I do not see tipping as a bribe. In the 1960s the minimum wage for waitresses was $1.00. Congress, back when we had one, “enacted the first minimum wage for tipped workers in 1966, setting it at a fixed percentage of the overall minimum wage….in 1996, after fierce lobbying by the restaurant industry, Congress cut the link and froze the tipped worker minimum wage at $2.13”. Try living on that. Because waiters in Europe are considered professionals and paid as professionals, there is no tipping culture there like we have in America. If you don’t like your service, don’t tip. Simple.
I read British's post differently. There have been a number of discussions on this forum about the need to tip maids and other staff in the hotels. This clarifies the situation and says that everyone besides the tour director and the driver are covered by the tour.
As far as being included in the up front cost, I don't recall them ever being included (except on cruises) and we took our first tour in 1993.
I read British's post to confirm that hotel housekeeping tips are NOT included (because hotel bellmen and restaurant staff are included). And, in my mind, that means that tips to the cabin stewards on river cruises are not included. I wish that Tauck would include those tips, but apparently they do not.
I don't mind tipping the TDs and generally exceed the recommended amount. What I don't understand is the recommended proportion of the tip to the drivers vs the TDS. It seems to be getting to be less of a difference lately. Also why it is universal amount throughout the different tours for the drivers the same? When we travel on our own, the recommended tips depends on the custom of the destimations.
For TDs who work various tours a uniform recommended amount is understandable since they work for Tauck.
Also, it gets confusing when drivers change during a trip. During our last trip the TD said the tipped driver would share with the others. There is also inconsisency with service - some keep the interior and exterior immaculate, including the windows. have been on buses where it is very annoying to look out a filthy window at the beginning of the day. Some do not get out of the bus and sit on the bus. No help getting off expecially when there is a large step off. I watched one standing by while the TD brought the luggage into the cargo hold on bus and put it in!
I am interested seeing that others are less enamored with Tauck...I thought it might just be me and I had gotten to the point where I felt "entitled" or something. I can't quite put my finger on it, but feel like the company is moving away from its core target travelers of the past and losing focus whilst trying to snare younger travelers. They definitely seem to be less solo traveler friendly.
I, for one, wish they'd just include the tip in the overall price - I find it awkward to hand the tour directors a wad of cash at the end (and yes, I bring a card and put it in the envelop and am not physically handing them cash) and don't always feel safe carrying a wad of cash around for the whole tour. BTW - in the Roam by Tauck FAQs it specifically says that tips for tour directors are included so the traveler doesn't need to worry about logistics...
If the 'one percenters' are the Jeff Bezos, Elon Musks, Bill Gates, ..., then they don't go on tours like Tauck provides. They have their own airplanes, yachts, staff, all the guides they desire.
Smiling Sam
If the 'one percenters' are the Jeff Bezos, Elon Musks, Bill Gates, ..., then they don't go on tours like Tauck provides. They have their own airplanes, yachts, staff, all the guides they desire.
Sam - I'm surprised an enginner doesn't understand what percent means
From google - In the United States, a household generally needs a net worth of at least $11.6 million to $13.7 million to qualify as a one-percenter. This threshold is a measure of total assets (including real estate and investments) minus any debts.
Those guys are far from 1%ers. Add another 10+ decimal places.
If you take Tauck tours you are probably a one percenter. Musk and that crowd are way above one percenters. That being said, I have done cruises where celebrities were aboard and in public. Most people left them alone. I have had many celebrities on my airplanes. I once accidentally locked Sharon Stone in the forward lavatory. She was very nice.
BKMD - I got it. One percenters are like Doctors, especially eye doctors. I guess Tauck’s advertising is working, they have you taking their tours. And nice job Googling to find the numbers for a one-percenter! 😃
Sealord - I once accidentally locked Sharon Stone in the forward lavatory.
Sam - now you got it! Their advertising had nothing to do with me taking their tours. However, their "cheapening" of tours in the last few years (fewer included attractions and meals) has me travelling less with them. I've averaged 2 or 3 Tauck tours per year in the past. This year (almost wrote next year, lol), only one with them. 2027 undecided so far.
Sealord - did you lock that bathroom door from the inside or outside?
Come on folks, it is not so much that the glow has gone from Tauck. At first it was all new and exciting, now you're an old hand and have just started to see what was probably there all along. It is a lot like when you first started flying business class- "Oh, this is wonderful," now all us old farts are picking apart business class offerings from the major US carriers. What comes next after Emirates and Qatar loose their luster? private charters? Businesses must evolve to survive. 100 years isn't too bad a record. Travel with Tauck or don't, it won't change them.
I have traveled with Tauck since 1992. Of course certain aspects have changed—more tour offerings, more tour sizes, more cultural and immersive experiences, more hotel options, more excursion options and as of late, more traveling styles (Roam).
I have read many comments herein about how travelers want the “sightseeing” instead of the culturally enriching experiences as Tauck now focuses on, much to my delight. If I wanted to only race from one attraction to another, I would go to Disneyland. Actually, I have never been to Disneyland.
It is my belief that since so many of Tauck's customers are well traveled and have done the 'sightseeing' bit already, they offer more culturally enriching experiences to keep them coming back to Tauck. I applaud that; that's one reason I stick with Tauck.
What a lively conversation! I enjoy Tauck because it has become very familiar to me since I know what to expect. There is no perfect anything anywhere, and nothing stays the same as it was even since the early 1990's. There are even more expensive tour companies such as A&K, Micato, Artisans of Leisure and believe it or not, a company out of SF California, GeoEx. Take a look at those prices for fewer days of touring, and you'll come to understand that Tauck is still worth every penny. Those tours may not even be perfect. I don't expect a perfect tour when I travel, and I get out of it what I put in to it. I'm lucky enough to be able to travel and see the world, and it is still exciting every single time from the initial planning to coming home and doing that dreadful laundry. . I like travelling among like-minded people and meeting new acquaintances along the way, and I prefer not to go on so-called private tours only with my husband. For goodness sakes, I see him 24/7 all the time. I have met the best of friends on some of these tours.
Comments
I do not see tipping as a bribe. In the 1960s the minimum wage for waitresses was $1.00. Congress, back when we had one, “enacted the first minimum wage for tipped workers in 1966, setting it at a fixed percentage of the overall minimum wage….in 1996, after fierce lobbying by the restaurant industry, Congress cut the link and froze the tipped worker minimum wage at $2.13”. Try living on that. Because waiters in Europe are considered professionals and paid as professionals, there is no tipping culture there like we have in America. If you don’t like your service, don’t tip. Simple.
British - In politics, it's called a campaign contribution.
I read British's post differently. There have been a number of discussions on this forum about the need to tip maids and other staff in the hotels. This clarifies the situation and says that everyone besides the tour director and the driver are covered by the tour.
As far as being included in the up front cost, I don't recall them ever being included (except on cruises) and we took our first tour in 1993.
I read British's post to confirm that hotel housekeeping tips are NOT included (because hotel bellmen and restaurant staff are included). And, in my mind, that means that tips to the cabin stewards on river cruises are not included. I wish that Tauck would include those tips, but apparently they do not.
I have never been told that maids are not included.
British, I have been told that by at least 2 tour directors.
I don't mind tipping the TDs and generally exceed the recommended amount. What I don't understand is the recommended proportion of the tip to the drivers vs the TDS. It seems to be getting to be less of a difference lately. Also why it is universal amount throughout the different tours for the drivers the same? When we travel on our own, the recommended tips depends on the custom of the destimations.
For TDs who work various tours a uniform recommended amount is understandable since they work for Tauck.
Also, it gets confusing when drivers change during a trip. During our last trip the TD said the tipped driver would share with the others. There is also inconsisency with service - some keep the interior and exterior immaculate, including the windows. have been on buses where it is very annoying to look out a filthy window at the beginning of the day. Some do not get out of the bus and sit on the bus. No help getting off expecially when there is a large step off. I watched one standing by while the TD brought the luggage into the cargo hold on bus and put it in!
I am interested seeing that others are less enamored with Tauck...I thought it might just be me and I had gotten to the point where I felt "entitled" or something. I can't quite put my finger on it, but feel like the company is moving away from its core target travelers of the past and losing focus whilst trying to snare younger travelers. They definitely seem to be less solo traveler friendly.
I, for one, wish they'd just include the tip in the overall price - I find it awkward to hand the tour directors a wad of cash at the end (and yes, I bring a card and put it in the envelop and am not physically handing them cash) and don't always feel safe carrying a wad of cash around for the whole tour. BTW - in the Roam by Tauck FAQs it specifically says that tips for tour directors are included so the traveler doesn't need to worry about logistics...
I think Tauck are trying to get the ‘one percenters’ to use their tours…😂😂😂😂
British - what exactly do you mean by that?
If the 'one percenters' are the Jeff Bezos, Elon Musks, Bill Gates, ..., then they don't go on tours like Tauck provides. They have their own airplanes, yachts, staff, all the guides they desire.
Sam - I'm surprised an enginner doesn't understand what percent means
From google - In the United States, a household generally needs a net worth of at least $11.6 million to $13.7 million to qualify as a one-percenter. This threshold is a measure of total assets (including real estate and investments) minus any debts.
Those guys are far from 1%ers. Add another 10+ decimal places.
If you take Tauck tours you are probably a one percenter. Musk and that crowd are way above one percenters. That being said, I have done cruises where celebrities were aboard and in public. Most people left them alone. I have had many celebrities on my airplanes. I once accidentally locked Sharon Stone in the forward lavatory. She was very nice.
BKMD - I got it. One percenters are like Doctors, especially eye doctors. I guess Tauck’s advertising is working, they have you taking their tours. And nice job Googling to find the numbers for a one-percenter! 😃
That’s TMI! 😂
Sam - now you got it! Their advertising had nothing to do with me taking their tours. However, their "cheapening" of tours in the last few years (fewer included attractions and meals) has me travelling less with them. I've averaged 2 or 3 Tauck tours per year in the past. This year (almost wrote next year, lol), only one with them. 2027 undecided so far.
Sealord - did you lock that bathroom door from the inside or outside?
Come on folks, it is not so much that the glow has gone from Tauck. At first it was all new and exciting, now you're an old hand and have just started to see what was probably there all along. It is a lot like when you first started flying business class- "Oh, this is wonderful," now all us old farts are picking apart business class offerings from the major US carriers. What comes next after Emirates and Qatar loose their luster? private charters? Businesses must evolve to survive. 100 years isn't too bad a record. Travel with Tauck or don't, it won't change them.
Alan, when did you start traveling with Tauck? Things ave certainly changed since 2003
Almost everything has changed since 2003!
😂😂😂
I have traveled with Tauck since 1992. Of course certain aspects have changed—more tour offerings, more tour sizes, more cultural and immersive experiences, more hotel options, more excursion options and as of late, more traveling styles (Roam).
I have read many comments herein about how travelers want the “sightseeing” instead of the culturally enriching experiences as Tauck now focuses on, much to my delight. If I wanted to only race from one attraction to another, I would go to Disneyland. Actually, I have never been to Disneyland.
It is my belief that since so many of Tauck's customers are well traveled and have done the 'sightseeing' bit already, they offer more culturally enriching experiences to keep them coming back to Tauck. I applaud that; that's one reason I stick with Tauck.
What a lively conversation! I enjoy Tauck because it has become very familiar to me since I know what to expect. There is no perfect anything anywhere, and nothing stays the same as it was even since the early 1990's. There are even more expensive tour companies such as A&K, Micato, Artisans of Leisure and believe it or not, a company out of SF California, GeoEx. Take a look at those prices for fewer days of touring, and you'll come to understand that Tauck is still worth every penny. Those tours may not even be perfect. I don't expect a perfect tour when I travel, and I get out of it what I put in to it. I'm lucky enough to be able to travel and see the world, and it is still exciting every single time from the initial planning to coming home and doing that dreadful laundry. . I like travelling among like-minded people and meeting new acquaintances along the way, and I prefer not to go on so-called private tours only with my husband. For goodness sakes, I see him 24/7 all the time. I have met the best of friends on some of these tours.
OurTravels34...I like your style👌
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