THE TAUCK EXPERIENCE
THE TAUCK EXPERIENCE
Despite enjoying the river part of the cruise, we have had some experiences which makes us doubt whether we will do this again or take another Tauck tour. They were advertised as the very best river cruise line so I'd hate to see the worst.
When we first came on board we were ushered into the Panorama Lounge for a drink. Everyone else was served one. When we tried to place an order, we were told it was not allowed. We couldn't have one. I pointed out that everyone else had one and then grudgingly, we were given a drink which was not what we ordered.
We were told there was open seating at dinner. We wanted to sit with others so sat at a table for six. We were told to move - we had to sit at a table for two. Or, we would be seated at a table for four when the other couple had almost finished their meal. At breakfast this morning, people who came in much later than we were, had their orders taken while we were totally ignored. I finally asked a sour-faced waitress to take our order. The waffles came cold and with no maple syrup despite it being ordered. We sat at breakfast yesterday when one woman ordered the same thing and she got two maple syrups! The only time we have had good service in the dining room was last night when we went into dinner with three people - two of them men.
The other complaint I have is with the inflexibility of the tours. When the temperature hovers around 40 C or 100 F, I would have thought that some accommodation would have been made in the schedule if only to give people the option of leaving the boat earlier or returning earlier. Those few days really took it out of us and some of the people here are quite elderly - even more than me! They should have known that the canal cruise in Amsterdam would be like a sauna and arranged for a meal somewhere else. The so-called garden restaurant we went to in Rudesheim was a disaster especially in the heat. Not one person on board enjoyed it. It is not as though this is the first time the Tauck guides have been on this route.
In their favour, we have been very pleased with the organization of the manoeuvring of the boat through the canals. We hadn't realized the number of locks and canals we would have to travel through as we climb toward the Continental Divide toward the Black Sea. This afternoon we will go through three of the largest rises of 81 feet each. Three luxury coaches are travelling with us throughout the journey. They provide transportation to the various shore excursions and are driven by Tauck employees. The boat is designed especially to allow it to go through the water whether the water levels are either high or low. In the one place where we might not be able to get under an especially low bridge, a sister ship is waiting on the other side - the only inconvenience would be the necessity to repack as we move from one boat to the other via the aforementioned buses. Other lines would require extensive bus trips and hotel stays in order to complete the journey.
Th cabin stewards are wonderful and they keep us from wanting nothing. It is the inconsistency of the dining service that we object to.
Despite enjoying the river part of the cruise, we have had some experiences which makes us doubt whether we will do this again or take another Tauck tour. They were advertised as the very best river cruise line so I'd hate to see the worst.
When we first came on board we were ushered into the Panorama Lounge for a drink. Everyone else was served one. When we tried to place an order, we were told it was not allowed. We couldn't have one. I pointed out that everyone else had one and then grudgingly, we were given a drink which was not what we ordered.
We were told there was open seating at dinner. We wanted to sit with others so sat at a table for six. We were told to move - we had to sit at a table for two. Or, we would be seated at a table for four when the other couple had almost finished their meal. At breakfast this morning, people who came in much later than we were, had their orders taken while we were totally ignored. I finally asked a sour-faced waitress to take our order. The waffles came cold and with no maple syrup despite it being ordered. We sat at breakfast yesterday when one woman ordered the same thing and she got two maple syrups! The only time we have had good service in the dining room was last night when we went into dinner with three people - two of them men.
The other complaint I have is with the inflexibility of the tours. When the temperature hovers around 40 C or 100 F, I would have thought that some accommodation would have been made in the schedule if only to give people the option of leaving the boat earlier or returning earlier. Those few days really took it out of us and some of the people here are quite elderly - even more than me! They should have known that the canal cruise in Amsterdam would be like a sauna and arranged for a meal somewhere else. The so-called garden restaurant we went to in Rudesheim was a disaster especially in the heat. Not one person on board enjoyed it. It is not as though this is the first time the Tauck guides have been on this route.
In their favour, we have been very pleased with the organization of the manoeuvring of the boat through the canals. We hadn't realized the number of locks and canals we would have to travel through as we climb toward the Continental Divide toward the Black Sea. This afternoon we will go through three of the largest rises of 81 feet each. Three luxury coaches are travelling with us throughout the journey. They provide transportation to the various shore excursions and are driven by Tauck employees. The boat is designed especially to allow it to go through the water whether the water levels are either high or low. In the one place where we might not be able to get under an especially low bridge, a sister ship is waiting on the other side - the only inconvenience would be the necessity to repack as we move from one boat to the other via the aforementioned buses. Other lines would require extensive bus trips and hotel stays in order to complete the journey.
Th cabin stewards are wonderful and they keep us from wanting nothing. It is the inconsistency of the dining service that we object to.
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