Tauck has revealed Co-Godmothers for its new riverboat, ms Andorihna, which debuts on the Douro River in Portugal next month.

Two Tauck top executives, each with 20+ years tenure with the company, will christen the vessel in the small Portuguese village of Barca de Alva. Company President Jennifer Tombaugh and Chief Culture Officer Sharyn Cannon will share the honours when the new ship which officially enters Tauck’s fleet in the first week of August.

“Jennifer and Sharyn are the embodiment of Tauck’s ethos of caring for others, which has been the cornerstone of Tauck’s success for 96 years,” said Tauck CEO Dan Mahar.

“Their deep care and concern for our guests, for our employees, and for our travel advisors and supplier-partners guides all that they do and how they do it. I know I speak for the entire Tauck family when I say that the honour is truly ours to have Jennifer and Sharyn serve as the Andorinha’s godmothers.”

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Tombaugh joined Tauck in 2001, and today oversees the company’s Worldwide Operations, Brand Management, Reservations, Guest Relations and Sales teams. During her Tauck career she has been responsible for the launch of Tauck Bridges (the company’s family travel brand), Tauck’s partnership with acclaimed filmmaker Ken Burns, the redesign of the company’s reservation systems and website, and the formation of Tauck Ventures, focused on new business development.

Cannon joined Tauck in 1999 as the Director of the company’s Reservations Sales Center. Today she leads a number of key departments including Human Resources, Tauck Director Management and IMPACT (Tauck’s philanthropic efforts), all with special focus on the engagement of Tauck’s employees and stewardship of Tauck’s unique culture. She also co-leads the company’s Global Response Team (crisis management).

Designed specifically to sail on Portugal’s Douro River (and originally scheduled to be christened in March 2020), Andorinha is named for a species of small migratory swallow that returns to the same nests in Portugal each spring after wintering in Africa.

The new ship will accommodate 84 Tauck guests, compared to 112 passengers – or 33% more people – on other cruise lines’ Douro ships of the same approximate size. Andorinha will be staffed by a Tauck Cruise Director and three Tauck Director guides.

Tauck is offering two Douro River itineraries aboard Andorinha in 2021; a 12-day journey that bookends a seven-night Douro cruise with two-night hotel stays in Lisbon and Madrid, and an eight-day cruise-only itinerary along the river.