"Is ABD worth the $$$?" Discussion thread

[evilipoo]

We are fresh off of the Magic of the Baltic add-on, and after a year of anticipation of what it would be like, I have to say.... No. Not for this particular cruise add-on, anyway.

We signed up because we wanted the best possible experience with the least hassle (no money conversions, tour arrangements, etc.). And while the experience was hassle-free, it was incredibly cost-intensive. $2100+pp in addition to the cost of the cruise.

The guides were indeed wonderful. The places visited were (mostly) great. The local experts were a bit hit and miss. Not sure it that is because it was the first tour or???

Shortcomings were the loooooong lunches. We were already on a cruise, there is no shortage of food, lets go SEE and DO some stuff in these wonderful countries! We appreciated the chance to sit and have a nice lunch, but maybe cut out the dessert and coffee and give us a cookie on the bus. In Finland, over 75% of our day was spent travelling back and forth to a farm for... LUNCH! That left 25 minutes for the Rock Church + shopping. It was not even enough time to get a photo.

That being said, we would not rule out another ABD that was not a cruise add-on. We were just disappointed that so much of our very limited port time was spent on food.

 

[paddles]

In Finland, over 75% of our day was spent travelling back and forth to a farm for... LUNCH! That left 25 minutes for the Rock Church + shopping. It was not even enough time to get a photo.

Really? The itinerary that ABD gave me says there's a narrated drive of Helsinki with a stop at Senate Square and Rock Church. Did they get you back to the boat before 6pm (which is the all aboard time)? I'd like to make sure we have some time to walk around downtown (kids are dying to go to the Angry Birds shop since Rovio is a Finnish company).

 

[evilipoo]

Really? The itinerary that ABD gave me says there's a narrated drive of Helsinki with a stop at Senate Square and Rock Church. Did they get you back to the boat before 6pm (which is the all aboard time)? I'd like to make sure we have some time to walk around downtown (kids are dying to go to the Angry Birds shop since Rovio is a Finnish company).

Yes, the drive to the farm was narrated. Most of us were still adjusting to the time change, so there was a lot of sleeping on that bus (not Disney's fault by any means). There was also some narration once we returned to the city. We did a 20 minute photo stop at Senate Square. Literally off/photo/back on the bus. But, it did not look like there was much to see there anyway. 25 minutes at the Rock Church, including shopping. No OYO time for our group in Helsinki, though this might change as they get better at it. I did feel that as the first group on this adventure, we were kind of 'beta-testing' it.

Since Angry Birds is an Estonian creation, there is a small tie-in there. I don't want to say more and blow it for you.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

We are fresh off of the Magic of the Baltic add-on, and after a year of anticipation of what it would be like, I have to say.... No. Not for this particular cruise add-on, anyway.

We signed up because we wanted the best possible experience with the least hassle (no money conversions, tour arrangements, etc.). And while the experience was hassle-free, it was incredibly cost-intensive. $2100+pp in addition to the cost of the cruise.

The guides were indeed wonderful. The places visited were (mostly) great. The local experts were a bit hit and miss. Not sure it that is because it was the first tour or???

Shortcomings were the loooooong lunches. We were already on a cruise, there is no shortage of food, lets go SEE and DO some stuff in these wonderful countries! We appreciated the chance to sit and have a nice lunch, but maybe cut out the dessert and coffee and give us a cookie on the bus. In Finland, over 75% of our day was spent travelling back and forth to a farm for... LUNCH! That left 25 minutes for the Rock Church + shopping. It was not even enough time to get a photo.

That being said, we would not rule out another ABD that was not a cruise add-on. We were just disappointed that so much of our very limited port time was spent on food.

Yikes! Interestingly though that was one of the days I was thinking about skipping the ABD and doing something on our own. A bus tour is not my idea of fun. It seems ridiculous to do something else when I've paid so much for the add-on, but there were a few PAs that sounded much more exciting. What was the farm like? Was the food any good?

 

[evilipoo]

Yikes! Interestingly though that was one of the days I was thinking about skipping the ABD and doing something on our own. A bus tour is not my idea of fun. It seems ridiculous to do something else when I've paid so much for the add-on, but there were a few PAs that sounded much more exciting. What was the farm like? Was the food any good?

The farm was nice, but we felt VERY rushed by the person giving the tour. The tour was literally 100 feet of walking and maybe 30 minutes. The food WAS delicious.

I agree that the PAs sounded better and in retrospect (and if money were no object), I would have skipped the ABD that day and done something else. HOWEVER, it is possible that ABD will make some adjustments, so I would stop short of advising anyone to do that.

The only souvenir shopping we saw was at the port. And EVERY PA got in at or after all-aboard, so there was a looooong wait to get back on the ship (so plenty of time to shop there).

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

The farm was nice, but we felt VERY rushed by the person giving the tour. The tour was literally 100 feet of walking and maybe 30 minutes. The food WAS delicious.

I agree that the PAs sounded better and in retrospect (and if money were no object), I would have skipped the ABD that day and done something else. HOWEVER, it is possible that ABD will make some adjustments, so I would stop short of advising anyone to do that.

The only souvenir shopping we saw was at the port. And EVERY PA got in at or after all-aboard, so there was a looooong wait to get back on the ship (so plenty of time to shop there).

Thanks so much--I'll hold off until we get to the ship and have a chance to talk to the guides.

 

[Patricksp]

We are thinking of doing ABD, I think the big reason is that it will be kid friendly. Could anyone let us know of other tour companies that cater to families? We have done private tours (just the 2 of us) where we have a guide and driver, skip the lines etc. I want our son when he is old enough to travel with other kids and do things that might interest him and keep him interested and have fun. We really want to do the River cruise and most if not all DO NOT cater to families. I will be lurking here to see how others trips went especially the Christmas trip, which looks fantastic.

 

[Bobo912]

We are thinking of doing ABD, I think the big reason is that it will be kid friendly. Could anyone let us know of other tour companies that cater to families? We have done private tours (just the 2 of us) where we have a guide and driver, skip the lines etc. I want our son when he is old enough to travel with other kids and do things that might interest him and keep him interested and have fun. We really want to do the River cruise and most if not all DO NOT cater to families. I will be lurking here to see how others trips went especially the Christmas trip, which looks fantastic.

Tauck and Uniworld have been offering family river cruises for quite a few years. As far as other companies that offer land based family tours, just off the top of my head, I can think of Thomson Family Adventures, Trafalgar, Tauck, National Geographic, Abercrombie and Kent, Classic Journeys, Wildland Adventures, Backroads, Rick Steves, G Adventures, Globus, REI, and Austin Adventures. I'm sure there are a lot more that I am forgetting or don't know about. Kid friendly tours are not that uncommon.

 

[cheryllarsen]

You will never be disappointed with Disney!

 

[cheryllarsen]

We ventured on our own one day without the guides and didn't get much accomplished. It didn't help that we didn't speak Spanish at all in Peru!

 

[evilipoo]

You will never be disappointed with Disney!

I would caution folks against this approach. Disney gets a lot--maybe even most--things right. But, they do misstep as well (EuroDisney, anyone?). Some of our best travel experiences have been with Disney, but unfortunately they have not all been stellar.
Hopefully, they adjust and get better when things can be improved.

 

[Rapunzellover]

Were any of these non-stellar experiences with ABD?


Edit: I just realized you'd been talking about ABD's Baltic experience.

 

[WebmasterMike]

I would caution folks against this approach. Disney gets a lot--maybe even most--things right. But, they do misstep as well (EuroDisney, anyone?). Some of our best travel experiences have been with Disney, but unfortunately they have not all been stellar.
Hopefully, they adjust and get better when things can be improved.

All of our ABD trips have been fantastic! I would recommend ABD. I would not go into a vacation blind and would do plenty of research ahead of time. In my book, ABD is worth it.

 

[tparsons]

Glad to find this forum will do some serious reading of it later. I have been thinking this as a senior trip for the daughter.

 

[tcufrog]

Is the Alaska trip worth it? We're debating about taking our kids next summer. They will be 5 and 9. We were world travelers pre kids but apart from some hiking during vacations primarily leaned towards cultural trips. We've never been whitewater rafting for example which is done on the trip although my kids are really good swimmers for their age.

 

[kaseyC]

We are thinking of doing ABD, I think the big reason is that it will be kid friendly. Could anyone let us know of other tour companies that cater to families? We have done private tours (just the 2 of us) where we have a guide and driver, skip the lines etc. I want our son when he is old enough to travel with other kids and do things that might interest him and keep him interested and have fun. We really want to do the River cruise and most if not all DO NOT cater to families. I will be lurking here to see how others trips went especially the Christmas trip, which looks fantastic.

We had an excellent experience with Tauck Bridges this summer on their Ireland Forever tour. Me and my girls had a blast. It was our first organized tour and we walked a way impressed. We booked another tour with TB for next July, we are doing their Majestic California which includes San Francisco, Yosemite and Monterey. For returning customers they have the "gift of time" free pre-night hotel for those of us who like to fly in a day early which I think is really nice perk. For our party of three its about a $500 value.

I'm still looking forward to trying ABD but I just haven't found the itinerary that fits yet.

 

[Bobo912]

We had an excellent experience with Tauck Bridges this summer on their Ireland Forever tour. Me and my girls had a blast. It was our first organized tour and we walked a way impressed. We booked another tour with TB for next July, we are doing their Majestic California which includes San Francisco, Yosemite and Monterey. For returning customers they have the "gift of time" free pre-night hotel for those of us who like to fly in a day early which I think is really nice perk. For our party of three its about a $500 value.

I'm still looking forward to trying ABD but I just haven't found the itinerary that fits yet.

We did Majestic California in 2010. It was a great trip. My one complaint was that there was not enough time in Yosemite. But I see from the website that they have changed the itinerary by dropping the visit to a mining town and adding a visit to Glacier Point. So it looks even better!

 

[Calfan]

We had an excellent experience with Tauck Bridges this summer on their Ireland Forever tour. Me and my girls had a blast. It was our first organized tour and we walked a way impressed. We booked another tour with TB for next July, we are doing their Majestic California which includes San Francisco, Yosemite and Monterey. For returning customers they have the "gift of time" free pre-night hotel for those of us who like to fly in a day early which I think is really nice perk. For our party of three its about a $500 value.

I'm still looking forward to trying ABD but I just haven't found the itinerary that fits yet.

How many were on your Ireland Forever trip?

 

[kaseyC]

How many were on your Ireland Forever trip?

We had about 38. It worked well for us. Everything went smoothly. The only hiccup I recall with the size was when we were getting our bikes for the biking through Killarney. It took awhile to get everyone the right size bikes and helmets.

 

[Calfan]

We had about 38. It worked well for us. Everything went smoothly. The only hiccup I recall with the size was when we were getting our bikes for the biking through Killarney. It took awhile to get everyone the right size bikes and helmets.

Thanks!