New tours

[dizneekrazee]

I've read on here that ABDers are hopeful for 2014 dates to be released in May, as they were last year. When, if any, are new tours announced? Same time, any time? And just out of curiosity, when do they announce they are completely canceling a tour?

I would love to see India announced. I researched India before for a trip, and was completely lost. Ended up going to Peru instead (which was wonderful). So I would love a guided tour through India.

 

[sayhello]

I've read on here that ABDers are hopeful for 2014 dates to be released in May, as they were last year. When, if any, are new tours announced? Same time, any time? And just out of curiosity, when do they announce they are completely canceling a tour?

I would love to see India announced. I researched India before for a trip, and was completely lost. Ended up going to Peru instead (which was wonderful). So I would love a guided tour through India.

*Generally*, new itineraries are announced at the same time as the next year's schedule is announced. The only time I can remember when that didn't happen was when they tried the "Gateway" trips, which were trips that were somewhat "stripped-down", and therefore a bit cheaper. I'm assuming they didn't sell well, because they are gone now. They announced those in January of 2010, several months after the year's schedule was released.

As far as completely cancelling a tour (not just an individual departure), assuming it's a planned-out cancellation, the trip just won't show up on the next year's schedule of itineraries. There has been at least one time that I can recall where a new tour (New York/Boston) was cancelled well after the announcement because it just wasn't selling.

Sayhello

 

[dizneekrazee]

*Generally*, new itineraries are announced at the same time as the next year's schedule is announced. The only time I can remember when that didn't happen was when they tried the "Gateway" trips, which were trips that were somewhat "stripped-down", and therefore a bit cheaper. I'm assuming they didn't sell well, because they are gone now. They announced those in January of 2010, several months after the year's schedule was released.

As far as completely cancelling a tour (not just an individual departure), assuming it's a planned-out cancellation, the trip just won't show up on the next year's schedule of itineraries. There has been at least one time that I can recall where a new tour (New York/Boston) was cancelled well after the announcement because it just wasn't selling.

Sayhello

Thank you, I figured it would be when dates are announced. I'm not feeling very hopeful about India, but I think it would be awesome.

I asked about the cancellations bc Egypt looks like it is dwindling down on departures. Alsmost looks like they are slowly backing out of that itinerary.

One more question, I understand tours generally go up in price once they are released. About how much would you guess a tour to increase within 4 months of being released? Generally speaking, of course.

 

[sayhello]

Thank you, I figured it would be when dates are announced. I'm not feeling very hopeful about India, but I think it would be awesome.

I asked about the cancellations bc Egypt looks like it is dwindling down on departures. Alsmost looks like they are slowly backing out of that itinerary.

One more question, I understand tours generally go up in price once they are released. About how much would you guess a tour to increase within 4 months of being released? Generally speaking, of course.

You never know about new itineraries. I think the Vietnam/Cambodia/Laos itinerary was a surprise to most of us!

The Egypt trip situation is really very different from most of the other cancellations we've seen. People are signing up for the trips, but they are being cancelled due to the political atmosphere in Egypt. I really think the trips were selling well, and that ABD would love to go, but they aren't going to do it if they think it's unsafe.

And yes, trip prices do tend to increase as the tours fill up. It seems to be a factor of how full the trips are, rather than how long the itineraries have been released. Some trips never increase, others (like Scotland!) went up over $500 within a month of being announced. I haven't really kept track, but I'm thinking most trips will go up by $400 - $500 if they are selling well. I think really popular dates have gone up by as much as $800 or so. (And dates ABD thinks will be popular have been known to *start* higher than other dates).

Sayhello

 

[richflour]

We are going to germany in June and prices have went up$950 per person .(we booked 9months ago)

 

[dizneekrazee]

We are going to germany in June and prices have went up$950 per person .(we booked 9months ago)

That's a big difference. So average is about $100/month for yours.

 

[Bobo912]

The Scotland tour started out with a price of $4999 and many dates for that trip went up by as much as $300 in the first week. The price for every date eventually went up by $960. I booked our Peru trip in Aug and it had already gone up by $100, and it went up by another $100 a day or two after I booked. After that, it fairly quickly went up to $4089, which is $650 more than the original price. But for a long while, the prices on the other dates didn't go up. Now most of them have increased to varying degrees, but there are still a couple of dates at the original price. It's a gamble to wait, especially if you have a specific date in mind.

 

[dizneekrazee]

If I could book for next year as soon as it is available, I would. However, our first choice for our travel plans next year is Brazil for the World Cup. FIFA doesn't start the lottery until August, therefore we won't have dates until then, which means we can't have prices until then. We cannot do 2 international trips next year with the price we are anticipating WC. If it is more than we anticipate, we will do something else.

 

[Bobo912]

If I could book for next year as soon as it is available, I would. However, our first choice for our travel plans next year is Brazil for the World Cup. FIFA doesn't start the lottery until August, therefore we won't have dates until then, which means we can't have prices until then. We cannot do 2 international trips next year with the price we are anticipating WC. If it is more than we anticipate, we will do something else.

No trips have ever booked so quickly as Scotland did last year. I bet it will be fine to wait until August. Especially if you have a little flexibility in selecting a date. If ABD introduces an India trip next year, just pray they don't come out with a Pixar movie set in India at the same time.

 

[dizneekrazee]

No trips have ever booked so quickly as Scotland did last year. I bet it will be fine to wait until August. Especially if you have a little flexibility in selecting a date. If ABD introduces an India trip next year, just pray they don't come out with a Pixar movie set in India at the same time.

Unlikely that 'The Good Dinosaur' will be set in India lol.

So with Cambodia/Vietnam/Laos, how did that do after being released?

 

[abbyjt]

The price on the Vietnam trip did not shoot up as quickly as some of the other trips. We booked right away. The price has gone up about $400 (I think, could be more), but it didn't begin increasing until December or January and we booked last May. There are currently 22 people booked on our departure. Usually the price increases as the trip fills.

We booked the Adults Only to Peru for Oct 2013. (Leaving the kids again woo hoo) We didn't book it until December of 2012. Right after the new year, the price began to increase. Maybe people use these trips as family holiday gifts. (nice gift)

 

[paddles]

I know folks have said that going to Japan is cost prohibitive for ABD to offer a tour...but I really want to go there!

I also would love if they offered a Scandinavia/Russia tour.

I can't wait to see what comes out for next year. If there's nothing that really excites me, I may book the DCL cruise from Venice to Barcelona (with Greece stops).

 

[paddles]

BTW - I booked the Scotland trip for this summer. I waited 2 days after the trips/dates were announced, and I ended up paying $300 more per person! Lesson to self...if there's something I'm considering, book it the first day!!

 

[dizneekrazee]

I know folks have said that going to Japan is cost prohibitive for ABD to offer a tour...but I really want to go there!

I also would love if they offered a Scandinavia/Russia tour.

I can't wait to see what comes out for next year. If there's nothing that really excites me, I may book the DCL cruise from Venice to Barcelona (with Greece stops).

I would be interested in Scandinavia/Russia too!! Japan, I doubt it would cover the itinerary we would want, but Japan is top of my bfs list.

 

[2BNDisney]

BTW - I booked the Scotland trip for this summer. I waited 2 days after the trips/dates were announced, and I ended up paying $300 more per person! Lesson to self...if there's something I'm considering, book it the first day!!

Wish I had been smart like you. I finally booked but I remember it was like every few days they kept raising the prices.

 

[silmarg]

When I was on the Fantasy last month, the ABD guide told me that DVC members always pay the lowest released price on ABD - which means they are immune to price increases. Is this true?

It looks like I will be back on the Fantasy in Aug, so I am hoping to book one of the Italy ADBs for 2014 at May prices AND get the 10% discount. Or am I just dreaming about these possibilities..

Also if I book aboard... can I transfer the ressie to DU?

 

[tufbuf]

When I was on the Fantasy last month, the ABD guide told me that DVC members always pay the lowest released price on ABD - which means they are immune to price increases. Is this true?

It looks like I will be back on the Fantasy in Aug, so I am hoping to book one of the Italy ADBs for 2014 at May prices AND get the 10% discount. Or am I just dreaming about these possibilities..

I am not sure about that. We are DVC members although we are big ABDers as well and book on release day. I guess if you use DVC points, you pay the same number of points whether it is release day or a few months before the tour date. Price-wise, I think regardless if you are DVC or not, you pay the prevailing cost at time of booking.

 

[sayhello]

When I was on the Fantasy last month, the ABD guide told me that DVC members always pay the lowest released price on ABD - which means they are immune to price increases. Is this true?

It looks like I will be back on the Fantasy in Aug, so I am hoping to book one of the Italy ADBs for 2014 at May prices AND get the 10% discount. Or am I just dreaming about these possibilities..

Also if I book aboard... can I transfer the ressie to DU?

My understanding of how DVC works with DCL is that DVC negotiates a set number of cruise reservations at a set price with DCL. When they run out of reservations (this has happened; I think it was last year) then that's it, they can't book any more. And the price they negotiate with DCL is the price, no matter when you book. I'm sure some one will correct me if I'm wrong.

I don't know if it works the same with ABD, but I would imagine it's similar. That they work out a set price (number of points or cash) with ABD. Again, if it works the same way as DCL, you won't be able to book through ABD, you'll have to book through DVC member services to get the DVC deal. Which means you might not qualify for the 10% onboard booking discount. Of course, DVC has a presence onboard; don't know if they'll be able to help you.

If you aren't booking via DVC, I can't imagine you'd get the DVC price just because you are a DVC member. I would think you'd be paying what everyone else is paying, but you'd qualify for the 10% discount, assuming ABD is still running that offer. I don't know about switching the reservation to DU. I've never talked to anyone who has tried to do that.

Of course, that's all educated guesswork on my part. I'd call DVC to find out for sure.

Sayhello

 

[paddles]

Regarding transfering online booking to a travel agent, we were able to do that for our Australia trip this Dec. I booked onboard our cruise to get a 10% discount and named Costco as our TA....that way, we get an incremental ~8% back in Costco cash cards in addition to the 10% onboard discount!

 

[silmarg]

I hung out a few times w the ABD guide on the Fantasy on the ship and he was definitely referring to cash reservations by DVC members.

Not knowing much about ABD pricing, I was asking if pricing on ABD changed based on capacity (like DCL) he responded that it worked similar to DCL - that prices can rise quickly on the most popular tours / dates. He then asked if I was a DVC member my immediate response was "I don't own enough points to book ABD with points". His response was that I would get introductory pricing as a DVC member no matter when I book. I was of the impression that this benefit was available on and off ship - since I was lamenting about not being able to use the 10% discount on 2014 dates (since they werent released yet and I wasnt planning on being back aboard anytime soon).

But since it now looks like I may be back on the Fantasy in Aug, I may be able to take the discount. But if the pricing is not at the intro rates aboard, I may screw myself for waiting until Aug to book as the price increases could be bigger than the 10% savings.