We have a river cruise and land tour coming up soon. We got the special 100th Anniversary luggage tags but I'm not sure which tour that was for. Then today we also got Tauck duffel bags that were to be used on the overnight ferry from Copenhagen to Oslo that has now been turned into a flight. We got a letter cancelling that a month ago so I thought Tauck had cancelled the bags but I guess not. They are fairly large so I don't think I'll be using them as a carryon.
We're taking our family (5 adults, 2 young granddaughters ages 7 & 10) on the Bridges "Wonders of the Canadian Rockies" tour in June.
My husband and I received (at our home address) 2 beautiful "memory boxes" with 4 luggage tags in each box.
A few days later, our single adult daughter received (at her home) a memory box with 2 luggage tags.
Our daughter/son-in-law and 2 grand girls have not received anything.
We gave both grand girls the 2 memory boxes that we had received and 4 luggage tags for the family.
A week later, we received 2 nice back packs. No one else in our travel party have received the back packs.
We're giving our backpacks to the grand girls. (I attempted to add photos to this post, but it doesn't appear it worked.)
bobbette, I would imagine who received what depends mostly on what home addresses Tauck has and how the reservations were made. The backpacks look nice. We probably would have gotten more use out of backpacks than duffel bags -- easier to carry.
We did get duffle bags, tags for Peru Machu Picchu via mail prior to the trip and backpacks/water bottle/poncho on the Galapagos leg of this trip when on board of Silver Origin. It was a fantastic trip.
When we took one of the Bridges tours the backpacks all went to one address They are for the children to use and will be expected to do so. They are huge. They should come with a water bottle and a pack of playing cards. Fortunately we all live fairly near or we would not have been able to hand them out. I bought tags with the children’s names on for recognition between everyone. The following year, more backpacks for our security Bridges tours this time I ensured all the addresses and connected were correct.
The first time Tauck had my son and daughter in the same room and my daughter and son in law in another and all the children mixed up. It caused great hilarity between us all
All of us in our party ( four sisters and three of their husbands) received the memory boxes with luggage tags. We have not received anything else and we leave in three weeks. The memory boxes are nicely decorated and good for storage of brochures, etc. for all of our Tauck tours. The luggage tags are very nice. We certainly appreciate the gifts.
Last year we received a set of the packing cubes and they are of high quality and we use them all the time. Recently, we received the memory box and luggage tags. I appreciate both gifts and the gesture from Tauck but I think the tags are too big and I have visions of them getting snagged on some airport luggage belt and who knows what happens as a result. Call me cautious after decades of travel,
We get 5 % discount off the total price of a tour with another company for loyalty. We have plenty of luggage tags. I didn’t want to put a fancy Tauck tag on my luggage because it identifies my bag as a possible good steal for a specific high end company in the smaller airports where anyone can walk into the baggage area. I’m not ungrateful but outstanding graciousness, they have gone to first time customers. Their prices have sky rocketed. Unfortunately I have not found use for the heavy packing cubes, large toilet bag and now luggage tags. The two coffee cups I received were broken on arrival….i called Tauck to tell them how badly they were packed I specifically asked not to bother sending me any more because I was about to leave on a Tauck tour. But they sent me them anyway and they sat on my doorstep the entire time we were away. I was not happy. Two cheap white made in China cups that will never grace my kitchen.
Regarding loyalty programs, the company doesn't have to give a whole lot to get people to stay with them. I remember when Regent had a loyalty benefit of free laundry at (I think) 100+ nights. People really appreciated that benefit.
I've was asked by a different cruise line what it would take to get us to travel more with them. I explained that we had a lot of nights with Regent and if they gave us credit for the same number of nights on their line, I'd look at booking more with them. They declined.
I've heard that you get a certain status with Tauck when you have 20+ tours with them. I think they should go by nights instead of tours to account for short and long tours.
Benefits are like airline miles. They keep moving the goal posts. Before we discovered small ships, and upscale cruise lines, we traveled a lot with Royal Caribbean. We had achieved their highest status as Crown and Anchor members. Then they created a new status of Crown and Anchor above ours, and they took away our benefits. We never cruised with them again. But, they did us a favor cuz we then discovered Windstar, and Tauck, and Ponant, and Silversea, and recently Regent which we would put on the bottom of that list. We did a big boat with the grandkids, but I’m afraid they have outgrown us. But, we had a terrific cruise with them to Alaska.
@British - It’s 25 tours Mike. This just started in the last year. Most tours are a similar length so having days instead of tours may not make a difference.
Not really. Look at the tours that are "A Week in XXX" and tours like India which is 18 nights. Treasures of the Aegean, 10 nights, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand, 16 nights, Grand European Cruise, 25 nights, etc. If you take one of the "A Week in xxx" you get credit for one tour, if you do the Grand European Cruise, you get credit for one tour. But the Grand European is about 18 days longer than one of the "A Week in xxx" tours (and a lot more $).
The cruise lines do "nights" for a good reason.
[What companies are really intersted in is how much money you're spending with them. These other measures are just a surrogate for money. Note that the number of miles you get on an airline are now determined by what class of service you use. A business class traveler gets more than a basic economy traveler for the same flight.
It would be best if they just used your spending, but they don't want to do that for several reason so they use things that relate to your spending.]
If it’s money you want to use as the status not tours or nights, then add up the two Bridges tours we have and paid for for nine people and another next year. They Do.don’t have the correct number of tours we have taken anyway. And I don’t like it when it’s announced in front of a tour group about the number of tours we have taken. It’s no one’s business but ours unless we choose to say
The awards are to an individual, not to a group. If it was money, you would get credit for your fare, not for the sum of everyone traveling with you. Using your logic, you should have gotten credit for five tours (or however many people were in your group). Airlines work the same way.
There's a real life story about a professional cellist (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynn_Harrell) who performed as a soloist with many different orchestras. Every time he flew, he bought a first-class seat for himself and a first class seat for his cello. He had a frequent flyer account for himself and one for his cello.
Eventually, the airline (Delta) objected to the account for the cello and terminated both his account and the account for his cello. He never traveled with that airline again.
Talk about dumb. Here they had a high paying customer – always for two first-class seats – and they kick him out of the program. The Wikipedia article mentions this situation. It's down under the section "Personal Life".
[Other story: My wife is a professional cellist. One time she was traveling and had purchased two seats, as usual. The gate agent wanted to see the ID for the cello. Unfortunately, the cello had never learned to drive and did not have a driver's license.]
On my last trip, number 15, the TD gave me a couple of gifts (purchased from a local artist we visited at one of our stops). This was done in private and not in front of the group.
BKMD, you get to belong to the 25 club. We got $200 vouchers each to spend on specific clothing at Necessary Gear with the Tauck logo on it. I got a puffer jacket for my husband at $275 and a backpack which turned out to be too small and a shoulder bag with logos on. We have been taken aside and given gifts. We also get emails for deals on specific dates with money off on certain tours and we can get the Gift of Time whenever we book a tour.
The 2025 club starts at 20 trips. I just made it. My voucher was for $100, so I -- usually a solo traveler -- assumed that it was $100 per person. Maybe there are extra perks for "25 trippers."
We have taken 17 trips. When we were on two one-week back-to-back tours in Italy this year both travel directors from each one-week trip gifted us gifts worth each about 200.00 each while on the trip and this transaction happened also in private. This generous gift giving created a huge problem while traveling with carry/on luggage. How is one supposed to transport these fragile local gifts going home??? One was a beautiful ceramic sculpture and the other a very heavy wall clock. I did find a niche in my home to place them, but honestly they were not my taste. I understand the generosity, and I am also not ungrateful at all. At the same time, I know that other friends were gifted the same amount in cash while they were on another trip to do what they wanted to whether it be a gourmet dinner or a memento from a local artist. I would prefer the cash only because I am trying not to accumulate more possessions while at the same time trying to downsize. I do have memories from each of our trips from my experiences from each of these trips and from my photos; they really don’t have to be from a physical gift. This is just my honest to goodness opinion.
Ourtravels. I did learn that the tour director makes the decision of the particular item they are to give you. This is a joke, but were you late a lot, hence the clock? My gift of note last year while in Africa was a beautiful silver pendant shaped like Africa with a tanzanite stone in it. Of course it was just my taste and mauve helped that we had traveled with the Tour director before and he knew we were obsessed with Africa…And of course it was easy to transport.
I have to say, who the heck would give such heavy gifts to someone on a tour. Yes, cash would be easier…maybe someone left the statue and clock behind or the statue was on sale….sorry, again a joke. A voucher for another tour would also be good and if the person didn’t use it then Tauck makes more profit. Other companies give things like sweat shirts for loyalty and then you see them on EBay. I’ve only bought a couple of things on eBay and I have seen Tauck things on there too.
Many times gifts are given if you travel one a birthday or an anniversary. The most memorable was when we were in Salzburg. We received a Sacher torte and rose petals on the bed in the shape of a heart.
Otherwise, I think it up to the tour guide to decide if anyone will receive a gift. We have 19 trips with Tauck and so do not qualify for any of the levels mentioned above. However, on the Duoro River cruise my husband received a cork belt and I received a necklace and earrings. The past year on the France tour we received a book with all sort of photos from Paris.
Also like British I received The $200.00 voucher for over 25 tours. I have also received gifts from the TD's during trips, last one was a lovely silk scarf (Roseline D'Oreye) hand painted with depictions of Monet's garden.
We are still novices as far as the number of tours we have taken but, on our last trip it was our 50th anniversary and Tauck made it extra special. There was a towel on the bed shaped like a swan and heart, a bottle of champagne and a special cake and two leather luggage tags (not the same as the ones being given this year). It was a lovely gesture. We have really enjoyed Tauck and have booked back to back tours for next year.
Comments
We just got back from France and received the Luggage Tags. Some got bathroom toiletry bags according to the Tauck facebook group I follow.
We have a river cruise and land tour coming up soon. We got the special 100th Anniversary luggage tags but I'm not sure which tour that was for. Then today we also got Tauck duffel bags that were to be used on the overnight ferry from Copenhagen to Oslo that has now been turned into a flight. We got a letter cancelling that a month ago so I thought Tauck had cancelled the bags but I guess not. They are fairly large so I don't think I'll be using them as a carryon.
We're taking our family (5 adults, 2 young granddaughters ages 7 & 10) on the Bridges "Wonders of the Canadian Rockies" tour in June.
My husband and I received (at our home address) 2 beautiful "memory boxes" with 4 luggage tags in each box.
A few days later, our single adult daughter received (at her home) a memory box with 2 luggage tags.
Our daughter/son-in-law and 2 grand girls have not received anything.
We gave both grand girls the 2 memory boxes that we had received and 4 luggage tags for the family.
A week later, we received 2 nice back packs. No one else in our travel party have received the back packs.
We're giving our backpacks to the grand girls. (I attempted to add photos to this post, but it doesn't appear it worked.)
bobbette, I would imagine who received what depends mostly on what home addresses Tauck has and how the reservations were made. The backpacks look nice. We probably would have gotten more use out of backpacks than duffel bags -- easier to carry.
We did get duffle bags, tags for Peru Machu Picchu via mail prior to the trip and backpacks/water bottle/poncho on the Galapagos leg of this trip when on board of Silver Origin. It was a fantastic trip.
When we took one of the Bridges tours the backpacks all went to one address They are for the children to use and will be expected to do so. They are huge. They should come with a water bottle and a pack of playing cards. Fortunately we all live fairly near or we would not have been able to hand them out. I bought tags with the children’s names on for recognition between everyone. The following year, more backpacks for our security Bridges tours this time I ensured all the addresses and connected were correct.
The first time Tauck had my son and daughter in the same room and my daughter and son in law in another and all the children mixed up. It caused great hilarity between us all
All of us in our party ( four sisters and three of their husbands) received the memory boxes with luggage tags. We have not received anything else and we leave in three weeks. The memory boxes are nicely decorated and good for storage of brochures, etc. for all of our Tauck tours. The luggage tags are very nice. We certainly appreciate the gifts.
Last year we received a set of the packing cubes and they are of high quality and we use them all the time. Recently, we received the memory box and luggage tags. I appreciate both gifts and the gesture from Tauck but I think the tags are too big and I have visions of them getting snagged on some airport luggage belt and who knows what happens as a result. Call me cautious after decades of travel,
My handy husband turned one of the tags into a key chain and uses it to hold a key for a side gate. Tauck’s graciousness is outstanding.
We get 5 % discount off the total price of a tour with another company for loyalty. We have plenty of luggage tags. I didn’t want to put a fancy Tauck tag on my luggage because it identifies my bag as a possible good steal for a specific high end company in the smaller airports where anyone can walk into the baggage area. I’m not ungrateful but outstanding graciousness, they have gone to first time customers. Their prices have sky rocketed. Unfortunately I have not found use for the heavy packing cubes, large toilet bag and now luggage tags. The two coffee cups I received were broken on arrival….i called Tauck to tell them how badly they were packed I specifically asked not to bother sending me any more because I was about to leave on a Tauck tour. But they sent me them anyway and they sat on my doorstep the entire time we were away. I was not happy. Two cheap white made in China cups that will never grace my kitchen.
British I agree with the prices and traveling solo believe me I pay about 40% over the double price for cruises and just as much for regular tours.
Regarding loyalty programs, the company doesn't have to give a whole lot to get people to stay with them. I remember when Regent had a loyalty benefit of free laundry at (I think) 100+ nights. People really appreciated that benefit.
I've was asked by a different cruise line what it would take to get us to travel more with them. I explained that we had a lot of nights with Regent and if they gave us credit for the same number of nights on their line, I'd look at booking more with them. They declined.
I've heard that you get a certain status with Tauck when you have 20+ tours with them. I think they should go by nights instead of tours to account for short and long tours.
It’s 25 tours Mike. This just started in the last year. Most tours are a similar length so having days instead of tours may not make a difference.
Benefits are like airline miles. They keep moving the goal posts. Before we discovered small ships, and upscale cruise lines, we traveled a lot with Royal Caribbean. We had achieved their highest status as Crown and Anchor members. Then they created a new status of Crown and Anchor above ours, and they took away our benefits. We never cruised with them again. But, they did us a favor cuz we then discovered Windstar, and Tauck, and Ponant, and Silversea, and recently Regent which we would put on the bottom of that list. We did a big boat with the grandkids, but I’m afraid they have outgrown us. But, we had a terrific cruise with them to Alaska.
Not really. Look at the tours that are "A Week in XXX" and tours like India which is 18 nights. Treasures of the Aegean, 10 nights, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand, 16 nights, Grand European Cruise, 25 nights, etc. If you take one of the "A Week in xxx" you get credit for one tour, if you do the Grand European Cruise, you get credit for one tour. But the Grand European is about 18 days longer than one of the "A Week in xxx" tours (and a lot more $).
The cruise lines do "nights" for a good reason.
[What companies are really intersted in is how much money you're spending with them. These other measures are just a surrogate for money. Note that the number of miles you get on an airline are now determined by what class of service you use. A business class traveler gets more than a basic economy traveler for the same flight.
It would be best if they just used your spending, but they don't want to do that for several reason so they use things that relate to your spending.]
If it’s money you want to use as the status not tours or nights, then add up the two Bridges tours we have and paid for for nine people and another next year. They Do.don’t have the correct number of tours we have taken anyway. And I don’t like it when it’s announced in front of a tour group about the number of tours we have taken. It’s no one’s business but ours unless we choose to say
The awards are to an individual, not to a group. If it was money, you would get credit for your fare, not for the sum of everyone traveling with you. Using your logic, you should have gotten credit for five tours (or however many people were in your group). Airlines work the same way.
There's a real life story about a professional cellist (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynn_Harrell) who performed as a soloist with many different orchestras. Every time he flew, he bought a first-class seat for himself and a first class seat for his cello. He had a frequent flyer account for himself and one for his cello.
Eventually, the airline (Delta) objected to the account for the cello and terminated both his account and the account for his cello. He never traveled with that airline again.
Talk about dumb. Here they had a high paying customer – always for two first-class seats – and they kick him out of the program. The Wikipedia article mentions this situation. It's down under the section "Personal Life".
[Other story: My wife is a professional cellist. One time she was traveling and had purchased two seats, as usual. The gate agent wanted to see the ID for the cello.
Unfortunately, the cello had never learned to drive and did not have a driver's license.]
It’s not going to change anyway.
What status do you get at 25 trips?
On my last trip, number 15, the TD gave me a couple of gifts (purchased from a local artist we visited at one of our stops). This was done in private and not in front of the group.
BKMD, you get to belong to the 25 club. We got $200 vouchers each to spend on specific clothing at Necessary Gear with the Tauck logo on it. I got a puffer jacket for my husband at $275 and a backpack which turned out to be too small and a shoulder bag with logos on. We have been taken aside and given gifts. We also get emails for deals on specific dates with money off on certain tours and we can get the Gift of Time whenever we book a tour.
Oh and a special number to call to book tours.
The 2025 club starts at 20 trips. I just made it. My voucher was for $100, so I -- usually a solo traveler -- assumed that it was $100 per person. Maybe there are extra perks for "25 trippers."
Interesting, is your ‘club’ called 20? Ours is 25. And we got $200 each.
Here is where our emails come from…1925circle@tauck.com>
BKMD - What else did the TD do for the single, retired doctor in private (not in front of the group)? 😂😂
We have taken 17 trips. When we were on two one-week back-to-back tours in Italy this year both travel directors from each one-week trip gifted us gifts worth each about 200.00 each while on the trip and this transaction happened also in private. This generous gift giving created a huge problem while traveling with carry/on luggage. How is one supposed to transport these fragile local gifts going home??? One was a beautiful ceramic sculpture and the other a very heavy wall clock. I did find a niche in my home to place them, but honestly they were not my taste. I understand the generosity, and I am also not ungrateful at all. At the same time, I know that other friends were gifted the same amount in cash while they were on another trip to do what they wanted to whether it be a gourmet dinner or a memento from a local artist. I would prefer the cash only because I am trying not to accumulate more possessions while at the same time trying to downsize. I do have memories from each of our trips from my experiences from each of these trips and from my photos; they really don’t have to be from a physical gift. This is just my honest to goodness opinion.
You've asked me that before. Do I detect some jealousy?
P.S. I'll never tell
Ourtravels. I did learn that the tour director makes the decision of the particular item they are to give you. This is a joke, but were you late a lot, hence the clock? My gift of note last year while in Africa was a beautiful silver pendant shaped like Africa with a tanzanite stone in it. Of course it was just my taste and mauve helped that we had traveled with the Tour director before and he knew we were obsessed with Africa…And of course it was easy to transport.
I have to say, who the heck would give such heavy gifts to someone on a tour. Yes, cash would be easier…maybe someone left the statue and clock behind or the statue was on sale….sorry, again a joke. A voucher for another tour would also be good and if the person didn’t use it then Tauck makes more profit. Other companies give things like sweat shirts for loyalty and then you see them on EBay. I’ve only bought a couple of things on eBay and I have seen Tauck things on there too.
Many times gifts are given if you travel one a birthday or an anniversary. The most memorable was when we were in Salzburg. We received a Sacher torte and rose petals on the bed in the shape of a heart.
Otherwise, I think it up to the tour guide to decide if anyone will receive a gift. We have 19 trips with Tauck and so do not qualify for any of the levels mentioned above. However, on the Duoro River cruise my husband received a cork belt and I received a necklace and earrings. The past year on the France tour we received a book with all sort of photos from Paris.
Also like British I received The $200.00 voucher for over 25 tours. I have also received gifts from the TD's during trips, last one was a lovely silk scarf (Roseline D'Oreye) hand painted with depictions of Monet's garden.
We are still novices as far as the number of tours we have taken but, on our last trip it was our 50th anniversary and Tauck made it extra special. There was a towel on the bed shaped like a swan and heart, a bottle of champagne and a special cake and two leather luggage tags (not the same as the ones being given this year). It was a lovely gesture. We have really enjoyed Tauck and have booked back to back tours for next year.