itinerary change
We just received this letter. Doesn't seem like we'll miss too much, but hopefully they'll have some good activities for the extra days in the cities. Maybe the price will come down a bit with one less charter flight
Dear Mr. & Mrs. Francis,
With 2022 now well underway, we’re sure your thoughts are turning more frequently to your
upcoming Tauck adventure in Australia and New Zealand. An engaging and truly memorable
experience awaits, and we are looking forward to hosting you on your journey!
We are contacting you today to share news of an alteration to your itinerary. More specifically,
we wanted you to know that Manapouri Airport in Te Anau, New Zealand, is no longer
accommodating jet traffic (including the charter jets featured in your Tauck itinerary). In addition,
our hotel in Te Anau, Distinction Te Anau Hotel & Villas, has opted to remain closed until 2023.
With these two developments, it will be impossible for us to include our scheduled two-night stay
in Te Anau (Nights 14 and 15) as originally planned.
It’s said that “when one door closes, another door opens,” and with the two-night stay in Te
Anau removed from your itinerary, we’re very excited to provide you with an enhanced and
expanded exploration of both Queenstown and Auckland, along with an additional overnight in
each city. (Your group will now spend Nights 14 -16 in Queenstown, and Nights 17 – 19 in
Auckland.) On Day 15, we are still including a trip to Milford Sound (departing from
Queenstown).
We are currently finalizing the additional activities you will enjoy during your added time in
Queenstown and Auckland, and full details will be included in the personal travel documents
you will receive prior to your journey.
Thank you in advance for your understanding, and once again, we are looking forward to
hosting you in Australia and New Zealand.
Sincerely,
The Tauck Worldwide Operations Team
Comments
K Francis, how lucky you are, I would say that the Ye Anau part of the tour was the least interesting when we went and we loved Queenstown!
British - good to know, thx.
mfrancis...I agree with British. Queenstown was great. I think you're getting a much better deal since you're not missing the Milford Sound experience.
I disagree. Te Anau is the gateway to Milford Sound which was very scenic and a nice day on the water. While Auckland may be a nice place to live, it's a real dud of a city for tourism which virtually nothing to see or do.
When we were in Auckland many years ago there was a wine tour on an island that was very interesting. We booked it through Viator. I think the island was called Waiheke. We visited a lovely winery.
The day we went to Milford Sound the weather was just awful but New Zealand is a lovely country and Queenstown was great with lots to do and see.
Noreen, when we took this tour in 2017, the winery on Waiheke Island was part of our tour. We went to the Mudbrick restaurant and winery. Mfrancis, so glad you will still get to Milford Sound. It was spectacular.
We were on Aust/NZ a few years ago, Te Anau it self is nothjing, but the ride from it to Miflord Sound thru the park/forest was great. There are a few restaurants (so-so) and stores in Te Anau, so you won't miss much.
We did go to Weiheke, which was excellent.
Three nights in Queenstown sounds like a bit much unless you are interested in outdoor activities. We were there and didn't find much to do in our spare time.
I'm confused (not unusual
)- are you on the 2022 or 2023 tour? Neither the 2022 itinerary nor map show Te Anau as a stop. It is on the 2023 itinerary, however. Did Tauck change the website (itinerary and map) already, which they rarely do?
AlanS
I received the same letter for our February 23 trip. The last line of the 2nd paragraph reads:
**On Day 15, we are still including a trip to Milford Sound (departing from Queenstown). **
I'm thinking we're not missing the stop, just not staying at the hotel in the area ??
KHChgo…the new itinerary on the website shows that we’re seeing the same things as we would have from Te Anau but doing it from Queenstown.
What a bonus to spend more time in Queenstown...we loved our stay there. Be sure and have a "Fergburger" in Queenstown...truly a great burger with a great reputation in New Zealand!
I got the exact same letter but everyone in the forum said the same things they're saying to you, so now I'm not bothered by it. When are you going?
DrVon October 2023
We are wondering about many of the changes-- are they following the itinerary listed?
Day 8 on a foodie tour and dinner?
Day 11 Is the cable car ride to Botanic Garden and then National Museum still in our itinerary?
Day 15-are we having lunch at a Winery? does it cost for the newly added "optional" safari?
Day 17 were adventures by jet boat and helicopter eliminated? What is the activity instead?
Day 19 What about the Waiheke Island wine tasting and lunch? Will the yacht trip have an extra cost?
MandR - Likely only Tauck can answer these questions. You should call them. Tauck doesn't monitor the Forum and respond.
To get an answer you need to call Tauck.
You will never pay for any additional components once the tour price has posted, Tauck state this clearly when they have to make substitutions.
MandR…they haven’t updated the website yet with the changes to the itinerary. Once we see that, we’ll know. I have many if the same questions as you.
If there are changes which are temporary, only affect one or two departures, etc. they will not change the website itinerary. If they know early enough in the tour cycle they will sometimes include the info, especially about lodging, in notes in the Pricing & Availability table, e.g. "Sep XX, XY, and Oct ZX, 2022 departures will stay at Lofty Towers on Days 3 and 4. The Nov ZZ, 2022 departure will visit the La Brea Tar Pits instead of having a wine tasting and private, after-hours tour of the Louvre on Day 7"
These and similar changes will also appear in your Summary of Purchase if known at the time you book. Otherwise, Tauck will send you an email identifying the changes.
Here is a real example of notes from the Grand Australia & New Zealand tour Pricing & Availability table:
My take on the letter is that activities listed on the website but not included in the letter are no longer part of the tour, and activities that are added are at no additional charge. That means the changes from the website itinerary would be:
The Sydney Harbor cruise remains on Day 8 but otherwise Day 8 and Day 9 are swapped, with the additional change below
Day 9 (website Day 8) - Foodie tour replaced by lunch.
Day 11 - A city bus tour followed by a walking and food tour replace the cable car to the Botanic Garden and visit to the national museum. The garden and museum could probably be visited on our own during our free time in Wellington.
Day 15 - The optional "Lord of the Rings" safari is added. I suspect it is optional since it makes for a very busy day. The winery lunch is on Day 13 and our letter had no changes for that day.
Day 17 - Our letter had no changes for day 17.
Day 19 - The yacht sail replaces the guided tour of Auckland. The Waiheke Island wine tasting and lunch are on Day 18 and our letter had no changes for that day.
Wayside…I agree. Major changes to the itinerary not just for one or two dates and I’m sure the website will be updated soon.
The problem with updating the website is that the secondary travel market uses Tauck's itinerary in both print and online brochures. Some online itineraries are interactive and update automatically when Tauck makes a change. But print and other online sources are not so won't reflect the change! I suspect the online itinerary will not be changed on the Tauck website until a new season is launched.
AlanS…our trip is in 2023 and they’ve already launched 2024. I have a hard time believing they’d wait to update the website until launching 2025.
I haven't looked at every itinerary, over the years but I have never seen them change the website itinerary once it has been published for a given season.
KHChgo - Im on the February 23rd Australia and New Zealand, we'll get to meet and neither my friend nor I have received a letter with the changes
They did change the website when they eliminated Te Anau
The itinerary has just been updated on the website. This is a big help as the changes were fairly significant.
How were you guys notified of these changes? I haven't seen anything. My trip is in December - how do I find out if my trip is impacted without waiting on hold for over an hour to speak with Tauck?
Follow up - I just looked at the itinerary posted and it doesn't seem like that many changes. I think the addition of the America's Cup yacht is pretty cool!
The only way is to call Tauck and ask. Our most recent tour, Alaska was one of only two that had big itineraries changes and that was not made obviously to us when we got the notifications from Tauck, other wise we might have changed to another tour date.
Our tour is in October. We received a letter, as a pdf attachment to an e-mail, on 7/27 outlining changes to the itinerary. Since the website has been updated with these changes it is safe to assume they will apply to December tours. Most of the itinerary changes are fairly minor for a post-Covid tour. The big changes are adding the option to take a Lord of The Rings excursion instead of the Milford Sound cruise on Day 15 and the addition of sailing on an America's Cup yacht on Day 19.