Any initial feedback from the first Baltic cruise ABD add-on?

[alexandmaddie]

Mickey&JoshNut, did you go back to the ship for dinner (before the canal ride) while you were in St. Petersburg?

 

[evilipoo]

We were on the second Baltic cruise add on and I have done 2 land adventures...I absolutely loved the ABD add on and felt I got my money's worth. I felt that We did the equivalent of between 2 and 4 excursions a day while in port. I also did not feel that meals were overly long, however they may have adjusted times from the first add on - also in Stockholm we could have left as soon as we were finished eating to go shopping but many in our group stayed and talked and then went out for a bit of shopping. We were informed in the terminal by Dusty when we checked in with ABD that all sgutters photos were included and we were even challenged to see who could get the most pictures....I asked about the ABBA museum and they can only take 22 people at a time to go through so it was not included on the intinerary - the same situation as the Fabrege egg museum...they only allow limited # of guests...I guess everyone has a different experiences on the ABD's and my experience was amazing...I loved James and Dusty and can't wait to take another adventure.

I'm glad to hear this! Just wish our experience was as good.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

I hope they have adjusted after feedback from the initial group! Mickey&JoshNut, I'm curious, did you guys have any special touches/surprises that were not covered in the printed itineraries? You don't have to say what they are if you don't want

 

[Mickey&JoshNut]

yes, we came back to the ship for about 1.5 hours...most of our group ate in Cabanas which DCL opened with a buffet for dinner...

 

[Mickey&JoshNut]

there were some things that were surprises but nothing like the surprises on my BSM ABD...

 

[paddles]

I'm glad to hear the positive comments about the trip! We're really looking forward to our cruise coming up in a few weeks.

I think the pace of the add-on will be better for my kids (and Mom), and that was a lot of the reason why we signed up for an ABD. The guides are really good about giving breaks, snacks, bathroom stops, etc. that my kids really appreciate. Plus, it's great they have other kids to bond with.

I'm very type-A and "go, go, go", and I have no problem waking up at 6am on vacations and touring all day long....I love having every minute filled! So, the ABD sounds like a good balance for all in my family.

 

[OKW Lover]

Just wondering if anybody doing this recently has had Dusty as their ABD guide. We had him last year for Viva Italia and he was really great.

 

[paddles]

We were on the second Baltic cruise add on and I have done 2 land adventures...I absolutely loved the ABD add on and felt I got my money's worth. I felt that We did the equivalent of between 2 and 4 excursions a day while in port. I also did not feel that meals were overly long, however they may have adjusted times from the first add on - also in Stockholm we could have left as soon as we were finished eating to go shopping but many in our group stayed and talked and then went out for a bit of shopping. We were informed in the terminal by Dusty when we checked in with ABD that all sgutters photos were included and we were even challenged to see who could get the most pictures....I asked about the ABBA museum and they can only take 22 people at a time to go through so it was not included on the intinerary - the same situation as the Fabrege egg museum...they only allow limited # of guests...I guess everyone has a different experiences on the ABD's and my experience was amazing...I loved James and Dusty and can't wait to take another adventure.

Quick question about Stockholm....did you have time after the Vasa Museum to go shop/hang out or did you go back directly to the ship? I'm asking because the ABBA Museum is next door and was wondering if we could visit on our own if there was time. thanks!

 

[alexandmaddie]

Quick question about Stockholm....did you have time after the Vasa Museum to go shop/hang out or did you go back directly to the ship? I'm asking because the ABBA Museum is next door and was wondering if we could visit on our own if there was time. thanks!

We were on the first Baltic add on and we did not have time to shop after the Vasa Museum.

 

[evilipoo]

Just wondering if anybody doing this recently has had Dusty as their ABD guide. We had him last year for Viva Italia and he was really great.

Dusty and James were our guides. They were so different, but both fantastic.

 

[Calfan]

I just finished writing up my thoughts on the add-on for the July 10 12-night Baltics cruise. Be warned that it is long, but here is a link for anyone interested:

http://www.disboards.com/threads/12...ut-not-likely-to-book-another-add-on.3433633/

 

[Ralphlaw]

Just got back from the July 22nd Baltic add on. Several observations;

1. Dusty and James were great. In many ways they made the trip for us.
2. No real surprises like backstage passes at Tivoli, but overall it was still very nice without them. Yes, it was basically according to the itinerary.
3. No 2 hour meals, but there were a few lines for bathrooms in Russia.
4. We had 44 people in our group, which may be a bit much. Yet I don't think it got in the way.
5. We ended up touring all or parts of about 6 palaces and castles, which perhaps was a bit too much.
6. No Abba museum, but several people arranged with James to go by cab and skip part of the afternoon tour to City Hall. We all met up at the Vasa museum.

Overall it was great. We did not know what we wanted to do in the Baltic cities (as opposed to Italy, which is a bit more obvious in what you want to do). There were essentially no lines, and things went smoothly. Last year, when we did the Med cruise, we seemed to end up standing in line a lot, and our guides were very hit & miss--some were great, some, not so much. What Dusty and James can do is skip the lines and pick the best guides, and control them. For example, our guide last year in Sicily hardly said anything, and seemed to be outright grumpy. Our guide in Florence had us stand around while he went into way too much detail. The guides in the Baltic the ABD were all fantastic, and Dusty and James were able to control them. We also didn't have to monkey around with port adventure planning. Being the first group off the boat was also a very nice plus, especially in Russia.