My wife and I took the South Bound Christmas Markets on the Rhine tour. The cruise cost roughly $1000 per day with a 100% cabin upgrade rate. Cost affects my review to a great extent, particularly regarding value received. It rained everyday, and temperature varied from very cold to warm.

The boat was new and the cabin was outstanding, but for the price it should have been. It was very quiet and the bed comfortable. I have no complaints regarding the cabin at all save the lack of a tub as found on their other boats in this class of cabin. The crew were mostly Romanian, with a Filipino kitchen staff, all with varying English proficiency. That said I have no complaints about them, in fact I got along with them better than most of my fellow passengers. They all tried very hard, and seemed to be earning their salary. The cabin attendant did an outstanding job, and was waiting by the door every morning when we left for breakfast to clean the cabin. The wait staff varied from competent to outstanding. The Tauck staff varied from very accommodating and kind to condescending and overbearing. I did not care for the cruise director at all. The tour guides were basically competent but the tours themselves were fairly superficial. There was only one night of local entertainment, some Alsacian dancers. The other nights were left to the bar crawlers amongst the passengers.

My fellow travelers were basically retired and well to do, and mostly Tauck fanboys. Many showed an unnatural affection for the brand bragging constantly how many Tauck trips they had taken and how many they had planned for the future. Nobody seemed to talk about the present, just a constant babbling about their past Tauck experiences. It really got boring. It seemed as if everyone was trying to convince themselves that Tauck really was the best and they were the smartest kids in the class because they always travelled Tauck. I didn't go away feeling so enthusiastic I'm afraid. Read more