Tauck has confirmed its intention to recommence all its US tours by 1 July 2021 after its COVID hiatus. Dan Mahar, Tauck CEO, revealed the decision in an update to guests and travel advisors this week.

Tauck has considerably boosted its offering for guests to participate in the once-a-decade Floriade International Horticultural Expo in the Netherlands next year, incorporating the event as part of four different river cruises.

North American small group touring company Utah Luxury Tours has set an ambitious goal of quadrupling its business in the next three to four years.

The river cruise segment of the industry seems to have been a relatively silent casualty of the coronavirus pandemic, with the much larger ocean operators taking the brunt of the media spotlight in the past three months.

US-based upmarket tour and cruise operator, Tauck, is beefing up its Australian presence, confirming the recent appointment of a Country Manager and two senior executives to its local arm.

Tauck has revealed the first interior images of its upcoming new ship, ms Andorinha, which enters service in the next few months. The images reveal decor and design details influenced heavily by elements of Portuguese culture, befitting a ship that’s been purpose-built to sail exclusively along the Douro River.

Tauck is introducing a new 14-day tour of northern Spain that features Barcelona and Madrid, traverses the Pyrenees Mountains, explores the La Rioja wine region and visits the seaside town of San Sebastian. Highlights include hotel stays in the ultra-modern Hotel Marques de Riscal and the centuries-old Parador de Santiago de Compostela, and a  magical seven-course meal inside a ninth-century castle.

Tauck has commenced sea trials in the Netherlands of its purpose-built ship for Portugal’s Douro River, the 84-guest ms Andorinha riverboat. The test run has also meant that future guests can now preview some of the ship’s facilities ahead of her full launch.

Tauck has added a new eight-day European itinerary to its product line-up in 2020 that includes a three-night rail journey on The Golden Eagle Danube Express, bookended by two-night stays in Vienna and Milan.

Tauck has revealed the name of its new Douro River riverboat will be MS Andorinha. The vessel will operate three new itineraries in Portugal in 2020. ms Andorinha will have a capacity of just 84 guests, carrying fewer guests than any other vessel currently operated by a major line on the Douro.

Tauck Australia has announced three cruises commencing in April 2020 aboard Tauck’s new 84-passenger Douro Riverboat, which has been purpose-built for traversing Portugal’s Douro River.

Tauck will introduce three new European river cruises in 2019 including 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.