Tauck's Two For 2014

Tauck has revealed the names of its two new riverboats that will debut next year, and announced that the duo will each be considerably longer than the four sister-ships currently in the company’s fleet. 

The newcomers will be MS Inspire and MS Savor,and will measure 443ft long, compared to Tauck’s existing ships which each measure 361ft. But, despite being 23% longer, the two newbuilds will only accommodate 130 guests each, or just 10% more than its current fleet (like MS Swiss Emerald, above). 

 

CEO Dan Mahar explained: “Our existing riverboats – what we’re now calling our Jewel Class vessels – already have the lowest passenger-to-ship-length ratio on Europe’s rivers. The two new riverboats – our Inspiration Class vessels – actually raise the bar even higher.

 

“When these ships launch next year they’ll each have just 130 guests aboard, whereas other major lines carry up to 190 on the same length ships. That’s an additional 46% more passengers aboard ships of the same length.  You simply can’t deliver the same relaxed, intimate atmosphere when you put nearly 50% more passengers into the same space.” 

 

Even though Tauck’s newbuilds will have far fewer guests aboard, the the company says they will nonetheless be staffed with more service personnel than any other river cruise line. Mahar added:  “Each Inspiration Class riverboat will have a Tauck Cruise Director and three Tauck Directors aboard to attend to guests’ needs and provide exemplary service. By contrast, other ships carrying more guests are often staffed by just a single cruise director.”

 

The Tauck Directors will also accompany shore excursions, according to Mahar, where they’ll divide guests into small groups of no more than 25, with each group personally guided by a local expert.  “River cruises offer incredible opportunities for authentic, in-depth explorations of each destination, so we place tremendous emphasis on ensuring our shore excursions – all of which are included in our prices – are absolutely world-class.”

 

For more info, call Tauck at 1800 468 2825, or visit www.tauck.com. In the UK, contact the leading river-cruise agent specialists, The Cruise Line Ltd, on 0800 008 6677.

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