This ship does not exist yet
The ms Saudade enters service in 2027. She is not delivered, she does not
sail, and the yard building her is published nowhere. Our inventory nonetheless
carries sixty-five departures in her name, all in 2027. It is the largest sales
calendar for an undelivered ship in this fleet.
The operator announces her as the sister of its Douro hull already in
service, and states that she will double its capacity on that river. What you
book therefore rests on a plan and an announced kinship, not on a visit.
What is announced, and what is not
Announced: the Douro as her ground, 42 cabins, 84 travellers, eighty metres.
These are her sister's specifications, carried over as they stand: a project can
change between announcement and delivery.
Not published: the building yard, the firm delivery date, the European hull
number. The operator's page names four decks and mentions five in its summary.
We keep four, as on the sister ship, and we flag the contradiction rather than
settle it in their place.
A lift is announced, but the decks it serves are not. The announced
balconies are French, as across the fleet: sliding windows with a railing, with
no floor surface.
A useful caution: have the entry-into-service date confirmed in writing
before committing to a non-refundable flight.
The other ships in the fleet
The ms Andorinha is her sister ship, already in service on the Douro. The ms Lumière is the
2026 newbuild on the Rhone. The ms Serene holds the Seine. The ms Treasures covers the Danube
and the Rhine.
Chartered, not owned
None of the hulls Tauck operates in Europe belongs to it. They leave the
yards of Scylla AG, in Basel, and sail under exclusive charter. The shipowner
also runs its own river cruise brand, which makes it both the supplier and a
competitor.
That double role produced a concrete effect in 2026, when one hull of the
fleet moved from the operator to the shipowner's brand. Nothing prevents it
from happening again.
The inclusions, said plainly
Gratuities included, to the ship's staff as much as to local guides and the
cruise director. Excursions included, all of them, with no option sold aboard.
Transfers included. Luggage handled.
On drinks, house wine, beer and standard spirits are included on board the
ship, morning to evening. The operator's own documentation files drinks taken
ashore elsewhere: do not count on the inclusion off the ship.
The international flight is not included. Internet access is, in a basic
form and where available, which on a deep river valley means what it means.
Reduced mobility: the answer is no on European rivers
Better said before booking than at the quayside. The operator states that
its European river itineraries cannot accommodate wheelchairs or mobility
scooters. Scooters are barred from all of its trips, anywhere in the world.
It offers no walking or dining assistance, and requires an able companion
for anyone who would need it. It may ask for a medical certificate.
The number of adapted cabins is published nowhere on this fleet. We do not
guess it and we do not invent it.
What the contract provides, and what the agency adds
The contract points to the law of Connecticut and the courts of that state.
It contains no arbitration clause. It does contain a waiver of class action
and a waiver of punitive damages. Nothing indicates that the operator holds a
Quebec licence.
The agency does hold one. Your payments move through a trust account and
the Compensation Fund for Customers of Travel Agents steps in as the law
provides. A booking made elsewhere does not carry that protection.
