Tauck Announces Godmothers for New ms Inspire

Tauck will honor its riverboat cruise director team by having its four female Tauck cruise directors collectively serve as godmother to the company’s new ms Inspire riverboat, the first of two new Inspiration Class riverboats being launched by Tauck this year. The ms Inspire will be christened on April 3rd in Basel, Switzerland. Tauck’s second Inspiration Class ship, the ms Savor, will be christened on June 21st in Rudesheim, Germany.

The four Tauck cruise directors who will share the christening honors are Bridget Ashton, Lynn Hardcastle, Mary Pierik and Eszter Pusztai. Four male Tauck cruise directors, Tod Griswold, Scott Peters, Jeremy Shifferly and Steve Marchant, will also attend the ceremonies in supporting roles, and will likewise be honored for their efforts. Marchant will stay with the ms Inspire following a subsequent three-day christening cruise and serve as the new ship’s cruise director as it officially enters service on April 7.

Each Tauck ship has a Tauck cruise director aboard who is in charge of the overall guest experience, working closely with the ship’s maritime, hotel and restaurant staff and managing the team of three Tauck Directors, or Tauck guides, assigned to each riverboat.  The Tauck Directors in turn provide onboard commentary and service, assist in the delivery of the onboard guest experience and lead Tauck’s shore excursions. 

The new ms Inspire and ms Savor together comprise Tauck’s new Inspiration Class ships. Both ships will be 443 feet long and each will have a capacity of just 130 guests to ensure a less-crowded, more relaxed and intimate ambiance. By contrast, riverboats of the same size operated by other lines carry up to 190 guests. And where Tauck staffs each riverboat with a Tauck cruise director and three Tauck directors, ships in other riverboat lines are typically staffed by just one cruise director despite having up to 46 percent more passengers aboard.

Each of Tauck’s new Inspiration Class ships will have twenty-two 300-square-foot suites furnished with two French balconies with floor-to-ceiling windows, a pull-out couch, a roomy walk-in closest with built-in drawers, and a spacious bathroom with rain shower. Along with the suites, the newbuilds will also have thirty-two 225-square-foot cabins, plus an additional thirteen cabins ranging from 150 to 190 square feet.  In keeping with Tauck’s policy of welcoming single travelers, four of the 150-square-foot cabins are being set aside for guests traveling solo.

Eight of the thirty-two 225-square-foot cabins on each newbuild will be located on the lower (Emerald) deck, and feature an innovative “loft” design with a raised platform seating area.  Located against the ship’s hull/outer wall, each seating area will have a small table with two chairs, plus a raised ceiling that allows the use of a much taller window than can normally be incorporated into lower-level cabins.  The middle portion of this window can be opened electronically for fresh air, and being taller, the window will allow far more natural light to fill the cabin.

For more information, visit www.tauck.com.