Someone on the Tauck Travelers facebook page (not a group run by Tauck) posted a new gift they got in the mail - drink coasters and wine glass markers. By what I can read of the enclosed letter they are for having taken 5 tours. Someone else had received a lovely green lambswool blanket for 10 tours. Nope - never got those.
Our most recent tour to Scandinavia was my 15th and the TD did pull me aside towards the end to tell me about the 15th tour gift which she had delivered to our hotel room. She said she paid attention during the tour to the kinds of things I was interested in and I can say she did an outstanding job with her selections. A wooden Dala horse from Sweden, a cute Danish kitchen towel with a Hygge theme and a cheese knife from Norway. I did noticed on this tour that there weren't a lot of extra gifts. Everyone got a carved wooden knife for spreading cheese or butter. Also a few food treats. Maybe they are reducing these on tour gifts to fund the other things. It was my husband's 14 tour so it will be interesting if he gets something during next years tour.
I also got a nice luggage tag several years ago when a cruise coincided with my birthday.
We've never gotten one of the letters saying they would take off some much per trip taken on the cost of another tour. That I'd be interested in.
I also received the Irish lambswool blanket, plaid in Tauck colors, for my 10th tour. The TD gave me some local souvenirs at the end of the Romantic Capitals this summer. Curious to see what comes next.
We received the luggage tags and memory box yesterday. Last year we got the packing cubes. We have taken 7 Tauck tours. I’m not sure if there is any one criteria they use to send these items! Next trip in 3 weeks!
I would like a 5% - 10% off these trips as a seasoned Tauck traveler, instead of the gifts that get stored, re-gifted or never used. Again, I am not unappreciative; just very practical.
While I like our packing cubes, Rick Steves has, IMO, a more practical reward system for loyalty. When you book a tour you get $50 off the price for each prior tour. So, for those of you with 20 Tauck tours under your belt, you’d get a $1000 off on your next one if they had such a program. And if you book two of his tours in one year you get an additional $100 off the second. And, if you pay by check, you get a 2% discount
Taken 8 trips, some solo some I’ve taken others, and have booked 2 more, all were longer out of country trips and have never received a gift except for a required duffel due to itinerary limitations for luggage and of course the gift of time. No idea how they chose to send out the traveler gifts. Honestly, don’t need the stuff they send but just interested in the gifting protocol.
The gift protocols are a mystery. We have done eighteen trips, and have three more booked. We have been gifted four luggage tags. We have received a few surprises that were not ‘gifts’.
SeaLord, I can only think that those of us who have a good number of trips under our belt are obviously loyal customers and will contributey to travel gifts or not.
For me, I'd rather have certain "benefits" than gifts. There are really no "things" that I want or need - so those small gifts usually wind up being given away or thrown away. What would be a real gift is free laundry once during a tour.
Maybe at 20 tours you get one free laundry in any tour and at 25 tours you get two in any tour over 7 days. Other people could probably think of other benefits that they would appreciate.
British mentioned a special phone number to call if you're 25 tours or more. That would be nice. Special attention to the guests who have spent a lot of money with Tauck.
The phone number also applies to those people who have taken 20 trips. (I've used it.) Like others have mentioned, I don't need more things that my children will have to discard when I'm gone or move to assisted living.
Comments
British -- Yes, it's the "1925 Circle" at that address.
Someone on the Tauck Travelers facebook page (not a group run by Tauck) posted a new gift they got in the mail - drink coasters and wine glass markers. By what I can read of the enclosed letter they are for having taken 5 tours. Someone else had received a lovely green lambswool blanket for 10 tours. Nope - never got those.
Our most recent tour to Scandinavia was my 15th and the TD did pull me aside towards the end to tell me about the 15th tour gift which she had delivered to our hotel room. She said she paid attention during the tour to the kinds of things I was interested in and I can say she did an outstanding job with her selections. A wooden Dala horse from Sweden, a cute Danish kitchen towel with a Hygge theme and a cheese knife from Norway. I did noticed on this tour that there weren't a lot of extra gifts. Everyone got a carved wooden knife for spreading cheese or butter. Also a few food treats. Maybe they are reducing these on tour gifts to fund the other things. It was my husband's 14 tour so it will be interesting if he gets something during next years tour.
I also got a nice luggage tag several years ago when a cruise coincided with my birthday.
We've never gotten one of the letters saying they would take off some much per trip taken on the cost of another tour. That I'd be interested in.
I also received the Irish lambswool blanket, plaid in Tauck colors, for my 10th tour. The TD gave me some local souvenirs at the end of the Romantic Capitals this summer. Curious to see what comes next.
We received the luggage tags and memory box yesterday. Last year we got the packing cubes. We have taken 7 Tauck tours. I’m not sure if there is any one criteria they use to send these items! Next trip in 3 weeks!
All these gifts seem to be a new thing in just the past couple of years. I guess it’s why the tours have gone up by thousands of dollars.
After our first tour in 2017 (A Week in Amalfi Coast, Capri & Rome) - we received a Coffee Table Book about the Vatican a couple weeks later.
We received the packing cubes before our 2023 Trip and we just got the Memory Box and Luggage Tags.
I would like a 5% - 10% off these trips as a seasoned Tauck traveler, instead of the gifts that get stored, re-gifted or never used. Again, I am not unappreciative; just very practical.
While I like our packing cubes, Rick Steves has, IMO, a more practical reward system for loyalty. When you book a tour you get $50 off the price for each prior tour. So, for those of you with 20 Tauck tours under your belt, you’d get a $1000 off on your next one if they had such a program. And if you book two of his tours in one year you get an additional $100 off the second. And, if you pay by check, you get a 2% discount
Taken 8 trips, some solo some I’ve taken others, and have booked 2 more, all were longer out of country trips and have never received a gift except for a required duffel due to itinerary limitations for luggage and of course the gift of time. No idea how they chose to send out the traveler gifts. Honestly, don’t need the stuff they send but just interested in the gifting protocol.
The gift protocols are a mystery. We have done eighteen trips, and have three more booked. We have been gifted four luggage tags. We have received a few surprises that were not ‘gifts’.
SeaLord, I can only think that those of us who have a good number of trips under our belt are obviously loyal customers and will contributey to travel gifts or not.
For me, I'd rather have certain "benefits" than gifts. There are really no "things" that I want or need - so those small gifts usually wind up being given away or thrown away. What would be a real gift is free laundry once during a tour.
Maybe at 20 tours you get one free laundry in any tour and at 25 tours you get two in any tour over 7 days. Other people could probably think of other benefits that they would appreciate.
British mentioned a special phone number to call if you're 25 tours or more. That would be nice. Special attention to the guests who have spent a lot of money with Tauck.
The phone number also applies to those people who have taken 20 trips. (I've used it.) Like others have mentioned, I don't need more things that my children will have to discard when I'm gone or move to assisted living.