Goddess - to each her own....I don't want to stay in steerage and I can think of few more pleasurable things on a cruise than sitting on a balcony sipping my drink of choice watching the sunrise or sunset unencumbered by fellow tourists for a few blissful minutes each day.
Kathy - Two people in a room do pay more for a room than a single, just not twice as much, as you would have them do. This added cost is to cover the things you mention above.
With your logic, then the couple should always get twice as much space, twice as nice a view, twice everything that the single gets because they would be paying twice as much.
No - you aren't following - my main point is that each person should pay the same - certainly if there are two people it is double the single - but each person pays the same. Just as a single chooses to travel alone, doubles choose to travel together - neither should benefit or be punished by that choice. I would imagine that often doubles do use double the amount of incidentals and water and towels so they should pay double. What you are suggesting is that singles actually subsidize the doubles. If a company chooses to allow singles, they shouldn't punish them.
Jane - Per your statement - ‘neither should benefit or be punished by that choice.’
Yet you think a double should pay twice as much for the same floor space, the same closet space, etc. as a single. What you are suggesting is that the doubles should actually subsidize the singles. If the company allows doubles, they shouldn’t punish them.
It doesn’t cost twice as much to heat or cool a room with two in it as it does for one in it, nor provide electricity, nor clean and make up a room. Yes some incidentals are more - towels, water usage, but not the ones I mentioned. This is why the cost is more in total for a double, just not double the cost.
The model is the same as you would see at an all inclusive resort. One person in a room pays a higher per person rate for the room, but not a higher total amount for the room. Why, because some costs are truly doubled by the number of people, but other costs aren’t doubled. Some costs are the same regardless of the people in the room.
Companies whether travel companies like Tauck, all-inclusive resorts, etc. understand and look at these things. They know the costs and what they need to charge for N people in a room to cover their costs and make a profit. The facts are to get a lower per person rate it requires more people in a room. The total cost of the room with two in it might be 1.5 times what it is for one in it. Just as the cost of the room with three in the room might be 2 times the cost of the room with one in it. So yes the triples per person rate is .67 that of the single and the double is .75 that of the single, but the overall amount charged is higher with more people in the room. These factors are set based on costs. They aren’t one size group subsidizing the other.
Sam - we’re going to have to agree to disagree. Two people very likely use more electricity as they charge double the devices etc… cleaning up after two is more work than cleaning up after one…they very likely use more amenities and food and drink…IMO, square footage is neither here nor there - double rooms are oftentimes larger than single rooms notwithstanding what British said above, but I doubt you agree.
Yes - IIWII but I don’t have to like it and I don’t have to like that you think it’s ok for me to pay $5000 more for the same experience…I just feel like all of us sign up for the same trip - the same experiences and we should pay the same for that.
Jane - I never said I agree with the $5000 more number. I said that the amount of the supplement is debatable. What isn’t debatable, to me, is that your desired ‘charge exactly the same per person model’, independent of the number of rooms involved isn’t what any business does.
I have no issue, if you feel the $5000 number is excessive. I do have issue if you feel the difference should be zero.
Regardless of business model, why should any person have to pay more than another? It’s the same experience that we pay for. Just because hotels have always done it and no one questions it anymore it doesn’t make it right for the tour group situation.
I agree with Goddess. Only once (in several river cruises) have I availed myself of the "no single supplement" category 1 cabins, but the savings more than paid for my business class airfare. I did not find the cabin "crappy." It was perfectly adequate. And, as always, the staff and my fellow travelers were very welcoming -- nobody cared which cabin I was in.
This may be an issue with Tauck (and other tour companies) and not the hotel. I just tried an experiment. I went to a hotel website and put in a random date to see the price for 1 room with 2 people. Then I changed the search to include just 1 person. The room price is exactly the same. I have seen this in other circumstances as well.
For those who have done this tour, what did you do in the afternoon at Fowey Hall when you returned from the Cornish cooking class? Wondering what we might do for what seems like it might be much of the afternoon.
The day before was quite full and we did not return to the hotel until about 2:30-3:00 some people went to the pool and/or Spa and got massages, etc...and then we walked downtown and walked around and had dinner in town.
Yours may be somewhat different, but here was our detailed itinerary. Keep in mind that for the driving in this area - the roads are narrow and mostly one lane either way so they can't go super fast and the roads are like a spine with ribs so to get to some areas they have to go back to the middle and then back out again, if that makes any sense...
It looks like the success of this tour may partially depend on the quality and knowledge of the TD and how he/she handles time on the bus. You need one that can provide interesting history and info during long bus rides. We had a TD like that on E,S,W many years ago and he really made a big difference compared to tours where the TD was less engaged.
Did your TD have suggestions of things to do during free afternoons (on Days 4, 7 (Fowey), and 9)?
What were your activity options on Day 9?
Can you comment on the breakfasts?. It appears all are "cold buffet and hot food to order." Were the cold offerings satisfactory? Was the speed of service adequate and timely for those who ordered hot meals?
During their pre-stay in either London or Bath, did anyone in your group book car/driver to take them to Highclere (Downton Abbey)?
We took a tour to Highclere from London 2 years ago. Unfortunately I don’t know who it was apart from the fact it was via Trip Advisor as someone from our traveling group booked it. There was a guide on the bus who worked on the sets and gave us insider news on some of the actors. He commented on all the places we passed through and pointed out the movie studios springing up in the Cotswold area. We visited the village where all the outdoor scenes were shot with a guide and plenty of time to walk around.
You night be aware there is a good Egyptian exhibition in the basement of Highclere because the ancestor of the current Earl was the one who discovered Tutankhamen’s tomb so there is also a replica of his famously mask.
We had been to Chatsworth House a few days earlier which is spectacular and Highclere is not in that league and neither is the gift shop which was poor in my opinion.Vit a good day out non the less.
Alans, we leave in less than 3 weeks for this tour. We are arriving early and are staying in Bath. Our pre stay by chance corresponds to the Jane Austen Festival. One day we will grab the train to London for the day to see Westminster Abbey and since Buckingham Palace is open to the public we will do the East Wing and State Rooms tours. We have tickets pre booked in Bath for the Bath Abbey Tower Tour, the Roman Baths and the No 1 Royal Crescent Museum. Any of these could be done on Day 4 from the schedule JaneP provided. On Day number 4 we will probably walk through one of the gardens/parks, along the Avon Canal/or boat tour, or maybe some spa time. We opted to go to London rather than Highclare or Blenheim Palace. We also thought about going to Salisbury or Wales. In Fowey, we are planning to walk along one of the coastal path either on the Fowey side to St Catherine's castle ruins or taking the ferry across to the other side. I am sure there will be some shopping on the way to either of these. At Bovey Castle we made arrangements to have a 3 hour guided hike up to one of the toors in the mooring through the activities desk. They have a number of activities available other than the ones Tauck has arranged at an additional cost. I will let you know how all of this worked out.
AlanS - We had a great TD - we did not have super long bus rides but the longer ones were broken up by comfort breaks and/or some planned event on the way to the next hotel - but the TD talked along the way - a lot of British history - monarchy - Tudor v. Windsor etc...it was very interesting.
Suggestions on what to do -- Day 4 - I don't really remember suggestions in Bath, but that could have been because I had planned my days there so I wasn't paying attention. The first day there you should have an introductory walking tour - they pretty much show you everything you might want to tour. The Bath Abbey and Roman baths are very close to the hotel - like literally around the corner 5 minutes close. You will see the Royal Crescent and the Jane Austin Museum and the Pulteney Bridge - all of which you might want to go back to in your free time to linger longer. The Bath Abbey is not large - if you've seen Westminster and St. Paul's Cathedral - which are much larger but sort of contain the same kinds of things - you can easily get thru the Bath Abbey in 45 min to an hour. On the free afternoon there, a lot of people went to the Spa in the hotel and several got massages. I went to the Roman baths and then to dinner with another couple. Had dinner one night at Sally Lunn's - which is kind of "touristy" but fun and the food was good. Had dinner another night at The Scallop Shell, and if you like fish and chips it was wonderful - very casual but fantastic fish and chips.
Day 7 - Fowey is fairly small and not a ton to do there, but very picturesque. Most people went to the Spa/got massages/packed up and rearranged things because we were leaving that hotel the next morning and then walked down into the town, sat by the water, and drank in the quaintness and gawped at the Daphne DuMaurier statue. The TD gave us an extensive restaurant list and we ate in town, but some went back to the hotel and ate there. I do not remember having a ton of time to fill when we were in Fowey - a few hours - but easily filled by Spa, packing, walking around town for a hour/hour and a half and then a nice, relaxing dinner.
Day 9 at Bovey Castle was delightful! There was a list of activities that were included and you could pick two - I did the nature walk to the deer park and the carriage ride - they also had archery, skeet shooting, sloe gin making and a falconry talk which you did not have to sign up for (and probably something I am forgetting). They also have a golf course and some other things you could do that were not included and you could just pay for on your own. You can go on their website and see what is offered. Again, we were leaving the next morning so I spent part of the afternoon packing up - I don't completely unpack but we were there for two nights and stuff gets out of order...but it was a nice relaxing day of not having to get on a bus to go somewhere and just doing things at your own pace. Some people just sat in the castle or on the veranda and drank coffee and read books - it was beautiful - great weather when we were there and very relaxing.
I found the cold buffets to generally be enough - an assortment of breads and pastries, fruit, cheeses, yogurt and granola, etc...fairly typical cold buffet - most of them also had some hot food like scrambled eggs, sausages, potatoes, etc...but if you wanted a specialty item like avocado toast or French toast or something you could order - it was all included but you just got it from the servers rather than the buffet. On one of my days in Bath before the tour started I ordered the avocado toast and was very good but I was not on a schedule that day so I didn't pay attention to how long it took. Most days I was fine with coffee and the cold buffet.
I do not recall anyone talking about going to Highclere. I went into Bath two days early and on one of the days I took a private tour with a group called "Scarper Tours" to Stonehenge - when I signed up for this tour it was on the itinerary and by the time the tour came around they had taken it off and replaced it with Avebury - BUT, I had always wanted to see Stonehenge so I went on my own. It was about an hour from Bath and we had an entertaining driver - drove thru some picturesque Cotswold towns on the way and then got to Stonehenge and had two hours on our own there to see the monument and then go to the museum and cafeteria if you were hungry. It was plenty of time to see everything.
Thanks for the info. We don't go until the end of Aug 2027 so I have plenty of time to work things out.
In some respects we are at a disadvantage because many years ago we took the England, Scotland, Wales tour (our very first Tauck Tour) so have been to London, Stonehenge (now replaced by Avebury), and Bath where we did a guided walking tour to the Royal Crescent, the nearby Circus with its ring of large Georgian townhouses, made a quick stop at the Pump Room (to taste the nasty water?? ), and had a guided visit of the Roman Baths. While my wife and our friends went searching for an old book store I wandered over to the canal, deep lock, and Pulteney Bridge and Weir. During Best of Ireland we did falconry- actually got to fly them.
It will be a big extra cost (unless we share) for a car/driver/entry tickets to Highclere, but we are still considering that. Many tours go to the village of Lacock where some Downton Abbey scenes were filmed, but I noticed that is one of the Cotswold villages you said you visited on your tour.
Final comments- we are going two days early, so will end up spending 6 nights in Bath!! Yikes! On Day 10 our tour stays at the Four Seasons Hampshire which is 40 min. drive from Heathrow.
Comments
Goddess - to each her own....I don't want to stay in steerage and I can think of few more pleasurable things on a cruise than sitting on a balcony sipping my drink of choice watching the sunrise or sunset unencumbered by fellow tourists for a few blissful minutes each day.
Kathy - Two people in a room do pay more for a room than a single, just not twice as much, as you would have them do. This added cost is to cover the things you mention above.
With your logic, then the couple should always get twice as much space, twice as nice a view, twice everything that the single gets because they would be paying twice as much.
No - you aren't following - my main point is that each person should pay the same - certainly if there are two people it is double the single - but each person pays the same. Just as a single chooses to travel alone, doubles choose to travel together - neither should benefit or be punished by that choice. I would imagine that often doubles do use double the amount of incidentals and water and towels so they should pay double. What you are suggesting is that singles actually subsidize the doubles. If a company chooses to allow singles, they shouldn't punish them.
Jane - Per your statement - ‘neither should benefit or be punished by that choice.’
Yet you think a double should pay twice as much for the same floor space, the same closet space, etc. as a single. What you are suggesting is that the doubles should actually subsidize the singles. If the company allows doubles, they shouldn’t punish them.
It doesn’t cost twice as much to heat or cool a room with two in it as it does for one in it, nor provide electricity, nor clean and make up a room. Yes some incidentals are more - towels, water usage, but not the ones I mentioned. This is why the cost is more in total for a double, just not double the cost.
The model is the same as you would see at an all inclusive resort. One person in a room pays a higher per person rate for the room, but not a higher total amount for the room. Why, because some costs are truly doubled by the number of people, but other costs aren’t doubled. Some costs are the same regardless of the people in the room.
Companies whether travel companies like Tauck, all-inclusive resorts, etc. understand and look at these things. They know the costs and what they need to charge for N people in a room to cover their costs and make a profit. The facts are to get a lower per person rate it requires more people in a room. The total cost of the room with two in it might be 1.5 times what it is for one in it. Just as the cost of the room with three in the room might be 2 times the cost of the room with one in it. So yes the triples per person rate is .67 that of the single and the double is .75 that of the single, but the overall amount charged is higher with more people in the room. These factors are set based on costs. They aren’t one size group subsidizing the other.
Maybe you have long showers, I shower for a few minutes. It is just he way it works in the luxury tour travel business.
Sam - we’re going to have to agree to disagree. Two people very likely use more electricity as they charge double the devices etc… cleaning up after two is more work than cleaning up after one…they very likely use more amenities and food and drink…IMO, square footage is neither here nor there - double rooms are oftentimes larger than single rooms notwithstanding what British said above, but I doubt you agree.
Yes - IIWII but I don’t have to like it and I don’t have to like that you think it’s ok for me to pay $5000 more for the same experience…I just feel like all of us sign up for the same trip - the same experiences and we should pay the same for that.
Jane - I never said I agree with the $5000 more number. I said that the amount of the supplement is debatable. What isn’t debatable, to me, is that your desired ‘charge exactly the same per person model’, independent of the number of rooms involved isn’t what any business does.
I have no issue, if you feel the $5000 number is excessive. I do have issue if you feel the difference should be zero.
Regardless of business model, why should any person have to pay more than another? It’s the same experience that we pay for. Just because hotels have always done it and no one questions it anymore it doesn’t make it right for the tour group situation.
We’ll never agree so let’s just drop it.
I agree with Goddess. Only once (in several river cruises) have I availed myself of the "no single supplement" category 1 cabins, but the savings more than paid for my business class airfare. I did not find the cabin "crappy." It was perfectly adequate. And, as always, the staff and my fellow travelers were very welcoming -- nobody cared which cabin I was in.
This may be an issue with Tauck (and other tour companies) and not the hotel. I just tried an experiment. I went to a hotel website and put in a random date to see the price for 1 room with 2 people. Then I changed the search to include just 1 person. The room price is exactly the same. I have seen this in other circumstances as well.
Depends on the hotel; I've seen it both ways..........................
For those who have done this tour, what did you do in the afternoon at Fowey Hall when you returned from the Cornish cooking class? Wondering what we might do for what seems like it might be much of the afternoon.
We are leaving in 3 weeks and plan on taking the ferry across and walking along the coast and/or walking along the coast on the Fowey side
The day before was quite full and we did not return to the hotel until about 2:30-3:00 some people went to the pool and/or Spa and got massages, etc...and then we walked downtown and walked around and had dinner in town.
Yours may be somewhat different, but here was our detailed itinerary. Keep in mind that for the driving in this area - the roads are narrow and mostly one lane either way so they can't go super fast and the roads are like a spine with ribs so to get to some areas they have to go back to the middle and then back out again, if that makes any sense...
Thanks for the Go Sheets!
It looks like the success of this tour may partially depend on the quality and knowledge of the TD and how he/she handles time on the bus. You need one that can provide interesting history and info during long bus rides. We had a TD like that on E,S,W many years ago and he really made a big difference compared to tours where the TD was less engaged.
Did your TD have suggestions of things to do during free afternoons (on Days 4, 7 (Fowey), and 9)?
What were your activity options on Day 9?
Can you comment on the breakfasts?. It appears all are "cold buffet and hot food to order." Were the cold offerings satisfactory? Was the speed of service adequate and timely for those who ordered hot meals?
During their pre-stay in either London or Bath, did anyone in your group book car/driver to take them to Highclere (Downton Abbey)?
Thanks
We took a tour to Highclere from London 2 years ago. Unfortunately I don’t know who it was apart from the fact it was via Trip Advisor as someone from our traveling group booked it. There was a guide on the bus who worked on the sets and gave us insider news on some of the actors. He commented on all the places we passed through and pointed out the movie studios springing up in the Cotswold area. We visited the village where all the outdoor scenes were shot with a guide and plenty of time to walk around.
You night be aware there is a good Egyptian exhibition in the basement of Highclere because the ancestor of the current Earl was the one who discovered Tutankhamen’s tomb so there is also a replica of his famously mask.
We had been to Chatsworth House a few days earlier which is spectacular and Highclere is not in that league and neither is the gift shop which was poor in my opinion.Vit a good day out non the less.
Alans, we leave in less than 3 weeks for this tour. We are arriving early and are staying in Bath. Our pre stay by chance corresponds to the Jane Austen Festival. One day we will grab the train to London for the day to see Westminster Abbey and since Buckingham Palace is open to the public we will do the East Wing and State Rooms tours. We have tickets pre booked in Bath for the Bath Abbey Tower Tour, the Roman Baths and the No 1 Royal Crescent Museum. Any of these could be done on Day 4 from the schedule JaneP provided. On Day number 4 we will probably walk through one of the gardens/parks, along the Avon Canal/or boat tour, or maybe some spa time. We opted to go to London rather than Highclare or Blenheim Palace. We also thought about going to Salisbury or Wales. In Fowey, we are planning to walk along one of the coastal path either on the Fowey side to St Catherine's castle ruins or taking the ferry across to the other side. I am sure there will be some shopping on the way to either of these. At Bovey Castle we made arrangements to have a 3 hour guided hike up to one of the toors in the mooring through the activities desk. They have a number of activities available other than the ones Tauck has arranged at an additional cost. I will let you know how all of this worked out.
AlanS - We had a great TD - we did not have super long bus rides but the longer ones were broken up by comfort breaks and/or some planned event on the way to the next hotel - but the TD talked along the way - a lot of British history - monarchy - Tudor v. Windsor etc...it was very interesting.
Suggestions on what to do -- Day 4 - I don't really remember suggestions in Bath, but that could have been because I had planned my days there so I wasn't paying attention. The first day there you should have an introductory walking tour - they pretty much show you everything you might want to tour. The Bath Abbey and Roman baths are very close to the hotel - like literally around the corner 5 minutes close. You will see the Royal Crescent and the Jane Austin Museum and the Pulteney Bridge - all of which you might want to go back to in your free time to linger longer. The Bath Abbey is not large - if you've seen Westminster and St. Paul's Cathedral - which are much larger but sort of contain the same kinds of things - you can easily get thru the Bath Abbey in 45 min to an hour. On the free afternoon there, a lot of people went to the Spa in the hotel and several got massages. I went to the Roman baths and then to dinner with another couple. Had dinner one night at Sally Lunn's - which is kind of "touristy" but fun and the food was good. Had dinner another night at The Scallop Shell, and if you like fish and chips it was wonderful - very casual but fantastic fish and chips.
Day 7 - Fowey is fairly small and not a ton to do there, but very picturesque. Most people went to the Spa/got massages/packed up and rearranged things because we were leaving that hotel the next morning and then walked down into the town, sat by the water, and drank in the quaintness and gawped at the Daphne DuMaurier statue. The TD gave us an extensive restaurant list and we ate in town, but some went back to the hotel and ate there. I do not remember having a ton of time to fill when we were in Fowey - a few hours - but easily filled by Spa, packing, walking around town for a hour/hour and a half and then a nice, relaxing dinner.
Day 9 at Bovey Castle was delightful! There was a list of activities that were included and you could pick two - I did the nature walk to the deer park and the carriage ride - they also had archery, skeet shooting, sloe gin making and a falconry talk which you did not have to sign up for (and probably something I am forgetting). They also have a golf course and some other things you could do that were not included and you could just pay for on your own. You can go on their website and see what is offered. Again, we were leaving the next morning so I spent part of the afternoon packing up - I don't completely unpack but we were there for two nights and stuff gets out of order...but it was a nice relaxing day of not having to get on a bus to go somewhere and just doing things at your own pace. Some people just sat in the castle or on the veranda and drank coffee and read books - it was beautiful - great weather when we were there and very relaxing.
I found the cold buffets to generally be enough - an assortment of breads and pastries, fruit, cheeses, yogurt and granola, etc...fairly typical cold buffet - most of them also had some hot food like scrambled eggs, sausages, potatoes, etc...but if you wanted a specialty item like avocado toast or French toast or something you could order - it was all included but you just got it from the servers rather than the buffet. On one of my days in Bath before the tour started I ordered the avocado toast and was very good but I was not on a schedule that day so I didn't pay attention to how long it took. Most days I was fine with coffee and the cold buffet.
I do not recall anyone talking about going to Highclere. I went into Bath two days early and on one of the days I took a private tour with a group called "Scarper Tours" to Stonehenge - when I signed up for this tour it was on the itinerary and by the time the tour came around they had taken it off and replaced it with Avebury - BUT, I had always wanted to see Stonehenge so I went on my own. It was about an hour from Bath and we had an entertaining driver - drove thru some picturesque Cotswold towns on the way and then got to Stonehenge and had two hours on our own there to see the monument and then go to the museum and cafeteria if you were hungry. It was plenty of time to see everything.
It was a great trip - I'm sure you'll enjoy!
Thanks for the info. We don't go until the end of Aug 2027 so I have plenty of time to work things out.
In some respects we are at a disadvantage because many years ago we took the England, Scotland, Wales tour (our very first Tauck Tour) so have been to London, Stonehenge (now replaced by Avebury), and Bath where we did a guided walking tour to the Royal Crescent, the nearby Circus with its ring of large Georgian townhouses, made a quick stop at the Pump Room (to taste the nasty water??
), and had a guided visit of the Roman Baths. While my wife and our friends went searching for an old book store I wandered over to the canal, deep lock, and Pulteney Bridge and Weir. During Best of Ireland we did falconry- actually got to fly them.
It will be a big extra cost (unless we share) for a car/driver/entry tickets to Highclere, but we are still considering that. Many tours go to the village of Lacock where some Downton Abbey scenes were filmed, but I noticed that is one of the Cotswold villages you said you visited on your tour.
Final comments- we are going two days early, so will end up spending 6 nights in Bath!! Yikes! On Day 10 our tour stays at the Four Seasons Hampshire which is 40 min. drive from Heathrow.