Why book with Tauck and not river cruiseline direct?

[brewcrew]

I am new to the river cruise world and am just starting to research.  I’ve read a few posts here but don’t understand why

a person chooses to book with Tauck (or other tour company) instead of booking directly with the river cruise line? Any info shared would be appreciated!

[Coral]

Everyone on a Tauck river boat ship either booked directly with Tauck or they booked with a travel agent who booked them through Tauck.

 

Tauck doesn't own their ships but they lease them. So everyone on the ship is a Tauck passenger.

 

Different companies have different policies. You may want to be more specific in your question.

 

Welcome to the river boat boards. There are a lot of helpful people here. There are also a lot of stickies at the top of the board which may also be helpful.

Edited November 8, 2021 by Coral

[Host Jazzbeau]

A broader answer to your question is that for ocean voyages Tauck does group charters [e.g. on Ponant].  Booking those through Tauck costs more than booking direct, because Tauck includes shore excursions and other amenities that are not part of the cruise line's fare.

 

Since Tauck has their own river ships [full-time lease is the same as owned in my book], they don't put groups on other river cruises – so the only way to book a Tauck river cruise is through Tauck or your TA [which won't cost any more than booking direct with Tauck and may get you a discount of some sort].

[brewcrew]

I just saw Tauck uses Emerald for their river cruises so I just didn’t know if you could book through Emerald or you had to book through Tauck.  I would assume if you book through Tauck, they might have their own tours and/or benefits.  Thanks so much for the info. 

[Coral]

25 minutes ago, brewcrew said:

I just saw Tauck uses Emerald for their river cruises so I just didn’t know if you could book through Emerald or you had to book through Tauck.  I would assume if you book through Tauck, they might have their own tours and/or benefits.  Thanks so much for the info. 

ms Emerald (operated by Tauck) is different than Emerald Waterways River Cruises. Emerald Waterways is owned by Scenic which also has a line of cruises. Emerald Waterways is their more affordable line.

 

ms Emerald is a name of one of Tauck's ships.

Edited November 8, 2021 by Coral