Previous Greece & China ABDers please help!!!

[CaliforniaGirl09]

After much thought—and angsting—since our return from the Norway/Batlics B2B cruises, we’ve decided to go ahead and move our deposit for the ABD River Cruise next year to a different trip. After the disappointing experience with the ABD Batlics Add-on with the huge group and slow pace, we don’t want a repeat. As much as we *love* the idea of being on the inaugural river cruise, we decided that ultimately it wasn’t worth the risk that ABD will have not worked out the logistics and that we would end up in big groups with a lot of waiting while they figured it out. Maybe if we were on a later trip, I'd weigh the risk differently, but anyway...

We have narrowed our search down to two trips (thanks tufbuf for your help!): Greece and China. I know both trips have been very popular here, and we really need a palette cleanser so we figured they were safe choices

I've read every trip report I could find, and we have a good list of positives/negatives going, but I would love any feedback or comments. I think there were a couple of people headed out on recent trips and would love to hear their experiences.

I was also looking through the itineraries and trying to figure out if anything has changed. https://www.adventuresbydisney.com/europe/greece-vacations/daily-itinerary/ and https://www.adventuresbydisney.com/asia-africa-australia/china-vacations/daily-itinerary/

I think CousinOrville mentioned a new hotel (better) in Hong Kong, and a better restaurant at dinner in Beijing, but anything else? Also it looks like they no longer do the donkey ride in Greece? Anyone know whether it has been replaced with something? This is kind of a bummer, as my DD read through the trips reports and thought that sounded like a blast.

Anyway, anything you guys think might be relevant I'd love to hear. Thanks!

 

[sayhello]

I would say that out of my 6 (so far) ABDs, Greece is definitely my favorite. It has a wonderful mix of activities, and Greece itself is just so fascinating.

It does look like the donkey ride to Oia is gone. Personally, I took the van up, so I can't comment on if that's a bad thing or not. After the long, hot (but great!) hike up the volcano, the last thing I wanted was to get on a donkey and ride up those steps...

Otherwise, I don't see any glaring changes. I'll look through my photos when I get home to see if anything is missing...

The food and the hotels on this trip are great. The Anthenaeum Intercontinental in Athens is in kind of a business district, so there's not much around it, but it's very easy to get from there into town (they have a free shuttle, and taxis aren't that expensive). The rooms are nice and very spacious. The Vedema is quirky, but really lovely, with a crazy mix of room types. The setting is gorgeous. And the Porto Elounda is absolutely spectacular! I think it's the nicest hotel I've ever stayed at.

I haven't done China (yet!) so I can't compare the 2. But I can highly, HIGHLY recommend the Greece trip!

Feel free to ask me any questions!

Sayhello

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

I don't think you can go wrong with either. They did change the hotel in Hong Kong to the Peninsula (from what I understand it is considered to be one of the best on the island).

One thing you may want to consider is that on the China trip you get go to Hong Kong Disneyland ! We are staying longer to spend an additional day in the park. Then we are flying from HK to Shanghai and hoping that Shanghai Disney is open. Dd wants to fly to Japan to see Toyko Disney after Shanghai but I had to draw line somewhere.

 

[carpenta]

After much thought—and angsting—since our return from the Norway/Batlics B2B cruises, we’ve decided to go ahead and move our deposit for the ABD River Cruise next year to a different trip. After the disappointing experience with the ABD Batlics Add-on with the huge group and slow pace, we don’t want a repeat. As much as we *love* the idea of being on the inaugural river cruise, we decided that ultimately it wasn’t worth the risk that ABD will have not worked out the logistics and that we would end up in big groups with a lot of waiting while they figured it out. Maybe if we were on a later trip, I'd weigh the risk differently, but anyway...
!

FWIW you should check out Tauck Bridges Danube cruise.......really really good and they have it "down pat".....every detail was taken care of....even the tips.

 

[sayhello]

FWIW you should check out Tauck Bridges Danube cruise.......really really good and they have it "down pat".....every detail was taken care of....even the tips.

All the tips, including for the Adventure Guides, are actually included in the ABD Danube River cruise, also.

Sayhello

 

[Ralphlaw]

Just booked Greece for June 2016. How hot and crowded is it? Are the Hotel rooms air conditioned? Not trying to be a spoiled American here, but a few sweaty nights trying to sleep is really tough to overcome after a couple days. Also, is it worth it to fly in a day early? Thanks for any help.

 

[sayhello]

Just booked Greece for June 2016. How hot and crowded is it? Are the Hotel rooms air conditioned? Not trying to be a spoiled American here, but a few sweaty nights trying to sleep is really tough to overcome after a couple days. Also, is it worth it to fly in a day early? Thanks for any help.

I'm not sure what the temps will be like later in June. I was there end of May through the first week in June, and while it was warm, it was quite pleasant most of the time (except on top of the Acropolis. I think it's always hot up there. But it wasn't unbearable). All of the hotels have Air conditioning. I'm with you, and totally can't sleep if I'm sweaty. Not something I want to deal with on one of these trips!

And it's totally worth it to come in a day ahead. It will give you time to get over the jetlag, have some leeway if there's travel issues, and there are a few sights, like the Old Agora, the Museum of the Acropolis and the Temple of Poseidon that aren't included in the ABD, and are really worth seeing.

Sayhello

 

[acndis]

Greece was our first ABD and we have taken one every year since. It is wonderful with a great mix of activities (as SayHello) mentions. On a bad day, I will often find my mind wandering to floating on the Aegean and then jumping in for a swim and then having our boat pull up to our lunch restaurant. It really is magical! I have also heard great things about China but I know there is a lot of travel involved. Based on what I have heard, I think Greece is a bit easier but you truly can't go wrong with either one!

 

[paddles]

I think both trips would be great. I haven't been on either one, but would probably choose China since that would be harder to navigate on your own and where having ABD would be awesome! Greece looks pretty spectacular as well, and some lazy days on the beach sounds pretty good right now....

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

Thanks so much, everyone. I really appreciate the comments. We've been going back and forth on these trips for the past week so any input is appreciated.

I would say that out of my 6 (so far) ABDs, Greece is definitely my favorite. It has a wonderful mix of activities, and Greece itself is just so fascinating.

It does look like the donkey ride to Oia is gone. Personally, I took the van up, so I can't comment on if that's a bad thing or not. After the long, hot (but great!) hike up the volcano, the last thing I wanted was to get on a donkey and ride up those steps...

Otherwise, I don't see any glaring changes. I'll look through my photos when I get home to see if anything is missing...

The food and the hotels on this trip are great. The Anthenaeum Intercontinental in Athens is in kind of a business district, so there's not much around it, but it's very easy to get from there into town (they have a free shuttle, and taxis aren't that expensive). The rooms are nice and very spacious. The Vedema is quirky, but really lovely, with a crazy mix of room types. The setting is gorgeous. And the Porto Elounda is absolutely spectacular! I think it's the nicest hotel I've ever stayed at.

I haven't done China (yet!) so I can't compare the 2. But I can highly, HIGHLY recommend the Greece trip!

Feel free to ask me any questions!

Sayhello

I will probably take you up on that

I knew it was your favorite, but don't think I'd realized it was out of 6! Believe me, yours and others comments on these boards about Greece have definitely been playing on my mind. It really sounds like a fabulous trip with a really good mix of activities, which is *really* appealing right now. DD15 wants to be an archeologist and is a huge Greek myth fan (as was her mom), so that makes it really appealing. It's less appealing to DS18, LOL.

LOL on the donkey, but I wonder if there is still an opportunity to do it. Might have to ask ABD. Definitely let me know if you see anything in your notes or pictures--I would love to know about any other changes.

I don't think you can go wrong with either. They did change the hotel in Hong Kong to the Peninsula (from what I understand it is considered to be one of the best on the island).

One thing you may want to consider is that on the China trip you get go to Hong Kong Disneyland ! We are staying longer to spend an additional day in the park. Then we are flying from HK to Shanghai and hoping that Shanghai Disney is open. Dd wants to fly to Japan to see Toyko Disney after Shanghai but I had to draw line somewhere.

I've heard the same thing about the Peninsula Hotel. Believe me Hong Kong Disneyland is a big part of the draw--as is Shanghai Disney. I actually tried to work in a post-trip to Tokyo Disney, but since the trip we are looking at is over New Years all the hotel rooms are already booked! Crazy. I guess NY's is the biggest holiday over there. One reason we actually might choose to do Greece this year is to wait until 2017 for China to work in that Tokyo trip and potentially a longer Shanghai stay (if they rearrange the itinerary). If we do China this year, we would plan to miss most of day (the full day in Shanghai) to go to the parks on our own.

FWIW you should check out Tauck Bridges Danube cruise.......really really good and they have it "down pat".....every detail was taken care of....even the tips.

Thanks for the head's up! I read your comments on the other thread and was really intrigued by this. I don't think I realized Tauck had Danube cruises, too. Are they family oriented? Time to work out the logistics was definitely the main reason we decided to scrap the river cruise for 2016.

And it's totally worth it to come in a day ahead. It will give you time to get over the jetlag, have some leeway if there's travel issues, and there are a few sights, like the Old Agora, the Museum of the Acropolis and the Temple of Poseidon that aren't included in the ABD, and are really worth seeing.
Sayhello

If we do Greece we will probably fly into Rome a few days before heading to Athens, but hopefully we'll have a full day there at least. I'm taking notes!

Greece was our first ABD and we have taken one every year since. It is wonderful with a great mix of activities (as SayHello) mentions. On a bad day, I will often find my mind wandering to floating on the Aegean and then jumping in for a swim and then having our boat pull up to our lunch restaurant. It really is magical! I have also heard great things about China but I know there is a lot of travel involved. Based on what I have heard, I think Greece is a bit easier but you truly can't go wrong with either one!

Those pictures of the blue waters of Santorini are already filling my head, and I haven't even been there yet, LOL. I keep thinking about the Mama Mia movie, too. The vistas in that movie are incredible! I don't think we can go wrong either. If we do Greece this year, the plan will be for China in 2017.

I think both trips would be great. I haven't been on either one, but would probably choose China since that would be harder to navigate on your own and where having ABD would be awesome! Greece looks pretty spectacular as well, and some lazy days on the beach sounds pretty good right now....

I agree. I don't think I would even contemplate China without a tour group. I think the decision will come down to whether we want to push China back a year to see if they redo the itinerary to incorporate Shanghai Disney and/or working in a trip to Tokyo Disney, too.

 

[Ralphlaw]

I'm not sure what the temps will be like later in June. I was there end of May through the first week in June, and while it was warm, it was quite pleasant most of the time (except on top of the Acropolis. I think it's always hot up there. But it wasn't unbearable). All of the hotels have Air conditioning. I'm with you, and totally can't sleep if I'm sweaty. Not something I want to deal with on one of these trips!

And it's totally worth it to come in a day ahead. It will give you time to get over the jetlag, have some leeway if there's travel issues, and there are a few sights, like the Old Agora, the Museum of the Acropolis and the Temple of Poseidon that aren't included in the ABD, and are really worth seeing.

Sayhello

Thank you. I think you helped us clinch the decision.

 

[carpenta]

Tauck has a "Bridges" division that specializes in family tours just like ABD. A good perk that T offers is after you take one trip on the second trip they usually pay for the hotel pre or post trip. They have the list on their web site.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

Tauck has a "Bridges" division that specializes in family tours just like ABD. A good perk that T offers is after you take one trip on the second trip they usually pay for the hotel pre or post trip. They have the list on their web site.

For some reason I never noticed the river cruises! I'll definitely check them out

 

[NashSmartGuy]

I did the donkey ride up to Fira in Santorini (not a part of an ABD tour), and I have to say that the ride up was fun and scenic. I'd highly recommend it, if you can manage it. It was only about 5 euro. I wasn't going to do it because the cruiseline discouraged it, but we were running late for a tour, and our tour guide said that if the tram was backed up that the donkeys were faster. It was a blast and a little wild (you're pretty close to a cliff). I would only recommend the donkeys for going UP the hill, though. The tram is a better option for coming down the hill.

 

[sayhello]

I did the donkey ride up to Fira in Santorini (not a part of an ABD tour), and I have to say that the ride up was fun and scenic. I'd highly recommend it, if you can manage it. It was only about 5 euro. I wasn't going to do it because the cruiseline discouraged it, but we were running late for a tour, and our tour guide said that if the tram was backed up that the donkeys were faster. It was a blast and a little wild (you're pretty close to a cliff). I would only recommend the donkeys for going UP the hill, though. The tram is a better option for coming down the hill.

Just as an FYI, the ABD used to do the donkeys going to Oia, not Fira. There's no tram option that I know of in Oia, just vans. The ABD drops you off in Fira, so you'd have to leave, go down and then go back up to do it in Fira.

Sayhello

 

[sayhello]

I will probably take you up on that

Please do!

I knew it was your favorite, but don't think I'd realized it was out of 6! Believe me, yours and others comments on these boards about Greece have definitely been playing on my mind. It really sounds like a fabulous trip with a really good mix of activities, which is *really* appealing right now. DD15 wants to be an archeologist and is a huge Greek myth fan (as was her mom), so that makes it really appealing. It's less appealing to DS18, LOL.

This trip would be a dream for your DD15. Our Greek Adventure guide was actually an archeologist, and knew all the stories and the myths and the history, and really made it come alive. The Acropolis, Delphi, Akrotiri and Knossis - so fascinating!

LOL on the donkey, but I wonder if there is still an opportunity to do it. Might have to ask ABD. Definitely let me know if you see anything in your notes or pictures--I would love to know about any other changes.

I'm not sure why they cut the donkey ride out, but you do have a good period of time on your own in Oia, so maybe they could help you organize it on your own and then they could drop you off at the bottom of the hill.

Sayhello

 

[tgeorge]

This trip would be a dream for your DD15. Our Greek Adventure guide was actually an archeologist, and knew all the stories and the myths and the history, and really made it come alive. The Acropolis, Delphi, Akrotiri and Knossis - so fascinating


This is great information! I am infatuated with ancient Rome and Greece. To know that this is brought into the trip is wonderful. Santorini has been a dream of mine since I was young and I minored in anthropology as an undergraduate.

Geez....how do I begin to make my list of all of the ABD I need to do??!!??

 

[sayhello]

This is great information! I am infatuated with ancient Rome and Greece. To know that this is brought into the trip is wonderful. Santorini has been a dream of mine since I was young and I minored in anthropology as an undergraduate.

Geez....how do I begin to make my list of all of the ABD I need to do??!!??

To me, that's the best kind of problem to have!

Sayhello

 

[tgeorge]

To me, that's the best kind of problem to have!

Sayhello

So very true.... It could definitely be a lot worse Now I just have to organize the list and start thinking about planning my next adventure!!

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

Just as an FYI, the ABD used to do the donkeys going to Oia, not Fira. There's no tram option that I know of in Oia, just vans. The ABD drops you off in Fira, so you'd have to leave, go down and then go back up to do it in Fira.
Sayhello

Thanks for the clarification!

Please do!
This trip would be a dream for your DD15. Our Greek Adventure guide was actually an archeologist, and knew all the stories and the myths and the history, and really made it come alive. The Acropolis, Delphi, Akrotiri and Knossis - so fascinating!

I'm not sure why they cut the donkey ride out, but you do have a good period of time on your own in Oia, so maybe they could help you organize it on your own and then they could drop you off at the bottom of the hill.
Sayhello

How cool that your adventure guide was an archeologist! I'm sure DD would have LOVED that. Okay, great info on the donkey ride. I think it's something the kids would love so I might look into that.

This trip would be a dream for your DD15. Our Greek Adventure guide was actually an archeologist, and knew all the stories and the myths and the history, and really made it come alive. The Acropolis, Delphi, Akrotiri and Knossis - so fascinating

If we do this I'll be crossing my fingers that they still use the same guide--would be so cool for her. But even if they don't, seeing those sites I'm sure will be enough. DS could probably be entertained by the good food that I've heard about in Greece. And if that doesn't work, I guess there is always grappa