A request to TAuck Moderator on the use of Forums
Hi Tauck moderators and others,
This is a suggestion that I have made in each and every critique of the 4 wonderful Tauck trips I have taken.
We have followed your guidelines and have always arranged to arrive at our destination 1-2 days before the beginning of each trip, allowing us to partially recover from jet lag and to give us time to view sites that are of interest to us, but that may not be included on the group itinerary. Usually this means that we do our own research and wind up going to places on our own. Usually when the tour starts we discover that we actually ran into others on our tour. Had we known that these fellow travelers were available, it would have been wonderful to do these tours/walks/dinners /concerts together, sometimes saving a great deal of money in the process. By reading the forums of trips we have taken and those that are in the planning stages it appears that many of the Tauck travelers are interested in doing exactly the same thing.
I understand that there are privacy issues concerning distributing names of fellow travelers, and that there are other issues concerning the specific details of each trip but we have gone to operas, penguins, jewish shanghai, etc. on our own when a group would have been much more enjoyable. Also, since Tauck is so supportive of arriving at each location early, I would suggest that the PR persons involved with this tours might suggest some of the local attractions, tours, etc. that might be of interest to participants BEFORE the tour starts and hopefully assist in planning and securing tickets.
Hope others jump on this bandwagon and that Tauck will consider my suggestions. Thank you, Sherry
This is a suggestion that I have made in each and every critique of the 4 wonderful Tauck trips I have taken.
We have followed your guidelines and have always arranged to arrive at our destination 1-2 days before the beginning of each trip, allowing us to partially recover from jet lag and to give us time to view sites that are of interest to us, but that may not be included on the group itinerary. Usually this means that we do our own research and wind up going to places on our own. Usually when the tour starts we discover that we actually ran into others on our tour. Had we known that these fellow travelers were available, it would have been wonderful to do these tours/walks/dinners /concerts together, sometimes saving a great deal of money in the process. By reading the forums of trips we have taken and those that are in the planning stages it appears that many of the Tauck travelers are interested in doing exactly the same thing.
I understand that there are privacy issues concerning distributing names of fellow travelers, and that there are other issues concerning the specific details of each trip but we have gone to operas, penguins, jewish shanghai, etc. on our own when a group would have been much more enjoyable. Also, since Tauck is so supportive of arriving at each location early, I would suggest that the PR persons involved with this tours might suggest some of the local attractions, tours, etc. that might be of interest to participants BEFORE the tour starts and hopefully assist in planning and securing tickets.
Hope others jump on this bandwagon and that Tauck will consider my suggestions. Thank you, Sherry
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Comments
Thank you so much for your comments and feedback. You are correct, there are many like-minded travelers who would love to meet up during pre-stays. We are working on several initiatives to:
- help guests connect pre-tour
- provide recommendations on site seeing, restaurants, activities, and places of interest for guests to visit pre/post tour and during free time.
We value our guests' feedback and we are always looking for ways to improve our guest experience.
Hope this helps,
Emily
Sherry,
I completely agree with what you say. It would be a great idea to be able to make pre tour arrangements with our fellow Tauck travelers.
The Tauck Forum is a good idea, but since the members of each individual tour is small, it is rare when one finds another tour member through this Forum. I'm on the Grand Australian tour in Jan. and still have not gotten one response to my Forum post.
The privacy issue is important, but if our friends at Tauck can move my luggage around Kenya and Tanzania without losing any of it, I'm sure than can figure out something.
Glenn
First, I read a number of online forums, mainly woodworking. Here are some typical forum features, that if added, would make the Tauck Travel forums more helpful and user-friendly.
Most forums have a feature where you can elect to receive an email notification whenever someone makes a new posting to a thread you have participated in or subscribed to. That way you know when someone adds new material or possibly answers your question without having to visit the forum daily. I believe the Tauck forum software already has that capability but it is apparently not active.
Many forums have a means where members can contact each other outside of the blogs via a forum software feature called "private message" (PM) without revealing their email address. You can decide if you want to opt in to that feature or not.
Some forums have a feature where a particular post of high or long-term interest or applicability can be designated by a moderator as a "sticky." That post is always the first one in the list in that sub-forum.
Those three features would greatly improve the Tauck Travel Forums.
There are some folks who participate regularly here who have take ten or more Tauck tours and are extremely knowledgeable, and also a few rookies like me (two down, two on deck) who would be more than willing to contribute ideas and help Tauck with the forum "initiatives" Emily mentioned. Here are just a few additional ideas off the top of my head:
The forums should be open to Tauck travelers and prospective travelers as well, but a better spam filter is needed.
There should be a way that the forum software automatically tags posts by prior Tauck travelers with their completed tours and dates traveled, not for bragging rights, but so other forum readers will know they not reading a post by just an armchair traveler or spammer.
In addition to a PM capability, each tour sub-forum should have a software-controlled limited access. sticky "Who is Going?" section, open only to those who have registered and paid a deposit for that trip. Travelers on that tour would have the opportunity to post contact info, travel details, children/ages traveling, etc. etc. , if they choose to do so. They could go into more detail and make arrangements for pre-tour activities via PM. They should always use the main forum for tour related questions, however, so others can benefit from the answers.
LeoM
P.S I think this is my shortest Forum posting ever.
Glad you (and others following) continued this thread and thanks for the additional suggestions for improving the communications between future travelers.
Glenn, we just (April 2014) returned from the Spotlight on Australia and had a great time. I'll be happy to make suggestions for your trip.
We arrived in Melbourne 2 days early and spent the first day just walking around. "The city" is a short walk across the pedestrian bridge immediately next to the Langham. We booked a tour to Philip Island to see the small penquins through the hotel concierge for the next day, pickup was a 1 PM so we had time to sleep late AND to see the Immigration Museum (highly recommend it) which is within walking distance from the hotel. The tours are scheduled to coincide with the penguins (dusk) timing, so your tour might even start a bit later since you are visiting in the summer. There are a few stops on the way to the penguins, and there are full and half-day tours. We do admit to catnapping in the bus and definitely a longer nap on the return trip in the dark but the day was well worth the trip.
Hope you enjoy your experence as much as we did ours. Sherry
Sherry,
Thanks so much for the info on Australia, can't wait. We live on the East Coast so taking our time arriving in Melbourne. Visiting friends in the Bay area for a few days then on to Melbourne arriving 3 days pre tour. Everything I read about Philip Island sounds great, but had a day not that long ago visiting penquins in Argentina. So going to pass.
We are lucky the Australian Tennis Open is being played during our stay; planning to attend. Also signed up for updates on the Sydney Opera House website. Did you attend? Walk over the bridge?
Lastly, any restaurant suggestions in both Melbourne or Sydney?
Thanks!
Glenn
Ah, yes, but our fairy penguins are unique in that they are the smallest penguins in the world. No other penguins look like a bunch of tiny, formally attired Italian waiters, either. Argentina can't say that.
Melbourne is the foodie capital of Australia. If you aim t stay away from tourist restaurants and so-called particular ethnic areas (e.g. China Town and Lygon Street) you will find some of the best Italian, Chinese, French …… whatever else you fancy …. food anywhere in the world. You don't need to go to food ghettos in Melbourne for good food, whatever the style. There are some areas, not tourist areas, that do specialise, but that's because of who lives and works in that area. For example, if you crave excellent Italian cuisine, (not pizzas) don't go to Lygon Street. Yes, I'm biased. Yes, I'm knowledgeable and educated in food and dining. Yes, I travel internationally on a regular basis. Do feel free to dismiss my post if you disagree, however. You're the tourist, after all.
And pretty much everything else that Alan said! Great post, Alan.
Cheers,
Jan
I take that as a great compliment coming from you, Jan. Thanks. I'm not an expert on much, but I try to share if I think I have some useful info or can help in any way. Another dozen or so tours and a few hundred more posts, and maybe I can be an "Ambassador"
Cheers,
Jan
Hi Glenn,
Several responses to your many comments:
We are also from the East Coast (NYC)a and currently living in the Bay Area of CA. Your flights will still be long, but they are survivable with a minimum of jet lag. Your allotted time in Melbourne pre-trip will be very worthwhile.
As I said before, most of everything is within a fairly short walk from your hotel on the Yarra. The hotel side of the Yarra has many restaurants, (yes Jan, they are touristy) but if you want a good meal close to your lodging this is a good starting point. We ate at the Japanese restaurant, and at the Fish restaurant to the right of the Langham. Food was excellent, though pricey, but hell, you ARE on vacation. To the left of the hotel there are more restaurants, (we ate at Spice Temple, but the Sydney branch) and a Mall/Casino complex with many more restaurants. There is also a food/shopping mall adjacent to your hotel which has several restaurants and 2 great gelato places, (we went to the one on the second floor) Across the pedestrian bridge There is a wonderful alleyway perpendicular to the Flinders Street Station (help me out here Jan) that has zillions of small eateries that are lively and always full of people that we found was great for lunch (meat pies, yummy) and was publicized by Ophrah and there are dozens of Asian noodle places in and out of Chinatown. We had noodles for lunch one day on Swanston St and other travelers were very pleased with their meals in Chinatown. In Sydney we ate at a wonderful "underground" Italian restaurant recommended by the hotel concierge near our hotel which was definitely more local than touristy and we had a fun meal with locals at the Lord Nelson pub following a free walking tour of "the Rocks" (Look up free walking tours) Also had a great time in Melbourne on our own on a walking tour of the hidden alleys- found the tour in the basement area of the Tourist information center. Definitely go here for some great free info.
Re the penguins: please reread what Jan has said. We have not seen penguins in Australia, but these tiny penguins that race ashore to their nests at dusk are quite a sight to see. Highly recommend this experience
In Sydney your hotel is a short walk from the harbor/Opera House. Tauck does take you on an inside tour of the building. When we were there the opera and ballet seasons were over, and the only performance was a rock concert which was attended by some on our tour. The bridge climb is not something we would do, but I understand the WALK ACROSS the bridge is doable, we didn't. All in all just keep your eyes and ears open to suggestions from fellow travelers and be prepared for a great experience. Sherry
Sherry,
We are also from NY; friends live in the East Bay area.
Thanks for all the tips and suggestions, think I gained 5 pounds just reading about all the restaurants! We have no interest in the bridge climb, rather a casual walk across bridge is what is on the agenda.
Bottom line, lots of fun and intersting things to do. Can't wait!!
If you have any more suggestions please feel free to contact me via email rogfam@optonline.net
Thanks again.
Glenn
Sallie
Hi Sherry,
I should start out by saying that "touristy" eateries don't usually reflect the local environment, wherever it is in the world. They are generally over-priced for what they offer, over-rated (for what they offer) and locals wouldn't be caught dead there. Think Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco, for example. The City has excellent food, but you won't find it there! The first rule for the traveller is to eat and drink what the locals do. Within reason, of course! Urgh! Anyway, the moral is that the locals usually know the good stuff from the bad, and the area immediately around the Langham in Melbourne, known as Southgate, has some pretty good food, because locals live and work there. Where you will be totally ripped off in is the Casino precinct, further down river from the Langham. Keeping with the notion of totally ripping off gamblers, the restaurant franchises close to the Casino are very expensive, even over the mark of what we expect to pay for the standard of fine dining we are used to in Melbourne. Interestingly enough, many of these restaurants do not remain for long before moving on. That has to tell you more than anything else. If you can't convince the locals, itinerants are not enough to carry you past the honeymoon.
The laneway you are thinking of is Degraves Street, which leads over Flinders Lane into Centre Way, which in turn empties into Collins Street. Yes, Oprah did shoot there. I walked through them both just this morning. You will find some tourists, but many more locals and students from the nearby university and college locations. It is very European, even bohemian in feel. This is probably due to the heritage of the Flinders Lane schmutter businesses, now sadly all moved away … to China! You will find some of the best French baguettes for lunch at the Creperie, served by real Frenchmen! … just at the top of the steps down to the underground entrance to the station.
Someone else has mentioned a museum over the Yarra from the hotel. I believe you are referring to the Immigration Museum.
You can take a walking, chocoholics tour of Melbourne. You can drink real coffee in the city that sent Starbucks back to where they belong. It's quite true. They couldn't sustain the shop on every block they opened a few years back. We won't drink that rubbish, so they packed up and left … leaving only a couple of shops … in tourist areas ... for the tourists, I assume. Stop in Degraves Street or Centre Way for seriously good coffee. Or a glass of wine. Or noodles. Or …… are you hungry, yet?
Cheers,
Jan
The laneway you are thinking of is Degraves Street,
Someone else has mentioned a museum over the Yarra from the hotel. I believe you are referring to the Immigration Museum.
Jan
Thanks Jan, I knew you would help me out.
Hi,
I think my Senior Moments are turning into Senior Months! Also starting to fine tune our trip. My email is rogfam@optonline.net
Glenn