly find that a relief. Nice pants or skirt and top seem fine for the women; khakis and shirt for men. Jeans are becoming more common as well, especially after a long day off ship; there's often very little turnaround time to freshen up. I always bring too many "dressy" things and not enough everyday items, so packing differently this time. And the weather forecast is for cold weather in early April so I plan to layer with fleece, wool sox, gloves, hats. I'm bringing a pair of sneakers that is more "waterproof" than the regular mesh type in case of rainy days. I always travel with a tissue turtleneck for layering, and long underwear as well - you can always sleep in it! I also bring my black "puffer" coat that is very lightweight, but has some down in it for warmth. I can layer a fleece underneath.
We did Tauck's Blue Danube a few years ago and it was truly magnificent. If you are considering that, go! Very scenic and wonderful small towns in addition to the bigger cities. A wonderful combination.
I'm curious what opportunities there are for bike rides on this itinerary.
We don't sail til Oct so may see similar cold temps to what you will get. I'm planning a very layered wardrobe. Found several thin base layer tshirts that will easily wash out in a sink and primarily black pants so I can limit the number of shoes. One nice evening cardigan and some colored tops and scarfs to mix/match. No dress, no pantyhose. Yeah.
Excited about Amsterdam. The more I read about it the more I want to see. Just finished "Tulip Fever" by Deborah Moggach (who also wrote Best Exotic Marigold Hotel) and hoping the movie comes out before I leave. The story is good although a bit tedious to read at times.