No box yet.I called ABD, and apparently they changed some of the artwork on the booklet, and they haven't gotten it back yet. He said they are scheduled to go out May 6th. That's cutting it pretty close! Oh, well.
Sayhello
It is the first Greece trip of the year. I guess it's entirely possible they are changing the itinerary. I'll let you know what it says when I get it!
That's kind of sad. It was part of the fun of arriving to see what the little presents were going to be. And what do they do if someone forgets the booklet? 
I can't imagine that was that big of an expense.
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That's interesting about the luggage tags. I don't remember getting luggage tags ahead of time for ABD. They were usually given to us when we arrived. When did they start doing that? Or have I just not been on an ABD where that was done?I forgot my booklet and the guides did have an extra one, but I think I was probably lucky. That is when he told me about the changes. I forgot my luggage tags too and they didn't have any extras. I don't usually forget anything like that, but I blame it on there being so little in the box this time. I wasn't going to bring the travel pillow/blanket with me, so the box just got shoved in the closet with the booklet and tags still inside. I'll do better next time.
Depending on how long it is, I'll try to scan the itinerary & post it here. Then you guys can compare it to what you got, and let me know what's changed!
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I don't remember getting that ahead of time, though. The Guides filled it out & put it on our luggage. But I didn't do an ABD last year...It's just the paper tag with all the little squares on the back where they write you hotel room numbers. They've always had those. They used to have Mickey luggage tags that was one of the goodies you received when you arrived, along with the duffle, but they don't have those anymore.
ETA: This is the tag I was referring to:
Thanks, WeLoveABD. That sounds like a good plan! My local bank exchanges currency for me with no admin fees. So I don't have to worry about that aspect. I have one tour I'm sharing that I'll have to pay in cash, and the Guide's tips. But I'm so used to living mostly cashless these days! I tend to mostly live off my Debit card, or my credit card that gets paid off every month. Trying to figure how much cash to have, plus in a foreign currency, is proving to be a bit daunting.Depends on where you are getting your currency--we get ours from a TravelEx in a nearby mall--they offer different packages for currency, with the more you buy the less the admin costs. I start by assuming we'll be paying the max suggested in tips so I determine that and what I'll need for cash where credit is not available--if it all works out with the least admin costs from the currency store, I'll just plan to have envelopes set aside for the two guides. I also bring US bills too (maybe $300 or so)--and roughly $50/day per person for days I'll be on my own in the foreign country in that currency. That worked out fine for Greece--had money for taxi rides (very cheap), for coffee, lunches at stands or local fast food type shops or museum cafes, tips--and purchased the hop on tickets in advance. If I ran low on the foreign currency I dipped into the guide tip money--and replaced it later with US dollars (I think the US and the local guide both are fine with either local or US currency).
This way I can cover all my basis--store most of the currency (US and foreign/tip envelopes) into the hotel safe, and carry one credit card and walk around money. We have a couple of credit cards we rarely use--so we save them for trips (having one as a backup). We have so many bills paid automatically using our credit union credit card that we don't bring that with us--if it were to get stolen then we have to change all of those accounts to the new card.
If you know folks who have traveled try asking them for euros--you can offer to buy at the current rate; they get rid of extra non-spendable coins/bills and you get a better rate for the currency!
Thus endeth my money tips for the day.
2 weeks!
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Thanks WeLoveABD! I'm about 1/3 of the way through "The Island". Really enjoying it, and it's definitely making me look forward to seeing Spinalonga even more! Thanks so much for the recommendation.
