I recently experienced my first Tauck River Cruise, and I was extremely impressed.

Maybe you saw my Facebook posts about the trip.  If not, you can easily find these 6 posts by searching for #pctauck on Facebook.

I was one of a handful of travel agents selected to attend “Tauck Academy” which took place during this trip. 

Now that I’m a Tauck Certified agent, all Tauck guests booked through our agency will receive a complimentary hotel night before or after your trip (your choice).  Tauck works only with the best hotels, so this is a valuable perk!

Tauck is an American, family owned and operated company that has been dazzling clients since 1925.  This company creates raving fans.  Our clients come back from Tauck vacations thoroughly delighted, and become brand ambassadors.  Tauck offers journeys on LAND in addition to river cruises and small ship cruises.

Bob and I are first and foremost cruise specialists, but our clients also take packaged land vacations, and we can help you with these “Land Cruises” as well.  There are thousands of different tour operators out there, but we strategically selected a limited number of top-notch land partners to work with, to ensure you have a top-notch experience on your trip.  Tauck was the first and most obvious choice for a land partner.

Here are the reasons why we chose Tauck as our primary partner on land.

·   High Quality – Tauck tours include top notch hotels, food, and sightseeing. You’ll stay in the best hotels, in prime locations.  For example on US National Parks tours, the lodges where you stay are often INSIDE the parks. The excursions are high quality too. You won’t be dragged around with 50 others on a typical “death-shuffle” walking tour. 

·   Privileged Access.  Tauck excursions take you behind the scenes, to places not accessible to the public.  They also avoid the crowds by visiting popular sites before or after hours.  Have you ever been to a major tourist attraction with thousands of others standing in a line? Imagine what it would be like with a Tauck group instead! You’ll see the world differently than you could see it on your own.

·   All the Little (and Big) Details are Taken Care Of.  You don’t worry about checking in and out of the hotel, making dinner reservations, or transferring your luggage.  You don’t have to worry about who to tip, or how much, or whether you have the right currency.  You just book your trip and leave the rest up to Tauck.  You are freed up to focus on the fun part, which is looking forward to the trip, and then being completely ‘in the moment’ while you’re travelling (and not distracted by details like making sure you have the right change for a tip). On my river cruise, the Tauck guide even gave us a Euro for the public restroom on our excursion.  Now THAT is detail-oriented!

·   Good Value For Your Vacation Dollars. Our clients don’t choose the cheapest trips.  Instead, they want the best bang for their buck. Tauck provides a higher quality, fully inclusive experience, with all the friction taken out.  If you were to try and replicate a Tauck itinerary on your own, with all the inclusions, you’d end up paying MORE.

·   Pay Once, Because Everything is Included.  Our clients would rather pay more up front, and have everything included, and all the details taken care of.  With Tauck, you pay one upfront price, with no hidden costs, no nickel-and-diming, no surprises, and no ‘optional’ up-sells.  Our clients also like to book and forget, so they appreciate that with Tauck, “the price is the price” and is never discounted.  You can book early and be confident your tour won’t go on sale later.

·   Personal Choices. Even though Tauck is all-inclusive, you’ll still have lots of flexibility to customize and personalize your trip. You can choose the activities and excursions that suit you best. There is also free time built in, so you can relax and spend time as you wish.

·   Experience and reputation. It was important for Bob and I to align ourselves with an experienced business partner we can trust for the long term.  Tauck has been guiding travellers for one hundred years and has received more than 250 awards for quality, innovation, and leadership. They are especially proud to have been honored multiple times by Travel & Leisure’s ‘World’s Best’ Awards, Travel Weekly’s ‘Readers Choice’ Awards, and Conde Nast Traveler ‘Readers’ Choice’ Awards. We are especially impressed by the experience level of their Tour Directors, who average more than 10 years’ experience, and who by all accounts are among the industry’s best.

·   High Guest Satisfaction – Tauck has one of the highest repeat and referral rates in the industry. Once you travel with Tauck, you’ll want to do it again and again and tell your friends! This is important to us as business owners, because we can be confident that if we do our job (i.e. help you select and book your tour), then Tauck will do their job and deliver on the promises we’ve made. Repeat clients are an important part of our business, so a product with a high repeat rate is very attractive from a business point of view.

To summarize, when you choose Tauck, it’s a decision you can feel good about.

Have something to say about this?

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Today’s Travel Opportunities

TAUCK ON THE RIVER

THE BLUE DANUBE from Budapest to Prague for 12-days [This is Tauck’s most popular River Cruise Itinerary]

• Start in Budapest for 2 nights (with extensive sight-seeing in both Buda and Pest), Bratislava, Vienna for 2-nights (with a private visit to a palace), Durnstein (where you’ll visit castles and wineries), Wachau Valley, Linz (for side trips to Salzburg or Cesky Krumlov), and Engelhartszell.  Disembark in Vilshofen, and visit Regensburg on your way to Prague for 2-nights where you’ll have a private dinner at Lobkowicz Palace, and get a private tour of the Baroque Library at Strahov Monastery. 
• Departures from April through October from $6790

GERMAN OKTOBERFEST:  Amsterdam to Munich for 10-days in September

• Visit Amsterdam (overnight), Dusseldorf (to visit local craft breweries), sail the Rhine Gorge, Heidelberg for a beer-paired lunch, Strasbourg, Lucerne and Mt. Pilatus, Lake Konstanz, and then on to Munich for 2 nights for the world’s largest festival!
• 2025: Limited availability on September 17 from $8190.
• 2026:  Departures September 16 and 23.

TAUCK ON THE OCEAN

ITALY & CROATIA for 10 days with departures in June & September

• Start with 2-nights in Venice to see Doge’s Palace, St. Marks, and to enjoy the city scene. Then visit Murano, Korcula (Marco Polo’s birthplace), Krka NP, Split, Kotor, Dubrovnik, Hvar, Rovinj.
• Visit 6 UNESCO sites across 3 countries.
• Departures in June & September from $10,590

GREAT LAKES between Chicago and Toronto for 12-days:

• 2-nights in Chicago, the board the ship (Le Bellot – 184 guests) to visit Muskegon and Holland (Michigan), Mackinac Island, Detroit (for the Henry Ford Museum), Cleveland (for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame), traverse the locks of the Welland Canal, Niagara Falls, and 2-nights in cosmopolitan Toronto.
• Departures August 18 or 25 from $10,790.

TAUCK IN REMOTE DESTINATIONS

GALAPAGOS Islands & Machu Picchu for 16 days from Lima to Guayaquil

• Visit Lima for 2-nights to visit its Historical Center (a UNESCO site).  Then fly to Cusco/Sacred valley (in Andes) to see Inca Fortress remains, and take the train to Machu Picchu.  Back to Cusco (fortress visits, ruins, Maras Salt fields, Inca temples, local markets).  Fly to Guayaquil for one night, and then to Baltra and board the Silver Origin for 7-nights aboard to explore the spectacular Galapagos Islands. 
• 2025:  Sold Out
• 2026:  departures in April/May or September/October from $16,990

ALASKA Vancouver to Anchorage for 10 days with departures May through August

• Start at the Fairmont Waterfront Vancouver and visit Stanley Park, Capilano Suspension Bridge and Gastown.  Board the Silver Moon and visit Ketchikan (to experience the Dungeness Crab at Saxman Village), Juneau (for Mendenhall Glacier, and kayaking), Skagway (for the White Pass Yukon Railway and a dog sledding demonstration), Sitka (for whale watching), Scenic Cruising near Hubbard Glacier (largest one in North America), and a scenic tour of Kenai Peninsula upon disembarkation.  One additional night in Anchorage included before flying home.  
• Departures May through August from $8790

TAUCK LAND TOURS

CLASSIC ITALY from Naples to Venice for 14-days.

• Fly into Naples, and go to Sorrento for 2-nights to experience the Amalfi Coast.  Next visit the city of Pompeii on your way to Rome for 3-nights, where you’ll visit the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel, and all the major sites in Rome.  Next head to Orvieto’s Duomo, Perugia in the wine region of Umbria.  Collect another UNESCO site at Assisi.  On to Tuscany to visit San Gimignano and Cinque Terre, 3-nights in Florence, high speed rail to Venice for 2-nights
• Tauck Exclusive: Learn about the masters of the Renaissance in Florence when an art historian shares insights about what you’ll see inside the Galleria dell’Accademia and the Uffizi Galleries
• Departures from April through October from $10,890

NATIONAL PARKS: America’s Canyonlands departing Phoenix to Las Vegas for 8-days

• Visit Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Zion NP, Lake Powell, Glen Canyon
• Departures March to October departures from $4990.
• Click here for more details: https://www.tauck.com/tours/american-canyonlands-grand-canyon-escorted-tour?insider=mmjy-sue-bob-bradley-the-pampered-cruiser 

TAUCK FOR FAMILIES

Tauck has a whole series of products designed for travelling with children and grandchildren.  The itineraries are especially designed for all ages and generations to enjoy together.

Click here to learn more about Tauck Bridges Family Journeys (they offer Bridges Family River Cruises too!): https://inspires.to/experiences/tauck-bridges-family-journeys-1dgpo

In Case You Missed It:

SHORE EXCURSIONS:  

The tourism boom has caused a shortage of tour guides globally.  Here’s what you can do to avoid some of the irritation resulting from the situation:

https://pamperedcruiser.com/shore-excursion-survival-guide/

MEET THE TEAM:  

Here’s some fun tidbits about those on the Pampered Cruiser team you may have communicated with:

https://pamperedcruiser.com/meet-the-team/

Reminder: VISITING THE UK?

As of this week, you will need to complete an ETA (Electronic Travel Authorization) if you are visiting or connecting a flight anywhere in the UK.  England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland require US Passport Holders to complete this prior to arrival.  Here’s a video we created that contains all the details:  https://youtu.be/6NGfCqOsDKk 

Latest YOUTUBE Post: 

EASTERN EUROPE: Perhaps you’ve already travelled the Danube between Bavaria and Budapest.  Or maybe you want to see Eastern Europe (Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania) from the comfort of a riverboat.  Here’s our video blog from our trip there in October:https://youtu.be/-OhF7PSrj0c

If you’re planning a trip, I’d love to help! Click here or call 800-876-0168 to get in touch today.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Sue Bradley