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Tauck vs.. A&K Antarctica?
We are considering Antarctica for either January 2024 or 2025. We received a brochure from A&K on a “special offer” for the cruise. When I compared ships, itineraries and costs, they are almost the same. All Ponant cruises. We have done one trip each with both companies, and they are both excellent. We are booked on 3 more Tauck trips between now and mid 2024. I have read several reviews on this board and everyone loves the trip. Anyone have any comparison experiences? Of course not on Antarctica but other trips. Thanks.
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I went to Antarctica with Silversea. Excellent trip. Recommended.
Thanks everyone. We always lean towards Tauck. @cathyandsteve your experience speaks highly of Tauck staff. Thank you ! I think I need to really compare the details of each.
@cathyandsteveg__ Note that the opening post asked about A&K, which is also not Tauck.
I try not to mention other tour company names, well except the bad experiences with one we tried. We aren’t really supposed to mention rival companies. I have to admit that the other company we use now which go to places that Tauck does not,…. but most Tauck customers would not find the accommodation up to the so called Tauck standard …we found out about on another forum where someone mentioned this company, the person’s email was there, so I emailed them to ask more.
So of course we have to consider our loyalties to Tauck.
I doubt that Tauck cares about any comments reference other companies. This is a forum…… Quality, service, Tauck owns it. The mention of another company does not question loyalty. I’m here to learn from everyone, hoping they won’t hold back any travel tips that may help me.
Forgot:
Not to mention helping others with my comments!
I went back to Taucks forum rules and it doesn't say you can't discuss other companies as long as you don't include "Any hyperlinks to competing travel companies."
If both Antarctica trips use Ponant ships, similar itineraries, then the experiences will be nearly the same. Ponant runs the zodiak excursions You might look at the naturalists, special onboard guests…there might be a difference there. Pre days in Buenos Aires or Ushuaia might differ but your Antarctica experience will be excellent with both I would guess. We went with Tauck and loved the entire trip. We have done 6 trips with A&K, none were expeditions. On #17 soon with Tauck. But at the end of the day, if all looks equal, we will choose Tauck.
Thanks, Nancy! Great comparison, and info.
Marla526 - did you opt for Tauck Antarctica? If not, why?
I’ve not compared Tauck to A&K, but I did look at the Ponant option versus Tauck. The Tauck option appeared to offer more bang for the buck. Ponant did a ‘road show’ of their trips while aboard, but they said the Tauck guests should book with Tauck. You can figure it out.
We have taken 10 Tauck trips and 1 A&K trip. All were great! We sailed with National Geographic/Linblad when we went to Antarctica simply because of the size of the ship and number of passengers on the ship. Our ship was a new state of the art polar ship with an X-Bow that gave us a pretty smooth Drake crossing. It sounds like you are doing your research so I assume you have seen this: “ IAATO – The International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators – states that only 100 people are allowed on land at any one time from a single vessel.” We did not want to sit on the ship while 1/2 of our group was going out on the zodiacs. Check with the ships you are considering and see how many passengers they sail with and how they handle their landings? Have fun! It is a trip of a lifetime!
I was on a ship with about 200 guests. They put 100 ashore in the morning and about 100 in the afternoon. We were divided into groups and your group rotated so you didn't go at the same time every excursion.
A ship with a capacity of only 100 guests would be a smaller ship and might have a rougher time in the Drake than a larger ship.
We went with Silversea. We had no troubles on the Drake crossing--I think just because we were lucky. Everyone on the ship had two excursions per day, which is one of the reasons we chose SilverSea.
Hello All, just catching up on all these comments! Thank you. We have not booked Antarctica as yet. We always talk about it, but somehow we travel elsewhere! We are leaving for a private tour tomorrow to India. Basically New Delhi, Agra and the about a week of safari.
The comments about the size and type of ship are SO helpful. I hope to book this amazing trip soon, before we are too old to do it!
We just completed the Tauck Antartica trip on 2/8/24. It was a great trip. Arriving in Buenos Aires a day early works well, to walk the local parks and visit restaurants, or hang out at rooftop pool. The Drake Passage was calm going down and rougher upon return. Weather determines your zodiac adventures - we were lucky and had 2 trips daily. about half go on land. Just can't say enough about the Ponant ship L'Austral. The entire crew absolutely wanted to please you. Food was fine on level 2 or 6. All wine and spirits included all day. This is NOT a dress up trip. Meetings and zodiac trips divided up by French and English ( and 60+% French ). The Antarctic scenery is spectacular. You will see whales, seals, birds, and at least 3 types of penguins. A ski pole for walking is a good plan. Often, when you climb out of zodiac the rocks or snow can be difficult - was Ponant expedition folks eager to assist. WhatsApp is THE way to communicate with folks back home as well as your Tauck group.