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If it's 4 May,----
it must be Palermo for 22 others?
Are any of you "here"?
-Bob & Mary Strickler
Are any of you "here"?
-Bob & Mary Strickler
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Sue and Tom O'Brien
We are wishing that we had extended the Sicily visit, but we leave at zero dark thirty the morning after the "farewell". Have you picked up any info from Tauck or previous travelers? Temps appear to be (much) cooler than we envisioned and the Tauck booklet (a new thing for us as we have not had that on previous Tauck tours) calls for three "dress up" dinners? Would like to hear from previous travelers.
Separately, do you follow "Il Volo"?
Bob and Mary
Thanks!
-Bob and Mary Strickler
I've posted a couple of times, but no luck in hearing from fellow travelers - we are on the April 25 tour, and are going to Palermo a day early, and staying in Taormina 2 days post trip; then flying over to Malta for 4 nights.
Would love to hear from anyone on our trip, or anyone with any information on Sicily with Tauck. It seems there are 4 "nicer" evenings for dress, and I don't plan to bring a cocktail dress and heels for one night so will go with my usual uniform of nice silk pants and jacket, etc.
This is our 6th Tauck tour and we are very excited!
(On a Tauck tour that began in Lisbon we were provided the Tour Director's recommendations of what to in Lisbon as we LEFT!)
The arrival information that arrived as you left would be down to the hotel and probably the porter's desk. That would probably be bell desk for you!! I have seen many TDs roll their eyes in frustration over similar glitches. I know many TDs do leave instructions with the hotels for early arrivers. I am often one of them as I always arrive at my first overseas port of call with at least 5 days grace, maybe even more depending on the city. Naturally, the TD is not there to welcome me. They are often still finishing up another/previous tour or departure and often they don't arrive themselves till the official departure date. They rely on hotel staff to "do the honours" and some hotels are better at it than others. Sometimes I am handed the information when I check in, sometimes the day the tour starts. Because TDs manage their own tours "on the ground" they all have their own style and pre-tour information will thus always vary. But the other side of this is that Tauck always choose great hotels and great hotels always have good concierge desks. When you arrive, why not use their brains? Or if you are really keen, email the concierge ahead of your arrival. Hotels know they need to give Tauck guests excellent service … everyone's pockets depend on it!
Cheers,
Jan
Thanks for the suggestions!
I think the thing to do is look at the Tauck published itinerary for Palermo and compare it with Fodor, Frommer, Rick Steves, et al suggestions and see if what is missing from Tauck that is a "must see/do" in the eyes of others.
(It never dawned on us that Sicily would be cool (chilly?) and so we are scrambling now to find appropriate garb to pack. We are coming in from Naples (FL) and we left relevant gear "up North".)
Melisa (mLIZA) was "out front" and that was appreciated!
The Grand Wagner in Palermo does not come up to Tauck standards, particularly for a hotel in which most will have to spend four (4) nights, but the wifi works well! Top hotel was the Poggio del Sole near Ragusa, but it was a one night stand. The des Etrangers in Ortigia was well located and showed well from the lobby and surrounding area, but the bathrooms had foul odors and some complained of very murky water. More time in Taormina would have been appreciated as the accomodations (San Domenico Palace) were great but the tour encompassed only a walk down the main drag to the Greek Theatre. There is a lot to see in the adjacent areas, but we missed it. :-(
For those who can still make plans, spend at least one extra day in Taorimina and make arrangements to see the nearby sites and sights. Try to get on the mLIZA tour!
We were a little dissapointed in Palermo. Not quite what we expected; loud and dirty and everyone smokes! Four nights was just too long. If you can, take your extended night in Taormina at the end of the tour. You will be happy you did!
All in all, however, we met some lovely people and had a relatively good time. We expect a top notch experience from Tauck, as this was our 9th trip with them. However, we found that not every hotel was up to their high standards, and the ones that were, were one nighters.
Our tour guide, Birget Ensslin, was informative and helpful. She had some "accidents" occur on our tour but handled them professionally. We even had a strike at the last hotel in Taormina but she was able to work around it and made the guests staying extra night there, feel confident that things would be OK. They were, and the strike was over in just a day.
I am sure anyone taking this tour will enjoy it.