Tauck River Cruise A taste of France

Hi! My husband and I are trying to decide about taking the Tauck River Cruise, A Taste of France next June. It is on the Ship Swiss Emerald. I would appreciate any input from those who have done this cruise.Specifically we are wondering about the ports, if there is enough to see and do at each one. We have never been on a river cruise and my husband is also a little concerned about night time activities on the ship. Thanks

While you wait for our experienced cruisers to reply, take a look at the stickies at the top of this forum. The New to River Cruising sticky has all the basics, including a downloadable comparison of river cruise lines that will give you information about Tauck. The River Cruise Basics sticky will give you lots of information about French rivers and ports.

We saw the Swiss Emerald (IIRC) this spring while on the Rhône. It looked nice from the outside... Tauck has a great reputation on these boards and hopefully the posters who know this cruise line best will jump in with details.

If you'd be so kind as to list the ports, I'll give you info for those that I know.

Hi! My husband and I are trying to decide about taking the Tauck River Cruise, A Taste of France next June. It is on the Ship Swiss Emerald. I would appreciate any input from those who have done this cruise.Specifically we are wondering about the ports, if there is enough to see and do at each one. We have never been on a river cruise and my husband is also a little concerned about night time activities on the ship. Thanks

First let me say that Tauck runs an excellent river cruise. The Jewel class ships are delightfully cozy with only 118 passengers, most other river boats have 180+ passengers in the same space. We had a Category 7 suite which allowed for ample storage and wonderful accommodations. The shore excursions were well run, with very small groups at each port. At each stop, the passengers were divided among 4 or 5 land tour guides so that the walking groups were small. They generally had a "slow walkers" group for those who wished to walk a little slower or who could not maintain a faster pace.

Regarding your husband's concerns about night life aboard a river cruise, night time is sleep time on a river cruise. Evening entertainment is occasionally a local dance troupe, but generally the only evening entertainment is the piano bar. Most passengers are in their cabins by 10:00 pm. No shows; no gambling; maybe an evening walk about on the sun deck.

So, if you decide that a river cruise is in your future, I wholeheartedly recommend Tauck.

Fancinancy, I looked at this itinerary and it visits pretty much the exact same ports we visited in March on SS Catherine.

I did a trip review for that voyage. There is a link in my signature. If you can manage to slog through some of it, you'll see what we did at each stop, and maybe that will answer some questions about what there is to do in these ports.

Looks like fun - I'd go!

most other river boats have 180+ passengers in the same space.

 

Regarding your husband's concerns about night life aboard a river cruise, night time is sleep time on a river cruise. Evening entertainment is occasionally a local dance troupe, but generally the only evening entertainment is the piano bar. Most passengers are in their cabins by 10:00 pm. No shows; no gambling; maybe an evening walk about on the sun deck.

We have not cruised with Tauck but know they have an excellent reputation for quality and service.

Only the Viking Longships have 180+ passengers in similar space. AMA, Uniworld and Avalon do not and the passenger count varies by vessel but is generally under 160 at full capacity.

We very much enjoyed our Rhone cruise with AMA last fall; the itinerary was one of our favorites. Lots of port time, several overnights in port (which allowed us to go out after dinner in town), and overall many interesting places to visit. If you are a wine aficionado, this is an excellent choice!

The staterooms on the Swiss Emerald are 150 sq ft for a standard as compared to 170 sq ft on the AMA vessels sailing in France for both the least expensive cabin and the French balcony cabin. There is more to consider than just the passenger count if personal space is important and your budget does not allow a suite (ours does not).

Our 5 AMA cruises have all had more evening entertainment than a local dance troupe and in house piano player. We have enjoyed a wide range of entertainment from a string ensemble; a chanteuse in France; an excellent tenor, also in France; a local jazz duo; a 70s evening; a 60s evening; and more. There is more often than not something every evening, in addition to the in house piano player.

We do enjoy a bit of nightlife before heading back to the cabin after dinner and have been quite pleased with what AMA provides, as well as with all other aspects of the cruise experience.

Tauck is more inclusive than AMA (all drinks, gratuities, all tours) if that is important to you.

I think it's the little things that Tauck does that sets them apart. During all tours, they give you coins to use the restroom. If you've ever been in Europe and desperately have to make a pit stop, you know how frustrating it can be to search for the right coins. They buy you programs at some of the venues. They add in so many little extras that it makes the experience special.

Hi Fancinancy,

My husband & I are getting read to book our Tauck French Waterways river cruise for next July. It is also on the Swiss Emerald & goes to several of the same ports so I'll be watching this thread for any info you get about the Emerald.

We took a Uniworld river cruise from Paris to Normandy last year, it was our first river cruise & I thought we'd be bored after dinner w/ the lack of nightlife but we found that just sitting out on the sundeck w/ an after dinner cocktail w/ the sun going down & the stars coming out was all the nightlife we needed.

If you do a search of this forum there is an awesome review of one of Tauck's cruises in France, I think it's on the Swiss Emerald. It's by alabamacruiser or cruiserfromalabama , a name like that. Also, if you go on Tauck's website, under their forums they have a whole section on river cruising. It's nowhere near as popular a forum as cruise critic but you may find some good info/reviews.

I did write a review last year after our Tauck French Waterways tour and it will tell you pretty much how the port excursions were. My husband and I really enjoy getting as much out of a port as possible and we always would find a little time to do some exploring on our own each port stop after the planned excursions. The night life to me was not like a large cruise ship offers, but honestly we did not miss it. We would dress for dinner and go to the bar for cocktails and snacks before the dinner seating and often a speaker would be in the lounge doing a port talk or demonstration, etc. It was very relaxing to go up top and watch the sunset to unwind before dinner as well. Once we finished all the courses of dinner and desserts-we were pretty much done for the day. We love night life and enjoy entertainment, but River Cruising is pretty busy with a port stop everyday and it was important to get a good night sleep for us. Don't know if you are stopping in Lyon, but my brother-in-law got the Tauck staff to find him a casino the night we were there. They called him a taxi and waited up for him to return(now that is really great service if you ask me)!! I hope my review will help you with any questions you might have.

Hi! My husband and I are trying to decide about taking the Tauck River Cruise, A Taste of France next June. It is on the Ship Swiss Emerald. I would appreciate any input from those who have done this cruise.Specifically we are wondering about the ports, if there is enough to see and do at each one. We have never been on a river cruise and my husband is also a little concerned about night time activities on the ship. Thanks

We did the French Waterways cruise a couple of years ago. It was INCREDIBLE!!! As everyone has said, it is the "little" things that Tauck does that just are over the top. The ranch visit at La Camargue is something you cannot get anywhere on another river cruise. And there is so much variety in this area of France - wine, Roman ruins, great food etc. Our cruise was not focused on cooking, but we did visit the market in Lyon..and got a lot of samples. Either cruise...would be wonderful. Go for it!

I did write a review last year after our Tauck French Waterways tour and it will tell you pretty much how the port excursions were. My husband and I really enjoy getting as much out of a port as possible and we always would find a little time to do some exploring on our own each port stop after the planned excursions. The night life to me was not like a large cruise ship offers, but honestly we did not miss it. We would dress for dinner and go to the bar for cocktails and snacks before the dinner seating and often a speaker would be in the lounge doing a port talk or demonstration, etc. It was very relaxing to go up top and watch the sunset to unwind before dinner as well. Once we finished all the courses of dinner and desserts-we were pretty much done for the day. We love night life and enjoy entertainment, but River Cruising is pretty busy with a port stop everyday and it was important to get a good night sleep for us. Don't know if you are stopping in Lyon, but my brother-in-law got the Tauck staff to find him a casino the night we were there. They called him a taxi and waited up for him to return(now that is really great service if you ask me)!! I hope my review will help you with any questions you might have.

We are booked on Ms Emerald Taste of France August 2016. What is the dress for men and women for dinner? We have cruised AMA and Viking and men did not wear jackets for dinner on either

We are booked on Ms Emerald Taste of France August 2016. What is the dress for men and women for dinner? We have cruised AMA and Viking and men did not wear jackets for dinner on either

There is no requirement for a jacket at dinner when you sail with Tauck. I wore slacks and either a short sleeved shirt or a polo at dinner and that was as formal as it got for me though some Americans preferred to wear a coat. As for the ladies they all seemed quite lovely in whatever they chose to wear. I'm very sure you'll enjoy your cruise with Tauck and I'm looking forward to your review and comparison with the other lines you have cruised with on the rivers.

There is no requirement for a jacket at dinner when you sail with Tauck. I wore slacks and either a short sleeved shirt or a polo at dinner and that was as formal as it got for me though some Americans preferred to wear a coat. As for the ladies they all seemed quite lovely in whatever they chose to wear. I'm very sure you'll enjoy your cruise with Tauck and I'm looking forward to your review and comparison with the other lines you have cruised with on the rivers.

We are booked the beginning of September and I have been trying to convince my husband not to take a jacket. Thanks for your comments!! We can't wait to try Tauck.

I think that if we ever did another river cruise-I would let my husband leave his sport coat at home! He wore it once and he could have just worn a dress shirt and tie instead. I carried too many dressy clothes myself and I did not wear them. I thought it would be a more formal dinnertime than it was and after the first night on the ship I found that dressy tops and pants was the norm for the women. Men wore casual shirts and slacks! Most people did dress up the first welcome dinner in Paris, but after that-not so much!

I always bring a sport coat -- but not a dress shirt or tie -- because the dining room and the lounge are often too cool for my taste. A silk sport coat over a polo shirt is never too casual or too dressy, and it matches up with a wide range of outfits for DW.