September 20 Budapest to Amsterdam
The uncertainty of whether this cruise will cancel is disturbing, at least. I read that the September 6 cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest, which would be the ship we would board in Budapest cancelled yesterday. How unfair to wait until 3 days before the cruise to cancel it. How are you expected to make alternate plans when you have your over the water flights booked for a year and learn only 3 days before the scheduled departure that the cruise isn't going. Most people, I am sure, booked their departure to make the cruise several days early, so the 3 day noice may effectively be one day!. I have booked independent travel to Morrocco, but it is all on hold until I learn that I can get my money back. From all I read, there is NO WAY this cruise will go as planned, so I don't know why they can't at least offer the option to cancel now. Whatever good will they hope to get by offering a refund is tarnished by not providing a timely notice. Just my opinion.,
Comments
Sandman, what a difficult and annoying situation you and many many others find themselves in. I know you are a regular customer. Tauck could indeed at least put a temporary banner headline on their website with latest general information.
I am feeling that more people will cancel purely because of not getting timely details and a percentage of these people would still go even if it means staying in hotels some nights. People like me that still prefer land tours over river cruises, especially if all the places the river cruise was to visit are still on the itinerary. I think that is why Tauck is holding out, not because of thinking about their profits because thay surely won’t be making any on the cruises that go ahead with so few people still deciding to take them.
From what I am reading, it seems they are having to cancel some tours now because there are too few people willing to take them, not that the tour could be taken with a few changes. Those on land tours must be having a great time with far less crowds at all those river cruise destinations.
I am taking a river cruise in France at the end of October, it’s fire damaged that might disrupt that trip. I’m going to London first, so that would make changes complicated.
We have had to cancel a couple of tours recently because of civil unrest, like the current war. We canceled a tour of Nepal earlier in the year because of that, as our flight via Doha was canceled. Otherwise, we had a trip to Nepal scheduled for next month. The company canceled it several months ago because people like us pulled out.
You really have to dig deep into the Tauck website to find their travel updates page. However this is the latest input there. Note the date. The only info was about Middle East tours, No river cruise issues.
MAY 7, 2026
Travel Updates
Travel Updates will keep you informed on the operating status of tours or cruises by destination, and provide up-to-date information on our travel policies.
It has not been easy to plan a tour with all the uncertainty in the world caused by war, climate and civil unrest. Glad we were able to travel during what looking back, were "good times"
We do truly hope that the 9/20 Budapest to Amsterdam trip can happen, even with some certain modifications, but are also facing the same deadlines and stress over our pre-trip plans to Budapest and post trip travel from Amsterdam to Iceland. The cancelation of the preceding eastbound 9/06 Amsterdam to Budapest trip seems to have put the writing on the wall…but we all pray for some timely updates from Tauck.
I do feel like they could do better on the Travel Update page. Particularly in a season fraught with low water and cancellations like this year's river cruise season. Even a generic notice would be better than nothing….
I hope, like RandallJay1960, that the trip will go, but it gets more and more unlikely with each passing day. The problem in not knowing is that alternative travel plans that we want to finalize are still undone and the costs of last minute travel is outrageous. I would like to know now if they will offer a full refund so I can cancel and finalize the air and hotels i reserved if we have to miss this cruise.
Where is the travel update page?
at the far right bottom of the Tauck home page. There’s no information posted, however.
Just started booking airlines to travel to Morocco when the cruise cancels. I couldn't wait any longer to secure flights I want to take when Tauck cancels. Note, I said when Tauck cancels or at least allows a full refund. Just don't see this voyage going as planned and could wait no longer.
My wife and I are also on this Sep 20th trip from Budapest to Amsterdam. We did the same trip the other direction in October of '23 and went from Amsterdam to just west of Passau before the Danube got too shallow. Tauck did do the honorable thing and took us the last 4 days by motor coach to Vienna and Budapest. In Vienna we stayed in a 5 star hotel across from the Opera House and in Budapest we stayed at another 5 star hotel, The Four Seasons. The crew did an admirable job of making the best of the situation. The Tauck cruise staff even found an evening dinner cruise for us to see the nighttime lights of Budapest which was exceptional.
In April of 2024 we did an Amsterdam to Basel trip that included the Moselle River. Plenty of water and the entire event was very enjoyable. Well done to Tauck again.
I am a long time pilot and very practical and we are in our upper 70'sl. At this point, I can not see the MS Treasure making it from Amsterdam to Budapest by Sep 20th. Sadly for all involved, we travelers, the crew on the ship and the Tauck organization, the rivers and the rain are not co-operating!
My wife and I have been traveling in Europe since the early 1970's. Europe is a wonderful place to visit and we were younger and these river cruises were a first trip to Europe, we would look at motor coaches differently. Each location can be interesting, but if the purpose of the trip was a leisurely unpack once and watch the beauty of the river for 14 days, the motor coaches and different hotels aren't the right path.
We were looking forward to making new friends and casually traveling between these two cities, but I'm afraid this isn't the year and expect when the ship owner states to Tauck that it can't be accomplished, Tauck will communicate to all of us this coming week. Tauck is the right company, just not this Fall of '26…..
Sorry BlueMax, but it doesn't look like we can meet in person. My wife and I have traveled extensively to many countries, but this would have been our first riverboat cruise. We were so looking forward to unpacking one time and having 14 days of relaxation. Fortunately, we are booked on a Tauck Christmas Market cruise on the Danube in 2027, so we will get our river experience. For this year, we have booked independent travel to Morocco and are waiting for confirmation of a full refund before we finalize our arrangements and modify our BA frequent flyer tickets to Budapest. The anxiety of waiting has made the experience miserable, but I understand; just wish Tauck would pull the plug now!
BlueMax and Sandman (and all travelers), we also would have liked to meet up in person although it appears to most likely not be in the cards. We can see if MS Treasure or any other available Tauck ship tries to navigate east over this week, but I think Kaub is another pinch point on the Rhine that is impeding this. MS Treasure has just been making loops around Amsterdam the last couple of weeks, maybe as far east as Nijmegen.
It is “fun” making alternate/expensive/refundable airline and hotel bookings at the last minute. We have Amsterdam and Iceland plans in place.
I guess we just stay tuned for news this week, we are scheduled to travel to Budapest 9/16 and hope to get enough notice to cancel and pivot.
Hello Sandman and other fellow Sep 20th cruisers. Yes it is sad that we are probably not going to be able to sit with our favorite beverage and visit at the beautiful lounge at the bow of the Treasure. Our ship appears to be doing excursions around Holland in the Rhine Delta. Don't you wonder who are the passengers on board?
And the Tauck's sister ship, the MS Espirit appears to have become a permanent fixture on the Danube east of Bratislava?
As someone who thinks logistically, my old Air Force training during Viet Nam, I thought perhaps Tauck/Scylla could exchange the Espirit for the Treasure for the eastern portion of our Sep 20th cruise and run it from it's current location near Komarno, Slovakia, which is only an an hour and and a half motor coach from Budapest.
This would allow our cruise to go from Day 2 to Day 12 on the Espirt. That ship could then go all the way up the "Upper Danube" to the "Main river canal" and then the Main river down to the Rhine at Rudeshein.
After that, because the Rhine at Kaub is only at 32 cm, motor coach past the Castles to Koblenz where the Treasure would be waiting for us to take us the rest of the way to Amsterdam. At this point, with the Rhine and the Danube going down again that's a lot of "Ifs happening".
To more pleasant thoughts, you will love the Christmas Markets Cruise. Completely different than the warm weather cruises. Dress warmly… it is cold winter there. And tours are more abreviated…just briefly around each village, (it is cold) ending at the market.
Before we went on our first Christmas Market cruise, I envisioned that the town just put up Christmas lights on all of the downtown buildings. I was quite wrong. These towns bring out a village of large booths to the city square. These multiple booths are probably 12' x 20' with festively dressed vendors selling many kinds of Christmas items and tasty foods of the season.
Each town has their own beautiful "Christmas Mug" which you receive when you purchase their hot chocolate with Amaretto, or their special wine called "Glugwine". It has a "bite"!
Let's see…14 days cruise means 14 Mugs to take home in your suitcases.And these Christmas Markets have beautiful sweaters, hats, and everything you could ever desire during the Christmas Season. You will enjoy it. We last did this in 2012 but I assume it is still similar….
BlueMax, I was allowing my mind to speculate like yours that the Esprit (sitting near Komarno since Aug 24th) would step in as the replacement ship for the westbound journey. Being real optimistic, one forecast also shows the Rhine river level at Kaub as being passable 2 weeks out, whereas it is too low to sail now.
The European river cruise ship
MS Esprit has run aground on a sandbankin the Danube River nearKomárom, Hungary. [1]Key details of the incident include:The Situation:The vessel became stuck while navigating a stretch of the Danube.Passengers and Crew:Only thecrew remains on board, and there are no initial reports of injuries.The Resolution Plan:The ship is currently stuck in a"waiting game" for higher water levels. Tugboats or local authorities are monitoring the situation, but a natural rise in the river's water level is required to safely float the vessel off the sandbank. [1]The grounding occurred shortly after local cruise operators expressed optimism about resuming smooth sailing toward Budapest along this specific section of the Danube6