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Tauck is 6 stars -- perfection -- but never again


bitob
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My friends just returned from a Tauck river cruise and thought the food was wonderful. One of them worked for over 30 years with a well-regarded international catering firm, and is very critical of poor quality. We will be sailing on Tauck on the September 7th (Rhone River Cruise (Paris to Monaco tour). I am very critical of food, as you may see if you look up my most recent review of a Viking Sky cruise. I look forward to reviewing the food and trip.

Danny Weitz

Nipomo Califonia

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First off I asked if it was parrot fish and the server said no. She said it was parrot as in the bird.

 

Second, I am not trying to sabotage anyone or anything. I've just posted my surprise and continuing opinions of how I'm experiencing the food on the trip. I've done so because others have made such glowing comments about Tauck. I was excited to come on my first river trip with Tauck.

 

I feel like I've been very honest. I have said that some things are very good while others have been not good. Inconsistent is the overall impression so far.

 

As for the rest of the cruise - the 3 Tauck directors are wonderful, most especially Iris. They are very knowledgeable, friendly and helpful. They knew our names almost right out of the gate. The hotel staff is very good. My cabin is small but well appointed and comfortable.

 

The itinerary is full. In the smaller towns we visit it is usually for just a few hours and then we're back on the boat and going again. The weather has been a mix of really hot and quite chilly days. I've never been to Austria or Germany before so this area is new to me.

 

I'm traveling alone but have made several new friends as I always do when I cruise. It's younger crowd than what I usually find on my ocean cruises but I did eat dinner with two couples last night - they were all 88, 89, and 90 years old. They were delightful to be with. Intelligent and funny.

 

This itinerary we are going through over 60 locks. A lot at night but still a good number during the day. I had no idea. Some of the ones at night are loud and have woken me up.

 

 

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I have never sailed on a Tauck ship, so I can't place the photos or menus by memory. Do they look authentic to you? If so, can't scluvsrain have different taste in food than yours?

 

I was just on the Danube in April/May and most of the food offerings were very regional as well as the wines. I prefer eating the regional offerings and almost never go with the standard American fare that is offered for those that prefer not to experiment.

 

The presentation did not look like the photos of the buffets I am seeing. There was food on both sides along with another buffet area for the hot cooked items. The whole presentation was very nice.

 

We were given a large round booth every evening for just the two of us. It was set very elegantly and the food presentation was also done well.

 

I really hope she has discussed the areas of disappointment with the management on this cruise. They really try to please and hope this is just the chef or a difference of tastes. I do not think many onboard would want to eat Parrot ;-)

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Okay, so I have a correction. Even though I asked my server last night about the parrot and she told me it was NOT fish, she was incorrect. Someone I had lunch with today had it last night and he said it was fish. So. I feel better about that, actually. But here we go again with consistency. I was very clear when I asked her. As a person taking my order she should absolutely have known it was fish.

 

 

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I cannot imagine that "parrot" is anything other than a translation error. There is no way I'd believe that a mainstream cruise line would serve exotic birds for dinner, especially when many parrot species are threatened and declining. That makes absolutely no sense.

 

It's probably someone's attempt to translate "pigeon," which is a bird that is eaten in Europe (especially France). It is raised domestically and also known as squab. If you can get over the image of the pesky filthy pigeons that you see in cities (these aren't the ones you're eating), squab is actually pretty tasty. I had it some years back in Le Champagne on Silversea. It's readily seen on menus in Paris.

 

scluvsrain, if you're not sick of discussing this topic already, ask the waitstaff or cook what word they'd use for the "parrot" dish in German or French, and let us know.

 

Edited to add: just saw above post which crossed with mine. Parrotfish makes sense too. Not a typical German/Austrian dish, but sounds tasty.

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Oh dear, a translation hiccup. Parrot is not eaten in Germany and I doubt it would be allowed (food safety regulations). Glad to hear it was fish instead! But this is not the sort of mistake you want to be involved in when ordering food. I think it bit of help from someone who knows their way around cuisine specific words in both languages should help out. Something I would mention to Tauck at the end of the cruise. Parrotfish is Papageienfisch, but I am not familiar with exotic fish and had no idea that you could eat them. Certainly an unsual item on the menu.

 

Glad to hear you are enjoying the company of your fellow guests and the ports.

 

notamermaid

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Parrotfish is Papageienfisch, but I am not familiar with exotic fish and had no idea that you could eat them. Certainly an unsual item on the menu.

 

It is a very odd choice though as it would most certainly have had to have been frozen and transported a long way, when there are plenty of more readily available options...

 

In the Caribbean or Australia, perhaps, but not in Europe...

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It's probably someone's attempt to translate "pigeon," which is a bird that is eaten in Europe (especially France). It is raised domestically and also known as squab. If you can get over the image of the pesky filthy pigeons that you see in cities (these aren't the ones you're eating), squab is actually pretty tasty.

 

It is served in Italy too (http://www.greatitalianchefs.com/collections/pigeon-recipes) and the birds are, as you note, farm raised. In fact it is illegal to kill a wild pigeon in the EU according to an interesting story of an Italian chef being charged (incorrectly) of cooking a wild pigeon https://munchies.vice.com/en_us/article/aeaqa4/an-italian-chef-is-in-legal-trouble-for-cooking-a-pigeon-on-tv.

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It is a very odd choice though as it would most certainly have had to have been frozen and transported a long way, when there are plenty of more readily available options...

 

In the Caribbean or Australia, perhaps, but not in Europe...

 

Agreed, I would also prefer to see trout (standard fare), wild Scottish salmon (exclusive enough for a river cruise); alternatively eel, perch or pike (all native to the Rhine) or some lesser known fresh water fish.

 

notamermaid

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To the OP, I'm sorry others are suggesting you're not actually on this cruise just because they've had a different experience or the look and format of the menus isn't the same as on their Tauck cruise. What would be the motivation for someone making this stuff up and then going to the trouble of concocting bogus menus?

 

Anyway, I'm glad we got the parrot issue cleared up. :p That was a bit disconcerting.

 

Jpalbny, I've eaten squab, and I agree it's tasty. The squab I had was stuffed, similar to a Cornish hen.

 

Roz

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I'm going to attempt to talk to the manager responsible for the food when I get back to the ship.

 

Another thing that struck me a bit odd is that we had Spanish and South African wines in Austria one night and last night after being in Germany for a day we had French wines featured. Not that they are bad wines but it doesn't seem to fit with trying to match up food and drink with the regions we are in.

 

 

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I'm going to attempt to talk to the manager responsible for the food when I get back to the ship.

 

Another thing that struck me a bit odd is that we had Spanish and South African wines in Austria one night and last night after being in Germany for a day we had French wines featured. Not that they are bad wines but it doesn't seem to fit with trying to match up food and drink with the regions we are in.

 

 

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Ask them for the Gruner Veltliner wine. It is a lovely white. If that is not on board, then something is truly amiss.

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I talked to the cruise director about the food issues. He said he would be the one to talk to so I did. He took notes and said he would address them with the chef etc.

 

If any of you read my travel blog you'd know that my buddy Snort travels with me a lot. Here's some more proof that I'm really on a Tauck cruise. fdb65ed0f7a80b23193520d606553970.jpg

 

 

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Cruise Critic just posted a new article reviewing one of the editor's experience on Tauck:

Just Back From Tauck: Taking a Tauck Bridges Family Cruise

https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=7998

 

He calls the food and wine "great" but gives no details.

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I'm going to attempt to talk to the manager responsible for the food when I get back to the ship.

Another thing that struck me a bit odd is that we had Spanish and South African wines in Austria one night and last night after being in Germany for a day we had French wines featured. Not that they are bad wines but it doesn't seem to fit with trying to match up food and drink with the regions we are in.

 

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Please keep us appraised of how things go. Thanks for the detailed posts and I have been following with interest.

 

I much prefer French wines in general to those produced in Germany. We have a few reds over the years from Germany that are good, but overall would always prefer a French red. Sounds like the food quality is by far the bigger disappointment.

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To the OP, I'm sorry others are suggesting you're not actually on this cruise just because they've had a different experience or the look and format of the menus isn't the same as on their Tauck cruise. What would be the motivation for someone making this stuff up and then going to the trouble of concocting bogus menus?

 

Anyway, I'm glad we got the parrot issue cleared up. :p That was a bit disconcerting.

 

Jpalbny, I've eaten squab, and I agree it's tasty. The squab I had was stuffed, similar to a Cornish hen.

 

Roz

 

The OP of this thread is not the person currently reporting on the food n board.

 

Agree squab is excellent. The best I ever had was at Guy Savoy in Paris.

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