Our Review of the The Rhine, Swiss Alps & Amsterdam River Cruise.
We returned late Wednesday from this cruise. It was the 1st cruise of the season for Tauck. It was me, my husband, & my cousin - his 1st time to Europe & w/Tauck. We were a little concerned w/it being the 1st cruise of the season and so early in April - but our concerns were quickly laid to rest. A few wrinkles they had to iron out - but it was wonderful. The weather was perfect - mid 50s to high 70s & sunny --- except, of course, in Switzerland at Jungfraujoch= where it was below 0F at times - but clear, sunny, w/amazing views.
We flew in one day early on Delta - Charlotte, NC to JFK to Zurich in PremiumSelect seating. Flight was good, no issues. Tauck was there waiting for LOTS of us when we arrived - we had about 1hr, 15min ride to Bern from Zurich - so it was a VERY long flight day.
The hotel in Bern was fantastic (Bellevue Palace) as most all Tauck hotels are. Our rooms were ready when we arrived about noon. It was Easter Sunday when we arrived, so everything was shut down - still a great town to explore and walk around. We had dinner in the Hotel that night since everything was closed - all 3 of our meals were delicious and the service was excellent, but very pricey.
Easter Monday, was the start of the tour, but not till 6pm for Tauck Welcome dinner at the hotel. The included breakfast that morning was amazing as we find all European breakfasts to be. Everything in Bern was shut down again on Easter Monday - so we walked a lot and spent lots of time in the train station which was open - it was huge & it was a highlight for my cousin. The Tauck Welcome dinner was average, as we find all the hotel Welcome dinners to be. They did have a Swiss band that was great to listen to. Typical set menu - nothing stood out, but we expected this and had a nice late lunch in anticipation of dinner.
Tuesday was our first full day with Tauck w/a choice of excursions - a walking Chocolate tour of Bern OR a trip to the Alps/Jungfraujoch (I'd say probably 85% of us went to the ALPS). It was a bus ride, several train rides, a funicular, and gondolas to get there - all w/gorgeous scenery. Tauck provided a set menu lunch which was average. We had a tour and then about 1.5 hrs of free time after - this was a highlight for us all. One man did get Altitude Sickness, very weak and pale, in a wheelchair - but felt totally normal as soon as we got off the mountain.
Wednesday we loaded on the bus, left Bern & drove to Lucerne - one of our favorite Swiss towns. We had about an hour long boat ride along Lake Lucerne w/a very good commentary about the area and history, then about 2-3 hrs on our own for lunch and to explore. We then got back on the bus to drive to Basel to begin our River Cruise on the Rhine.
Our Tour Guides were Patricia from Hungary, Chris from Hungary, and Daniel from Lucern - they were all 3 very good.
Our Cruise Director was Joyce from California
To be continued . . .
Comments
Wednesday - arriving on the boat was typical, we were greeted with a hot hand towel and juice. They had us all go to the Lounge, bartenders were taking drink orders. Each guest/family was called separately to their room - all this took about an hour. Dinner the first night was VERY slow - I guess just it being the 1st cruise of the season and the waitstaff getting a routine, but even getting a wine, bread, orders took a VERY long time. Once food was served, it was all very good. Everything was better by breakfast and every night after.
We went with the Cat 1 rooms this time since we have 3 more Tauck trips booked and need to budget where we can. Lately we've been booking the LOFT room. The Cat 1 bathroom is VERY tight. The shower is SO small and there is NO ledge under the door, so water floods the bathroom every time you shower - it goes everywhere, behind the toilet, under the sink - literally covers the floor - we needed SO many towels to dry the floors each time. The bed is super comfy. There are basically 3 closet areas to hang clothes, with shelves to place packing cubes, etc. A small desk like area with some storage and a coffee maker we never needed - it really just takes up much needed space we could have used. A small nightstand on each side of the bed. 2 small chairs. It was tight, but we made it work and it is really perfect for a solo traveler (except for the ridiculous shower situation that we did address in our eval at the end of the cruise).
We have rebooked the Cat 1 for our Rendezvous on the Seine in May 2025, but are returning to our LOFT room in Dec 2025.
At the pre-dinner meeting re: next day events - our Cruise Director informed us that our ship had a damaged propellor/rudder and that the ship would have to go into Dry Dock when we reached the Netherlands on Monday (it's the only place on the Rhine these ships can go into Dry Dock). It was obvious that the Captain, our Cruise Director, and Tour Guides were slightly concerned - we were told if it got fixed, that things would continue unchanged, but if it didn't that we would be bused from Monday to Wednesday (the final day) and that hotels in the area were few and far between == so they immediately began researching and making alternative plans the next few days. It was obvious they were concerned. More details when I get to Monday's itinerary.
Thursday - breakfast is the same as always... huge buffet, omelette station, plus a good menu to order from if you want. Food always great. We are coffee lovers and the coffee on our last 3-4 cruises hasn't been so good to us for some reason. Coffee is the only place Uniworld beat Tauck for us. But in the scheme of a Tauck trip, this is very minor.
Colmar France was our stop. We had been here once before in 2016 for the Rhine Xmas Markets, so we loved seeing it this time in the Spring. It is such a picturesque town. Great guided walking tour with local guides, followed by an art museum, then wine and cakes and sandwiches in the museum, then about 1.5-2 hrs of free time before returning to the boat. One very big difference we noticed is that the Rhine has MUCH more bus time than the Danube.
Friday was Baden Baden. We had been here in 2016 also. There was a choice of 3 excursions = we chose the walking tour. There was also a biking tour and a SPA tour (I think the SPA was the most popular). Baden Baden is pretty, but not one of my favorites - I wish they would drop it and add Heidelberg or Strasbourg instead. Our local guide was just ok, not one of the best we've had. There was free time also. We did have a very good lunch on our own - Tauck gave us each 25 Euros for lunch on our own. After dinner there was an excellent band/singing group in the Lounge.
Saturday was Rudesheim. This was our 2nd time to this town also. There was a choice of 2 excursions - a walking tour and the famous Music Box Museum OR a biking tour. We chose the walking tour and Music Box Museum which is so worth it if you ever go to Rudesheim - it is so super unique and fascinating. We had time on our own afterwards. Then, Tauck took us to a local restaurant for a famous Rudesheim Coffee and dessert. We were back on the ship by lunch time for our CASTLE CRUISE - another highlight!
To Be Continued . . .
If you wonder what could be interesting in a music box museum, then think twice. We missed some years ago when we visited Rüdesheim on a Romantic Germany tour but were glad we were able to see a few years later during XMAS Mkts on the Rhine. It doesn't just have a few little wind-up music boxes with twirling dancer figures- it has some of those, even much smaller ones, but Siegfried's Mechanical Music Cabinet also has more than 400 self-playing musical instruments, including very large "music boxes" with many instruments like ones you used to see and hear on old carousels. Follow the link or Google Siegfried's Mechanical Music Cabinet
terrilynn, thanks for your comments
Saturday after boarding the ship around lunchtime from Rudesheim, was our Castle Cruising day. So everyone wanted to be on the Sundeck as recommended by the crew. Seems everyone had the same idea, to go to Arthur's for lunch - by the time the 3 of us got there, it was full, they told us about a 45min wait. So, we headed to the Rose Compass Dining Room --NO one was there as the Castles were about to start and everyone wanted a full view of both sides of the ship, so we just headed up to the Sundeck and figured we'd get lunch eventually. About an hour later, we headed back to Arthur's thinking we'd place a TO GO order to take to the Sundeck. All the initial tables were still full of the same people, still with NO lunch. People were getting mad and canceling their orders. It took over 2 hrs for their meals to appear. There was a 1-2 hour wait for TO GO orders. Word spread quickly across the crew and it became 'all hands on deck' -- all the waitstaff and bartenders incl high-up crew began delivering orders from Arthur's. It was still taking about 2 hrs from the time we all ordered till food appeared. And the food wasn't so great. Most of the burgers were VERY VERY rare. Later, the next day, this was brought up at the daily briefing and our Cruise Director said they never expected everyone to head to Arthur's. We all suggested they should consider box lunches or a buffet on the Sundeck for Castle Cruising Day . . . but those suggestions weren't taken well by them for some reason. Not sure why they weren't prepared . . . they are the ones who told us all the head to the Sundeck upon arriving back to the ship from Rudesheim. We really didn't care that much either way - we could tell the staff were upset - but many guests were very mad about the 2-3 hr wait for lunch. Even just a Caesar Salad took 2hrs.
Unfortunately, Saturday night was the fancy dinner off the ship at a Palace (Schloss Ehreshoven). Not really a good night to do this as we had all been on deck all day for Castle Cruising and none of us felt like dressing up. We then found out it was over an hour each way to the Palace, which meant over 2 hours on the coach. I must say, and think most everyone agreed, it was NOT worth it. While the Palace was pretty, it wasn't better than anything else we saw that week and it certainly wasn't worth a 2 hr coach ride. The meal there was terrible. I think only about 10-15% of the guests enjoyed it. It was discussed a lot that evening and the next day. I must say, I never find the Palace fancy preset menu meals good - they are similar to the preset menu meals at the Welcome Reception at the hotel. The menu = appetizer was a huge slab of cold salmon, sliced with skin still on - I've never seen it served this way. I didn't see anyone eating it at any of the tables. Main course was OX cheek that smelled awful as they were brining it thru the room. Again, no one at any of the tables ate it. Unfortunately, we all thought we could fill up on bread and butter, but for some reason, they removed it from the table as soon as the salmon came out, so some of us didn't even get bread. The dessert was the the best part, but that doesn't say much. it was a hollow piece of chocolate filled with whipped cream. We got back to the ship after 11pm and had to be up and ready to depart the ship at 8am Sunday, so, needless to say, no one was happy. I think everyone put this on the evaluation. While I know Tauck likes to do these fancy, off the ship dinners, this one was a failure on many levels - it was too far, the food was not good, and it was too late to arrive back after 11pm and have such an early departure the next morning.
Sunday -- Cologne, Germany -- we chose the Jewish Heritage Walking Tour which was very well done. Free time after, Tauck took us to local brewery to try the Cologne beer, then we had time at the Cathedral which was just finishing up Mass = what a fantastic experience - the music was amazing.
Monday - this is the day our ship had to go to Dry Dock to fix the propeller/rudder. In order for this to get done, they added another town and excursion for us. The add on was the oldest town in Holland - Dordrecht. We had a walking tour, followed by a long canal cruise, then lunch at a local restaurant. All excellent. Then we were bused to the main itinerary of the day - the Windmills of Kinderdijk. This was so fascinating. We got on a boat and had a tour thru the Windmills with a great commentary, then had free time to walk around, go inside some of the Windmills, a great museum and gift shop. There was also a bike excursion offered.
Final day - Tuesday - Amsterdam. Rijksmuseum, Canal Cruise, free time. We skipped the Rijksmuseum because we had been before and wanted more free time to explore. The canal cruise was done on private boats, not the generic ones everyone takes. This was very nice- they served coffee and apple cake. It was much longer than the generic ones (we did in 2013). This one lasted well over an hour and lots of good info. We had several hours to explore on our own.
Despite a few glitches - we had a great time. The dinners in Compass Rose were all very good. We never ate in Arthurs, but in the past have really enjoyed it also. The staff were great and worked so hard. We look forward to our next 2 cruises we have booked and we are going to Tuscany & Umbria with Tauck in Oct.
Terrilynn, Thank you so much for taking the time to write a review of your recent trip. It is always nice to read other experiences people have on the tours. It sounds like you had lovely tours. I hope your cousin enjoyed his first river cruise.
This past September we did Amsterdam to Budapest on The Treasures. Our castle viewing day had a similar situation with most people wanting to just grab lunch at Arthur's and sit up top. Arthur's was slammed and it was very slow. As expected, the staff handled it the best they could in our sitation too. This must be a common problem and hopefully they can adjust things accordingly.
Thanks again for reminding me of how wonderful Tauck river crusing is!
Great review Terrilynn. Thank you for your report. We just got back yesterday from the Impressions from the Seine: Paris to Normandy River Cruise. I have terrible jet lag, so I will write a review once I recover. LOL. It was great, but we also had a couple of glitches in the beginning which I will cover in my report.
Terrilynn quick question what riverboat was this cruise on?
Walter_HebronJr - MS Inspire...
terrilynn, thank you for your comprehensive report. We've done this itinerary with another line (Uniworld). On "castle day", they had a German inspired buffet served on the sundeck - brats, sauerkraut, huge soft pretzels, beer and soft drinks. It made it a lovely day.
BrendaAnderson= yes! That's what we told them, do a buffet on the sundeck. They did that exact menu the day before for lunch.
We've cruised with Uniworld a couple times in the past also.
Any thoughts on Uniworld?
Did Tauck repeat the same lunch menu?
I've done a couple of Uniworld cruises and they do a good job (France Seine and Rhone and Egypt Nile).
We 'liked' Uniworld, but we LOVE Tauck. We will only do Uniworld again if they offer an itinerary that Tauck doesn't.
The breakfast buffet and dinners weren't as good. Plus, they do NOT have Tour Guides on board like Tauck does. They also have other excursions that you have to pay for -- Tauck would incl these, so Uniworld isn't as all-inclusive as Tauck is. There were also no surprises like Tauck throws in.
As far as Tauck's lunch - it changes daily and is very good - there is a HUGE buffet, plus a specialty cooking area, and a menu to order from. Plus, Arthurs is always another option. This is another reason we prefer Tauck over Uniworld.