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This is the kind of thing I hate....message board

JaneP

When someone decides they need to fix something that isn't broken. I will admit I do not like unnecessary change, but the old message board was IMO much easier to read. I do not like the formatting; I don't like how the initial poster and most recent poster are set out; it was easier to see new messages when they were yellow and not simply in bold; the color scheme - like at the top with the blue banner and the Tauck word is hardly discernible against that color. UGH.

Comments

MikeHenderson

I agree with you, Jane. This last change is for the worse.

British

oh dear, a disaster

British

oh dear, a disaster !

unknown

This content has been removed.

British

oh dear, a disaster

Claudia Sails

JaneP, I think just the cruise dates for 2028 are available. Land tours always come out later with dates. I'm glad the2028 prices aren't set. It gives you the chance to put down a deposit/guest protection for the date and a cabin then once the prices are out you have 2 weeks to decide. If you decide not to take the cruise you get all money back. We've done that and the agent said prices likely out around Feb. That gives me several months to research the trip. Small ship cruises sell out quickly and often only have a few dates.

JaneP

The frustrating part for me Claudia, is that they don’t even have dates for most of the land trips - they do for a few like Japan, but most don’t.

I cruise with a different company so I don’t pay much attention to those trips.

Claudia Sails

I understand. Of course the date alone doesn't give you much since you still have to wait and see the itinerary, hotel lists, etc. Land tours we haven't had any issues finding a date we liked but for some of the river cruises and small ships the options can be limited. Best of luck getting the tour you want.

JaneP

Well - I've always known the itinerary for the most part - at least they tell you to look at the yr before and its usually pretty similar. 🤷‍♀️ Of course, like you said, if the prices come out and the itinerary is really different you can always cancel at that point. I honestly just wish they hadn't said 2028 was ready in that email I got, when clearly they are not.

British

The only thing you have to be aware of is that they do not actually inform you when the prices come out. That is want we have found on quite a few trips, plus the tours can change drastically, I mean starring or ending in different cities, not just hotels or different tours.

JaneP

That’s interesting British. I have generally found for the tours I have taken that they are largely similar to the year before - mostly same locations and hotels - and I’ve always received an email notification when the prices come out. I book far in advance so a city change here or there doesn’t affect me too much because Ive never gotten flights that early. If they drastically change by the time pricing comes out I’d think twice but usually I have found the changes minor - some disappointments (like taking Stonehenge off my last tour) but so far nothing I haven’t been able to deal with. I like to lock in dates early because then I can plan everything else around those - and I have certain times of year I like to travel and those when I won’t.

BKMD

Someone commented earlier about a wish for a Mark All Read command. There is one. If you click on the notification flag at the top (the bell icon, justr left of the envelope icon), you'll find Mark All Read atht the bottom of what pops up. I hacven't yet verified it works. Currently on a tour with limited time to play with these things.

British

The latest Northern Spain tour used to end in Madrid. Now it ends in Porto.

The Iceland tour we took, Tauck sent everyone the green book from the year before. The actual tour was really different and did not include so many sites. Just two more ones.
We also book two years in advance if we can and most here do that.

kfnknfzk

Regarding booking before pricing is finalized, my experience is that I have always been notified when those prices are available. I book very early to ensure I get the date and riverboat cabin category I prefer.

I failed to do that once for a Ponant cruise and suffered the consequences of my own doing.

JaneP

Back to the message board issues — why would they sort by oldest post? They have left things on here from 2019 and I, for one, do not want to sort thru decades of old posts to get to the new ones. And - the formatting makes it hard to find new posts because after you read them it continues to say new and it doesn't seem like titles are even in bold anymore if there is a new post on that thread, but I can't tell if that's just my devices. I also think it just clutters things up to put the entire first post at the top of every page when you are on like page three of responses. Its one of those times where I feel like someone who has never used a message board decides on changes but has no idea how most people use or read….

Good thing my vacation is coming up - I need a break from the message board….and can't quite make myself stay away when I'm home on a rainy day…🙄

British

it’s not your devices, I mainly use my iPad. It’s a mess, the new post message does not disappear and you can’t find anything anymore. I notice it is the same company, Vanilla, but it now says Vanilla 2026. Maybe if Tauck gets enough input from forum members they might have the power to change it back. Unfortunately the forum is very negative about Tauck and river cruises right now.

MikeHenderson

Back to the message board issues — why would they sort by oldest post?

They do that so the responses are in chronological order – so that a reader can see what was said and responded to. If they sort newest first, you may not realize that your question has already been addressed.

JaneP

Mike - they somehow managed before (on the old message board) to make it so the new posts showed up at the top and all those after it were chronological. I did not have to wade thru literally years of posts to get to the new ones.

JaneP

British - I had the same thought - they were making the message board hard to use and harder to read so people just fade away and the negativity goes away with them…😝

MikeHenderson

Maybe you had your profile set up different. When I went into the old system, the newest post were at the bottom. The post were in chronological order for me.

I never looked to see if you could set the forum threads to newest first.

British

Re oldest or newest. You can chose which way you want to view each thread, but it is so confusing and doesn’t always show a message has already been read by you.

inlanikai

It seems worse today (27th) than yesterday (26th). More difficult to find the latest posts for a thread, especially when the thread is more than a couple of pages, as viewed on a laptop. 👎️

kfnknfzk

Just the opposite for me! I’m navigating much easier today. Perhaps I’m getting accustomed to chaos. I’ll be leaving on personal holiday next week and won’t bother with the forum.

kfnknfzk

I retract my statement. Some posts are out of sequence and duplicates. It is worse.

bucketlist

The website is a mess! looking at a future tour and unlike the old site, accomodations are not listed in itinerary under detailed itinerary. I also dislike the changes to the forum. The cute icons look like a child or teenager designed them. I just want the info and to get it fast and accurately. I wonder if they tested this on potential users? I agree with Jane on the fact that the main page of the topic is not at all helpful now.

Maybe we will get used to it?

Goddess

Maybe it's your browser? Accommodations haven't moved when I search a destination.

JaneP

Same for me - its all still there.

KLValley

Happy that the colors are back to what they previously were - white background with green highlights. So much easier to read than the blue.

British

I can deal with the color but not the mess of everything else that has changed, posts are going to be lost or missed

mil

horrible format!

dwannand

“Much ado about nothing” IMO. I think the forum revamp is pretty good; it doesn’t bother me one bit. There are important problems out there to complain about; this isn’t one of them.