Tauck Reviews 

We had to cancel our second Tauck tour due to a stage 4 cancer diagnosis. (Plenty of medical documentation) We had paid in full and bought the cancellation insurance. When we asked for help getting airline tickets, we were given a third party company (AON) who makes it impossible to file claim. So disappointed in Tauck!

If you want a company that will ignore your calls, emails, questions about your upcoming trip after they take your money, you have found your company for a River trip. I have sent 3 polite emails over the past month asking for trip information to be sent to me, not just my significant other who booked the trip and have received silence as their response. My significant other just called asking why United Airlines has not been paid in full by Tauck and they wouldn't talk to him without the precise information and reservation numbers, etc. Customer service says they will not talk to anyone who does not have the complete reservation and trip information in front of them. This is after waiting 20 minutes for them to pick up the phone. My oh my - I'm soooo disappointed I booked with them.

Tauck is known for excellence and yet our recent “River” Trip, the “French Escapade”, on the ms Emerald, has left us speechless. Simply put, they “Overstated and Underdelivered”.

Imagine going on an expensive, first-time “river” trip with Tauck, where you are placed in a small Paris hotel room for 3 days pre-cruise and experience on-ship challenges with: 1) no hot water for 4 days; 2) poorly trained wait staff; 3) poor food preparation and quality; 4) a staff employee suggesting that we utilize a competitor for future “river” cruises; 5) a broken in-room coffee machine and 6) a single day of no hot water for those on our floor.

My wife and I have traveled with Tauck on multiple “non-river” trips and assumed we would have a similar experience. We were mistaken as we made a categorical error in judgement; we endured multiple issues that soured our interest in future “river” cruises with them. “A vacation is not like ordering food, you can’t send it back” and upon arriving home we cancelled the Tauck’s Yuletide Trip later this year. Having multiple undesirable issues compounds the already expensive trip when calculating the cost of the trip, air expenses, meals, time away from home, etc.

Our challenges:

1. Tauck provided a tiny room for the 3 pre-cruise days in Paris. Hotel staff removed furniture to accommodate our luggage. Tauck informed us that most rooms in Paris are small. Really? This was by far the first time we encountered such a small room as compared to numerous other stays!
2. The first 4 mornings, while on the ship, we were met with cold showers .
3. On the 4th day it is our understanding the entire floor of state rooms had no hot water.
4. Either the Captain or the Tauck Director was untruthful when discussing the hot water lack of hot water.
5. There was time and inconvenience moving to another room due to the hot water issue.
6. We had a broken in-room coffee machine for several days.
7. Waiters were inadequately trained. We experienced poor service, incorrect orders or items not received. Waiters often interrupted table conversations.
8. We had poor food preparation and the food quality was questionable. At times the meat was chewy or tough. Several mornings the hashbrowns were warm on the outside but cold on the inside; other times they were extremely greasy.
9. The breakfasts and lunches were fairly repetitive. The food quality was not what you would expect from Tauck. A staff member informed us “your next trip should not be with Tauck but with (another company)”.
10. We anticipated a French Chef. That wasn’t the case.
11. We received an email the 5th morning on the ship stating: “keep your frustrations with this situation between you, your Tauck Director and me…….”. We found this email lacked Tauck’s understanding and empathy for our many challenges.

After the trip, we sent a certified letter to Tauck’s CEO explaining the many challenges. Unfortunately, this letter was not taken seriously and handled by a Guest Relations Specialist. In summarizing a phone call, Tauck left us with the impression that this trip, our previous 9 trips and upcoming 5 have little or no significance. Tauck offered a meager compensation for all of the issues which amounted to about the cost of the shuttle expense from home to the airport.

My wife and I recently returned from Tauck’s tour of Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. While it was a great tour, offering five star hotels, great restaurants and meaningful excursions there is one thing that could cause you a great deal of trouble and expense if you are not very careful.
I made an error on my visa application to enter Vietnam and though it was accepted and I received a valid visa the error of a wrong entry date caused it to be refused by a gate agent in Tokyo, Japan. What followed was a nightmare of inconvenience and added expense as I attempted to get a new visa. Vietnam refused to correct the original. I had to get a new one. Having finally received a new visa, and costing somewhere around $400 and a one day delay in entry I arrived in Vietnam only to be refused entry because they claimed that I had used the same photo on my passport and on my visa. I had not and attempted to point out the differences in the two photos, which they rejected. Eventually, I bribed an official with $25 and was allowed to enter the country. Please be forewarned, the Vietnamese immigration officials are extremely strict. Go over your visa request form in great detail and ensure that there a no errors.

The general goal of Tauk is ok but it depends entirely on your tour guide. Ours was bad. He was repeatedly unable to communicate ongoing details to the group about abundant changes along the way. Stay alert or you miss out on side trips or daily meeting places or dinner. That is not acceptable at this price.

My wife and I went on our 1st Tauck 14 day river cruise from Amsterdam to budapest in sept. Of 24.
We had a great experience!!
Tauck employees all went out of their way to give us everything we wanted.
If we asked for it they came through. The room was great!! [ but it was the largest one available].
Room service was a nice luxury, acomidating anything we wanted, even though it wasn't on the menu.
When the weather was nice we just asked and they took bikes off the boat and parked them on the dock and put them away when we returned. We had very exclusive experiences as promised, a nice variety of things to do and places to see.above all we were very impressed with the handling of any unforseen difficulties.
Which there were, not the fault of Tauck but weather not in their control.
Record breaking high water on the rivers caused trip interruption, the boat couldn't go further , 4 days left until budapest, they shifted the tour the best that could be expected.
Where we missed out on somthing they went over and beyond to make a better experience.I know this last 4 days cost them alot of money but they made our happiness their highest priority.
Even after we returned home we recieved in the mail a sizable refund check as an adjustment for any inconvenience.
Also gave us a sizable credit voucher for our next trip.
The staff really cared and we could also see that that the company they represented had the same compassion.
We trusted Tauck with our 40th anniversary trip , and I feel that they didn't take it lightly that we paid a substantial price and trusted them, and they took very good care of us.
Any company can easily be praised for doing a good job when things go smooth,
It takes an exceptional company to come through when the unexpected arises. We will be traveling with Tauck again for sure!!!

Having been on multiple Tauck tours, I was a bit shocked with the rating. We have always had the best experiences.

This was our 6th and last Tauck tour. The hotels were fine, but no itineraries any value. Food was meh, charged for a glass of wine at dinner.Tour guide was sweet but did not add any knowledge. A guest was obviously ill the first night, and by day 3 many were coughing, and I tested positive for Covid.Had to return home early, only to find out if you are still in the hotel you are paying for it. Aon was an absolute nightmare. Almost 200, I kid you not, pages to get reimbursed for travel. Will be checking on Trustpilot for a new travel company.

Same thing I'm hearing here. A travel agent at AAA explicitly assured me that my $750 deposit was refundable since the trip scheduled was a year and a half out. We decided to cancel when we realized a one week bus tour of the SW was as much as a two week African safari. The agent admitted she gave me bad information and Tauck took off with my $750. We travel extensively and have never had a company say you only have ten days from booking to cancel. Not once! I put it in dispute on my CC and will pursue it further against AAA for duping me.

We have taken 9 Tauck tours and all have been exceptional. This year we were going on a river cruise from Madrid to Lisbon. My wife was hospitalized one week prior to going. Tauck immediately credited 50% of the total to our credit card and within 10 days we received the balance from Aon insurance with no hassles. I will continue to use Tauck happily.

I was injured on a trip to Patagonia in December 2023. I asked the tour guide to get me a doctor. Instead she sent me to the front desk who would not help me other than tell me to go by myself to a local clinic. I could not walk easily and was in pain and could not go alone to a clinic. When the tour guide got back, I again requested that she help me get a doctor, and advised her what the hotel front desk had said.
She never got me a doctor and never offered to help get a doctor.
When I got back home, I finally saw my own doctor , and arrived in a wheelchair. I was told by Tauck Tours insurance that they could not cover me any of my bills because I did not see a doctor in South America. If they had been notified, they would have even sent a doctor from another city, if necessary.
Tauck would do nothing to help with medical bills when I returned home. They were very nasty on the phone and threatening.

Do not expect any help if you become ill.

I have taken 6 trips with Tauck and recently took my last. The trip was to Central Europe. The food was pedestrian at best: flavorless and tough meat. The rooms used to be deluxe or superior and are now standard with views of the garbage or buildings that are being renovated. The worst part is the lack of common courtesy of sick guests who were coughing and hacking without using a mask, distancing and using their arms or nothing to cover the spread of germs. By the end of the 16 days more then have of the 27 guests were sick. Oh, did I say 27? Yes there were supposed to be a max of 24, but they packed a a few more sardines in the can. I called Tauck guest relations while still on the trip to ask for private transport for my friend and I and they said they have no policy in place to even ask other guests to be courteous and wear a mask of use tissue. The tour director agreed that guests were being rude, but refused to even ask them if they wanted a mask or tissue. My friend and I finally just distanced ourselves, and paid for our own food and transport to stay away from the sick masses.

EVERYTHING ABOUT TAUCK IS OFF THE CHARTS AMAZING. We took a Northern Italy tour pre-covid, and a Switzerland trip this summer. Both times, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ everything! The hotels drop dead gorgeous in great locations; food amazing; the itinerary was incredible; the tour director knowledgeable and kind; service at all levels was terrific. I cant understand anyone not having an incredible time with Tauck.

I was told at the time of reservation that the max no of people was 25, but ended up with nearly 40 without notification of the change. Others on the cruise said the same. Tour dir said Tauck changed the max.

Asked specifically about attire, and was told it was casual. Only when we were on the trip did we learn that a sport jacket was recommended. My husband wore a sweater and was the only male without a jacket.

Our dep time from Dublin was provided, corrected, confirmed, but still wrong with tour dir. She had us leaving for the airport at midnight for a 11:25 flight.

Bus issues:
While driving between overnight locations (all bags, passports, money on the bus), we stopped at a roadside rest stop/restaurant. The tour director assured us we could safely leave our things on the bus, that it would be secured. The bus driver left the bus unlocked and the door wide open the entire time.

People claiming to have motion sickness sat in the front of the bus the entire week. Why would you book a bus trip if you have motion sickness? The tour director said they would rotate everyone from front to back each day, but we were in the back the entire trip.

Hotel views were very bad, garbage bins and roof tops. Generally nice facilities, but the worst rooms.

Tour director was disorganized, blamed company for issues, stayed with single women for meals. She was subpar - not engaging at all, read notes so flatly during bus trips that she put most to sleep. She misdirected people at our stops. When the same people repeatedly arrived late for departures she did not address it. Tour director did not seek out feedback from us for anything. A few times she said, “wasnt that/he great”.

Have enjoyed 10 trips with Tauck so far and all were excellent and worth every dollar. (Three trips were to Africa, one to Peru/Bolivia, Patagonia & several to Europe). Our most recent was Manitoba in November 2023 which was still excellent all around as expected.

We stick with fully Tauck led trips and not those where the Tauck group is a smaller part of a larger group i.e cruise,etc.—as we can do those outside of Tauck on our own if desired.

Will try them again to insure their high value is consistent—especially since they are priced even higher these days. Note: we’ve found their nonrefundable insurance premiums and/or deposits lost due to cancellation are common practice with most travel companies we’ve worked with.

My family just retuned from Alaska Bridges July2024. Our tour director was a very nice person named Kara. Our pick up from Anchorage was by Premium Limo. The attendant had no sign for us. We had to search him out. He did not lift a finger to help us with luggage. Night one was a late switch to a Mariott hotel in a room adjacent to noisy elevator. I complained. The last night again Tauck placed me as close as one can get to a noisy elevator. I suggest ownership and management sleep in such a room and explore that adventure. I would encourage everyone who travels on Tauck to read Taucks mission statement. While on the tour one excursion on a jet boat was a big 2 hour bore. The selection of that excursion was a big nothing on a river filled with logs and trees. The scenery on Long Island Sound is more intersting to me. We were scheduled to have a cookout on a gold mine hunt. No such cookout but instead cold crap pizza served. Therer were several sandwhich lunches with potatoe chips which were mediocre at best. This is not what I signed up for . When I pay the fees Tauck created and tauck delivers mediocrity at best I am angry, feel misled, and feel financially abused. There are too many guests for 1 tour director to manage in my opinion. I have asked Tauck to review my concerns. Iwas told by guest relations that I have so many complaints that she needs to reach out to many different managers. Perhaps some of the managers should be on tour to see first hand. Lastly on the farewell dinner Kara the tour diectoe allowed non paying guests of a family to sit at a table that had comfortable seating and early buffet access. My wife and I could only find seating at the childrens table. I asked Kara about it and she told m,e she authorized it. Read Taucks mission statement and should i feel Tauck fullfilled its mission statement to my family?

I booked a tour with Tauck 21 months in advance to Egypt and Jordan. I paid a deposit of $600 and a Guest Protection Fee of $750. My friend going on the trip with me wanted to cancel and so I had to or pay thousands more for being a single, and thus, I cancelled as well. Meanwhile, when cancelling 7 months ahead of time, I was told I would receive my deposit back but not the $750 fee. After checking the cancellation policy, it appears that if I had not purchased the Guest Protection Fee, I would have lost the deposit of $600 instead of losing $750. I am trying to get someone from Tauck to explain to me exactly what that fee is and why would you charge people more to protect a deposit than the deposit itself. I am a frequent traveler and this would have been my first trip with Tauck. I have not experienced this procedure with any other tour company. Cannot recommend Tauck.

My husband and I did a Tauck tour of New Orleans and Baton Rouge.
Wonderful hotels, THE BEST tour guide and great excursions. We feel like we would never have seen everything on our own and got our monies worth!
Highlight is the Jazz concert in Preservation Hall and World War II museum.

Just returned from 14 days travel the coastal perimeter. It was our favorite trip + we frequently travel. Our Tour Director (Vincent Baxter) was very knowledgeable + made the trip wonderful. He shared his life with us. He explained The Troubles + The Hunger and told little known facts. We’ve never learned so much. If you go in mid May all the Hawthorn trees will be in bloom. They are everywhere + beautiful. The Irish love their country + are very proud of it. The beauty will stay with us forever.

During the pandemic my Huband and I planned a trip to Africa. Unfortunately, I was frightened and there were no airplanes flying anywhere, so we canceled. Consequently, the trip was canceled altogether. Tauck wouldn't give me back my down payment even then. They said it will be held for a dreamer's trip. Earlier last year, since I couldn't get my deposit back, we decided to take a trip this year. Unbelievably they made me pay another $1200 payment. I know insurance is important; my husband was going to get it this year. Unfortunately, we both can't make the trip due to illnesses. Again, I was told I would not be getting back my payments of $2400. They didn't care that we would have gone but for medical issues we could not. We are both 77 years old. I sent messages to two TV stations, and I hope they take the case. I've seen other travelers not getting their money back either. We should all get together and put in a complaint.