Tauck is 6 stars -- perfection -- but never again

Now Paul is someone who knows me!! Anal is a compliment. Best to Marsha

 

 

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You caught me before I changed it to "compulsive" :D

Yes, it was meant as a compliment.

Irespect the OP”s opinion and do not intend to flame him. But, the OP says hedid his homework, yet he contradicts himself in several of the comments.

1. “We find river cruising far too regimented forour tastes.”Did you read the itinerary and times before hand?

2. “We usually only book private guides when wecruise and tour in groups of 6 or 8". So why not on this trip. Private toursare available at every port.

3. “Thisriver cruise reminded us of how much we detest bus tours with 25 plus people”.Did you really need a reminder? Again, you could have booked private if groupsare not to your liking.

4. “The tours go to the usual places --palaces, museums and churches”. Of course they do. They are structuredfor the general audience, not individuals. Again, did you read the itinerary beforehand? You were not force to goon any tour, as they are voluntary.

5. “The scenery was gorgeous in some placesbut ugly in others”. Again, ofcourse! Same as any highway. Nothing is 100% beautiful.

6. “Therewas nothing to do on the ship. Found it rather boring. We like seadays” Again, Did you read the itinerary and times before hand?

7. “The cabins are ridiculously small. Webooked a mini suite and I immediately regretted not booking the larger suite.We like to cruise in a large suite with a butler”. Cabin size is indicated with everybooking. Again this info is ready available before booking. If you knew therewas a butler, you should have known the cabin size.

I truly respect the OP’s opinion and the honesty ofhow great Tauck must be. Maybe it was just the wording, but I still get theidea that the trip was at least somewhat enjoyable.

There is no contradiction. We understood everything about the cruise beforehand. Although we did not think it was our travel style we have so many friends that love river cruising that we thought we'd give it a try anyway. It was an experiment and we now know it's not for us. Why is that so hard to understand? We went despite knowing everything you mention and we went with open minds

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What's better, Vantage or Viking?

I really liked Viking's Aquavit lounge, the view can't be beat.

A standard room is large on the new Vantage boats.

Little things here and there, both enjoyable. Vantage has some trips that spend more nights on the river. That's what swayed us on the lower Danube trip.

My second river cruise was on the Danube from Budapest to Nuremberg, I think if it had been my first river cruise it would have been my last. It was lovely but just not as interesting as my first one, a wine cruise along the Rhine and Moselle rivers. This one stopped mostly in places I never would have seen otherwise and the scenery along the way was lovely.

One way we avoided the bus trips on our Danube cruise was to use the electric-assist bikes from the ship to the tour destination (assuming it was relatively close, that is) where we'd meet up with the group. That kept things interesting.

All the bus trips are fairly short I thought.

All the bus trips are fairly short I thought.

Really depends where you go and what you do. One trip we skipped on our river cruise was the Black Forest. That's a 2 hr bus ride in both directions to stop in a store and shop for clocks and eat black forest cake (that we heard wasn't very good ;-) We walked into Breisach and saw the old cathedral, but there was no Christmas Market in town the day we stopped there, or we would have gone there.

My second river cruise was on the Danube from Budapest to Nuremberg, I think if it had been my first river cruise it would have been my last. It was lovely but just not as interesting as my first one, a wine cruise along the Rhine and Moselle rivers. This one stopped mostly in places I never would have seen otherwise and the scenery along the way was lovely.

You are right, and this goes directly to the question of whether OP listened to the advice given to newbies on this board: (1) Rhine or Rhone; (2) 7 days not 14. We have avoided the Danube for all the reasons OP mentioned -- and we learned about them here.

You are right, and this goes directly to the question of whether OP listened to the advice given to newbies on this board: (1) Rhine or Rhone; (2) 7 days not 14. We have avoided the Danube for all the reasons OP mentioned -- and we learned about them here.

You appear obsessed with whether I listen to advice.

I make my own decisions after considering a lot of information. But no one person decides for me. And had I listened to you I would disagree. We preferred the Danube to the Rhine and we would never take a 7 day cruise undrr any set any circumstances. A complete non starter. For us one reason to cruise is to have a floating hotel and to avoid unpacking and unpacking. Also we find the demographic differs on short cruises

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You are right, and this goes directly to the question of whether OP listened to the advice given to newbies on this board: (1) Rhine or Rhone; (2) 7 days not 14. We have avoided the Danube for all the reasons OP mentioned -- and we learned about them here.

I am very surprised by this comment and disappointed that it comes from a moderator. Bitob gave a very balanced view of the experience with the cruiseline and expressed the view as to the suitability of river cruising for their own travel style. End. Of. Story. Bitob made some excellent observations that are very informative. Why all the second-guessing?

When a mod posts, I ask myself whether the post is about CC policy. If not then I treat it as just another person's opinion.

While I understand the complexity of having two screen names, I have long thought that mods should not make personal posts using a mod designation.

I am very surprised by this comment and disappointed that it comes from a moderator. Bitob gave a very balanced view of the experience with the cruiseline and expressed the view as to the suitability of river cruising for their own travel style. End. Of. Story. Bitob made some excellent observations that are very informative. Why all the second-guessing?

Thanks gourmet gal. You and I are apparently on the same page. I think I've had it with this thread. End of story

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(1) Rhine or Rhone; (2) 7 days not 14. We have avoided the Danube for all the reasons OP mentioned -- and we learned about them here.

The scenery along the Rhine or Rhone may be more interesting than the one along the Danube, but what if you want to visit places like Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade and Bucharest and others along the way (maybe with a pre cruise package in Vienna and post cruise visit to Transylvania)? Especially if you have already visited many of those places in Germany and France on a cruise or land trip.

Of course, one can do this as a land trip but we are talking about cruises on Rhine/Rhone vs Danube.

I have done the Rhine, Rhone and now the Danube. The Wachau Valley is quite lovely and seeing Melk Abbey and Durnstein castle from the river is very special.

It is also nice to cruise right into Budapest. All three rivers have their benefits.

Since I have done all three, I think I have a good grip on it.

Bitob gave a very balanced review which I think would be quite helpful to many new river cruisers. I know him from the Oceania board and his comments are always helpful.

What an interesting thread. I somewhat agree about the "tour on a boat" regimented feeling of river cruises (or cruises in general). We went on our 15-day cruise because friends talked us into it. Our first cruise. At first I inwardly grumbled and rolled my eyes as we marched down the street with a guide with a "lollipop." That is not my travel style -- I like to explore odd places; linger when I want to; only give a glance with I am not interested in something. I don't like the idea of traveling in my American bubble.

On about day 3, I gave myself a mental shake and decided to enjoy it. We did the provided historic walking tours and explored on our own when we could. An attitude change turned it around -- I had a great time.

To my surprise, this turned out to be my husband's PERFCT trip. He is gaga about river cruising. Who knew?! So, in the spirit of compromise we will likely travel this way again with independent travel on either ends to make me happy; the cruise part to make him happy.

On my next cruise, it will be 75% included activities and 25% on our own. I don't like all the Viking activities so I'll use that time for something else.

On my next cruise, it will be 75% included activities and 25% on our own. I don't like all the Viking activities so I'll use that time for something else.

I was impressed with most of the guides for the included walking tours -- I found most of them articulate, educated, interesting, engaging. I really learned a lot.

One thing we did in Budapest was hire a private guide for the two of us for something that I likely would not have managed on my own without an extensive stay (seeing/photographing abandoned buildings). It was awesome for many reasons but one main reason was spending one-on-one time for 4-5 hours with a local. We chatted about a litany of topics from silly to serious; by the time we were done, I really felt like he was a friend. I had never hired a private guide before -- I will definitely do it again if the need arises.

It is good that you experienced a river cruise and now know that this mode of travel is not what you enjoy. River cruising is not for everyone and you can mark that off your list.

We enjoy DIY land trips, river cruising (on the lines we enjoy), and trips that are a combination of both. Boredom is not generally a problem as we tend to choose itineraries with lots of port time and overnight stays.

We would never do 14 nights on a river boat, as that is simply too much for us. Seven is just right, with DIY before and/or after.

We have good friends that love river cruising and it is an enjoyable way for us to spend time together as we can all participate in as much or as little as we choose. We choose the active excursions and our friends opt for the standard tours, and then we get together for cocktails and dinner without having to make decisions on where to go.

Ocean cruising is something we do not do often but we have three booked, all on small ships: Ponant, Crystal Yacht, Scenic Eclipse. We have a definite preference for intimate, upscale vessels with a focus on food and service, and a demographic that is likely to be congenial.

We often DIY ports on a river cruise, as we do enjoy going at our pace, and focusing on what we prefer to see and do.

It's great to have choices :cool:

Really depends where you go and what you do. One trip we skipped on our river cruise was the Black Forest. That's a 2 hr bus ride in both directions to stop in a store and shop for clocks and eat black forest cake (that we heard wasn't very good ;-) We walked into Breisach and saw the old cathedral, but there was no Christmas Market in town the day we stopped there, or we would have gone there.

Yes I skipped the long trip to the Black Forest (wife loved it) and walked thru Breisach and way up the hill for the overlook and down the other side to the riverfront park, along the river and back to the ship. Enjoyed a couple warm cups of tea afterwards.

To me that's one of the best things about river cruising. Take a tour in the AM, take another in the PM or since you're usually RIGHT THERE simply set off on your own and wander.

Yes I skipped the long trip to the Black Forest (wife loved it) and walked thru Breisach and way up the hill for the overlook and down the other side to the riverfront park, along the river and back to the ship. Enjoyed a couple warm cups of tea afterwards.

 

To me that's one of the best things about river cruising. Take a tour in the AM, take another in the PM or since you're usually RIGHT THERE simply set off on your own and wander.

I would agree with a number of things that bitob posted, including the structured nature of the trips. We have done river cruises, and will probably do them again. However, they are not our favorite travel method.

These days we tend to use them as breaks between other portions of longer trips. For example this summer we did a tour in Spain and Portugal, then did a Danube River cruise, followed by a DIY trip to Paris and France.

My wife and I seem quite different from many on this thread.

Cruise Critic is a wonderful resource provided by a diverse section of society, but seemingly most cruisers one meets on board have never heard of CC - what a loss!

We purchase most of our cruises with a large emphasis on value for money, or what we perceive as vfm. In the summer we look to vacation in Europe, where we live and in winter we look for somewhere hot, which means flying long haul.

Last summer we took our first river cruise. We did the Rhone itinerary with Scenic Tours, pretty much all inclusive, but felt the administration let the ship crew down. We felt we would probably stick to ocean cruising, but on our first Crystal ocean cruise, we were offered a great deal on a European river cruise, which persuaded us to go again.

Sadly, my wife's illness has temporarily spoiled our plans and we have just cancelled but hope to rebook imminently.

My main point here is that in order to get the most from CC and cruising, we need to tolerate some people who seemingly have totally opposing views and we all learn so much more from this experience.

My advice to the OP is have a thick skin and read what you feel is agreeable to you. All cruises are great as they allow us to forget daily life, but some are almost perfect, so enjoy those and stick to similar types.

Sorry river cruising is not for you. We have done the Rhine, Main, Danube and Rhone so far. Duoro next year. Just can't get enough! We started River cruising 10 years ago and have sailed exclusively with AMA Waterways. Top notch in our books. We have done Tauck land tours and they too, we felt, did a fantastic job. Everyone has different styles. We joined in when we wanted and some passed up. We like the calming of going down the rivers. While we have done extensive ocean cruising, we prefer the rivers at this point in our lives.

Thanks gourmet gal. You and I are apparently on the same page. I think I've had it with this thread. End of story

 

 

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Thank you so much for your review. We are booked for this exact itinerary next year. We have traveled a lot and finally decided to try a river cruise.

Your review of Tauck makes me assured I used the right company as it sounds like you were very pleased.

We plan private guides when we have cruised with large ships so I have been concerned about too many people in the group.

I am a little surprised at some that are criticizing "your" post. I have found it most helpful and hope you would be willing to answer some questions. So please come back !!!

Thank you so much for your review. We are booked for this exact itinerary next year. We have traveled a lot and finally decided to try a river cruise.

 

Your review of Tauck makes me assured I used the right company as it sounds like you were very pleased.

 

We plan private guides when we have cruised with large ships so I have been concerned about too many people in the group.

 

I am a little surprised at some that are criticizing "your" post. I have found it most helpful and hope you would be willing to answer some questions. So please come back !!!

Ask away. I will try to help

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A friend just returned from an ocean cruise. She and her friend spent time with a married couple who were recognized by the cruise line for the number of cruises on that line -- I think it was like their 124th ocean cruise. 124!

I am the flip of the OP -- l have next to zero interest in ocean cruises.

Good thing we have differences!