Trip Report: Holiday Magic Danube Family River Cruise - December 28, 2025 - January 4, 2026, Part 1
I've been struggling with this trip report. Through no fault of Tauck, our river cruise only lasted one night, and then turned into a bus tour for the rest of the week.. Another boat had damaged a lock on the Danube the day we departed from Vilshofen, and we were unable to proceed on the river after our first stop in Passau. I would have never signed up for a coach tour because I have problems with my legs swelling and sitting for hours on a bus is (and was!) not a good thing for me. Tauck did offer to assist anyone who wanted to leave the cruise, but our family chose to stay. And, I'm glad we did.
I have to say that Joyce, our CD, and Kris, Patricia, Felix and Raluca, our TDs, did everything humanly possible to provide a great experience for everyone, despite the impact caused by the damaged lock. We remained aboard the boat, MS Savor, outside of Passau, for three additional nights, with bus tours and activities at most of the advertised locations. All of the fun activities aboard Savor took place - the kids loved being wrapped like presents by their families, the pizza party, and the other games and contests arranged by the TDs. On the shore tours, the medieval games and cookie making took place as planned. We did not take the tour of Melk Abbey that we had planned, because almost 5 hours on the bus for a one hour tour of the Abbey was not going to work. I ended up remaining aboard the boat, relaxing and having a spa appointment while the rest of the family enjoyed a tour or Regensberg.We all celebrated New Year's Eve aboard Savor with a gala dinner evening, complete with fireworks (and snow!) at midnight.
The next day - New Year's Day - after a late morning, we were transferred by bus to hotels in Vienna (we were at the Park Hyatt) for two nights, then to the Hotel Kempinsky in Budapest, via Bratislava, for the final evening. Between the damaged lock, and it being New Year's Eve - I'm sure hotels were full - I believe we had the best experience possible under the circumstances. I was extremely impressed with everyone's efforts! In addition, everyone received funds for meals not taken at the hotels, voucher discounts for future travel, and a reimbursement for the nights not spent aboard Savor. I thought this was very generous, considering what the hotels must have cost. I understand that a few other companies on the same itinerary simply canceled the remainder of their cruises after the lock became inoperable, and I appreciate Tauck following through the way they did. Our family truly enjoyed our time together on our "cruise" because of their efforts.
Comments
Wow! You did expect the unexpected while traveling. I admire you for having a positive attitude from your Tauck River cruise that turned into a partial bus trip. These are what memories are made from, the oddball quirky things that unexpectedly occur.
YiyaK, you are a trooper, and it sounds like you made the very best of a challenging situation. I, too, suffer from edema in my feet and ankles when traveling. Compression socks help somewhat, but the best solution for me is elevating my legs. Difficult, if not impossible, to do on a bus trip.
Great attitude. I’m glad you were able to remain positive and have a good time. I bet the children loved the adventure.
Felix is such a character and one of the best! If Patricia is from Hungary, we found her to be quite affable as well.
Thanks for sharing.
The kids loved Felix - he was their favorite!
Yiyak, so sorry your cruise wasn't what you expected. We too have had a cruise impacted by another ship damaging a lock. Like your experience, Tauck really stepped up to work out the best alternatives and compensated us afterwards. Hope your next adventure goes better.
As a generalization ….. how old were the children on this trip? We are planning on doing this as a family trip in 2027 when our grandson turns 4. It is obviously a lot of money to spend on a trip if everything is geared towards older children….
Thank you.
I haven’t taken that trip, but personally I think 4 is far too young. On the Tauck Bridges tours, the age range varies considerably . Some appear to take their ‘children’ on these tours that I would consider adults. I would take those type of children on the regular tours.
Tauck’s aim is to have all the children hang out together for most of the activities. Example,…On our Red Rocks Painted Canyons tour, they were all made to sit together at the Welcome dinner. They were given choices from an unhealthy children’s menu. In my experience, the ones who will likely enjoy it most are 8 to 13 or 14 year olds. Most older teenagers might find the specific activities childish.
Tauck recommends 8 and older, and I definitely would not have taken a 4 year old. Our kiddos were in the 9-13 age range, and had a great time.
There were a lot of activities aboard for the children, but parents attended most of them, also. The focus was on families doing things together.
There was also no separation of children from parents at mealtimes. We had a family table, as did the other passengers. There was a buffet available for anyone who didn't want to order from the menu - grandson usually filled up on salads and veggies from there at suppertime - lots of healthy options!.
Tauck made it clear in several communications that this was a family experience, and there is no babysitting service provided - which is fine. I would not have wanted to be carrying a child around on the walking tours - just not practical - so if there had been a little one, those would have been missed.
The Tour Director on my "Week in Puglia" trip also does Bridges tours. I asked him what age he thought would be appropriate for a child on a Bridges tour, and his initial answer was 12. I got him to agree that maybe 10 would be okay.
I think a tour might be a little different from a river cruise...the 8 year olds seemed to do fine.
The main issue I can think of with the river cruise would be the stamina to do the walking tours 😉.
I think I'd be terrified of their falling overboard. More of an issue on a summer cruise than Christmas.
Each Bridges tour has a recommended minimum age. Tauck actually says the minimum age for any of their tours is 3!
I think you have to know your child or grandchild to really decide. It is also worth bearing in mind that jet lag might also come into play.
On our first tour, Red Rocks Painted Canyons, our youngest grandchild was six. He’s very intelligent and sociable, he was a hit with everyone, especially the teenage girls, he flirted with them more than the teenage boys.
Our second tour was the Bridges Tanzania Safari when he was seven. We explained everything that would happen on the tour before we went, watched many safari and nature shows and talked about what animal behaviors they might see. They were extremely well primed and it was a wonderful never to be forgotten bonding for the family.
Next trip, Galapagos. Again we will spend time explaining everything. I think it really helps if the adults have been to the places first, as we have done in all three places.
Thank you for all of your helpful comments. He will be 4 and that is the minimum age. We have been to all of these places and figured we will have him in a lightweight stroller when we are out and about rather than walking. We did this with my younger son when he was 4 in Europe and he enjoyed it very much. He particularly loved the castles. My grandson will never be alone or left with anyone else- so baby sitting was not even a consideration . I just wanted to know if there would be things for little kids that he might find entertaining, eg Santa claus, making cookies, kids music and dancing, etc. He is a very intense little kid and even at the age of 2 is loving museums. He eats everything, so the food is not a problem.. We are all planning on going- so it is a week away for me and my husband, kids, spouses and the little one. We figured we can tag team for the kids activities so everyone will have some time off and all of our meals will be together. It sounds like most of the kids are older. I was thinking Christmas on the boat would be fun, and a lot less work than shopping and cooking. 🤷🏻♀️ I can’t tell from the description what kinds of activities they have……. Was figuring on Douro cruise when he is 5 and Tanzania safari when he is 6 . I will have to see how he does on this one…..although - they change so much from one year to the next.
The first evening on the boat, there was a get-acquainted bingo activity for the kids. At the end of our walking tour in Passau the next day, there was a stop at a family confectionery where everyone made marzipan pigs (pigs are a good luck sign for the new year in Germany). Aboard the boat, there was a team gingerbread house building competition. There was nothing particular for kids on the Salzburg walking tour, but there was some free time at the Christmas market after our lunch at the Castle. I think that afternoon was when we wrapped up the kids with paper, ribbons, etc. back on the boat. There was also a kids' pizza party before our dinner the last night we were on the boat before the bus tour started. In Vienna, there was a puppet show before the "tour" of the castle. Our gala dinner that evening, which was supposed to be waltzing, got changed to a musical performance before and during dinner - not geared towards kids. At the end of our coach/walking tour in Budapest, we stopped for a cookie making class. In Bratislava, there was a demonstration of medieval games and sport, then the kids had a chance to try some of the games (cutting an apple with a sword, :jousting", ring tossing, knocking each other off a little stump with padded sticks). The last morning of the tour, at the hotel in Budapest, there was a Rubik's Cube demonstration and activity for the kids.
The activities seemed to be geared towards children in the age range recommended by Tauck for this cruise - a 4 year old would have needed a lot of adult hands on to get through most of them.
Hope that helps...