Recently just completed our 6th trip with Tauck...and 2 out of the last three failed in different ways:

Both (France & last one to Scandinavia) were led by jaded tour directors. The TD in Paris left nine people at the airport and they had to make it to Chantilly on their own. The TD in Scandinavia disappeared most of the time; he really had a bad smoking habit.
I should say the first three trips w/Tauck were great. I don't know if they have gotten so big that they don't care now or what.

In Scand we were booked into old and unsafe hotels in numerous cities. It was summer and hot and the sun shines almost all day; we had to sleep in hot rooms with no ventilation or fans and the sun shining in; and the TD did nothing to alleviate the problems. One hotel we laid awake all night to see if the light over our bed was going to fall on us; it was attached by it's wiring only. My husband slipped and fell in a shower (another hotel) that had no safety holds or mats and was painted with a high gloss paint. To make matters worse he hit his head on a raditor that was located within the shower. The TD offered to buy us drinks for that accident. (Just what you need for a possible concussion!) And he told us that Sweden has no TORT laws so you can't sue them and that Tauck has a stable of lawyers that know how to play the game, also.

We wrote a letter to the CEO of Tauck and a suborinate called us and offered us a few hundred off a future Tauck trip. We could NOT get past the first level of employees at Tauck. The old Tauck experience is no more!

Geez, I'd say when a TD response is, "we have a stable of lawyers and you can't sue us- (Ha, Ha)" It's time to see this dog for what it is. It's a good thing you've decided to warn others.

I would say that a few hundred off would be no compensation for a lousy vacation. Your time is more vaulable than that. It was an insult.

I would post this on the Europe forum.

Posts like this reassure me about my decision to always travel on my own. I would never manage to have so much go wrong with a trip I planned myself.

Sorry for you troubles though.

Suze, I don't want to be disaggreable but we have had things go wrong when we have planned our own trips. You can't control the weather, ferry and bus schedules. A train broke down in the middle of no where, another train picked us up after a 4 hour wait and took us to the closest station and literally dumped us. We were in the middle of no where and no one spoke English only Check. We were also caught in a blizzard in Northern Greece.

Ops, forgot about the eath quake in Crete.

southeastern~ Sure, I agree things can go wrong. But I have never booked myself into "old and unsafe hotels in numerous cities"... that's for sure!

And I never have to depend on a TD - thank gawd . . . . . .

Though I don't doubt you, I am surprised. We have been on a dozen or so Tauck tours (and with A&K as well) and have yet to have a really bady TD such as you describe. We have had mediocre ones (Normandy-Paris tour specifically) but none like you describe. I would recommend Tauck over any other company dollar for dollar -including A&K