What's next?

[sayhello]

I am not sure where ABD will go next. My dd was asking about doing the Danube ABD either next year or the year after (maybe before we head to Africa). She really enjoyed the Rhine one (me, not so much).

I'm curious what you disliked about the Rhine River cruise. I *really* enjoyed the Danube River cruise, although it did lose a lot of what I love ABD for (getting to know your Adventure Guides and your fellow Adventurers like a family). But it was still an excellent vacation! Unfortunately, I'm not likely to do another ABD River cruise, because their single supplement is 100%, and it just costs way too much as a single (I got a special single supplement of 50% when I signed up for the Danube cruise the inaugural year.)

Sayhello

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

I definitely encourage you to take a look at Nat Geo, especially because it sounds like it will either be just you and your DH or three adults given the age of your "kid." Nat Geo has something like five Patagonia trips to choose from. CaliforniaGirl09 and I did their Patagonia Hiking Adventure last November and absolutely loved it. It was strenuous, but so amazing and so worth the effort to get to some of those stunning sites. I definitely hear you on rustic accommodations. I would put CaliforniaGirl and me squarely in the princess camp as well. The Nat Geo hiking trip includes two nights at refugios, which caused us a fair amount of angst heading into the trip. I will say our angst was a bit justified for the first night, which was very much a hostel environment. We did have a private room with bunks, but it was very bare bones and the bathroom situation was not ideal, to say the least. But staying at the refugios is really the only way to combine a couple of point-to-point hiking days in Torres del Paine, and we survived. The second refugio was much much better. We actually stayed in charming cabins (doubles), and the common areas of the second refugio were much more on the charming versus hostel side as well. Still a common bathroom, but again, we survived. The rest of the accommodations were not rustic at all. And, to address sayhello's concern, we never had to carry anything more than our hiking day packs. We did have to pack for the two refugio nights into fairly small stuff sacks while our main luggage went elsewhere, but even the stuff sacks were transported for us by porters who hiked with them. My DH and I are actually looking into one of Nat Geo's small ship trips in Patagonia for a few years down the road, since he opted to skip the Patagonia hiking adventure and now seems to regret it.

Very well put!!! I can still remember our exhausted whining that first night in the refugio. Would be hilarious to have a tape recording. I'm a hotel princess, and I survived, but I now know why I've never done hostels before The shared bathroom thing is not for me. In this case though--as you said--there was really no way of getting around it. And it was certainly miles above a night in a tent like many of the hikers were doing, LOL. The trip was so spectacular though it's worth the rustic first night. If you are physically able to hike, I think it's really the way to experience this incredible region. The trip is rated strenuous for the long days and difficult terrain, but the two really difficult parts you can opt out of. @Calfan and I did them, although we made game day decisions. So glad we went for it. Both offered spectacular views and unparalleled scenery.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

I'm curious what you disliked about the Rhine River cruise. I *really* enjoyed the Danube River cruise, although it did lose a lot of what I love ABD for (getting to know your Adventure Guides and your fellow Adventurers like a family). But it was still an excellent vacation! Unfortunately, I'm not likely to do another ABD River cruise, because their single supplement is 100%, and it just costs way too much as a single (I got a special single supplement of 50% when I signed up for the Danube cruise the inaugural year.)

Sayhello

There were several things that I didn't care for on the ABD Rhine River Cruise. I will list them below:

• the stress of getting to the ship early and lining up to sign up for excursions on the first day of the trip (I know this has been rectified but it was quite stressful for us as the excursions filled up quickly and it was not an organized process); some families were in line for over an hour -- who wants to pay a premium for ABD only to have to line up to pick your excursions
• we got on the Anne Frank house tour, but several people did not and they were VERY upset about it
  
• the crammed buses to the various excursions -- in many cases the buses were filled to capacity and it felt very crowded
  
• there was no real connection to the ABD guides -- they seemed to always be rushed off their feet
• we only had our picture taken as a family by an ABD guide a few times -(no more than 4 times total over 7 days) - this is always one of the things that I have enjoyed about ABD -- lots of family pictures
• being told by Byron not to take drinks, cameras or cell phones with us on the zip lining excursion in the Black Forest. Can I just say it was excruciatingly hot and the zip-lining guide made him go down to the starting point and get us all a bottle of water and a backpack to carry them in; she also asked us part way through why no one brought their cell phones to take pictures (I had a small camera in the zippered pocket of my shorts, but I was the only one with a camera thanks to the ABD guide)
• washrooms -- on the excursions we went on the ABD guides had no clue where they were; I'll go back to the zip lining excursion (specifically the "waterfall hike) -- Byron told us to "go to the bottom of the street and turn left" for the washrooms; except everything was closed. After wandering the street for 10 or 15 minutes, Byron came looking for us; turns out the washrooms were inside the restaurant where we having lunch -- said restaurant was CLOSED -- he knocked on the door to get them to open it
• on at least 3 occasions our bus ran out of snacks on rides back to the ship that were quite lengthy
• the biking excursion in the vineyards - we weren't split into groups based on ability; Betti had a blown tire on her bike, so 1 guide was left with a group of around 40 (gasp) guests of varying ability; some people were very, very slow and just couldn't keep up; it meant that we spent a lot of time standing around doing nothing in the middle of nowhere and waiting -- of course when those bringing up the rear caught up they wanted to take a break
  
• on the windmill tour an elderly tourist (from another group) twisted her ankle on the path in front of us; I stopped to offer assistance / comfort while her friends went to get her husband who was way ahead of her; our ABD guide yelled at us to leave her there because "she wasn't in our group". I said I'd stay with her and catch up to the ABD group -- it felt very wrong to leave her there alone and I was shocked that the ABD guide didn't offer any help

I do want to say that these were my observations. If you asked my kids they'd tell you that they had an AMAZING time. So take it for what it's worth.

The staff on the AMA Kristina were beyond amazing. They really are what made the trip for me. To me, this didn't have the magic that the other ABD trips we've taken had.

I am not sure if I'd do another ABD river cruise, even though my teenager daughter is pressing me to the Danube one.

 

[sayhello]

There were several things that I didn't care for on the ABD Rhine River Cruise. I will list them below:

Because your DD is pressing you to do the Danube cruise, I thought I'd address some of these concerns in the context of the Danube River cruise.

• the stress of getting to the ship early and lining up to sign up for excursions on the first day of the trip (I know this has been rectified but it was quite stressful for us as the excursions filled up quickly and it was not an organized process); some families were in line for over an hour -- who wants to pay a premium for ABD only to have to line up to pick your excursions
  • This is not an issue on the Danube River cruise. None of the excursions had a limit on the number of people allowed, so we got whatever excursions we wanted. If they needed to break it up into 2 groups, they'd usually stagger the groups.
• we got on the Anne Frank house tour, but several people did not and they were VERY upset about it
  • Again, not an issue for the Danube
• the crammed buses to the various excursions -- in many cases the buses were filled to capacity and it felt very crowded
  • Since they could break the groups up as much as they wanted, this was also not an issue for the Danube. We didn't have more than 40 people on a bus. If more than 40 people wanted to do an excursion, they added another bus. The only exception to this was one time when communication got crossed on the issuance of the colored cards for the afternoon's excursions. I'm sure they've fixed this.
• there was no real connection to the ABD guides -- they seemed to always be rushed off their feet
  • Yep. This was an issue on the Danube, too. Some of the Guides, you might only be on an excursion with them once. And due to the fluctuations of groups, it did seem to require more logistics handling from the Guides. Definitely missed that connection.
• we only had our picture taken as a family by an ABD guide a few times -(no more than 4 times total over 7 days) - this is always one of the things that I have enjoyed about ABD -- lots of family pictures
  • I guess that would really depend on the Guides and the excursions. But yes, I do feel like there was less of that on the Danube cruise, also.
• being told by Byron not to take drinks, cameras or cell phones with us on the zip lining excursion in the Black Forest. Can I just say it was excruciatingly hot and the zip-lining guide made him go down to the starting point and get us all a bottle of water and a backpack to carry them in; she also asked us part way through why no one brought their cell phones to take pictures (I had a small camera in the zippered pocket of my shorts, but I was the only one with a camera thanks to the ABD guide)
  • We had none of these issues on the Danube cruise. I don't know if it's inherent on the Rhine, or depends on the excursion or depends on the Guides...
• washrooms -- on the excursions we went on the ABD guides had no clue where they were; I'll go back to the zip lining excursion (specifically the "waterfall hike) -- Byron told us to "go to the bottom of the street and turn left" for the washrooms; except everything was closed. After wandering the street for 10 or 15 minutes, Byron came looking for us; turns out the washrooms were inside the restaurant where we having lunch -- said restaurant was CLOSED -- he knocked on the door to get them to open it
  • Same answer as above. We didn't have this issue on the Danube cruise. But there could be a lot of factors that caused this.
• on at least 3 occasions our bus ran out of snacks on rides back to the ship that were quite lengthy
  • I don't recall that being an issue on the Danube cruise, but I can't say for sure.
• the biking excursion in the vineyards - we weren't split into groups based on ability; Betti had a blown tire on her bike, so 1 guide was left with a group of around 40 (gasp) guests of varying ability; some people were very, very slow and just couldn't keep up; it meant that we spent a lot of time standing around doing nothing in the middle of nowhere and waiting -- of course when those bringing up the rear caught up they wanted to take a break
  • Honestly, even if you were split up, what would have happened if Betti had blown her tire and was the only Guide with the experienced group? You would have either had to go back, go on without a Guide, or wait for another bike to show up for Betti. They only have a limited number of Guides, so you either get one Guide each for 2 small groups or 2 Guides for 1 larger group. I'm not sure what the resolution would be. Honestly the cycling group on the Danube cruise wasn't that big that I saw. Can't help you here.
• on the windmill tour an elderly tourist (from another group) twisted her ankle on the path in front of us; I stopped to offer assistance / comfort while her friends went to get her husband who was way ahead of her; our ABD guide yelled at us to leave her there because "she wasn't in our group". I said I'd stay with her and catch up to the ABD group -- it felt very wrong to leave her there alone and I was shocked that the ABD guide didn't offer any help
  • Are you saying this person wasn't with ABD? I'm honestly surprised the Guide didn't stop at least for a bit to make sure she was OK. But I don't know if that was the Guide's judgement or an ABD policy, so again, can't help you here. Didn't happen on our trip.

I do want to say that these were my observations. If you asked my kids they'd tell you that they had an AMAZING time. So take it for what it's worth.

The staff on the AMA Kristina were beyond amazing. They really are what made the trip for me. To me, this didn't have the magic that the other ABD trips we've taken had.

I am not sure if I'd do another ABD river cruise, even though my teenager daughter is pressing me to the Danube one.

I found that I really enjoyed the River cruise vacation, FAR more than I've enjoyed Ocean cruising. But I'm not 100% sure I got the value for it for the ABD premium. I would certainly cruise wtih AMAWaterways again if I got the single supplement waived. The ship and the crew *were* superb!

Sayhello

 

[sabrecmc]

There were several things that I didn't care for on the ABD Rhine River Cruise. I will list them below:

• the stress of getting to the ship early and lining up to sign up for excursions on the first day of the trip (I know this has been rectified but it was quite stressful for us as the excursions filled up quickly and it was not an organized process); some families were in line for over an hour -- who wants to pay a premium for ABD only to have to line up to pick your excursions
• we got on the Anne Frank house tour, but several people did not and they were VERY upset about it
  
• the crammed buses to the various excursions -- in many cases the buses were filled to capacity and it felt very crowded
  
• there was no real connection to the ABD guides -- they seemed to always be rushed off their feet
• we only had our picture taken as a family by an ABD guide a few times -(no more than 4 times total over 7 days) - this is always one of the things that I have enjoyed about ABD -- lots of family pictures
• being told by Byron not to take drinks, cameras or cell phones with us on the zip lining excursion in the Black Forest. Can I just say it was excruciatingly hot and the zip-lining guide made him go down to the starting point and get us all a bottle of water and a backpack to carry them in; she also asked us part way through why no one brought their cell phones to take pictures (I had a small camera in the zippered pocket of my shorts, but I was the only one with a camera thanks to the ABD guide)
• washrooms -- on the excursions we went on the ABD guides had no clue where they were; I'll go back to the zip lining excursion (specifically the "waterfall hike) -- Byron told us to "go to the bottom of the street and turn left" for the washrooms; except everything was closed. After wandering the street for 10 or 15 minutes, Byron came looking for us; turns out the washrooms were inside the restaurant where we having lunch -- said restaurant was CLOSED -- he knocked on the door to get them to open it
• on at least 3 occasions our bus ran out of snacks on rides back to the ship that were quite lengthy
• the biking excursion in the vineyards - we weren't split into groups based on ability; Betti had a blown tire on her bike, so 1 guide was left with a group of around 40 (gasp) guests of varying ability; some people were very, very slow and just couldn't keep up; it meant that we spent a lot of time standing around doing nothing in the middle of nowhere and waiting -- of course when those bringing up the rear caught up they wanted to take a break
  
• on the windmill tour an elderly tourist (from another group) twisted her ankle on the path in front of us; I stopped to offer assistance / comfort while her friends went to get her husband who was way ahead of her; our ABD guide yelled at us to leave her there because "she wasn't in our group". I said I'd stay with her and catch up to the ABD group -- it felt very wrong to leave her there alone and I was shocked that the ABD guide didn't offer any help

I do want to say that these were my observations. If you asked my kids they'd tell you that they had an AMAZING time. So take it for what it's worth.

The staff on the AMA Kristina were beyond amazing. They really are what made the trip for me. To me, this didn't have the magic that the other ABD trips we've taken had.

I am not sure if I'd do another ABD river cruise, even though my teenager daughter is pressing me to the Danube one.

We just did the July 2, 2018, Rhine cruise and enjoyed it a lot, but I do know that some people did not get the excursions they wanted, and that was an issue. We got everything we wanted, so wasn't an issue for us. On the other things, I think those have been largely rectified, at least by our experiences. Can't speak to the bikes or someone falling at the windmills(though we had a local guide there not ABD), but our buses were never full (that was kind of an issue b/c people complained this meant there should've been room for more on the excursions), we had plenty of snacks and water, restrooms were always pointed out and available, Byron gave us all bottles of water for the ziplining and we had little backpacks from the ziplining company to put phones in (though I didn't take mine b/c I was paranoid), they took lots of family photos of us and had things like fireside chats to get to know the guides and guide tables at dinner so you could get more personal interaction. They are very busy during the excursions, and a couple of the guides, we didn't really interact with, but that was more our choice to do other things. Anne Frank house was closed to tour groups, so that wasn't an option unless you arranged it on your own.

I did have some issues with the trip, nothing major, but at least some of your issues seem to have been addressed.

My daughter also absolutely loved it.

On topic? I'm with the person who wants to park hop around the world! Actually, though, if they did Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong, I'd be thrilled. From what I've heard of those parks, it helps to be a local.

 

[OhanaCuz]

Just to speak a little in ABD's defense I took an Amawaterways cruise on the Rhine without Disney and there were several excursions where they pointed out that capacity was limited. It's something you have to deal with for certain excursions (although on the Danube it wasn't an issue).

I found that I really enjoyed the River cruise vacation, FAR more than I've enjoyed Ocean cruising. But I'm not 100% sure I got the value for it for the ABD premium. I would certainly cruise wtih AMAWaterways again if I got the single supplement waived. The ship and the crew *were* superb!

Sign up for the Amawaterways emails. I've gotten some in the past that specifically point out that they're having deals concerning the single supplement.

 

[Chirple]

Actually, though, if they did Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong, I'd be thrilled.

I would love this!

My wish list item will always be a tour of England and just England. Since I do all of the vacation planning for two people, I would rather put this in the hands of someone else.

 

[sabrecmc]

Just to speak a little in ABD's defense I took an Amawaterways cruise on the Rhine without Disney and there were several excursions where they pointed out that capacity was limited. It's something you have to deal with for certain excursions (although on the Danube it wasn't an issue).

That's very true. For example, the painting workshop at the Van Gogh museum, which we did, had only a certain amount of room available. There wasn't anything ABD could do other than not offer that or arrange something similar at a different location b/c the rooms where you painted were X size and that's just the way of it. Maybe they could've scheduled another class in the afternoon or something, but just physically, there was only so much room available for that one. Where there was some confusion, for example, was like on the winter park excursion, where guests were told they couldn't do that one b/c there wasn't room on the bus, and then we were on the bus and there was plenty of room. I see why they needed to limit that one, though, just to make sure people had fun and got to do everything without big lines. But, the flip side of that was that a lot of people (and I understand) felt that for the price paid, if ABD was going to offer these options, then they should be available for all who want to do them like the Danube. So, if it was something that couldn't accommodate all the guests who wanted to do it, pick some other option to offer that could. It isn't like these cities are without things to do. I think that was more the complaint I heard as far as capacity (and again, we got everything we wanted simply by prebooking on the first day we could).

That and the local guides that were used was probably the biggest complaint I heard (and the local guides were my main issue). Agree that AMAWaterways was awesome. I mean, overall, we had a great trip and I look forward to doing another ABD one day. It was super fun. There just wasn't anything that ABD did that I couldn't have done on my own(like, literally, you can book the painting workshop online...this isn't a special Disney thing), and I guess I had these expectations of pixie dust in my head. What it turned out to be was a very good guided tour that made it super easy on me, with lots of families who loved Disney, and that was absolutely wonderful.

 

[sayhello]

That and the local guides that were used was probably the biggest complaint I heard (and the local guides were my main issue). Agree that AMAWaterways was awesome. I mean, overall, we had a great trip and I look forward to doing another ABD one day. It was super fun. There just wasn't anything that ABD did that I couldn't have done on my own(like, literally, you can book the painting workshop online...this isn't a special Disney thing), and I guess I had these expectations of pixie dust in my head. What it turned out to be was a very good guided tour that made it super easy on me, with lots of families who loved Disney, and that was absolutely wonderful.

I totally agree with this. To me, it was an excellent trip, but it was not an excellent ABD. There just weren't those extra added things that I've come to expect from ABD and that make the premium price worth it.

Sayhello

 

[OhanaCuz]

But, the flip side of that was that a lot of people (and I understand) felt that for the price paid, if ABD was going to offer these options, then they should be available for all who want to do them like the Danube. So, if it was something that couldn't accommodate all the guests who wanted to do it, pick some other option to offer that could. It isn't like these cities are without things to do. I think that was more the complaint I heard as far as capacity (and again, we got everything we wanted simply by prebooking on the first day we could).

Yeah these cruises are very expensive and I would have been crushed if I didn't get into some excursions I really had my heart set on.

 

[Travel junkie]

I've heard Thailand is an up and coming travel spot.

Sayhello

We did Thailand years ago, well before kids. I would love to go back there with the family! I’ve been looking and it appears a family Thailand trip is available with a few other companies. Let’s see

 

[Calfan]

Morocco had not previously been on my radar, but I have a good friend who is currently there with her family, and her Instagram and Facebook pictures have been spectacular. Morocco may be making its way onto *the list.*

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

Morocco had not previously been on my radar, but I have a good friend who is currently there with her family, and her Instagram and Facebook pictures have been spectacular. Morocco may be making its way onto *the list.*

I think we are going to need to start lists of what is not on the list, LOL. Mine is getting ridiculous. I had a friend that went to Morocco, too, and said it was fabulous.

 

[brnrss34]

I really wish they would do Egypt. It is my bucket list and everyone I know won’t go with me.

 

[sayhello]

I really wish they would do Egypt. It is my bucket list and everyone I know won’t go with me.

They had an Egypt trip back in 2012/2013. Only one departure ever went. It's just to unstable and unsafe there. They may resurrect it some day, but things would have to really change there for them to consider it, I'd think.

Sayhello

 

[Calfan]

I think we are going to need to start lists of what is not on the list, LOL. Mine is getting ridiculous. I had a friend that went to Morocco, too, and said it was fabulous.

Too funny! I almost tagged you in my post as a recruitment vehicle. And so true on the anti-list probably being more efficient at this point...