Tauck Savoring France: Paris, Lyon, Provence April 6, 2022

[Gourmet Gal]

Due to Covid we just had a major April 2022 trip cancelled and moved to 2023 so booked this Tauck cruise last minute and lucky enough to get a suite…they usually book up first.  Fingers crossed the cruise doesn’t get cancelled.  Has anyone sailed Tauck on the Rhône?  Any impressions to share so I can hopefully enjoy the anticipation?  

[Coral]

They are already cancelling April 2022?

[Gourmet Gal]

2 hours ago, Coral said:

They are already cancelling April 2022?

It’s a jet journey around the world, 10 stops over almost a month and some stops are in regions not doing nearly as well as we are with Covid.  So, just too many moving parts to try to keep the date so the company offered some alternatives and 2023 worked best for us.

[Coral]

Just now, Gourmet Gal said:

It’s a jet journey around the world, 10 stops over almost a month and some stops are in regions not doing nearly as well as we are with Covid.  So, just too many moving parts to try to keep the date so the company offered some alternatives and 2023 worked best for us.

Sounds like an amazing trip! I agree - more complicated than just touring 1-2 countries. I hope it is a go for 2023!

[BQEC]

On 11/20/2021 at 12:03 PM, Gourmet Gal said:

Due to Covid we just had a major April 2022 trip cancelled and moved to 2023 so booked this Tauck cruise last minute and lucky enough to get a suite…they usually book up first.  Fingers crossed the cruise doesn’t get cancelled.  Has anyone sailed Tauck on the Rhône?  Any impressions to share so I can hopefully enjoy the anticipation?  

Hi, Gourmet Gal,

I did Tauck's river cruise beginning Monte Carlo, ending in Paris with a girlfriend and we had a lovely time. My second river cruise with Tauck, first Bucharest to Amsterdam. 

Jet Journeys have caught my attention recently .. may I ask which company and what itinerary? And, have you done these before?

Thanks,

[Gourmet Gal]

49 minutes ago, BQEC said:

Hi, Gourmet Gal,

I did Tauck's river cruise beginning Monte Carlo, ending in Paris with a girlfriend and we had a lovely time. My second river cruise with Tauck, first Bucharest to Amsterdam. 

Jet Journeys have caught my attention recently .. may I ask which company and what itinerary? And, have you done these before?

Thanks,

It’s with Four Seasons and this will be our second trip with them. It’s the Ancient Explorer itin.. Our first trip was World of Adventure and was so fun with very small groups or private for ground transportation and tours.  No busses!  The food was  phenomenal on the plane and service was exceptional.  We never had to handle our  luggage once the tour began and we were always expedited through private and commercial airports.  Every destination had quite a few options for tours and activities as well.  Travel direction is always westward so you gain time and jet lag is not quite as bad.   We met some lovely people on the first trip.

Edited November 21, 2021 by Gourmet Gal
Detail.

[BQEC]

6 minutes ago, Gourmet Gal said:

It’s with Four Seasons and this will be our second trip with them. It’s the Ancient Explorer itin.. Our first trip was World of Adventure and was so fun with very small groups or private for ground transportation and tours.  No busses!  The food was  phenomenal on the plane and service was exceptional.  We never had to handle our  luggage once the tour began and we were always expedited through private and commercial airports.  Every destination had quite a few options for tours and activities as well.  Travel direction is always westward so you gain time and jet lag is not quite as bad.   We met some lovely people on the first trip.

Thank you. I will look into Four Seasons for 2023. I have done quite a few Tauck land small groups too. 

[Gourmet Gal]

I think you’ll be happy to find FS is quite a step beyond the Tauck experience.

[BQEC]

15 minutes ago, Gourmet Gal said:

I think you’ll be happy to find FS is quite a step beyond the Tauck experience.

Yes, I took a quick peek and it certainly looks like it. I have researched Abercrombie and Kent as well as TCS Travel for jet journeys as well.

[Gourmet Gal]

FS uses TCS to manage the luggage, tours and ground transportation and you will notice the FS trips are listed on the TCS site.  The logistics on my first trip were flawless and the TCS personnel were wonderful.  You’ll notice a price difference between the TCS tours and FS.  TCS carries more pax, uses busses on the ground, fewer choices for daily tours and accommodations are sometimes lower tier.  Food and bev is not quite as deluxe but still very good according to some feedback I’ve heard.  You cannot go wrong with either.  However, I would proceed with caution regarding A&K…my TA despises working with them and has horror stories. You have a fun choice to make!

Edited November 21, 2021 by Gourmet Gal

[BQEC]

9 minutes ago, Gourmet Gal said:

FS uses TCS to manage the luggage, tours and ground transportation and you will notice the FS trips are listed on the TCS site.  The logistics on my first trip were flawless and the TCS personnel were wonderful.  You’ll notice a price difference between the TCS tours and FS.  TCS carries more pax, uses busses on the ground, fewer choices for daily tours and accommodations are sometimes lower tier.  Food and bev is not quite as deluxe but still very good according to some feedback I’ve heard.  You cannot go wrong with either.  However, I would proceed with caution regarding A&K…my TA despises working with them and has horror stories. You have a fun choice to make!

Gourmet Gal. Thanks for the intel. I did notice the price difference between TCS and FS. Yeah, you get what you pay for. Have heard only good things about A&K ... These are trying times for sure and a lot of opportunities for things to go sideways exist. Also - FS - single friendly? I will revisit the TCS site and look for the FS - thanks for the tip.

[Gourmet Gal]

FS is working now to place clients on other departures so not all the tours are listed on the websites for 2023. Inquire with them and perhaps they’ll contact you before reposting the trips that end up with space. I think there’s a South America/Antartica trip in late 2022 with availability that was very tempting but I’ve already been to several of the stops.  They fly you to Antartica for a 5 nt. cruise (I think SS) so you miss the dreaded Drake’s Passage.  
 

I think there is a single supplement and from what I saw on my trip the single travelers had a great time.  

[Gourmet Gal]

So this thread has veered off topic but I’m still interested in hearing from anyone who’s been on the Tauck Emerald on the Rhône.  There are numerous negative reviews about the ship giving me pause about Tauck’s reputation on this river.  I still have time to rethink to reconsider.

[need2travel1]

It really has veered off topic!  I'm interested in reviews of Tauck on the Rhone as well as we are booked with them for next summer.  Any info on the ship, crew, food, ports-anything would be appreciated!

Thanks!

[IowaCruisers]

We are booked on the Emerald next September, after the Tauck Normandy & Loire Valley itinerary. So hoping to get some great reviews before then!

[TrulyBlonde]

I have only done Tauck on the Danube and it was excellent. We also had a suite and the extra space was wonderful. Hope it works out for you. The Rhone was our first river cruise with another company and we really enjoyed the ports stops.

[Gourmet Gal]

We also cruised with Tauck on the Danube, Main and Rhine and it was excellent.  Kept my booking and we’re heading to Paris this week to join the Savoring France cruise.  Will write some sort of review upon return.

[Gourmet Gal]

On 11/21/2021 at 4:00 PM, BQEC said:

Gourmet Gal. Thanks for the intel. I did notice the price difference between TCS and FS. Yeah, you get what you pay for. Have heard only good things about A&K ... These are trying times for sure and a lot of opportunities for things to go sideways exist. Also - FS - single friendly? I will revisit the TCS site and look for the FS - thanks for the tip.

BQEC, did you book a jet journey? Ours has been rescheduled to Aug. 2023.

[BQEC]

Not yet, I really like the World of Adventure - FS. Will take another look to see current FS offerings. I have already visited Antarctica with A&K - Ponant, and SA Peru, Brazil and Argentina as well. The world has gone crazy again. Recently on Regent Western Caribbean, Mexico - Chichen Itza, etc.

[Gourmet Gal]

We really enjoyed World of Adventure, especially Rwanda and Kyoto.