Please note the tour price reflected on the brochure is subject to change. Due to seasonality, and taxes prices of the tour are subject to change without due notice. Please consult with the operator directly for the recent price.
Musical Magic Along The Blue Danube 2024
Overview
Highlights (Bullets)
- Walk in the footsteps of musical giants... like Mozart
- Beethoven
- Bartók
- Schubert
- Liszt
- Strauss
- Haydn and others... as you discover their 'haunts' in great cities throughout Austria
- Hungary
- Germany
- Slovakia and Czech Republic... Join Tauck's 'maestro' and listen to the immersive music of both active music scholars and experienced performers alike on this most musical of Danube River cruises.
Explore Prague
- Vienna
- Salzburg
- Bratislava
- Budapest and more
- visiting homes these musical greats lived and composed in
- and concert halls and palaces where they performed... enveloped by their glorious music throughout a magical journey filled with Tauck Exclusives! Along with your Tauck Cruise Director and Tauck Directors
- your cruise is accompanied throughout by Tauck's 'maestro.' Active music scholars and performers
- our maestros include current doctoral recipients in music history who are passionate and knowledgeable about European music and the destinations you'll visit. They'll guide your explorations ashore and enrich your onboard experience with interactive music workshops
- seminars and much more!
Short Description
Join Tauck's "maestro" to walk in the footsteps of Mozart, Beethoven, Bartók and others on a melody-filled adventure including a 7-night Danube cruise aboard Tauck's ms Savor or ms Joy – visiting homes they lived in, concert halls where they performed and much more.
Itinerary
Day 1 Arrive Budapest
Tour begins: 5:00 PM, Budapest. A transfer is included from Budapest's Ferenc Liszt Airport or Keleti Train Station to your riverboat. Join us for an orientation and safety briefing followed by a welcome toast and dinner onboard this evening.
MEALS : D
LODGING : ms Savor
PORTOFCALL : Budapest, Hungary
Day 2 Discovering Budapest
Statues of Mozart, Beethoven, Verdi and Liszt greet you at the 1884 State Opera House in Pest, with its gilded vaulted ceiling, murals, royal boxes and three-ton chandelier; expect some surprises on a guided tour of this neo-Renaissance masterpiece, including the private box of Habsburg Empress Elisabeth ("Sisi"). Discover some of Budapest's key sites today, such as Heroes' Square – bounded by some of the finest architectural works in Hungary – and Central Market Hall. After a free afternoon in Budapest, join us for a performance at one of the city's premier concert venues.
MEALS : B, L, D
LODGING : ms Savor
PORTOFCALL : Budapest, Hungary
Day 3 Bartók & more in Budapest & begin cruise
After a free morning, head to Buda for a walking tour and, if you wish, time to check out the Museum of Music History, whose exhibits portray centuries of Hungarian musical life in a former palace on Castle Hill. The legacy of Béla Bartók lives on in his 1924 home, now a memorial dedicated to the composer and musicologist – listen to his melodies in a piano recital during your visit; explore Gellert Hill. Return to the riverboat for dinner at leisure.
MEALS : B, L, D
LODGING : ms Savor
PORTOFCALL : Bratislava, Slovakia
Day 4 Bratislava, City of Prodigies
After a morning's cruise with lectures, workshops and a guest choir rehearsal, arrive in Bratislava, Slovakia – the Baroque stomping grounds of great musical prodigies, as you'll discover firsthand today. A walking tour includes the city's Old Town, now a pedestrian-only, vehicle-free zone. Stroll down a lane where 6-year-old Mozart performed and 9-year-old Liszt played across the street 58 years later – around the corner, 30 years after that, one of Liszt's young students inspired him to write a sonata for the boy! You'll also see where a young Béla Bartók attended grammar school in the 1890s. Following time to relax aboard the riverboat or explore more of this ancient city on your own, join us back onboard for dinner and some local entertainment.
MEALS : B, L, D
LODGING : ms Savor
PORTOFCALL : Vienna, Austria
Day 5 Exploring Vienna's musical treasures
If you had to choose only one European city to musically explore, Vienna – home to Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms and Strauss – would be it! This morning, you may choose a visit to Schönbrunn Palace of the Habsburgs, followed by some free time to explore this grand Habsburg summer residence and its magnificent gardens on your own. Or, join our maestro for a city tour and a visit to the Museum of Musical Instruments at Hofburg. This museum offers a stunning collection of renaissance and baroque instruments for your viewing pleasure. This afternoon, you'll have time to explore more of Austria's remarkable capital on your own and have an early dinner before enjoying tonight's featured performance of Viennese opera at a premier venue in Vienna (subject to availability; if an opera performance is not available, a comparable classical music performance will be provided). Please Note: On some departures, days 5 and 6 may have their evening activities swapped based on performance schedules.
MEALS : B, L, D
LODGING : ms Savor
PORTOFCALL : Vienna, Austria
Day 6 Behind-the-scenes palace rehearsal & a grand evening in Vienna
Vienna springs to musical life on a day featuring a pair of Tauck Exclusives. For the first one, sit in on a rehearsal this morning at beautiful Auersperg Palace as an orchestra prepares for a performance. Then spend the afternoon as you please in amazing Vienna. Tonight, nothing quite compares to the royal treatment you'll receive at today's second Tauck Exclusive: our private grand evening at Palais Ferstel, a private palace in the heart of Vienna – an incomparable setting for welcome cocktails and apéritifs, an amazing dinner, an orchestra, ballet, Strauss... it's Tauck's musical Vienna at its best! Please Note: On some departures, days 5 and 6 may have their evening activities swapped based on performance schedules.
MEALS : B, L, D
LODGING : ms Savor
PORTOFCALL : Grein, Austria
Day 7 Melk Abbey & some musical cruising
Melk Abbey, a beautiful Benedictine monastery complex overlooking the Danube, has been a significant center of learning and culture since its founding over 900 years ago. Get a sense of the importance of music to the abbey's cultural life through the ages as you tour its lovely Baroque buildings dating to the early 18th century, which often host concerts and musicals today. Back on the riverboat, enjoy lectures by our maestro and dinner en route to Grein, where you'll disembark this evening for a walk through this picturesque riverside town followed by a performance of traditional music. Back onboard, your riverboat continues cruising the Danube to the city of Linz overnight.
MEALS : B, L, D
LODGING : ms Savor
PORTOFCALL : Linz, Austria
Day 8 Mozart's Baroque hometown, musical Salzburg
Picture a small boy of 5 wowing a royal audience with his piano virtuosity, then crawling up on the lap of the Empress of half of Europe, and giving her a kiss! Little Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who was born in Salzburg, Austria in 1756, did just that. Walk in Mozart's footsteps this morning on an excursion from Linz to his Baroque hometown, visiting a museum in the house where he was born, among other locations. You'll have some free time for lunch and to explore as you please in town. Enjoy a guest choir rehearsal on your return trip from the riverboat. Dinner onboard the ship precedes an onboard classical chamber music concert by Donau 3klang as your riverboat charts a course for the pretty riverside town of Passau.
MEALS : B, D
LODGING : ms Savor
PORTOFCALL : Passau, Germany
Day 9 A grand pipe organ & more in Passau
Your riverboat docks this morning in Passau, Germany – the "city of three rivers" at the junction of the Inn, Ilz and Danube. Discover this Baroque Bavarian town known for its many churches and exquisite stained glass on a walking tour. At St. Stephen's Cathedral, you'll find Europe's largest pipe organ – actually the largest cathedral organ in the world – and, if you wish, listen to a public recital of this amazing instrument. Back aboard the riverboat in Passau, enjoy a traditional German lunch and take part in seminars, workshops, a guest choir rehearsal, musical trivia fun, and tonight's captain's farewell reception followed by a gala farewell dinner; the ship departs Passau this evening for its final port of call, Vilshofen.
MEALS : B, L, D
LODGING : ms Savor
PORTOFCALL : Passau, Germany
Day 10 Disembark in Vilshofen & on to Prague
This delightfully musical of Danube tours winds down as you disembark in the town of Vilshofen, bid your riverboat and its crew goodbye, and travel to historic (and extremely musical) Prague for a two-night stay. Arrive in time for a traditional Czech lunch at the delightful Art-Nouveau Municipal House, then embark on a walking tour of Prague's storied Old Town. The rest of the afternoon and evening are yours to explore Prague as you wish, and enjoy dinner as you please this evening.
MEALS : B, L
LODGING : Hilton Prague Old Town
PORTOFCALL : Prague, Czech Republic
Day 11 Musical giants and more in and around Prague
Many musical giants have left their mark on Prague – capital of today's Czech Republic, and a city with a rich musical legacy of its own – and its environs as you'll discover during both guided sightseeing and time spent exploring on your own. Your day begins with an excursion to Vyšehrad, a historic fort and Czech national cultural site dating back to the 10th century, perched on a hill overlooking the Vltava River. Set within the castle is the Basilica of St. Peter and St. Paul and the Vyšehrad Cemetery, final resting place of many notable Czechs – including beloved Czech composers Antonín Dvořák and Bedřich Smetana. The afternoon is yours to explore more of Prague on your own. Later, you'll gather to the Dvořák House and the Church of St. Ondrej, then travel to Nelahozeves Castle for a grand farewell dinner and our guest choir performance... what a way to end your musical odyssey!
MEALS : B, D
LODGING : Hilton Prague Old Town
PORTOFCALL : Prague, Czech Republic
Day 12 Journey home
Tours ends: Prague, Czech Republic. Fly home anytime. A transfer is included from the Hilton Prague Old Town to Václav Havel Airport Prague or Praha Hlavni Nadrazi (Main Train Station); allow a minimum of 3 hours for flight check-in at the airport.
MEALS : B
PORTOFCALL : Prague, Czech Republic
Availability
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25 Tauck Travel Reviews & Ratings
Musical Magic Along The Blue Danube 2024
Company Reviews
Nine Tours and Done
5-star hotels switched to 3 and 4 (without any compensation or explanation)… many more meals “on your own”… lots of “self-guided” tours of museums and chateaux and castles we knew nothing about… airline quality “rubber chicken” dinners, not in hotel restaurants, but in sad and isolated business convention spaces… poorly-trained newer Tour Directors (like the one on this tour) with limited experience traveling outside her tiny Canadian village or dealing with people from diverse backgrounds.
She even confessed that this was a second gig job that took her away from her own business back home! You get what Tauck pays for, but unfortunately, not what YOU pay for. Speaking to a “Guest Relations” agent was comically pointless. She tried to make everything my fault, which I now understand is par for the course with the “new” post-Covid Tauck. Please reconsider spending huge amounts of your hard-earned money on a tour company that has lost its way and no longer delivers.
Skip this cruise - not worth it
For dinner every night because the entrees were terrible. You could be the first person at breakfast and everything on the buffet was cold, nothing was hot. there warming trays had tea light candles underneath them.
Wine served at dinner was low quality whicj says something since it was French wine. Tours were poorly
Planned, guides were ok at best. There is no time to shop or eat on land 9 times out 10. We were in Sicily but never got a chance to eat Sicilian food. So disappointed in this ver expensive cruise. The land portions in Malta and Marseiile were better but the tours in Malta were short, limited and subpar. This was our 8th Tauck trip and we have since cancelled our next three. We are not paying Tauck prices for mediocre experiences.
Tauck/Aon terrible travel insurance
Nice trip but not if you are a loyal Tauck Customer like myself
Great if you like 5-star hotels and lots of food
Pay for a 4 star trip and get 2 star food
Details
Ship Name
MS JOY, MS SAVOR
Ship Description
MS JOY
Maintaining Tauck’s high standards for quality and comfort, ms Joy cruises exclusively for Tauck on the Danube River as part of our Destination Fleet. With a maximum of 130 guests, the 443-foot riverboat and her sister ships continue our tradition of providing more space per guest on Europe’s inland waterways, transporting fewer passengers than most longships (135 meters). Her deck plan is innovative; with a total of 67 cabins, our most popular cabins tend to be our largest... so we have used the added ship length to offer twenty-two 300-square-foot Tauck Suites – the most of any river cruise ship on any European river. To increase the amount of natural sunlight on the lower deck, we’ve created 8 loft cabins that extend from the first to the second decks, providing guests with an additional view; all windows in these loft cabins open
MS SAVOR
Maintaining Tauck’s high standards for quality and comfort, ms Savor cruises exclusively for Tauck on the Danube River as part of our Destination Fleet. With a maximum of 130 guests, the 443-foot riverboat and her sister ships continue our tradition of providing more space per guest on Europe’s inland waterways, transporting fewer passengers than most longships (135 meters). Her deck plan is innovative; with a total of 67 cabins, our most popular cabins tend to be our largest... so we have used the added ship length to offer twenty-two 300-square-foot Tauck Suites – the most of any river cruise ship on any European river. To increase the amount of natural sunlight on the lower deck, we’ve created 8 loft cabins that extend from the first to the second decks, providing guests with an additional view; all windows in these loft cabins open -
Deck & Cabin Plans
MS JOY
MS SAVOR
Group Size
Standard Group - 25 + people
Trip ID#:
tauck-RDB2024
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