Tauck has announced plans to introduce three new European river cruises next year – a new family river cruise along the Danube timed for the holiday season, a 10-day autumn journey along the Rhine highlighting Oktoberfest in Munich, and an eight-day exploration on the Seine highlighting Paris, Versailles, and Normandy’s D-Day beaches.
Family Cruise
The new “Holiday Magic: Danube Family River Cruise,” will have two departures, December 22 and December 23, sailing respectively on Tauck’s Savor riverboat traveling from Vienna to Munich via Budapest, and on the Joy traveling from Munich to Budapest.
Along the way, guests can enjoy holiday-themed activities including a visit to Oberndorf, Austria, a workshop highlighting traditional treats in Passau, and a European holiday dinner aboard a Tauck riverboat, which will be specially decorated for the season.
Families can also enjoy an exclusive “Imperial Evening” inside a private Viennese palace, medieval games and a scavenger hunt in Bratislava’s Old Town district, and a choice of excursions to the towns of Durnstein, Melk and Krems in the scenic Wachau Valley. The eight-day cruise is priced from $4,190 per person, plus airfare.
Oktoberfest Traditions in Munich
Beer lovers will appreciate Tauck’s new “Autumn Along the Rhine: Munich’s Oktoberfest.” The 10-day itinerary, starting from $6,890 per person plus airfare, culminates with an entire day at the annual event.
Tauck’s Oktoberfest experience includes reserved seating in one of the festival’s exclusive brewery tents, where guests will be treated to a three-course lunch and traditional Bavarian live music. Tauck is also providing complimentary round-trip shuttles between the riverboat and the fairgrounds, along with lederhosen and dirndls (traditional Bavarian dresses), so each guest will look and feel the part as they immerse themselves in the Oktoberfest festivities.
Prior to Oktoberfest, guests will begin their cruise in Amsterdam, embarking their riverboat for one of the journey’s two scheduled departures; September 16 aboard the ms Inspire and September 24 on the ms Grace. Subsequent ports of call include Dusseldorf, Heidelberg and Strasbourg, along with an overland excursion to Switzerland where guests will ascend the 7,000-foot Mt. Pilatus and enjoy a walking tour of Lucerne.
After disembarking their riverboat the following day, guests will travel through Switzerland and Germany to Munich for a two-night hotel stay, where the journey concludes following their Oktoberfest celebration.
New Seine River Cruise Reflects Shifting Demographics
“Impressions from the Seine: Paris to Normandy,” priced from $4,590 per person plus airfare, is the third of Tauck’s three new river cruises for 2019, and its third itinerary on the Seine intended for adult travelers. (A fourth Tauck itinerary along the Seine is designed for family groups and is part of the company’s Tauck Bridges portfolio).
Tauck’s other adult-oriented Seine offerings are 10- and 12-day itineraries, while the new cruise is shorter at just eight days so that it appeals more to younger travelers who are still in the workforce and more likely to be constrained by limited vacation time. Along with more active shore excursion choices, an increase in healthy menu options, and the recent addition of onboard yoga-inspired stretching classes, the new, shorter Seine journey reflects the evolution of Tauck’s river cruise client base, which has become younger and more active over time.
The new Seine cruise begins with a full day in Paris, where guests will have a choice of museum visits (typically including the Louvre, Musee National de L’Orangerie, Musee d’Orsay or Rodin Museum; subject to operating schedules), followed by a free afternoon to explore independently.
After a visit to Versailles the following day, guests sail aboard Tauck’s Sapphire to visit Rouen (with a Tauck-exclusive dinner at the nearby 16th-century Chateau du Taillis), the D-Day Beaches at Normandy, (including visits to Pointe du Hoc, Omaha Beach and the Normandy American Cemetery), Les Andelys, Vernon, and Giverny, where guests will enjoy a pre-opening visit to Impressionist painter Claude Monet’s home, gardens and studio.
For more information, visit www.tauck.com.
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