US-based Tauck this week grew its presence in Europe, kicking off the 2024 river cruise season with six new itineraries, the most it has ever added in a single year. All the cruises include pre and post trips, including some new cities in Germany and Switzerland.
Tauck CEO Dan Mahar noted that dinners ashore will be at beautiful and unique settings such as the Palais Pallavicini in Vienna, a Dutch castle on its own private island, or an Italian Renaissance-style mansion in a small commune in northern France. Guests will overnight at properties like the Fairmont Montreux Palace, the Riessersee Hotel in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, and the InterContinental Geneve in Geneva.
Also on the agendas are wine tastings in Frankfurt, Strasbourg, and Chalon-Sur-Saône, France; a craft beer tour in Dusseldorf; a brewery tour in Antwerp; and a tasting of local brandies and apple ciders in Normandy. All dinners and excursions are included in the tour price.
The new cruises are:
Danube Kingdoms: Bavaria, Austria & Hungary: Munich to Budapest, 12 days from $6,990 per person plus airfare
- Itinerary: Includes a four-night, land-based exploration of Bavaria with hotel stays in Munich and Partenkirchen, plus a seven-night cruise along the Danube visiting Passau, Linz, Salzkammergut, Cesky Krumlov, Melk, Vienna, Bratislava and Budapest.
- Highlight dinner: Guests will attend a Tauck Exclusive evening at a private Viennese palace, Palais Pallavicini, featuring a reception, gala dinner, and classical music performances. The palace has hosted luminaries including Ludwig van Beethoven and Franz Schubert, and it has been the home of the Pallavicini family for more than 180 years.
Three Rivers: Danube, Main & Rhine: Amsterdam to Regensburg (or reverse), 10 days from $5,990 per person plus airfare
- Itinerary: Ports of call include Amsterdam, Nijmegen, Köln, Bonn, Koblenz, Boppard, Frankfurt, Wertheim, Marktheidenfeld, Würzburg, Bamberg, Bayreuth, Nürnberg, and Regensburg.
- Highlight dinner: Guests will enjoy an evening at the opulent Schlosshotel Kronberg. The former home of German Empress Victoria Friedrich, Schlosshotel Kronberg took four years to build (1889 – 1893). Today, Schlosshotel Kronberg is operated by the royal House of Hesse as a luxury hotel, and it is set amid parklands featuring an 18-hole golf course designed by Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Rhine Connoisseur: Montreux to Brussels: Montreux to Brussels (or reverse), 11 days from $6,790 per person plus airfare
- Itinerary: Begins with a three-night stay at the Fairmont Montreux Palace and explorations of the Lavaux Vineyards, Montreux and Glacier 3000. A subsequent seven-night cruise visits Strasbourg, Rüdesheim, Koblenz, and Düsseldorf along the Rhine before traveling on to Gorinchem, Antwerp, and Brussels.
- Highlight dinner: A Tauck-exclusive reception and dinner are featured at Slot Loevestein. Set in a nature reserve on a private island open only to Tauck guests for the evening, the 14th-century castle has served as a prison, residence and toll station at the strategic confluence of the Maas and Waal rivers.
Hidden Waterways of Flanders and Holland: Brussels to Amsterdam (or reverse), 8 days from $4,690 per person plus airfare
- Itinerary: Ports of call along the scenic Dutch waterways include Brussels, Antwerp, Bruges, Gorinchem, Leiden, Rotterdam and Amsterdam.
- Highlight dinner: A Tauck-exclusive reception and dinner are featured at Slot Loevestein. Set in a nature reserve on a private island open only to Tauck guests for the evening, the 14th-century castle has served as a prison, residence and toll station at the strategic confluence of the Maas and Waal rivers.
River Seine: Châteaux, Impressionism & Normandy: Begins and ends near Paris at Le Pecq, 8 days from $4,990 per person plus airfare
- Itinerary: Visits Auvers-sur-Oise, Les Andelys, Tilly, Mont-Saint-Michel, Étretat, Honfleur, the D-Day Beaches of Normandy, Rouen, Giverny (where Tauck guests enjoy exclusive early-entry admission to the home and gardens of Impressionist painter Claude Monet) and Le Pecq.
- Highlight dinner: Tauck guests will enjoy a private evening with a tour, dinner, and music at Château du Taillis. Set on a parkland estate in Duclair, France and built in 1530, this Italian Renaissance mansion with baroque interiors is a brilliant architectural showcase.
La Belle Vie: The Rhône, Geneva & The Riviera: Cannes to Geneva (or reverse), 14 days from $7,990 plus airfare
- Itinerary: This 14-day itinerary includes a nine-night river cruise along the Rhône bookended by two, two-night hotel stays with guided Tauck sightseeing in Cannes and Geneva. Along the way, guests have the opportunity to experience Aix-en-Provence, Arles, La Camargue, Avignon, Uzès, St-Rémy, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Tain l’Hermitage, Mâcon, Cluny, Chalon-sur-Saône, Beaune, Tournus, Cormatin and Lyon.
- Highlight dinner: Tauck guests will enjoy an exclusive evening at Duché d’Uzès featuring a private tour, dinner, and cocktails. The family castle of the Duke of Uzès, the home was once the site of a Roman governor’s residence and the haven of an exiled 9th-century duchess.