Tauck Family River Cruises

[RSLeesburg]

Has anyone taken their kids on one of the Tauck Family River Cruises?  We noticed one that interests us and were curious if anyone has had any experience with these - especially for kids used to the larger cruise ships.  How did they enjoy the smaller ship experience?  

[Roz]

 @RSLeesburg, you may want to post your question over in the River Cruising forum:

 

River Cruises: Ask a Question - Cruise Critic Message Board Forums

 

River cruises are quite a bit different than river cruises, but on the itineraries geared to families there are obviously other children and more activities geared towards kids/families.  

 

If your children enjoy history, visiting cultural sites, trying new foods, etc. they may really enjoy themselves.  It just depends on their ages and interests.  

 

 

[cb at sea]

You tend to spend most of your time OFF the ship.....the ship merely gets you to the next destination....it is NOTHING like a sea cruise at all.

[Rala]

Tauck has a great reputation.  I have not personally taken a river cruise with them, but family members and friends have.  They all have said how well organized and efficient the Tauck cruises are.  Every detail is taken care of.  You basically just show up and enjoy !  🙂

[RSLeesburg]

On 1/16/2021 at 1:10 PM, Rala said:

Tauck has a great reputation.  I have not personally taken a river cruise with them, but family members and friends have.  They all have said how well organized and efficient the Tauck cruises are.  Every detail is taken care of.  You basically just show up and enjoy !  🙂

Thanks.  I know that they have an excellent reputation, but always nice to hear first-hand comments.  

[kitkat343]

This isn't terribly useful, but my mother has taken a lot of land trips with  Tauck and really loves them.  When I do land tours, I plan the trips independently, and use Tauck as a starting point.  I usually base my itinerary off theirs, and use whatever hotels or restaurants they use that are within our price range (not all of them are).  Everything I've copied from them has been wonderful.    Hope the people in the river cruise line forum can be more helpful.

[RSLeesburg]

Thanks.  I thought I posted there too, but will check.  At the moment, we are holding off anything for this Christmas to see how things open up over the summer.   We have also looked at a few of the Tauck land tours - especially the London/Paris one.  I agree with you - I wanted to just base our itinerary off of theirs, and do it ourselves, but my wife likes the idea of being with a group of other families, as it may give our son a chance to make new friends.  

[2manycruises123]

On 3/1/2021 at 11:48 AM, RSLeesburg said:

Thanks.  I know that they have an excellent reputation, but always nice to hear first-hand comments.  

We have taken a couple river boat cruises with Tauck and no kids were on the trip. I think they would be bored.

[kitkat343]

On 3/16/2021 at 8:35 AM, 2manycruises123 said:

We have taken a couple river boat cruises with Tauck and no kids were on the trip. I think they would be bored.

 

 This is true for the mainstream Tauck cruises, which probably attract very few children if they are even allowed to sail.  What the OP is looking at are the Tauck family cruises, which are specifically geared towards families and intergenerational groups of travelers.   There is some children's programing on the ship - language classes and cooking classes (but probably nowhere near the amount of time and activities available on a mainstream cruise line) and there will also be other families and children on the boat so the kids can run around in groups and make friends and take excursions geared towards families.  I wouldn't recommend it for for most young children  (most young children should stick to traditional cruise ships with kids clubs), but an older child might enjoy it. 

[RSLeesburg]

Yes.  The Tauck Family tours and river cruises target families and children.  
 

https://www.tauck.com/tours-and-cruises/family-travel/family-cruises