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Tauck Esprit vs Uniworld River Queen


seabreezer
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I am currently on Esprit Budapest to Amsterdam and cannot help but notice some significant differences between the 2 lines. My cruise on Uniworld was 2 years ago on the Rhine and Moselle. WiFi is so slow and iffy so I will keep it short and update along the way.

 

Decor: Tauck is fairly basic with a quiet color scheme. Furnishings are comfortable. The lounge is roomy enough for everyone to have a seat. On Uniworld the decor was much more colorful, interesting but seating in the lounge was not so comfortable nor was there enough for everyone during a port talk. Many people had to stand and the space felt more crowded.

 

Water: Tauck provides bottles of water daily in cabin and on excursions. Uniworld provided a metal refillable canteen type bottle to use throughout the cruise and to take home as a souvenir. It had a loop on top so was easier to carry and less wasteful.

 

Food: More to follow after a few more meals but so far Uniworld blows away Tauck cuisine, preparation and service.

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I thought maybe there was something wrong with me on my recent Tauck cruise - same ship and itinerary as yours. I did not enjoy the food and was disappointed in the inconsistency of it. I'm just getting off a Holland America ship - the Nieuw Amsterdam - and the food has been really outstanding. The best I've ever had on HAL. The ship is nice and the service has also been over the top excellent. I think I'll stick to ocean cruising. Enjoy your 68 locks on this itinerary. I grew very weary of them and especially being unable to use the sun deck.

 

 

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Why could you not use the sun deck?

 

Due to height restrictions, the sun deck is often not available when going through locks and low bridges.

 

There are a lot of locks and low bridges on some routes so the sun deck can often be unavailable...

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Very strange, we have been on two Tauck River Cruises, one Rhine and one Danube. With a total of 14 days the sun deck was never closed! Food was exceptional, last cruise was May, 2017, so good that we are now booked for next May with Tauck on the Rhône River. I have sailed on Holland America for 100+ days and found it to be ok, but not nearly to the level of Tauck river cruises.

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Very strange, we have been on two Tauck River Cruises, one Rhine and one Danube. With a total of 14 days the sun deck was never closed!

 

... at least not while you were onboard and awake... :)

 

This is nothing specific to a particular cruise line, they all have the same limitations with respect to height in some places. The only mitigating factor can be low water levels which of course increase the available headroom, but at the cost of less navigable water below the hull.

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On the Rhine and Moselle it is not needed unless the water level demands it. There could be a short section where a bridge is in the way but I have not heard it mentioned as standard on any section on the Rhine or the Moselle. Likewise the Danube for the standard section, say Vilshofen to Budapest. I do not know what it is like further down the Danube or what the section between Kehl (end of the Main-Danube-Canal) and Vilshofen is like.

 

On the Main and especially the Main-Danube-Canal it is common practice. There are so many bridges and locks that it would keep the crew very busy if they had to open and close it for every obstacle. Hence the long time frame in that it is closed.

 

notamermaid

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Due to height restrictions, the sun deck is often not available when going through locks and low bridges.

 

There are a lot of locks and low bridges on some routes so the sun deck can often be unavailable...

 

Some boats have a smaller portion of the sun deck at a lower level so that it can be used even when cruising the Main Danube canal (Avalon's ships for instance).

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The food situation has improved somewhat from the first couple of days but the variety and quality of preparation is not on par with Uniworld. The dishes do seem to be regional as on Uniworld and most of the wines are regional as well but they aren’t that great. Sevice is excellent! The 3 tour directors are outstanding and all else seems to be similar to Uniworld.

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The food situation has improved somewhat from the first couple of days but the variety and quality of preparation is not on par with Uniworld. The dishes do seem to be regional as on Uniworld and most of the wines are regional as well but they aren’t that great. Sevice is excellent! The 3 tour directors are outstanding and all else seems to be similar to Uniworld.

 

Would love to hear your comarison of the two lines in regards to quality and variety of excursions. We've sailed Uniworld 3 times and absolutely love them. I've always thought that Tauck would be another line I will look at some day. I haven't been able to find a reason to jump ship(excuse the pun) from Uniworld. The only thing I've read is that Tauck excels at their excursion/tours. So would love the comparison or comparisons of any other features that you encounter

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The excursions have all been comparable with the exception of the dinner and performance in a palace in Vienna with Tauck. There was nothing like that on my Uniworld cruise. There also seems to be more opportunities to take guided brisk/fitness type walks with Tauck. The groups are also a little smaller with Tauck.

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Some boats have a smaller portion of the sun deck at a lower level so that it can be used even when cruising the Main Danube canal (Avalon's ships for instance).

 

Add Grand Circle to that list with a "split level" sun deck. Foreword of bridge low, aft high.

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Yes the Esprit does have the forward upper deck but it had no lounging chairs, the radar equipment blocks a lot of the forward view and it got very crowded up there!

 

I will say I enjoyed being up there when we'd go under low bridges because it was fun to watch the wheelhouse disappear down and us all having to duck our heads.

 

 

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Another point of difference is that there are more lectures on board in addition to the port talks on Tauck vs Uniworld. We’ve a couple already. And as I write this I also recall that we had a cooking demo on Uniworld but we haven’t had one on this Tauck cruise yet...we have a full day of cruising ahead so perhaps there may still be one in my future.

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Yes the Esprit does have the forward upper deck but it had no lounging chairs, the radar equipment blocks a lot of the forward view and it got very crowded up there!

 

I will say I enjoyed being up there when we'd go under low bridges because it was fun to watch the wheelhouse disappear down and us all having to duck our heads.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

So then the locks really are a non-issue. Just wear earplugs when you sleep and you are free to be on the lower sundeck anytime.

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The locks are a huge issue!! It takes away from the whole river cruising experience in my opinion. It can be noisy and bumpy during the night and during daytime you're always stopping and waiting for your turn in the lock and then spending time in the lock itself.

 

 

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We had another great day of touring. Tauck really does excell in tour organization, communication and the quality of guides. They seem to arrange for more museum access than what I remember on Uniworld but it’s not exactly a fair comparison because many towns were much smaller on the Rhine and Moselle.

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Nearing the end of this lovely cruise and I must say, despite a very few service and food related minor issues the overall comparison to my Uniworld experience is very favorable with Tauck really coming out on top. The value has been excellent considering all the extras with Tauck...more variety and frequency of on board entertainment, much better on board enrichment (lectures, glass-blowing) extra on shore dining, wine, beer experiences on shore, special little treats everyday, outstanding guides in every city and better organization of tours. The very slight edge that Uniworld River Queen has with food is off-set by the outstanding service aboard Tauck Esprit. The lounge and restaurant space on board Esprit is also far superior to River Queen.

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Now that I am home I want to add that the disembarkation process was simple and the airport transport very organized. Every detail was so well managed by Tauck and the staff whether Scylla or Tauck was so professional and friendly. You can really tell that everyone enjoys their job. I will definitely be recommending Tauck to friends.

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  • 2 weeks later...

This thread has been very interesting to me. We have been on a total of 4 Tauck tours, 2 land, & 2 RiverCruises and found all 4 to be top notch. The best as far as guides, service, excursions - we love the daily treats/gifts/surprises.

We love the Tauck cruise ships, our cabin, the amazing glass lounge. The only thing that hasn't been a 10/10 - is the dinners in the Main Dining Room. Some nights they were good, but never great. We always check out the menu at the Guest Services Desk, and if the choices aren't what we like - we go to Tauck's alternative restaurant, Arthur's, where we LOVE the menu, food, and service -it's the best kept secret on the cruise sometimes.

 

We just booked our 1st Uniworld Cruise for 2018 and we are so curious to the differences. The only reason we didn't go with Tauck is because it is our 3rd Xmas Market River Cruise and we've done the only 2 that Tauck offers and this one with Uniworld goes to Hungary which Tauck doesn't offer.

 

And, it's nice that we actually get a discount with Uniworld, both an AAA discount and a discount when we paid in full at booking. And they now offer a discount for future cruises if you book while on a cruise. I've traveled with Tauck 4 times and absolutely LOVE them, but would like to see them reward/offer discounts to repeat Tauck travelers.

 

Thanks again for your comparison and I will post one too when we've completed our 1st Uniworld River Cruise.

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