Tauck
Tauck river cruises: the back story
The back story
About Tauck river cruises: the back story
Tauck is a family-owned company that has guided travellers for more than a century. On Europe’s rivers it sails a Destination Fleet built to its own specifications, with no more than 130 guests, up to 22 Tauck Suites per boat and Tauck Directors who travel with guests from start to finish.
A tour company on the water
Tauck came to river cruising as a guided-travel company, family-owned and more than a century old, and it still runs its rivers that way. Every cruise travels with up to four Tauck Directors, who stay with the group from embarkation to farewell, working alongside local guides ashore. The company prices each journey once, up front, and promises that the fare will not change with currency or inflation, with no options sold on board.
Fewer guests, more room
The riverboats are built or reconfigured to Tauck’s own plans. The 135-metre sisters, ms Inspire, ms Savor, ms Grace and ms Joy, carry no more than 130 guests in 67 cabins, 22 of them 300-square-foot Tauck Suites with two French balconies, walk-in closets and large bathrooms; eight loft cabins on the lower deck add a second level of windows. The 110-metre ms Treasures, ms Esprit and ms Sapphire were redesigned to carry no more than 98 guests, and the 80-metre ms Andorinha was built for the Douro with room for 84.
If it means a better travel experience for our guests, we include it.
A new generation for France
In 2026 Tauck added two riverboats built for French rivers: ms Serene on the Seine, 125 metres long with no more than 124 guests and 20 Tauck Suites, and ms Lumière on the Rhône, 135 metres with no more than 130 guests and 22 suites. Both have a resort-style sun deck with a full-service bar and kitchen and a swimming pool, a wellness area called The Retreat, and a wine cellar for local vintages. Two more sisters, ms Reverie and ms Harmonie, are to follow by 2028.
At table
Dinner is served in The Compass Rose, the main dining room, with open seating, flexible times and menus that change nightly with the region; regional wines and beer are poured at lunch and dinner. Arthur’s, named after the company’s chairman Arthur Tauck Jr., is the casual alternative for lighter breakfasts and classic favourites at lunch and dinner. Drinks are unlimited on board, from regional wine to premium spirits and specialty coffee.
Ashore, privately
What sets a Tauck cruise apart is often on land: private evenings with receptions, dinners and music in palaces and châteaux, after-hours visits to must-see sites, a gala in Vienna on the Danube, an evening at Château du Taillis on the Seine, and on some cruises included nights at hotels such as the Rosewood London, the Fairmont Le Montreux Palace and the InterContinental Paris Le Grand. Excursions run in small groups, with a guest-to-guide ratio of 15 to 1.
Our advice: pay the most attention to the cabin, because on Tauck everything else is already included. A Tauck Suite on one of the 135-metre boats, or on the new ms Serene on the Seine, turns a river cruise into something close to a moving hotel suite.
Why it's on our list
- Family-owned, more than 100 years
- No more than 130 guests
- Up to 22 Tauck Suites per boat
- Gratuities and excursions included
Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Tauck river cruises: the back story before you go.