Venice and the Dalmation Coast 2016

sarapalms

We are interested in taking a May 2016 Tauck cruise, but, we noticed that many past cruisers rate the cruise below 5 stars -lots of 4 stars, and negative comments about being on a ship with most of the passengers NOT being Tauck customers. Comments, please??

jdurkin

Well, I found the review, I think, that set your teeth on edge. However, I really am at a loss to see your (and their) point. Ponant is a French line, so I would have thought a ... "French speaking cruise director with a heavy accent and a majority English speaking people ..." might have only added to the sophisticated atmosphere of a French line, with a matching French crew. Another review refers to the food. Many people would think the French cuisine offered on the ship is entirely desirable. In fact, it's a prime selling point of the Ponant line. Perhaps the reviews pertain to some unspecified "personal" issues. After all, if someone is travelling overseas, of their own free will, those comments couldn't have anything to do with xenophobia. And no, Tauck does not charter the entire ship for this trip. There are indeed other passengers, from all over the world, on a typical voyage. (They just don't benefit from Tauck's entire "treatment" and all-inclusive land based itinerary.) I would have thought that was a good thing. The particular review was written in 2013. If you look at the current itinerary, the ship is Le Lyrial, the newest ship in the Ponant line. Another good thing, I would have thought.

As for mostly four star reviews, well, there are some people who on principle never give top marks, no doubt believing that perfection is unattainable in this life. And then there are those who find faults everywhere, when others see none. Then there are people who find joy in the smallest things. All part of life's rich tapestry.

I really don't think that particular review should guide your decision as regards this trip. I suspect there was something else going on. And sometimes the words just don't read the way the writer intended, particularly to readers from a variety of demographics. Perhaps a recent traveller from this itinerary can tell us what they thought of their trip here ... rather than within the confines of the review format?

British

Well, I am having a peaceful Sunday morning, I have taken an hour long walk, I've spoken to the inlaws, I've had breakfast, I'm looking at the forum and then I'll go for a swim, yes I am very lucky. So I just read all the 26 reviews of this itinerary. Quite a few were disappointed with the food, I think it would help everyone if we all said what we expected to get and what we do get, because we all have different standards and so it is hard to figure out if we personally would be satisfied with what is on offer. We really do not eat out that much at all in comparison to the average American and usually retired Tauck Traveller. When we eat out, it is usually to one of the outstanding restaurants in our local city where the portions are small, beautifully cooked and presented and so delicious it is hard not to woof it down instead of savoring every mouthful, the bill is usually quite high but we feel we have had an excellent meal and one it would be hard to replicate at home. Would we expect this on a Tauck tour? No probably not apart from the odd special meal that are peppered throughout most of the Tauck tours, only a few have disappointed that standard. The rest of the time, what is important to me is food that has been hygienically prepared, is tasty, it does not have to be gourmet.
One review is about the crew speaking French, really! What makes any American think that everyone on earth should speak the same language or accent than them, are they a more important population than anyone else? No, but maybe they act as if they are, and as an American I wonder if that is why so many other countries hate us. If you are on a French ship, you expect to have a bunch of sexy French sailors around you, that's Bliss to me! That very thought makes me forget the other thing I was going to comment on, time for that swim!

twig

We have sailed on the le boreal to Iceland and l'austral to Dalmatian coast. Both ships were immaculate and well designed. The staff was superb and always eager to be helpful. We discovered that we preferred the top deck dining area for dinner, not as formal as main dining room and terrific variety of delicious meals. The breakfast in main dining area was lovely buffet and food to order so ideal for everyone. It was a pleasure to meet everyone on board and we look forward to sailing again on these lovely ships.

rowithy

We just returned from Venice and the DC Coast - our 10th Tauck trip but first small ship cruise experience - on the new Le Lyrial. It was stunning and we had one of the best vacations ever. We met non-Tauck guests who were lovely as well. There were 100 Tauck guests and approximately 140 non-Tauck guests from thirteen countries. It was very enriching to co-mingle with all. The food was just okay, however, and that was a bit of a disappointment. However, the staff was superior and caring in every way and the entertainment and activities offered plentiful and varied.

We highly recommend this journey and will hope to try another Le Ponant cruise at another time.

chocobill

twig wrote:

We have sailed on the le boreal to Iceland and l'austral to Dalmatian coast. Both ships were immaculate and well designed. The staff was superb and always eager to be helpful. We discovered that we preferred the top deck dining area for dinner, not as formal as main dining room and terrific variety of delicious meals. The breakfast in main dining area was lovely buffet and food to order so ideal for everyone. It was a pleasure to meet everyone on board and we look forward to sailing again on these lovely ships.

Could you help with the calmness of the water in the Adriatic? My wife gets seasick very easy and is concerned she will be in her cabin for the whole trip and not enjoying Croatia. Really would like to take this cruise. Thanks

twig

For the most part, seas were calm on Adriatic. We did experience rougher seas as we approached Dubrovnik and tender could not bring guest speaker to ship. We repositioned to nearby dock where speaker arrived and later we disembarked for tour of the beautiful walled city of Dubrovnik. We also used tenders from ship to tour the island of Hvar. Hope this information is helpful.