By Karina K.
I am sitting at my desk this morning feeling nostalgic about my family’s journeys as I recall the stories my grandfather told me of a simpler, humbler life in Poland… a time when Grandpa Stanley did not need identification to make a withdrawal at the bank, where house doors remained unlocked, when family travel meant packing up the kids, taking out the map and using most of the annual savings to fill up a shaky diesel automobile for a trip to the Baltic seashore. His world wasn’t care free by any means, but when we look back at the good old days, we tend to “…find the present tense and the past perfect,” as noted by Owens Lee Pomeroy.
Today’s travel experiences are much more complex and dynamic than they used to be, and, unlike Grandpa Stanley, many of us visit exotic and distant shores far from home. Some take us to the Serengeti in search of African wildlife, find us crossing Lake Titicaca in the Andes, gasping awestruck at the scenic beauty of America’s National Parks, or reconnecting with our family heritage in Eastern Europe. For all the new excitement trips like these promise us, they’re also prone to more of the “unexpected sides of travel.”
As a Manager in Guest Relations for Tauck, I oversee Tauck’s Travel Protection products and guest crisis management. It is my job to ensure that even during the most unexpected events, our guests will be taken care of in times of need. If there is one thing I have learned over the past 12 years assisting guests, it is that while we cannot predict the future, guests who insure their trip with our Guest Protection plan have more control over unexpected events and trip disruptions.
Access to a 24-hour, 7-day a week Emergency Assistance company is a traveler’s best friend and is an important benefit of Tauck’s Guest Protection. Lost luggage is one of the most common travel “hazards.” Our travel protection partner takes care of this for our guests, offering both tracking and reimbursement benefits right away so they won’t have to endure the inconvenience any longer than they need to. Or the evacuation arrangements they effortlessly arrange, many times pre-paid, for guests who may have a medical emergency while they are travelling with us. Or even the 100% money back cancellation benefit for our land journeys that enable guests to cancel their trip right up to the last minute, without having to provide us with a reason why… It’s a great way to ensure peace of mind for your travels no matter where in the world you want to go with Tauck.
“A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it.” John Steinbeck