Exploring the Evolving World of River Cruises with Tauck

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What happens when 100 years of travel expertise converge with Europe’s iconic rivers? In an engaging discussion with Steve Spivak, Tauck’s Vice President of Global Sales & Reservations, we uncover how this family-owned company’s “small is big” philosophy elevates river cruising into a truly exceptional experience. Since its founding in 1925, when Arthur Tauck guided six guests on a New England adventure in a rented Studebaker, the company has grown while maintaining a steadfast commitment to its core principles.

Tauck’s river cruising approach embodies this legacy, offering a more exclusive experience by hosting just 84-130 guests on ships that competitors often pack with 190. Spaciousness is key, with 80% of their cabins exceeding 225 square feet, ensuring unrivaled comfort. Unlike many operators, each ship is staffed by four director-level professionals rather than a single cruise director, delivering unparalleled attention to every detail.

The concept of "truly all-inclusive" defines Tauck’s philosophy. Guests enjoy premium spirits, fine wines, gratuities, transfers, and every excursion without additional charges or upsells. Unique experiences, such as after-hours access to the Louvre or exclusive dining in private Viennese palaces, set Tauck apart. Solo travelers are also warmly welcomed, as their Category 1 cabins are offered without a single supplement.

Looking ahead, Tauck’s deliberate growth reflects its dedication to quality over quantity. With two new French ships set to debut in 2026, their focus remains on preserving the guest experience rather than expanding rapidly to meet investor demands—an advantage of their family-owned model. Whether you’re new to river cruising or seeking to understand what makes operators unique, Tauck’s thoughtful approach and century-long expertise promise an unforgettable journey through Europe’s storied waterways.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
So much of the evolution and innovation in this
company comes from listening toour guests.
The most important thing we cando is listen to our guests and
listen to our travel advisorpartners, who represent our
guests and what they want, andso, as we see an opportunity to

(00:24):
deliver the talc experience in adifferent way that is appealing
to our customers, that's whenwe start to dip our toe into new
and different ways of traveling, and that you know that,
combined with always looking tobe pioneers, is how we got into
river cruising Always looking tobe pioneers is how we got into

(00:47):
river cruising.

Speaker 2 (00:48):
Hello everyone and welcome to the latest episode of
Travel Trends.
This is your host, danChristian, and we're continuing
our deep dive into the world ofriver cruises.
This is episode two of four,which is sponsored by our
friends over at Captio.
That's K-A-P-T-I-O, and, as youheard on the very first episode
last week, when we were joinedby Ragnar, the founder of Captio
, that's K-A-P-T-I-O, and, asyou heard on the very first
episode last week, when we werejoined by Ragnar, the founder of
Captio, they are an industryleading travel tech firm based

(01:11):
in Iceland that has beenexclusively focused on
developing the most advancedmulti-day tour platform with
partners such as Intrepid andOddly Travel, and they are now
expanding into River Cruise and,interestingly, today's partner,
tauk, is the key reason thatexpansion is taking place.
So we're going to get into somemore detail on that as we speak
to Steve Spivak, the globalhead of sales at Tauk.

(01:34):
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(03:29):
And now back to the show NowI'm really looking forward to
continuing to profile theseriver cruise companies and their
connection to multi-day, whichwas the series we ran right
before this.
And when you look at the nexttwo guests after talk who
operate in river and multi-daytour, we're going to speak to
Avalon, part of the Globusfamily of brands, and of course
we heard from them in the firstepisode of our multi-day tour

(03:51):
series.
And then we're going to speakto Scenic, and Scenic operates
in ocean and river and tours,and Scenic actually joined us in
season four of our podcast forour ocean cruise sector and this
is where we kind of bring itall together by doing multi-day
and now river.
And if we take a broader lookat what's happening in the

(04:12):
industry, you'll see companieslike Trafalgar Tours, who I
worked closely with for manyyears, they have just recently
expanded into river cruising.
And if you look at companieslike Viking, who created this
whole category of river cruisethat we highlighted in the
opening episode with Ragnar,they are also expanding into
land-based offerings as well.

(04:32):
So it's clear that customerslove both styles of travel
multi-day tours and rivercruises and many of them are
combining a week on a coach anda week on a ship as part of
their holidays, and this trendwill obviously continue.
Now, before we bring Steve intothe conversation, I just want to
remind everyone that we do postclips and highlights on all our

(04:52):
social channels, which areLinkedIn, instagram and YouTube,
at Travel Trends Podcast, andwe send out a monthly newsletter
to highlight the latestepisodes and our travel plans
for the upcoming month, whichyou can register at
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And in our next newsletter we'regoing to be running a survey
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(05:14):
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So make sure that you do sign upfor the newsletter and fill out
that survey when you see it inthe next edition.
And then, lastly, I just wantedto highlight that we are back
from the Aviation FestivalAmericas in Miami last week and

(05:36):
we will have a special spotlightepisode launching very shortly,
as well as one from theEducational Travel Consortium in
Mobile.
And next week I'm going to bein Denver at the Adventure
Travel and Trade Associationrecording podcasts live from
their events.
So be sure to reach out ifyou're going to be there and we
can find time to record together.
And then the week of June 9thI'm going to be in Barcelona

(05:58):
with the team at Focusrite formy very first European
conference with them.
Now let's get on to episode twoof our River Cruise series and
bring the VP of Global Sales,steve Spivak, from Tauk, in to
join us.
Welcome, steve.
Thanks so much for joining uson Travel Trends.

Speaker 1 (06:14):
It's a pleasure to be with you today.
I'm in Wilton, connecticut, atTauk World Headquarters.
In this beautiful part of theworld, the sun is finally
shining and it's warming up andour guests are starting to
travel the world again and we'reexcited for a wonderful season
of welcoming guests all aroundthe world.

(06:35):
And this, our 100th anniversaryyear.
It's going to be our best yearever.

Speaker 2 (06:40):
Yeah, no, it's incredible.
I mean, that's remarkable andthe 100 year anniversary.
Clearly, for those of ourlisteners that are going to be
able to watch a few clips fromthis, it looks beautiful where
you are and that was the firstthing I said to Steve.
I'm like, where are you?
I could tell you're at theoffice, but it's a beautiful,
stunning background you werehighlighting.
There's wildlife that runsthrough the background at
various times, so it looks likea stunning place to be able to

(07:02):
work, very inspiring and clearlyvery connected with nature.
How long has Tauk been there?
And tell us, by context of that, a little bit of background on
Tauk itself and how you guyscame to be based there.

Speaker 1 (07:13):
Sure.
So we have been in thisbuilding since 2017.
Tauk has been in Connecticutfor wow just decades now.
Been in Connecticut for wowjust decades now.
And we're in this building andyou can see the beautiful
environment behind you, becausewhat we sell is the beauty of

(07:35):
the world and what we sell isthe idea of connecting with the
environment around us, and sofor us to fulfill that for our
guests, it's important for us tobe in that environment as well
and connected with nature.
And we have built this businessin Connecticut because the

(07:57):
Tauch family has lived inConnecticut for many years.
Even when the majority of ourtours were starting from the
Waldorf Astoria in New York City, the Tauch family was living
here in Connecticut and reallybuilt this into one of
Connecticut's most successfulemployers.
It's a true success story forthe state and we're proud of our

(08:20):
home and what we do in thecommunity.
But Connecticut, because of theproximity to New York City, was
a just a great destination toestablish the company.

Speaker 2 (08:30):
Yeah, no, that's really important context because
I want to understand yourbackground and the background on
talc itself.
I think people certainly got agood idea from that introduction
about you know your background,which is obviously quite
impressive.
I mean, starting in hotels,you've always been on the travel
, uh, the travel industry, andyou spent the last 12 years at
Talc, and so tell us a littlebit, first how you got into this

(08:52):
space and what kind of drew youto travel, and then I want to
dive a little further into Talcitself and a bit more of that
background and what led you tojoin this company and, obviously
, how it's evolved and shaped.
But yeah, tell us a little bitabout your background, stephen,
travel and what brought you toTalc.

Speaker 1 (09:16):
Sure.
So I went from the restaurantbusiness to the hotel industry
and thought I would spend myentire career in the hotel
industry.
I was opening new hotels andleading sales organizations for
large hotel companies, and Istarted to get the sense that
the hotel business was aboutrevenue management and putting
heads in beds, and I, personally, it was important to me to do

(09:42):
something that had more of aconnection to purpose, and so,
when I had the opportunity tojoin Tauk, I was so compelled at
the opportunity to give ourguests the chance to live a more
joyful, fulfilling life, andthat's what we do every day.

(10:02):
Every day, on over 150 differentitineraries on seven continents
, we're helping people livetheir best life, and whether
it's celebrating a milestoneanniversary or a birthday or
connecting with family throughtravel, what we do really

(10:23):
matters to people, and so,personally, I can't think of a
more fulfilling career, and so Ihave truly enjoyed every minute
of being with Tauk, because Ithink everything we do really
connects to that purpose and ourvalues connect to that purpose,
and really, when we think aboutour governing principles, it is

(10:48):
always about taking care of theguests, doing what's right by
the guests and helping them tohave the most fulfillment and
enjoyment of their experienceswith us around the world.

Speaker 2 (11:01):
Well, it's really interesting and it certainly
starts with the people insidethe organization and clearly
you're an example of that whenyou think of a company that has
been around for 100 years, liketalc, and you certainly you know
I was there for the 100thanniversary of the travel
corporation.
Unfortunately was during COVID,so the party was a little bit
delayed, but neverthelessthere's these incredible
companies that have that legacy,and one of the things that

(11:22):
always stands out to me is justhow long tenured many of the
people are within the businessand clearly that is been a big
asset, because it's all aboutpeople, as you know, and the
fact that someone like yourselfhas been there 12 years.
When we were interviewing Stevefrom Globus, he's been there 24
years and many people I'm sureyou come across as some people
say, oh, 12 years.
You know you're one of therecent joiners, because so many

(11:45):
people have been in thesecompanies for 20 plus years,
right, and it's like, but that'sa really good sign, a really
encouraging sign for guidedtours and river cruising.
You guys operate in both.
I know we're talking aboutriver cruises in this series,
but you guys are obviously inboth places and so let's give
our audience that backstory onTauk itself, because 100 years.
A lot has happened in that time.

(12:07):
How best would you summarizethat for us?
I know you've already given us,you know you've been in
Connecticut, but take us alittle bit through the product
journey, like what the last 100years has looked like, to bring
you up to 2025.

Speaker 1 (12:20):
Sure, the story starts, like many American dream
stories, right.
A young man had the idea toshare places that were special
to him with others and hethought this could be a business

(12:41):
.
And that young man was ArthurTauch.
And in 1925, he set out on theback roads of New England with
his first tour of six guests ina rented Studebaker, and he went
to places that he had visitedas a traveling salesman.
And in those places he sawstunning scenery and he was

(13:07):
welcomed into inns and lodgeswhere the innkeepers knew his
name and knew what was importantto him.
He dined at restaurants whereit felt like home but better,
and he believed that if heoffered people that experience
as his guests, that they wouldbe changed, that they would find

(13:33):
enjoyment in that.
And so was born Talc Tours.
And over the years it expandedinto other tours of New England,
then other tours of the US anda large presence in the national

(13:54):
parks, and then Hawaii andCanada and Mexico, and it became
, after being granted touroperator license, number one.
It became a sort of traditionof families to travel with talc,
generation after generation.

(14:14):
Seemingly a long time after thatfirst tour in 1925, we finally
ventured into Europe because ourguests said we want to go with
you, but you don't go to Europe.
And so we finally ventured intoEurope.

(14:37):
And then our globaldestinations Africa, south
America and Central America.
Our global destinations Africa,south America and Central
America, australia, new Zealand,asia.
And the one thing that hasalways been true to Tauk is no
matter where we go, we go withthe same set of values.

(15:06):
We go with the same sort ofgoverning principles of how we
should deliver an exceptionalexperience to our guests.
And you know, back in 1925, youknow, arthur in an ad placed in
a newspaper in New Jersey,where that first tour operated,
from Newark, new Jersey, andwhat he said was all I want is a
congenial party 10 minutesafter leaving Newark.

(15:27):
We shall be one happy partyAlong for a great time.
I want no grouches and nopessimists, and still to this
day, I mean, that's what we are.
No-transcript.

Speaker 2 (16:11):
Yeah, it's really interesting to get your
perspective on this because youknow we'll segue into river
cruise in a moment.
But I wanted all of ourlisteners to get a full
understanding of the Taukbackstory, because there is this
commonality between guidedtouring and then river cruising.
Because, as some of ourlisteners learned, or many of
our listeners are in the b2btravel trade space, they know

(16:32):
that globus owns avalon travelcorporation, of course, has
uniworld.
Apt is a company that does bothyou know, guided tours and
river, and there seems to besuch a crossover with river
tours.
I mean grand circle and some ofthese companies that obviously
you're very familiar with aswell that offered guided touring
and then got into rivercruising.

(16:54):
But the point that you madethere is so important, which is
that there has to be acommonality between the
operational excellence and thecommitment to the guest
experience that crosses over,which is why you can then
execute these amazing travelexperiences in another category,
because you're used to the artof hospitality and, given your
background in hotels, right,it's like.
And river cruises, as you'llprobably be the first one to say

(17:17):
, are really floating hotels inmany ways.
But tell us, steve, how Taukdecided to get into River Cruise
.
What was that moment and thatbreakthrough and how did that
transform the company?
Once you decided to do toursand cruises compared to ocean
cruising.

Speaker 1 (17:33):
Right, the time spent in the destination is the true
difference.
You know, when you're on ariver cruise ship, you wake up

(17:56):
in the heart of the destinationevery single day and you walk
off the ship and it's all therefor you, versus spending a few
hours in a port and thenspending most of your time at
sea.
And so what we think of when wethink of river cruising is it's
truly a destination experience,it's a land journey enjoyed

(18:19):
from the comfort of a rivercruise ship, the comfort of a
river cruise ship.
And the river cruise ship isreally your venue for
accommodation, for dining someof the time, because much of our
dining is off ship and it'ssort of your floating five-star
hotel.
But where the magic reallyhappens and the reason it's so

(18:40):
appealing is because you are inthe heart of Europe's great
cities.
Appealing is because you are inthe heart of Europe's great
cities every single day and forus, so much of the evolution and
innovation in this companycomes from listening to our
guests.
The most important thing we cando is listen to our guests and

(19:01):
listen to our travel advisorpartners, who represent our
guests, and what they want, andso, as we see an opportunity to
deliver the talc experience in adifferent way that is appealing
to our customers.
That's when we start to dip ourtoe into new and different ways
of traveling and that you knowthat, combined with always

(19:26):
looking to be pioneers, is howwe got into river cruising.
You know, tauk was reallydipping our toe into river
cruising back in the early 90s,right when we started operating
in Europe.
Because of the greatpartnerships we have through
connections and friendships andpartnerships, we started

(19:48):
operating European river cruisesas a very early days part of
our European offering.
And then, in the mid 2000s,around 2006, when river cruising
really started to expand andexplode, that's when our
customers really started to sayour guests really started to say

(20:10):
this is a way we want toexperience Europe and the
comfort of this ship and wake upin a new place every day,
without the extensive motorcoaching, with a more immersive
way to experience the heart ofEurope.

(20:32):
And so that's when we startedto build our own ships with our
partners and to really expandriver cruising, and it was so.
It's unique to Talc to be ableto do this in a way that was
consistent with what we weredoing on land, because, unlike
some of the other companies youmentioned.

(20:54):
We think of ourselves as abranded house instead of a house
of brands Meaning those othercompanies.
Yes, they do offer rivercruising and land, but they are
distinct, almost distinctoperating companies cruising and
land, but they are distinct,almost distinct operating

(21:15):
companies.
Whereas Tauk River, tauk Land,tauk Small Ship Cruising, it's
the same branded experience thatcarries throughout the same
product design philosophy, thesame set of core values, the
same commitment to exclusiveexperiences, the same level of
quality and, most importantly,it's for the same customer.
When we think about ourcustomer base, our loyal guests,

(21:39):
we're not looking for a newcustomer for river than we are
for land, than we are for smallship.
We know that once customers,once our guests, experience talc
, they'll travel with us, nomatter what the vessel is, no
matter what the venue is,because they know that there's
going to be consistency in howwe deliver the experience and

(22:01):
that's how we've become sosuccessful in river cruising.

Speaker 2 (22:05):
Well, that integration is certainly clear
to me from the outside.
Looking in.
Well, that integration iscertainly clear to me from the

(22:36):
outside.
Looking in, it's one ofday tourcompetitors.
But we certainly see inconsumer behavior and you guys
were clearly onto this early isthat people want to take a river
cruise for a week and then theywant to take a guided tour, and
they're two great ways totravel, to get into the heart of
a destination.
As you know, when you pointedout about river cruising, it was
certainly, you know, one of thethings that was highlighted to
me multiple times before I hadmy first river cruise is that

(22:56):
you're going to travel throughthe heart of Europe and you're
going to be getting off andliterally walking into the towns
where history has unfolded andthere's, you know, beautiful
scenery and it's just.
It's a very different way totravel, especially when you can
sit on top of a river cruiseship and see castles and it's a
truly magical experience Ifanyone hasn't done river
cruising before.
That's one of the big reasonswe're diving into this topic.

(23:17):
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And now back to the show, theone other thing I was going to
also highlight, steve, that Iwas preparing for our

(26:07):
conversation and getting some ofthe background that I wasn't
familiar with.
I was actually watching the KenBurns video of Tauk and the
100-year history and that is somoving.
I mean, I love Ken Burns as adocumentary filmmaker but for
those of you listening to thiswho just want to learn more
about Tauk, watch that videobecause it does go back to like
the motor coach days and some ofthose early images and what's

(26:27):
it.
What I find fascinating aboutthat is kind of what's what's
old is new again in many wayswith how you treat people and
how you know the the duty ofcare to take someone on a motor
coach trip or on a river cruise.

Speaker 1 (26:39):
And if you think of some of those, some of those
early days, when you think aboutand this goes a little bit back
to the importance of familythat consistent thread that runs
through every decade of talc,carry on, no matter what the

(27:07):
challenge, no matter what theopportunity, whether it was the
Great Depression in the 1930s orWorld War II, when we paused
for years for the war effort, orpost 9-11, when some said, well
, travel will never be the sameagain.
What has carried this, thiscompany, through is that desire

(27:31):
to carry the legacy forward, butthat that also that desire to
always be better and betterstill.
And when you think of howtravel changed over the years
and those pioneering moments fortalc, you know the first
company to ever charter anaircraft for leisure travel in
the 1950s was Tauk and somethinglike that.

(27:54):
At that time most of thetraveling public had never been
on an airplane.
It was something in the 1950sthat was scary to some and just
foreign to others and aluxurious opportunity for some.
But we saw the opportunity andwe moved forward in that

(28:17):
innovating way.
And that's very similar to whatmotivates and inspires us today
it's the family believing inthe purpose of what we do and
carrying the legacy forward withthis, you know, incredible
group of highly committed,purpose-driven leaders, my
colleagues and all of ouremployees among us, and we

(28:41):
continue to strive to do moreand better today than we did
yesterday for our guests,because the family and being
connected to that family is soimportant.

Speaker 2 (28:54):
Well, and let's get into some of those specifics as
it relates to River Cruise,because when you're a
family-owned business, you canmake decisions around investment
and profitability, andespecially when it comes to
purchasing new ships, which is alarge capital expense, and then
maintaining these ships.
So if I've done my researchproperly, steve, my

(29:14):
understanding is the fleet ofTauk ships for River Cruise
currently stands at 11.
Is that right?

Speaker 1 (29:19):
So our fleet currently stands at nine and two
more brand new vessels whichwill be christened in 2026.
And we are incredibly excitedfor our new ships coming on
board.
Both will be in France.
We have the Lumiere and Serene.
Serene will be on Serene, Ithink, is the proper way.

(29:43):
You're closer to a Frenchspeaking place than I am, to a
French speaking place than I am.
So, um and uh, one will be onthe on the uh San and one will
be on the Roan Um.
So next year, uh, yes, 11, 11ships.
And we are in growth mode.
You know this category.
Um has seen such an incrediblerecovery post COVID, um, and we

(30:08):
are in such a position ofstrength that the biggest
challenge we've faced iscapacity.
Our loyal guests have done sucha wonderful job of securing
space on Talc River cruises thatnew people who want to travel
with us often find itchallenging to find the dates

(30:30):
and cabins on the cruises theywant.
So we are growing and we expect, beyond 26, even more growth,
and we're so excited.
But you know, growth for us,again, as a family business, a
lot of people say well, you knowwhat's the secret to success.
Well, again, it's being true toour roots and committed to our

(30:52):
values, serving our guests andbuilding loyalty but it's also
being very smart with how weassess risk and how we grow risk
and how we grow.
And if you think about thegrowth in the category, there

(31:22):
are some companies that areadding 10 ships a year and that
is a strategy that encumbersthose companies with a
significant amount of debt and asignificant amount of risk of
debt and a significant amount ofrisk For us.
We have a saying that small isbig.
We want to serve fewer peoplein a bigger way.
We want to serve fewer peoplein a way that is more
service-oriented, that is moreimmersive, that is more

(31:45):
connected and more personal, andso growing in a way that is
measured.
Growing in a way that is moreconnected and more personal, and
so growing in a way that ismeasured.
Growing in a way that isresponsible and thinking with a
long-term view of when mightthere be another downturn.
And you never want to be in aposition where you're so

(32:06):
encumbered with debt or soencumbered with assets that you
risk the entire business to dothat.
And there have been companies,you know there have been
companies like Thomas Cook, forexample, that were around for
hundreds of years.
I think they were probablyaround for 100 years before talc
.

(32:27):
But risk and taking on too muchrisk is potentially a recipe for
disaster.
So that's one of the thingsthat has always been.
That very conservativeorientation.
Asset light has allowed talc tofocus on the guest experience,

(32:49):
not focus on how do we maintainor pay for depreciating assets.
And when you think about rivercruising in particular, there
are no more family companies inriver cruising other than talc,
and being a family-ownedbusiness allows us to make

(33:10):
decisions about doing the rightthing versus doing the thing
that satisfies the investors orsatisfies the bank and that
makes us feel good and I thinkit makes our guests and partners
feel good makes us feel goodand I think it makes our guests

(33:31):
and partners feel good.

Speaker 2 (33:32):
Well, it's interesting when I asked about
the number of ships you have andone of the things you're
pointing out there is like thestrength of a family business to
be able to invest in theseships and maintain them, and
certainly there are companiesthat charter ships.
That's certainly one way forcompanies to get into this space
, because they have the audience, but they don't necessarily
have the product offering.
So they partner with companies,and the one thing that's very
challenging for consumers tounderstand, having spent some

(33:54):
time in this space as well, iswhen it comes to river cruises,
they all look very similar fromthe outside because they have to
meet the exact specs for Europe.
So you're kind of looking atsomething that you think from
the outside is the same, but thereality is, as you well know,
it's the interior of these ships, the service, the experience
and trying to bring that to lifefor a customer so they can
understand the differencebetween Tauk and your

(34:16):
competitors.
And so I do have a couple ofinteresting conversations over
the next couple of weeks toreally help our listeners
understand the world of rivercruising, and I thought one of
the things that we could do tohelp bring everyone along on the

(34:38):
journey is given the Europeanfocus of river cruising.
Clearly it's a global phenomenonnow and a lot of companies
operate in different markets andin many cases that's where they
end up chartering ships.
But Europe is obviously thecore market for river cruising,
for a good reason because therivers are exceptional, the
history is there, the food, thecuisine, like.
There's so many reasons why youknow, if you're doing your

(34:59):
first river cruise, go to Europe.
But tell us, if you wouldn'tmind, give us a brief overview
of the rivers and the ships,because, again, I know from
experience that trying to figureout which are the key rivers
for people to consider travelingand then which ship do you
decide to put on that particularpassageway, because oftentimes
you're trying to design theships and the decor and, of

(35:20):
course, the food to match theexperience that they're having.
So just give everyone, if youwouldn't mind, an overview of
the European rivers and then theships and how Tauch tries to
match that for your guests.

Speaker 1 (35:30):
Sure, so we operate on all of what you would
consider the major rivers ofEurope.
So the Douro, the Seine, theRhône, the Rhine, the Danube,

(35:52):
danube, the Moselle.
We operate on all of thoserivers and really you touched on
this before what dictates whatsize vessel is really the river
itself.
So on the Douro, for example,we have a ship that's under 300

(36:14):
feet long that carries a maximumof 84 passengers.
On the Seine and the Rhône, ournew ships will carry a maximum
of 130 passengers on the Rhôneand 100 on the Seine, 125 on the
Seine and then on the Danubeand the Rhine.
That's where you have your longships which are about 443 feet

(36:36):
long.
On those ships, Tauk wouldcarry a maximum of 130
passengers.
Other river cruise lines wouldcarry up to 190.
So the type of ship, really thesize of ship that sails on each
of the major rivers of Europe,is really dictated by the locks

(36:57):
and also the navigational nature, the geography of the river
itself.
Are there winding sort of bendsand winds in the river that
limit the length of the ship,and so, within that same ship
size, it's just a matter of whatvarious companies choose to do

(37:20):
with the real estate.
For us, again, small is big, sowe choose to have fewer people
in bigger cabins.
Small is big, so we choose tohave fewer people in bigger
cabins.
80 plus percent of our cabinsare larger than 225 square feet,

(37:41):
and on our long ships, our 443foot ships, we have 22 cabins
that are 300 square feet.
And so our guests want biggercabins.
Right, because to them that isa more luxurious experience.
By having larger cabins andfewer cabins, that translates to

(38:01):
the experience in other areasof the ship in the public spaces
, fewer people are in a lounge,and so on our ships they can all
sit comfortably with who theywant to sit with.
When it's time for a eveninglecture or a cocktail reception,

(38:23):
they're not waiting around forservice.
Right, the waiters areproviding wonderful service to
them at their tables, there'snot a wait at the bar, and it's
just a more luxurious, intimate,club-like atmosphere than on
ships that carry more people.

(38:43):
And what's really important iswhen you get off the ship and
you're in these charming littlevillages.
When you get off the ship with84 people, it's a lot different
than when you get off the shipwith 160 people, and it doesn't
change the nature of thedestination there's been so much

(39:03):
conversation about over tourismand sustainability and the
impact of tourism on thedestination and the people who
live there, our guests, becausethey arrive in small groups and
split into even smaller groups.
They just blend into thescenery and that allows them to
have a much more authenticexperience when we travel and

(39:29):
some other things that are soimportant.
About the differences in rivercruising you say you know all
river cruise lines just say thesame things, and you mentioned
that they all sort of soundalike.
Well, many of them say they'reall inclusive.

(39:50):
Right, and that's a term thatlisteners will hear or see from
almost all the river cruiselines is we're all inclusive,
and that word all all to me isnot a subjective term.
Right, all means everything.

(40:11):
But on almost every river cruiseline other than Talc, there's
optional excursions being sold.
There's a cocktail hour, butoutside that cocktail hour
you're paying for your beverages, there's gratuities that are
not included, there's portcharges, there's transfers.
So all-inclusive is a lot moresubjective a term than it really

(40:33):
should be.
With talc, everything isincluded, anything you want from
the bar, bottles of wine atdinner from the wine cellar,
every gratuity, all of theexcursions and the best of
everything.
And so it's really important tounderstand when you're choosing
a river cruise line.

(40:54):
How many people are on thatship?
The ships are the same size.
How many people does that rivercruise line carry on that river
?
And when they say all included,what is included in their
definition of all inclusive?

Speaker 2 (41:07):
We've hit on a number of really valuable points.
Points and one I just wanted todive a little further on is the
passenger to staff ratio thatsome people look at as well.
So that, if you wouldn't mindjust giving everyone a bit over,
you mentioned some of thenumbers of guests, but when you
think about a river cruise ship,what is typically?
And obviously we have nine ofthem, two more coming online,
but what is the range of thenumber of guests and how does

(41:31):
that compare to the number ofstaff that are on board?

Speaker 1 (41:40):
Sure you could have again.
Tauk carries the fewestpassengers of any river cruise
line on our ships.
So you know we can have a shipon the Douro, that's a maximum
of 84 passengers.
A ship on the Rhine or the orthe Seine sorry the Rhone or the
Seine, sorry the Rhône or theSeine that's 98 passengers
maximum.
And even our largest ships onthe Rhine or Danube are 130

(42:02):
passengers.
What you will always have withTauk and this is one of our
philosophies is travel in goodcompany.
And this goes back to thatfirst tour where Arthur said you
will be properly chaperoned.
On a talc ship you have fourdirector level staff.

(42:22):
On most other cruise lines youhave one cruise director and
that cruise director, their rolethey typically are the person
in the lobby sitting behind thedesk and their role is to make
sure all the transfers arearranged for guests, make sure
the coaches are arriving for thedaily touring, make sure the

(42:46):
local guides are there.
That cruise director is reallymaking sure all of the details
are attended to so that thecruise goes on as it should and
the off-ship experience goes onas it should.
With Tauk you do have thatcruise director right, very

(43:07):
important person for logistics,but you also have three Tauk
directors, have three talcdirectors and those are
employees of the company andtheir role is to deliver the
experience both on the ship andoff the experience off the ship,
the.
They guide every one of ourtours off the ship so all of the
excursions have a talc directoraccompanying them.

(43:29):
That talc director is supportedand supplemented by very
knowledgeable local guides ineach destination, but they get
off the ship with every one ofour excursions.
That allows us to offer choiceof excursion every single day
and that's included choice, notoptional choice.

(43:50):
And what's also very, verydifferent is when the guests
come back on the ship.
Those talc directors, thosethree additional director level
staff, are there to delivercontent, are there to continue
the learning and theconversation and the engagement
with our guests.
Cruise lines where it's onlythe cruise director, the guests

(44:17):
are turned over to local guidesonly every day and those local
guides they never see again.
And so what's happening is theexperience is not as seamless,
the experience is not asconsistent.
And when you think about again,another consistent among our
guests is they are knowledgeseekers, they are curious people
.
So having those tour directors,those talk directors, there for

(44:40):
the journey really makes itspecial for them and that's a
true difference.
It's not the overall guest tostaff ratio, because guest to
staff ratio doesn't reallymatter how many dishwashers are
in the kitchen for the guestexperience.
So guest to staff ratio as anoverall number is not as

(45:04):
important as director levelstaff to guest ratio.
And with Tauk it's four directorlevel staff with almost every
other river cruise line.
It's one director level staffwith almost every other river
cruise line.
It's one for all thosepassengers.
And when you think aboutproperly chaperoned, that is

(45:24):
properly chaperoned.
And again it goes back toArthur in 1925 and his belief
that guests should be cared forby a member of quote the family.
And you know when you thinkabout our guests and what
they're experiencing on tourwith Talc.
Another thing that sets Talcapart is this idea of beyond

(45:46):
ordinary travel, beyond ordinaryand being exceptional.
And you know whether that's inParis when we offer a private
after hours visit to the Louvre,or if it's the private visit
after hours to the SistineChapel when we do our land
programs in Italy.
The idea of exceptionalexperiences permeate throughout.

(46:09):
But what our guests say whenthey come back from a talk tour
is as great as the experienceswere, as great as the meals and
our fellow guests.
The thing I'll remember themost is our talk director.

Speaker 2 (46:25):
They made the journey truly exceptional.
Well, what you're highlightingto me is something that I
certainly came to understandunder the mentorship of Stanley
Tolman and Brett as well underthe mentorship of Stanley Tolman
and Brett as well, but, ofcourse, knowing the Tolman
family.
They bought businesses,oftentimes in distress, and they
fixed them and restored them toglory, and I think that was

(46:46):
certainly one of the keycharacteristics of their success
over their 100 years history.
Obviously, that the group wassold recently to a private
equity firm, but when you lookat their strategy, there's
something akin there, which isthe fact that you really know
how to sell the difference andthat was something that Stanley
always highlighted to me andothers in various meetings and
to really know what you stoodfor and to make it clear to a

(47:07):
customer why they should chooseyour brand, and you guys do a
great job of that.
You were already highlighting anumber of points.
You're actually headed exactlythe direction.
I wanted to be able to draw outsome of those key elements.
That are you know, why talkover your competition?
You have a why talk section ofyour website, which, first of
all, you know that's exactlywhere I think brands need to be

(47:29):
today, because that's whatcustomers are looking for.
It's like, why should I chooseyou?
And then, underneath that,you've got the talk difference.
You've got things aboutsustainability and the family
history and all of those thingsthat people need to see and
understand, to want to dobusiness with you, to travel
with you.
You've mentioned a number ofthem and the one that actually
stood out to me when youmentioned all-inclusive, because
that's a great example of wherethere's different

(47:50):
interpretations of all-inclusive.
And even when you sayall-inclusive beer and wine and
spirits, it's like but is itpremium spirits or is it just
regular kind of bar rail spiritsand people, when you spend a
lot of money on a river cruise,you want to make sure that
you're going to have the type ofliquor that you like to drink,
and that's just one of thoseexamples of like where you have
to try and find a way to pleaseeverybody.

(48:10):
So, if you wouldn't mind, kindof hit us with the list.
I know you've already mentioneda few, but, like when you are
being pressed on the talcdifference and what makes river
cruising unique with talc, whatare the things that you always
point to?
And again, you've nailed acouple of them already, but I
want to make sure that I putthem all on the table.

Speaker 1 (48:29):
Sure, and one thing I do want to say about
competition, especially in theriver cruise space, is there is
a that everyone who operates inthis category is doing their

(48:57):
part to build up what rivercruising stands for, and every
single one of the operators inthis space, I can truly say, is
good at what they do.
So when I point out thedifference between Tauk and
these other operators, I do soknowing that I'm helping people

(49:19):
find what's right for them,based on their expectations and
what's important to theirexperience, and for Tauk it is.
Do you want to travel withfewer people and more
personalized attention to yourneeds?
Is having more space?

(49:42):
You know we think of it as likea club-like atmosphere?
Is having more personal spaceand the ability to dine when you
want with who you wantimportant to you?
And the ability to dine whenyou want with who you want?
Important to you?
Is having everything includedimportant to you as a potential

(50:03):
river cruiser.
You know things like beverages,right?
Some people say you know what,I'm not going to take advantage
of that, it's not important tome, so having that included is
not something that's important.
Some people, when they walk intoour lounge and they see the
waitstaff pouring Veuve Clicquot.
They go okay, this is my scene,right, this is my kind of party

(50:29):
and to me party and to me.
And when they go off the shipand they dine in a private
castle or a palace, like we doin Vienna, at one of the few
privately owned palaces, when wetake our guests into Palae
Pallavicini in Vienna and theysee that experience To them that

(50:53):
communicates luxury, thatcommunicates exclusivity,
exclusive access, that'simportant to them.
So it's the importance of space, the importance of choice, the
importance of things beingincluded, it's the access to the

(51:15):
destinations.
We like to say that when talcarrives, the velvet rope gets
lifted up and talc guests arewelcomed in.
And often guests from otherships will see that and they'll
say well, how come we don't havethat experience?
Because that's the Taukdifference.
So it's those things, it's morespace, it's choice, it's the

(51:41):
truly all-inclusive experience,it's the quality of the
inclusions and, above all else,it's the people.
It's those Tauk directors,those employees of the company
who are guiding every singlejourney, who are there for the
entire time.
It's the fellow travelers whoare there because they have a

(52:06):
shared sense of purpose and joythat comes with travel.
They are like-minded travelersand it's our partners around the
world who step up, because ofour history with them, because
of the connection that we'vebuilt over many years and
because of their sharedphilosophy.

(52:26):
It is all those things thatsort of happen in the Tauk
universe that make Taukdifferent.

Speaker 2 (52:33):
We'll be right back.
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That's protectgroup.
And now back to the show.
I want to keep on the topic ofthe river cruise industry and
where it's headed, becauseclearly you mentioned that

(55:46):
you're seeing fantastic growthand that's obviously why you're
adding two more ships.
Let's talk about that, becauseI think one of the things that I
wanted all of our listeners towrap their head around is like
how significant an opportunityis River Cruise.
So like looking at, you know,the overall volume and travel
opportunity that's there todayand then how you see that
growing in the next five years.

(56:07):
Obviously, we're having thisconversation, you know, in mid
2025 and, as someone highlightedto me, you know, for this year,
I mean, you're probably 80 or90% sold and most people are
planning for 2026 or even 2027at this point.
So tell us your views, steve,on like the state of the river
cruise industry and what aresome of the growth opportunities

(56:30):
that you're seeing in thiscategory.

Speaker 1 (56:34):
The industry is as strong as it's ever been.
Again, we are fully recovered.
And then some from the COVID.
The bounce back was incrediblystrong and the industry is
growing.
A few weeks ago, asta had its,I believe, its third annual

(56:57):
river cruise expo in Vienna, ormaybe it was the fourth.
I think it was the fourth,actually Fourth annual river
cruise expo in Vienna, and itsold out in a matter of hours
1,600 travel advisors, 17 shipsand 2026 is already sold out.

(57:21):
So among advisors representing,I think, which are a good
representation of the demandfrom their clients, this segment
is at its peak and continuingto grow.
And there are still so manymillions of luxury ocean cruise

(57:41):
travelers, fit land travelers,guided group travelers who have
yet to experience their firstriver cruise.
So we are well positioned for ahistory, a future of rapid
growth, and I think the onlylimit to that growth is how the

(58:06):
industry approaches growth.
There are a finite number ofpeople that can be in Avignon,
france, on a given day withoutchanging Avignon, france, and so
we have to manage iteffectively, and one of the ways

(58:28):
that a company like Talcapproaches that is by offering
different destinations as partof our river cruising
itineraries than what everyoneelse is doing so.
For example, we have a cruiseitinerary that's called Rhine
Enchantment.
It starts in Milan, italy, andso we do three nights in Milan,

(58:49):
explore that great city, explorethe lakes region of Italy,
travel through the Swiss Alps byrail and then board our river
cruise ship.
So the future is incrediblystrong, but we have to be
mindful of how we grow and thatwe grow smartly, and we've seen

(59:14):
this around the world indestinations like Venice and
Amsterdam and where they'restarting to push back a little
bit.
So growth can't be unlimited,but if we do it smartly and we
do it in a sustainable, mindfulway, the potential is unlimited.

Speaker 2 (59:38):
Well, I'm going to ask you a few rapid fire
questions now, and the reason Ido that, steve, is because on
our last episode, we have a lotof great listeners to our
podcast.
I love people text me or emailme and they're always like you
didn't answer this question.
It was a collect last month.
They were like you should haveasked more questions about
technology, and I love that.
People are that invested andengaged, and so, even as I
prepared for our conversationtoday, I was like I've got a lot

(01:00:00):
of questions I want to get inand I know our listeners are
going to be interested, and Irealized because I'm super
fascinated by this space and sohere I'm going to run through a
few of them and then so one ofthe things that always comes up
is that people are always tryingto figure out who they're going
to be on a trip with.
You started mentioning at thebeginning about the fact that
you don't have people that arepessimistic or grumpy, and I'm

(01:00:23):
like that.

Speaker 1 (01:00:24):
No grouches and no pessimism.

Speaker 2 (01:00:25):
Yeah, I love that.
I absolutely love that, becausethat's what people are afraid
of.
One person can ruin a grouptrip if they're like they bring
everybody down, and I knowguides have a way to manage that
and deal with that.
I've seen that and it's likeyou know.
So it's a very low risk, butit's an important one.
So the first one I wanted toask you is that what is a
typical talk customer?
So where are they from?

(01:00:46):
What's their?
You know their demographic, sothat our listeners can kind of
imagine themselves on a ship.
So who is a primary customerfor Talc?

Speaker 1 (01:00:56):
Our primary guests are 55 plus, affluent retirees
who are lifelong learners.
They're culturally curious,they're explorers and to them
having a more immersive andexclusive experience in the

(01:01:18):
destination is of the utmostimportance and they want it all
done for them.
They want the best ofeverything and they want it done
for them.
They also want some free timeto explore destinations, and
that's also important.
But I think the thing that ismost true about who our guests

(01:01:43):
travel with and it's that ideaof a congenial party, because
they're all there with the sameset of expectations, the same
level of trust in talc, the samebelief that travel enhances and

(01:02:03):
changes people's lives.
It doesn't matter so much wherethey come from.
And you know, in this day andage of sort of divisive politics
, you know, I can tell you ofsort of divisive politics.
You know, I can tell yougeographically, we have a huge
number of people that come fromFlorida, a huge number of people
who come from New York, a big,huge number of people that come

(01:02:23):
from Texas and SouthernCalifornia and the Midwest, and
they all come as very differentpeople, right, but they share a
purpose for why they're there.
So they leave the differencesat home and they come together
around their sameness thing Isee when I'm with our guests is

(01:03:02):
that they are all trulydelighted by the destination and
the experience and each other,and they don't have
conversations around who do youvote for?
Another thing they don't haveconversations around when they
travel with Tauk is how much didyou pay?
Because everyone who'straveling with Tauk, no matter
how they booked, no matter whothey booked with, they have all
paid the same price.

(01:03:23):
It's one upfront price, nodiscounts, no deals, and so it
allows people to really coalescearound the joy of travel and
the experience they're having.
And so it's everything fromretired CEOs to retired teachers

(01:03:44):
to people who are experiencingthe world with their families in
our on our bridges program.
But I think, I think again,it's that it's the why they're
there versus where they're from.
You know what their backgroundis.
That that makes you know forcow travelers unique.

Speaker 2 (01:04:07):
And then the other thing you mentioned is price.
So what's a typical price range?
What are we talking about?
What price range are we lookingat?
For what number of daysapproximately?
Again, just to give ourlisteners a reference point.

Speaker 1 (01:04:20):
So it could be anywhere from $5,000 for a
eight-day Holland and Belgium inthe spring.
For example, we have an entirecategory of cabins, our Category
1 cabins, where there is nevera single supplement.
So for our solo travelersthat's a great opportunity to

(01:04:44):
travel with talc and not pay asingle supplement and not pay a
single supplement.
And then the price for a14-night journey in a Category 7
, which is our 300, or Category5 on the Douro, which is 300
square feet, that could be up to$12,000 per person.
It really varies based on theitinerary and the cabin category

(01:05:08):
.
But when you think about price,we don't want to ignore value.
And the thing is, when you lookat the cost of traveling with
Tauk, it may often look higherif you're just looking at the
upfront cost, but when you lookat all of the things that are
included, which is everythingwhen you travel on a Talc river

(01:05:29):
cruise, it really is verycomparable to any other river
cruise line and often comes outto less money but way more value
than other cruise lines.

Speaker 2 (01:05:42):
And then the other one is B2C and B2B.
You mentioned about growth andyou also mentioned about
depending on what channel theycame in through.
So how does the business looktoday between B2B and B2C?
Where are you seeing growth?
Are you seeing growth on bothsides, and how are you achieving
that growth with both B2B andB2C?

Speaker 1 (01:05:59):
Absolutely.
We're seeing growth on bothsides.
I can tell you my preference isalways that our guests book
with a travel advisor.
A travel advisor is the guest'strusted advocate and partner in
not just choosing talc but inchoosing a lifetime of

(01:06:22):
fulfilling journeys.
And we know that an educatedand trusted advisor will guide
our guests to talk when that'sthe right way for them to enjoy
the experience, but when it'snot, they will also match them
with what is the rightexperience.
The internet will sell peoplewhatever they want, right.
So we, you know what we don'twant people is is for people to

(01:06:45):
be out there shopping online andnot having that resource.
So, travel advisor, we alwaysrecommend that somebody think
about it like their financialadvisor build a relationship
over time with someone that canhelp you get the most out of
your hard-earned investment intravel.
We do offer B2C, we do supportdirect bookings through our call

(01:07:13):
center and we are certainlyhappy to take those bookings
when the phone rings.
We've been taking directbookings since 1925.
But again, my preference is forpeople to build that
relationship with a traveladvisor who will always be there
to guide them in the rightdirection, no matter what their

(01:07:33):
choice of journeys.

Speaker 2 (01:07:34):
And then the other one I want to ask you too is
I've got two more for you andthen I'm keen to make sure
everyone can find out moreinformation on how to connect
with you and to learn more aboutTAO.
But clearly, since you havesuch a great deal of experience
and expertise, one of the thingsI was keen to know from your
vantage point is if you were topick one of the biggest trends
in river cruising to highlightto our audience as far as what's

(01:07:57):
coming or what to expect, whatwould that be?
Would it be about technology?
Would it be about the productexperience?
What would be one of thebiggest trends that you're
seeing and paying attention toin river cruising?

Speaker 1 (01:08:06):
It's not technology.
These are the most humanexperiences, and, while
technology can certainlysupplement or complement the
experiences, I think humanconnections are always going to
be the driver of the rivercruising experience, and I think

(01:08:27):
it should be.
I think, you know, making thoseconnections and and abandoning
technology, uh, disconnectingfor a little bit is what really
allows us to fully enjoy thespace.
I think the biggest trend andand again this is this is from
through my talc lens, um, butalso through through what I hear
from advisors is this desire toconnect more authentically with

(01:08:54):
the destination, to have moreexclusive and immersive
experiences, to do more in ahands-on way that really
connects you with the people inthe place, not just the place.
That's such a huge thing, and Ithink that's somewhat connected
to what we think of as luxury.

(01:09:16):
Luxury is not just the threadcount anymore.
It's not just serving Vuv inyour lounge and at your bar.
In your lounge and at your bar,Luxury is access to things that
no one else can provide youaccess to, and it's doing so in

(01:09:38):
a personal and caring way, andthat trend really plays very
much into our strengths.

Speaker 2 (01:09:47):
That's great.
And then one last one sinceyou've got such a great deal of
experience, our listeners areoften very curious to know what
advice you might give them ifthey're trying to get into the
river cruise industry.
So, given the success you'vehad, what would be one piece of
advice you might share withsomeone else that is either
looking to get into travel or,specifically, the river cruise
industry and to be able to havea success in this space?

Speaker 1 (01:10:19):
Sure.
So this is the same for anyindustry.
I've had experience in um, therestaurant industry, the hotel
industry, the river cruiseindustry is, if you want to get
into the industry, to get intothe industry start.
And what I mean by that is youknow, if it's the hotel industry
, get that job at the front desk.
You know, if it's the rivercruise industry, you know, get

(01:10:43):
that, get that position at thefront desk on the river cruise
ship.
You know, as a sir, as abanquet server, as a, as a
whatever it is, as a call centeragent, you know, when we hire
for our reservation salescounselors at, we don't hire for
people with experience, we hirefor people with empathy, we
hire for people, um, who are, uh, who, who have that conveyed

(01:11:08):
joy, um, in in the way theyspeak, who we know will connect
with our guests and traveladvisors.
So, get that job, get into theindustry For people who and this
always came up in the hotelindustry we'd have somebody who
graduated from Cornell with ahospitality degree in management
and they'd walk into youroffice and say, hey, I'm here to

(01:11:32):
be a manager and you'd say,well, okay, tell me what other
jobs you've had in a hotel.
Oh, I haven't.
I just graduated with a degreeand until you have worked or
served face-to-face with guests,you don't really have
experience.
So get experience in theindustry.

(01:11:52):
However, you can find a wayinto the industry and if it's
for a travel advisor who wantsto start building their river
cruise business, go andexperience the Asta River Cruise
Expo.
Go and experience a rivercruise Travel advisors who want
to grow their business.

(01:12:13):
If they have a strong businessplan, if they have a strong book
of clients who maybe wereluxury ocean cruisers or spent
the last 10 years dropping 30grand a year on Disney vacations
, but now their kids are out ofthe house and they want to see
the world.
If a travel advisor has thatsort of clientele and reaches

(01:12:38):
out to me and says I really wantto build my river cruise
business, but I've never been ona river cruise, I'll send them
on a river cruise so that theyget that experience.
Because once you've experiencedit, once you've experienced it,
you can share your experiencefrom a very personal and real
place with your clients.
So, whether it's getting intothe industry as an employee or

(01:13:00):
building your business as traveladvisor, is you got to start?
You have to just do it.

Speaker 2 (01:13:07):
Great advice.
And then final question,because clearly people are going
to want to follow up with you,steve, and also learn more about
Tauk.
Where would you direct them to?
Obviously, you've probably beenchecking out the website during
our conversation, but, yeah,what would be the channels you'd
point them to?

Speaker 1 (01:13:20):
Yeah, so definitely.
Taukcom is the best place to gofor people interested in a
river cruise experience.
For people interested in ariver cruise experience.
For travel advisors go totalccom and look for Advisor
Connect, which is our traveladvisor portal.
You can register right thereand have access to volumes of

(01:13:43):
information.
We have our sales guide forriver cruising and our sales
guide for land journeys as well.
We have our online training,our TAUC specialist training
program.
There we have all of ourbrochures and we have wonderful
video content.
All of this is great for youreducation.

(01:14:04):
It's also all shareable withyour clients as customizable
marketing, so it's a great wayto show your clients that you're
thinking about them and want toshare river cruising as an
opportunity for their enjoymentas well.

Speaker 2 (01:14:18):
That's great.
Thank you, steve, and where areyou off to next?
What's your next river cruiseon your agenda?

Speaker 1 (01:14:23):
My next river cruise with Tauk.
Do I have a river cruise comingup the Douro?
I will be sailing on the Ondthe andarina um in november up
on the doro um, and I may thenbe hopping over to both the
rhone and the danube, so I'mgoing to have a very busy fall.
In the meantime, uh, in juneI'll be doing our talc small

(01:14:45):
ship cruise to iceland, so I'mexcited for that.
So the road awaits.

Speaker 2 (01:14:51):
That's fantastic.
Well, it's been a real pleasurespeaking to you and getting to
know you on this interview today.
It was part of the special deepdive we've been doing at River
Cruise.
I know this added a lot to theconversation, so I really
appreciate making the time.
Obviously, it was great tolearn about Tauk and I certainly
wish you and the team everysuccess over the course of this
summer and I look forward to oneday experiencing a Tauk and
seeing you in person somewherein the world.

(01:15:12):
But thank you, steve, forjoining us.

Speaker 1 (01:15:13):
I'll pack and bring you along with me.
It's great to see you and thankyou so much for the opportunity
to have this wonderfulconversation today.

Speaker 2 (01:15:21):
Thanks so much for joining us on this latest
episode of Travel Trends.
I hope you enjoyed today'sconversation with Steve Spivak
from Tauk, as we continued ourdeep dive into the world of
river cruises brought to us inpartnership with our friends
over at Captio.
That's K-A-P-T-I-O, and, as Imentioned at the beginning of
this episode, tauk and Captio iswhat led Captio into the river

(01:15:43):
cruise space, and we covered anumber of really interesting
details in our conversationtoday with Steve, and for more
information, be sure to checkout captiocom.
That's K-A-P-T-I-Ocom.
And don't forget, we do haveclips and highlights on all our
social channels, so be sure tocheck out YouTube, instagram and
LinkedIn.
And don't forget to subscribeto our newsletter for the latest

(01:16:04):
round of updates, including ournew contest and survey.
And, finally, check out ourevents page, as we are on the
road again in the next couple ofweeks in Denver for ATTA, the
Adventure Travel and TradeAssociation, and then shortly
we'll be in Barcelona forFocusrite Europe, and we're
going to be launching a seriesof event spotlights.

(01:16:25):
So make sure that you areregistered on the streaming
platform of your choice to benotified when new episodes go
live.
Until next week, safe travels.