Include airfare and travel insurance?

Our family (2 adults; 2 teenagers) is hoping to go on the Aug 3rd riverboat adventure. We have never joined a formal tour before so wondering about some basic questions - is it advisable to book the air travel through Tauk as well? I'm used to making our own air reservations, usually leveraging some FF miles so wondering if it is worth paying more to have it be included with the cruise. Also, never needed travel insurance (never booked this type of trip before) so wondering if that is worth doing as well, since it seems like a lot of money, though I'm sure it won't seem like that if we need to use it! Any advice from more experienced tour travelers would be much appreciated!

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  • DMC wrote:
    Our family (2 adults; 2 teenagers) is hoping to go on the Aug 3rd riverboat adventure. We have never joined a formal tour before so wondering about some basic questions - is it advisable to book the air travel through Tauk as well? I'm used to making our own air reservations, usually leveraging some FF miles so wondering if it is worth paying more to have it be included with the cruise. Also, never needed travel insurance (never booked this type of trip before) so wondering if that is worth doing as well, since it seems like a lot of money, though I'm sure it won't seem like that if we need to use it! Any advice from more experienced tour travelers would be much appreciated!




    Hi DMC, Our family did this trip last summer and it was great.If you are doing the Bridges tour than it should be a good mix of kids and adults spreading the whole range from early teens to grandparents. I did our flights on our own and scored some pretty good fares. The price is pretty steep so it does pay to keep on top of the fares. We flew Lusftansa and they were SUPER! Good fares but excellent service even in coach. So much better than the American carriers. We did get to the Tauck hotel by local cabs and it was really easy. I always get insurance just because some things have happened in the past and we feel more secure because the total investment is pretty expensive. We went on from Munich to Prague after our trip for a few more days and really recommend that city. Beautiful and rich with history. We did all that on our own and it was quite easy. You can get local currencey easily in Budapest at the airport or bank and we used our credit card for the hotel and cash for small purchases. It is against the law to exchange money on the treet and I was approached once and declined easily. If you are leaving from Budapest you should plan to get there a day or so early for that too is an amazing city very walkable to sightsee all the ethnic areas as well as a fabulous market with locak vendors.The food on the Swiss Jewel was very good and the crew were very very nice. The Swiss company that owns and operates the ship are 1st class all the way.
  • We took this trip last summer too and loved it. I researched airfare on my own and then called Tauck to see if they could offer me a better fare. In my case, Tauck's airfare was considerably higher than what I had found, so I booked it myself. Tauck did not push me to book our flights with them, which I appreciate. I always purchase travel insurance for a big trip like this one. I find Tauck's insurance to be a bit pricey. You can go to insuremytrip.com and price various policies from reputable companies. I've found I'm able to get the same coverage for significanlty less than the Tauck insurance. There may be benefits to purchasing through Tauck if you have to file a claim, but I don't have any firsthand experiece. Fortunately, I've never had a reason to use my travel insurance, but it gives me peace of mind to have it. Hope you enjoy the trip as much as we did!
  • took this trip several years ago. it was great. I never book air through Tauck. Always find better prices, better times, and where to get connectioning flights. I do the insurance when flying overseas because with insurance you never know how it will work overseas. Never had to use it but will be worth it if have medical emergency or get stuck do to delayed flights.
  • We recently had to cancel a trip to France because I had a medical issue that precluded my being away from home overnight. Fortunately, we had travel insurance. We've already received a full refund for everything except the cost of the insurance itself. We'll use the refund for another trip in the spring. We've also used the insurance for minor medical expenses on a couple of our trips. I lost a filling on a flight over the big pond prior to our wonderful Tauck Belgium and Holland Tuliptime tour. Insurance covered the dental expenses, Tauck even arranged for an English speaking dentist for me! We're strong believers in having the insurance. There's no way you can know ahead of time what may, or may not, happen.
  • Just to expand on Grand Isle Joe’s comments, Tauck will arrange to meet you at the airport even if you don’t purchase the air though them. We had one of their contract vans pick us up in Santiago at 3 in the morning! They will also reimburse you for your cab fare if you come in by train. We have had them pick us up at the airport or pay for cab fare a number of times.
  • Based on personal experience we would not even consider not taking Tauck's insurance. Yes -- it is pricey -- but you have to remember that you can cancel for ANY reason -- which is not true of many policies. I can tell you about a personal experience. We had to cancel a trip to Spain and Portugal because of a medical issue. We had booked our air separately and I was SHOCKED that because it was a medical reason Tauck's insurance reimbursed us for our airfare although they had nothing to do with booking the flights! I did have to provide proof of the medical issue to the insurance provider but that was to be expected. I was also shocked to find out that we were not only reimbursed 100% of the price of the tour -- but our insurance was "banked" and we would be able to use it for another trip if booked within a year. (True of land tours but not cruises.) We booked a trip to Russia and the Baltics -- used the insurance that was "banked" from the Spain and Portugal trip -- and paid nothing for the insurance for the Russia trip. That to us was way above and beyond what we expected. My aunt and uncle have taken 30 Tauck tours and had to go home early from 2 of them for medical issues. They were more than pleased with how Tauck's insurance handled both situations. Hope this helps!
  • Just interested to read that some think the Tauck insurance is expensive. From an Australian perspective, travelling to the US is a very expensive business, insurance wise. But without travel insurance, if you have the great misfortune to need medical help in the States, we know that we'd end up as real cast members (non-singing or acting!) of Les Miserables without the expensive premium we pay here for US cover. So along with that CC, we don't leave home without it!

    Luckily I haven't had to actually use the Tauck policy, but I have seen it in action. From the point of view of the insured, it was effortless. The TD took care of everything. As for the fellow travellers, it was all very reassuring. I take the Tauck package on the grounds that if I need assistance, I want to make it as easy as possible for Tauck to give it! I don't want there to be delays because of time zones and international dialling codes! I think the premium is very reasonable compared to local packages.

    Cheers,

    Jan
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