Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Tauck World Discovery's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

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  Tauck World Discovery

  10 Westport Rd Wilton, CT 06897-4543

• 

  Tauck World Discovery

  PO Box 5020 Norwalk, CT 06856-5020

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/30/2024

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Tauck Tour did not meet their standards as advertised. We sent a 20+ page letter to Tauck Tour’s president and multiple department heads detailing the issues that arose on our trip to ******** ****** **** ******, and ******. They replied with no empathy or respect. With no results from Tauck Tour, I reached out to ******** ******* and they let me know that Tauck Tour will not cooperate with their guidelines and it was advised to reach out to the BBB. Date: July 10 - July 23, 2024. Cost: $28,000 for the tour, and Air: $8000. Per Tauck’s Mission Statement: “Our Values and mission remain true. Always do the right thing and deliver more than what is expected.” The Brochure had been stunning and their wording was very exciting, yet turned out to be misleading. This tour was depressing. So many things were not as described. We wasted our time and money. This tour did not deliver. While on the trip, I sent a number of emails with comments but never heard back. When I returned home, I immediately called customer service and spoke to a representative. She was disrespectful and insulting to me as she challenged everything I said. 1. Airline tickets: Booked via Tauck, and once completed, would not release our earned miles to us. That is a lot of money in travel points lost. 2. Tour : The tour was inconsistent with the brochure and the guide said this tour was different in the past and will be different in the future. Many important regional highlights were left out, sped through, or planned poorly. 3. Hotels : Many Paradors were below acceptable standards. One was a youth hostel another had dark and cold rooms, with mold on the wall and shower door. These were not the luxury hotels sold 4. Food: Prior to trip, I filled out the diet restrict forms, yet, there was a commotion at almost every included lunch or dinner that what we were to eat! With the connections Tauck has with each of these venues, why weren’t options pre-planned? Please help w/ financial refund

  Business Response

  Date: 09/18/2024

  Good Afternoon,

  While there are several disappointments **** ***** has shared with the home office, I kindly ask that I am provided such time to review with necessary management in order to provide an appropriate response.

   

  Sincerely,

  Nickie C******

  Associate Director

  Guest Relations and Journey Preparation Departments

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/19/2024

  This business has been in possession of documents and complaints since mid August.  Asking for extension, is just a stall tactic that should not be granted.  We are waiting for this reply and no concession should be made to them for longer reply time 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/21/2024

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  i AM RECEIVING MAILINGS FROM THIS COMPANY - WANT A STOP - I AM ON A NON MARKETING LIST, HAVE NEVER DONE BUSINESS WITH THIS COMPANY, NEVER WANT TO DO ANY TRANSACTION --- AND DO NOT WANT MORE WASTE . DO NOT KNOW HOW THEY GOT MY ADDRESS [i AM nyc, THEY ARE IN ct] --- CEASE AND DESIST HAS BEEN SENT TO THEM ALSO.

  Business Response

  Date: 02/22/2024

  Good morning,

  I do apologize on behalf of Tauck for this issue.

  However, I do not see any notes in Ms. ******* Tauck profile, where requests have been made, to be removed from our mailings. Usually this is notated and handled in a timely manner.

  This has now been completed but it may take a couple of weeks for the mailing to stop.

  Please let me know if there is anything further I can do to assist.

  Warmest regards,

  Margherita L********

  Senior Guest Relations Specialist

  Business Response

  Date: 02/22/2024

  Date Sent: 2/22/2024 11:35:26 AM
  

  Good morning,

  I do apologize on behalf of Tauck for this issue.

  However, I do not see any notes in Ms. ******* Tauck profile, where requests have been made, to be removed from our mailings. Usually this is notated and handled in a timely manner.

  This has now been completed but it may take a couple of weeks for the mailing to stop.

  Please let me know if there is anything further I can do to assist.

  Warmest regards,

  Margherita L********

  Senior Guest Relations Specialist

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/11/2022

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  June 4, 2021 **** and ****** ******** (both seniors) purchased a ****** **** ****** cruise commencing Dec. 6, 2022 ending December 13, 2022. The trip cost was $9,000 for the cabin, $1398 for two cruise protection plans. On August 4, 2022 the ********* cancelled the trip and received the $1800 deposit back. Since there is a waiting list for the cabin, we believe we are entitled to the $1398 for the cruise protection plans. If the cabin is occupied by two people the insurance company should receive $1398.

  Business Response

  Date: 08/12/2022

  **** ********

  My name is ********** ********* and I am responding on behalf of ***** and ****** *******. Nickie is currently out of the office on vacation.

  We are sorry that Mr. & Mrs. ******** are disappointed that the cost of the insurance plan, Cruise Protection Plan, is non refundable.

  They had purchased the Cruise Protection Plan, which provides them insurance coverage, and lessens their penalties, for both pre tour cancellations and on tour issues (should they travel).
  
  As they made the decision to cancel this reservation, and they had purchased the Cruise Protection Plan, it has allowed them to receive a refund of their deposit of $900 per person. If they had not purchased the Cruise Protection Plan, they would not have received a refund of their deposit.
  The plan also allows them to make a claim for their air fare, if they have cancelled for what the insurance company deems a “covered reason”.
  
  Also, the purchasing of the insurance plan is classed as a per person coverage and not a per cabin coverage.  
  
  Even though ***** may have a wait list for this departure, the purchase of the plan is not affiliated with tour availability.
  
  As mentioned above, the cost of the Cruise Protection Plan is non-refundable and we are not able to refund the guests as the plan has been utilized.

  If you have any questions please do not hesitate to reach out as I am happy to respond.

  Warmest regards,

  Margherita L********

  Assistant Manager, ***** ***** ********* 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/12/2022

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because: I believe it is per room and also per person in the room. If the wait list is utilized and a couple purchase the plan the insurance company will be fully reimbursed and paid twice for room and I am out 1398 dollars. If the room wasn’t rebooked I could understand the loss of my payment.
  Sincerely,
  
  **** ******** 

  Business Response

  Date: 08/17/2022

  As stated in my previous email, the total $1398, $699 per person, is the cost of the Cruise Protection Plan. It does not equate to the cabin cost, number of people in the cabin or our waitlist.
  
  The Cruise Protection plan was purchased by Mr. & Mrs. ******** on May 28th 2021 and has now been utilized, as they have had to cancel. If the plan had not been purchased, there would have been no refund of the deposit, of $900 per person.
  
  Please know, that whilst we hear their dissatisfaction, there will be no change to our decision.

   

  Regards,

   

  Margherita L********

  Assistant Manager, Guest Relations Department

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/05/2022

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  We are desperate for help in dealing with Tauck, a travel company headquartered in ***********. We paid $14,000 for a 10-day ***** ***** cruise in ****** from April 16-27, 2022. We want to register a complaint against Tauck and ask if there is anything you can do to intervene on our behalf. The trip promised the “luxury, 5 Star, Cruise of a Lifetime”. The trip was far below our expectations, and the expectations of the 67 passengers, many of whom were former Tauck consumers. We have examples of poor hospitality, housekeeping, food, and service that did not at all demonstrate Tauck's claims of delivering a luxury, 5 Star experience. We can provide a detailed description of our experience. We wrote 2 letters to Tauck's CEO and their Founder. These letters outline specific examples of their deficiencies. All 67 passengers were each offered a mere $750 (pp) refund, and $750 (pp) credit for a future cruise. We would expect at least 25% cash refund based on "breach of contract". We paid a lot of money and Tauck did not deliver what they claimed in sales and marketing promotional materials. Tauck's executives are standing firm on their decision. Tauck never informed us prior to the cruise about any reductions in services. Since our cruise, they have begun to do so as posted by consumers on social media sites. We question their business ethics. Many passengers including my wife tested Covid positive before departing to the ****** ******. They had to quarantine for 5 days and be Covid negative before boarding a flight home. Tauck decided where they would stay in various 5 Star hotels in *****. When my wife asked if the hotel knew that she was Covid positive, the Tour Director emphatically replied, "Oh No. They don't know anything about this'"! Could this be a socially moral, public health issue? Our trip may have been an isolated case. We believe we have been cheated & deserve more than a 10% refund. Can you help us? Letters & more details are attached.

  Business Response

  Date: 07/08/2022

  Dear *******,

  I am responding on behalf of ****** *******, as she is currently out of the office.

  Whilst we were disappointed to learn of their unhappiness with certain aspects of their Tauck experience, we do feel that our good faith gesture was appropriate. We are aware that there were service issues on board the ship and this had impacted guests experience but overall the feedback we had received was positive.

  We had also offered Mr. ***** and Mrs. **** additional compensation due to the issue with their cabin, as well as having provided them with a cabin upgrade on the ship. Up to this point they have not accepted the additional compensation.

  We do feel that we have gone above and beyond for them and feel that our compensation is fair.

  Warmest regards,

  Margherita L********

  Assistant Manager, Tauck Guest Relations

  Customer Answer

  Date: 07/10/2022

  
  Complaint: ********

  They lied again! We did receive a $750 per person cash refund. 

  This was our very first experience with Tauck, and many of the passengers on this trip were former Tauck customers and probably received discounts from loyalty programs.

  Our disappointments and complaints were above and beyond those of customer ratings. Also, we did not ask for an upgrade. All we asked for was a clean room! The room they gave us had clear evidence that it was not cleaned. The Tour Director claimed all the rooms were cleaned before our trip sailed. Obviously, this was not the case. 

  I am rejecting this response because:

  They also gave us a $750 per person voucher for a future Tauck travel product. We are not interested in using them again because of a distrust in their ability to deliver what they promise, and they are overpriced far above comparable travel trips by their competitors. We spent the money for this trip because it was our last luxury trip of our lifetime. We are in our mid '70's, celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary, and put our savings into a a "once in a lifetime" travel trip.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** *****