Tauck welcomed the river vessels Sapphire and Emerald back
into its fleet this month, following what the company described as a "massive
reconfiguration" of the vessels' interiors.
The Sapphire, which relaunched in Paris earlier this month,
was the first of Tauck's four 361-foot ships to complete the transformation,
which put an emphasis on creating fewer and larger staterooms -- on the middle
deck, 30 of the vessel's 150-square-foot cabins were replaced by 20 larger
cabins measuring 225 square feet each.
The total number of cabins was reduced
from 59 to 49, dropping the capacity from 118 passengers to 98. On the
reconfigured vessels, cabins measuring 225 square feet or larger now account
for 69% of all the accommodations.
The Sapphire sails France's Seine River. Its relaunch was
followed by that of the Emerald, which sails on the Rhone and Saone rivers in
the south of France.
On the ships' upper deck, what was formerly the
alternative dining venue called The Bistro has been renamed Arthur's (a
tribute to company chairman Arthur Tauck Jr.) and now has its own
kitchen and chef. Arthur's features an expanded menu and will continue to
provide a more casual alternative to the fine dining offered in the ships' main
Compass Rose restaurant.
Two sets of connecting cabins have been added, each
connecting a 183-square-foot cabin with an adjacent 300-square-foot suite. The
connecting cabins are intended for families and groups.
Tauck's two remaining 110-meter ships, the Treasures and
Esprit, will undergo identical enhancements next winter and return in time for
the 2018 sailing season. Tauck's 443-foot vessels already feature Arthur's and
the larger staterooms that are now being added to the company's smaller
vessels.