Global Entry worked great at customs, I just slid my passport into the GE machine, answered about 4 questions, got a receipt, and went to baggage claim (no customs form to fill out). The bags were slow in coming (it was a big plane), and while waiting around the carousel, a TSA person with a search beagle was coming around sniffing for any sort of food products in luggage and backpacks. I had some food, so I kind of backed away from the baggage carousel when the dog passed by. Finally my last bag came with 5 minutes before my Green Ride shuttle was due to leave, so I literally ran thru the DIA airport and got to the shuttle about 30 seconds before its departure.
General comments about the trip:
1. I was impressed with Tauck. They focus on great customer service. The cruise and tour directors (Carlos, Stacie, Jen, and Milos) were friendly, experienced, knowledgeable. The food and drink waitstaff tried to remember your name and your food/drink preferences.
2. Everything was included....all meals, shuttles, hotels, tips, etc. You could literally not have spent a penny (expect for souvenirs) on the trip. On one long bus trip, they gave us coins to enter the bathrooms, and on the days where we ate lunch offboard the ship, they gave us lunch money.
3. We were much more impressed with the food, drinks, and staff aboard our first ship (MS Esprit) than the second one (MS Treasures)
4. It wasn't a relaxing trip. There were tours planned nearly every day, typically lasting 5-6 hours or more. We had only one day of just cruising, and I really enjoyed that day. You had the option to not go on the tours, but then you'd be missing on the things you can only see in Europe. Guess that's the main difference between a river and an ocean cruise.
5. I thought the food was really good and plentiful, and it was available 24x7. The smaller diner, Arthur's, was literally 20 feet from our cabin door with all sorts of snacks (coffee, tea, cookies, nuts) plus a fixed breakfast/lunch/dinner menu. The main dining room had a menu that changed daily with a food theme for the countries we were passing thru. I ended eating and drinking way too much, time for a diet back home.
6. They made the best of a bad situation when the Danube was too low to continue past Venice. We missed some cruising but stuff saw all the stuff we were scheduled to see.
7. The room we had was a nice size (I think about 300 sq ft). I saw the smaller rooms...barely any room except for the bed, no walk-in closet, much smaller bathroom.
8. Because of the cost and the fact that the trip was during school season, there were no children aboard. I'd say the average passenger age was low to mid-60s.
9. The weather couldn't have been any nicer...highs in the upper 60s to mid-70s every day, no rain.
10. I enjoyed the local people that Tauck brought onboard...the glassblower, musicians, and lecturers.
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