Tauck—an ever-evolving tour operator whose inception dates back 92 years—began its river cruise operation in 1992, using another company’s ships, and eventually began building vessels designed to its own specifications. This year, Tauck continues to fine-tune its offerings with reconfigured ships, two brand-new itineraries and a slate of enhanced excursions.

Tauck entered the river cruise market in 1992 with a limited offering using another company’s boats. In recent years the tour operator has taken out long-term charters from Scylla, a Swiss company that operates 28 vessels in Europe, said Katharine Bonner, Tauck’s senior vice president-river and small ship cruising. Scylla began building vessels to Tauck’s specifications with the launch of the MS Emerald in 2006. Today, there are now eight vessels sailing with the Tauck name in Europe.

Bonner said her key mission is to make sure that travel agents understand the differences between Tauck river cruises and those of the company’s competitors. Where Tauck excels is in its land offerings, she said, adding that “carefully crafting that journey for guests is our sweet spot.”

Land programs include such activities as dining in local, exclusive venues off the ships, which is a highlight of every Tauck journey, Bonner said. In Vienna, for example, guests dine in a private palace in a beautiful Baroque dining room where Mozart once played. “You have a white-gloved Viennese service for dinner while you listen to opera or see ballet or listen to a quartet. It’s a different kind of experience,” said Bonner.

While in London, travelers have the chance to meet with Celia Sandys, the granddaughter of Winston Churchill. “It’s that sort of innovation and way of looking at things differently that marks our trips,” Bonner said, noting that the operator also offers a private Louvre tour in Paris and an early opening visit at Chateau de Versailles. Tauck customers, she said, “want to have a deeper connection to places they’re in.”

New for 2018 are itineraries on the Danube and Rhine—the 14-day “Royal Danube, Berlin & Krakow” and the 11-day “Rhine Enchantment, Milan to Amsterdam.” Tauck also merged two Rhône itineraries, “French Waterways” and “A Taste of France,” to create the 10-day “Savoring France: Paris, Lyon & Provence,” which combines two nights in Paris with a seven-night cruise.

The new itineraries were developed in large part because Tauck’s considerable number of repeat cruisers were looking for new options, Bonner said. The 11-day “Rhine Enchantment” itinerary takes advantage of the new Goddard Base tunnel that links Milan and Basel, allowing for three nights in Milan, then a visit to Lake Como followed by a train ride to embark on the cruise in Basel, Switzerland. The 11-day “Royal Danube” itinerary adds Berlin on one end and Krakow on the other. The itineraries are sold out for 2018 but are available for 2019.

Tauck is also ramping up its shore excursions this year, adding a second option in many locations. For example, guests on Day 5 of “The Blue Danube” sailing will be able to choose among full-day excursions to destinations in two different countries: Salzburg, Austria, or Cesky Krumlov in the Czech Republic. (Guests may also opt to remain with the ship in Linz, Austria, to explore this medieval town on their own.) And on the “Rhine Enchantment” itinerary, guests have their choice of a visit and wine tasting in Riquewihr, France, or a guided bicycle excursion in the Black Forest.

As for the riverboats themselves, Tauck is completing the process of reconfiguring four of its smaller, 110-meter riverboats for the 2018 season. The MS Treasures and MS Esprit will reenter service this year with 20 cabins measuring 225 square feet each on the Ruby (middle) Deck, replacing 30 cabins that had each measured 150 square feet in the ships’ original configuration. The new deck plan decreases each vessel’s overall capacity from 118 passengers to 98 and reduces the number of cabins from 59 to 49.

On the vessels’ upper decks, second dining venues have been upgraded with dedicated kitchens and chefs. These restaurants have been renamed Arthur’s in tribute to company chairman Arthur Tauck, Jr. Their expanded menus will continue to provide more casual alternatives to the fine-dining selections offered in the ship’s main Compass Rose restaurant.

The 110-meter MS Sapphire and MS Emerald were enhanced with an Arthur’s restaurant, and with 225-square-foot cabins on the Ruby Deck in 2017.

Deck 1 of the vessels remains relatively the same—to a point. Bonner said Tauck noticed that guests booked “from the top down,” with suites being sold first and the smaller Deck 1 cabins sometimes remaining unoccupied. Tauck eliminated the single supplement and those cabins now sail full.