What Would Arthur Say (WWAS)?

We all know the Tauck motto:

"How You See the World Matters"

But, in these trying times, does it need updating?

How about:

"How You See the World Matters,

But, What You Wear, Matters More!!!"

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Comments

  • edited July 2020

    Well, excuse me! You seem to enjoy the role, but who designated you as the Forum Police?

    "usual crowd of Floridians"?

    "I do not believe the purpose of this forum is to air grievances that are completely beyond Tauck's control. Perhaps I am wrong, but I believe the intent of Tauck's travel forum is to discuss tours that Tauck provides."

    "Given the incredible reputation of Tauck, they would have had this resolved immediately. Also, I do not believe this is the appropriate forum for airing grievances when Tauck was not given the opportunity to rectify the issue."

    "I respect you as a fellow Tauck traveler, but I cannot respect your behavior of ignoring posted rules regarding photography, especially your own "rule" to do whatever you want until you get caught."

    "Why must you continue with your posts? You have made it very clear that you do not like Manhattan."

    The last one, directed at Jan Durkin, experienced Tauck traveler and former forum regular, elicited a "Bless your heart" response from her. That is quite an accomplishment! Lighten up!

  • kfnknfzk
    12:41AM
    I don't think he would find the immaturity and grammatical errors humorous. Please review Tauck's rules and guidelines for posting to the forum. Thank you and happy travels.

    What a ridiculous statement!

  • We are all different. I found Alan’s photos a pleasant relief during this stressful time.
    Unfortunately anything Covid related is relevant to travel right now.
    My reference to Floridians just meant that on most of the tours that I have been on there are generally more peopl from Florida than anywhere else. Current news points to the possibility that there is more likelihood of infection there.

  • cathyandsteve
    9:37AM edited 9:38AM
    I think Tauck should make and market a mask ....for their travelers.

    That is not outside the realm of possibility. The outfit I use for canvas photo prints now sells custom masks. A lot of companies do. The masks could become collectibles in a few years! :)

    I heard one TD used to give his tour groups gold-colored Tauck medallions. Several years ago I suggested to Tauck they sell, or include with every booking, a Cloisonné lapel pin with logo and wrap-around motto. I contemplated getting some made to give to our TD's and a few friends- I'm sure the logo is copyrighted so I couldn't sell them. I think the minimum order was the killer.

  • I think we should allow posts from anyone that travels Tauck. Just because someone disagrees with you, does not mean it is open to debate. I do find it disappointing that the same people post all the time, and no new travelers choose to post. It seems this forum has become a facebook for just about 6 people. That is sad, because I have traveled with a lot of people and would love to see their ideas on this forum instead of the same ones each day.

  • On masks, we saw a news clip recently that some enterprising people are photo printing on fabric to make masks that show what the lower half of someone's face is. They looked cool.

    To Bob Burch, I'd love to see more participants but sadly only a small number of Tauck travelers use the forum so yes it does seem to be a small group that regularly bothers to. For all our possible faults, we've also been willing to take the time to questions ( often the same ones asked over and over because new posters seldom bother to read older forum threads) and have made particular efforts recently to pose various topics just to keep the forum and interests in traveling alive. How to you propose to get the silent chorus of posters to participate more?

  • The number of people that believe using the forum as an entertaining and educational activity is much smaller than the number of travelers. Not much you can do about that. Just continue to enjoy the hand that is dealt to you.

  • Claudia Sails
    3:46PM
    On masks, we saw a news clip recently that some enterprising people are photo printing on fabric to make masks that show what the lower half of someone's face is. They looked cool.
    To Bob Burch, I'd love to see more participants but sadly only a small number of Tauck travelers use the forum . . . . . .

    I want see a real "face" mask! :D

    Smiling Sam
    4:32PM
    The number of people that believe using the forum as an entertaining and educational activity is much smaller than the number of travelers. Not much you can do about that. Just continue to enjoy the hand that is dealt to you.

    Yes, despite my attempts to encourage more participants, even limiting "the regulars" in my "been there" photo quizzes a few months ago, it still boiled down to the same two dozen though I think I counted 40 unique participants overall.

  • For what it's worth, this is how we have used the forum:
    1. To ask specific questions of people who have taken a tour we have booked or are contemplating booking, and to read postings about specific trips of interest. (It has worked out well.)
    2. To respond to questions asked by others about trips we have taken. (Always willing to reply.)
    3. To try to connect with others on the same tour date we have booked. (Only connected once.)
    As tours actually take place again, it will be nice to know what the new experience was like. We have several trips on the books and will get back to traveling in 2021. It is something we really miss.

  • AlanS: Thanks for the levity - loved the photo. We need all the laughs we can get right now. Not sure we need to be so focused on whatever "rules" some of the posters dictate.
    BobBurch: I agree with you that it would be nice to see more / new posters here - when I mention this forum on my travels most have never heard of it. Tauck could do a much better job of making people aware of this forum and the opportunity to do on-line reviews of tours.

  • I agree that Tauck should publicize the forum more. In 8 tours, I think I have met only 2 couples who have used the forum. Maybe the tour directors could mention it, or include something about the forum when distributing the group photos. I have gotten a lot of good advice and suggestions from the forum. The forum is especially welcome now, when we can't travel. I enjoy everyone's posts. Keep them coming!

  • There is just too much seriousness these days and I enjoy the comical posts here on the forum. Laughter lifts my spirits. I vote for continuing with these kinds of posts. If you don't like it, don't read the posts. I am so tired of everyone being offended about everything these days. Keep the comedy coming AlanS. As long as the posts involve travel in some form and do not include Political Views or personal opinions about any world events, I say anything is fair game. I have learned so much by reading these posts. This is how I found out about the Credit Card chargeback procedure to get my money back from a canceled Airline flight. It saved me alot of money and frustration.

  • Travel maven - đź‘Ť

  • A noble goal travel maven to keep politics/personal opinions out but unfortunately virtually impossible to do since the current crisis has been so politicized and personal opinions make up a fairly large amount of what participants have to share here. We can all try to be polite and yes be a little less easily offended.

  • To all: I am not sure how to get others involved. I have spoken to a few travelers and asked them to get involved. I hope they will. A few mentioned that Tauck needs to make more aware of the forum and I totally agree with that. I asked the lady that called me from Tauck if they look at the forum to get input from guests, and she surprised me when she said they did not. I do think that rather than become argumentative in posts, just simply click on the buttons below the post to Disagree, Agree, Like, or LOL. I saw on this particular post that 484 people viewed the post, but only something like 17 people replied. Those are not good percentages my friends.

  • Well, I guess I am succumbing to peer pressure from strangers. This is my first Tauck post.
    During the pandemic, I have read the forums every day. Since we can't actually travel, I have enjoyed hearing about all your previous trips and getting ideas for the future.
    My husbnd and I only found Tauck about 5 years ago and have enjoyed the following tours:
    Treasures of the Aegean(Tauck modified that trip since they no longer go to Turkey. It was on Windstar which I wish they would use more.)
    Southeast Asia-Might be my favorite trip
    London to Paris and The Seine-During a the couple of months of multiple bombingsin London, so half of the passengers cancelled. There were 42 of us and boy, did we get spoiled.
    Venice and Croatia(on Ponant).-Loved Croatia but didn't like the structure of multiple TDs and Tauck groups.Will not do another trip with that structure.
    China and Hong Kong-Excellent trip.

    We were booked for Kingdoms and Dragons in May/June but of course, that was cancelled. We were going to Jordan and Egypt in the fall(with a Tauck competitorr) but expect it to be cancelled so we already transferred it to 2021. We have a Rhone iver cruise booked with a wine club in May 2021, but don't have any idea if it will actually go. Beyond that, we just have a lot of ideas for future trips. We have not been to Antartica or Africa and I am of Irish descent, so I really want to go to Ireland.

    We have made some great friends on our trips and continued to travel with them. I didn't expect that and it has become one of my primary reasons for continuing to book on Tauck.

    To the earlier points about few people posting, I really don't post on SM. I don't have a Facebook account. I don't look at my Lindedin account since I retired. I read nextdoor but don't post because people are so mean to each other. So it is possible that many others enjoy the forums but just don't post.

    Since, I am unlikely to post again, your thoughts on future trips for us would be appreciated. We wanted to look at Antartica and Kenya/Tanzania for 2022. We will be in our late 60s and fairly active. My husband is concerned about the Drake Passage seas. Both of these trips are fairly expensive, so if you could only recommend one, which would it be? And was there another tour that you loved so much that you would repeat it?

    Thanks for your thoughts.

  • AlanS love the photo, we all need a good laugh now days, thanks for the levity.

  • WPH
    5:01PM
    Well, I guess I am succumbing to peer pressure from strangers. This is my first Tauck post.

    Welcome!

    We sometimes get into minor snits, but overall it is a very congenial forum.

    Too get the most out of the forums, there are two things I would recommend. First, read through the individual area/tour forums (listed at the right side of this page) that interest you and learn how to use the forum search function- this will not only educate you about tours/areas that you might want to take, but it will help you ask focused questions, especially if you will not be posting often.

    This is the Forum Home "New Discussions" page where all new posts, regardless of topic or forum are first displayed, but do not stay. Posts reside (for eternity?), in individual area/tour forums. Recently, it has become a virtual meeting place, since many posts have been started in the "General" forum.

    Learn how to add photos to your post. Everyone loves to see where people have been and as they say on another site I used to visit, "No photo, didn't happen!" :D

    FYI, I don't do SM (I occasionally peak at my wife's FB account to see photos of our grand kids)- I don't tweet or Twit, not on Instagram, SnapChat, not on Likedin, etc., etc, and to my wife's occasional displeasure, I don't own a cell phone! (but I'm not a Luddite :D )

  • WPH - One area that is spectacular and based on your tours listed might be missing from your resume is Australia/New Zealand. You should at least check it out.

  • AlanS said, "FYI, I don't do SM (I occasionally peak at my wife's FB account to see photos of our grand kids)- I don't tweet or Twit, not on Instagram, SnapChat, not on Likedin, etc., etc, and to my wife's occasional displeasure, I don't own a cell phone! (but I'm not a Luddite :D )"

    Welcome WPH. I'm pretty much the same as Alan. No social media, but I do participate in a few hobby-related message boards and email lists. This forum is different in that it IS cordial with extremely rare exception. Anybody who gets out of line gets a personal visit and beating from AlanS. On the bright side, without a cell phone, he does have trouble finding people. A compass and sextant only go so far.

    Alan - no cell phone - really?

  • Welcome WPH. We've also done the Seine plus cruise with a light load though not as light as yours. Other than being a heatwave we really enjoyed. Love river cruises but not many rivers left to do. I don't do a lot of SM - this forum, the one on Rick Steve's site, and FB. Often consider dumping FB but it's a way to connect with family. I also read the Twitter feed from a few accounts but don't have my own. Considering Instagram mostly again for family reasons.

  • I do post on Tauck forum occasionally—particularly if I have something pertinent to add to a discussion or a question to ask. We have traveled with Tauck for about 12 years and have taken 7 tours. I enjoy reading others’ comments about various tours. We have 3 tours booked for the future—two in 2021 (Normandy, Brittany and Loire Valley in May and our postponed Kenya/Tanzania in August) and one in April 2022 (Israel/Jordan). I think our 3 favorites so far are Classic Italy, Grand Australia & New Zealand, and Peru & the Galápagos. We can’t wait until we can again begin to travel safely.

  • edited July 2020

    Welcome WPH. I started traveling with Tauck in 2002 and have taken 3 land tours and 3 river cruises.All excellent. My first tour and still my favorite with Tauck is the Australia/New Zealand Tour although I could only take the Australia portion due to work restrictions on my vacation. It was fantastic and I still remember every detail very well. Since this was back in 2002 I won't share insights as the itinerary has probably changed numerous times.

  • You're right cathyandsteve that tours change over time as Tauck constantly tries to improve them. Also I've noted, having taken 4 river cruises starting in 2014, that the onboard experience has changed and improved over the years. Our most recent - Budapest to Amsterdam - was the best yet. All we can share is what we know, buyer beware. I worry about people trying to get detailed info like exactly what time does the days guided tour end so I can book another activity. Too many things can change the plan.

  • BKMD
    6:22PM
    Alan - no cell phone - really?

    Really! I take my wife with me, she carries one. :) But, I'm always asking her how to do things if I borrow hers.

    WPH- another useful feature of the forum is the ability to private message other participants if there is something you need to discuss that is better left off the forums, like personal contact info. It is not the most friendly msg software (doesn't have a "preview" function- arghhh!) but it is a feature we didn't have on the old forum.

  • edited July 2020

    AlanS 3:07PM
    FYI, I don't do SM (I occasionally peak at my wife's FB account to see photos of our grand kids)- I don't tweet or Twit, not on Instagram, SnapChat, not on Likedin, etc., etc, and to my wife's occasional displeasure, I don't own a cell phone! (but I'm not a Luddite :D )

    I only post occasionally and I am by no means a prolific poster but I guess I must be an oddball here. I am probably the opposite of a Luddite. Having spent the last part of my working life in the tech industry I would have withdrawal pains if I don’t have my gadgets and toys. When I travel I carry a laptop. I have the Verizon Travelpass even though it is $10 per day. If the hotel has no WiFi I panic. My home network usually has 18 to 20 devices connected. If my Internet speed drops below 700 Mbps I panic. I have accounts on FB, Linkedin, Instagram etc.

  • I don't think it was me that asked. I didn't even know there was a forum before our first cruise - French Water Waterways 2014. After that I was totally into river cruises. Took 3 more. Got really fascinated about the different ships and upgrades.

  • JohnS - If my Internet speed drops below 700 Mbps I panic. I have accounts on FB, Linkedin, Instagram etc.

    Just curious what you need that speed for. I assume your not a gamer. I have a fiber connection and their slowest speed (50 Mbps) is sufficient for me. Could go up to 1 Gig if I wanted to, but no need.

  • BKMD Just curious what you need that speed for. I assume your not a gamer. I have a fiber connection and their slowest speed (50 Mbps) is sufficient for me. Could go up to 1 Gig if I wanted to, but no need.

    Probably no need for the speed. We have 1 Gig service which is left over from when both the Mrs and I did work form home duties. I am not a gamer but do like the speed for streaming 4K video. I realize I could get by with less but then I also bought a car last year that has 200+ hp more than I will ever use unless I want to be arrested. :)

  • I am a regular reader of this forum, but have only posted several times. Sometimes it was to answer questions about a tour that I have been on, and other times to ask questions of my own. I also made an ill-fated guess of a location for one of the entries in the "Been There" Virtual Travel Quiz. I was way off!

    I have taken 6 Tauck tours, with 2 more currently booked. One is toward the end of this year (Essence of Japan), and the other is next spring (South Africa Elegant Adventure). I still hold a modicum of hope that the Japan trip will go, but realize that, as of today, the odds are not in my favor. It is a shame, because I was looking forward to that trip slightly more than SA, but have heard that both are excellent.

    I would echo the cautions raised by others about relying too much on others for tour advice. Not only can the comments be outdated, but since everyone has their own preferences, one person's delight can be another person's misery. The itinerary listed on the website usually provides a good overview of the tour, so if it checks most of your boxes then it would probably be a good choice.

    Travel is a gift. It is by far my favorite hobby, and I hope we can all safely get back to it sooner rather than later.

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