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I picked ABD because we are huge fans of everything Disney and we had a wonderful time on our Italy ABD. I just trust that they will create a perfect vacation, and they did. I didn't do any research into other providers. I will say that after seeing both AmaWaterways (you are on a Ama ship) and Viking boats and groups in all of our ports and most excursions, I think you could probably do a very similar trip for less money. I don't know about the service level, whether they are kid friendly, etc. But I feel like we got the value for what we paid.This is on my list of must do - if you don’t mind my asking
What made you pick ABD over anyone else ???
Were you all adults ?
What was so special about it ? The whole thing ? Certain ports ? Something you always wanted that turned out to be way you pictured it ?
Did you do pre or post hotel stay ?
Lastly - how much planning did you do on your own ??
Thank you so much !!!
I'm curious how many people were on your cruise, that you only had 3 Adventure Guides. We had 8 for 140 people.
We had about 70 guests. I had heard it was usually 6 guides for a full ship, but sounds like you had more. Three guides seemed adequate to me, as we never split into more than three different buses or tour groups. But I don't know if behind the scenes the guides were overworked. I will say it was great having the ship half empty. It was easy to find a quiet place to sit or an open table to eat. I imagine it could get crowded in the public areas with 150.
We had something similar, as one of our ABD guides previously worked for AMA before Disney stole him. I was greatly impressed with the AMA staff and would consider booking a future trip directly with them.I'm so glad you enjoyed your trip! I've been on that ABD twice-once at Christmas and once during the summer. It was a wonderful trip and if it weren't for the price, I'd do it again in a heartbeat
Viking caters to an older clientele and little things on the AMA ship like bicycles aren't on their longboats (or that was true according to our ABD guides in 2019). One of our favorite ABD guides, Betty, was hired by AMA as a cruise director in 2019 so that should tell you the quality of AMA's onboard staff (or at least one of them lol).
Thanks for the update!
If I remove the comparison of Italy vs Austria and look just at the mode of transportation, unquestionably I would prefer the cruise over land transport. I love the water, and the times we sailed during the day through the beautiful valleys, passing castles and vineyards... these were some of my favorite parts of the trip that rival any excursions we took. Sailing beats riding a bus or train any day. I also like unpacking on day one and being able to call the place home for a whole week instead of moving hotels every two or three days. It was nice having a familiar home base to come back to no matter what new city you were in. Also, every single meal was available for free on the boat and was fabulous. I think we had to buy one meal a day in Italy and we had some hits and misses. We got to know the staff and had the same server every night. It was like being on DCL, with them learning what you prefer to drink or which pieces of bread you eat in the basket and then seeing it appear the next night. It's no contest which is better in my mind, but opinions may vary.
It's interesting, because the things that make me definitely prefer land ABD's over the river cruises, you didn't experience. The main one was, with 8 Adventure Guides and 140 people, you didn't get to know the Adventure Guides like you do on a land ABD. You always had different combinations of Guides, and different combinations of Adventurers, so you just didn't get that same family feel as you do on land ABD's. (But *after* I did the river cruise, I did Iceland with 40 people, and found that while I *did* get to know the Guides on that trip, there were folks on the ABD whose names I never learned! So that's something.)
Actually, I did experience what you are talking about even with only 3 guides and 70 people. When I did Italy, we became great friends with both guides and still interact with them on Facebook three years later. We also became good friends with one particular family and did everything together on the trip. We were able to do that because both guides and all the guests were together for just about every event and travel time. On this river cruise, like you said, we would have only one guide on an excursion and it was a different one every time. It took most of the 8 days for them to even learn our names. And there were some families that I almost never saw and didn't talk to. So I agree with you on this point, that if you are a social person and want that familiarity and interaction, a land cruise is better. I'm kind of introverted, and frankly some of the guests were rude or annoying anyway, so the lack of socialization on the cruise didn't bother me besides the fact that I would have liked to know the guides better.
Yes, staying on the boat is always an option. My dad is the same age and he stayed on the boat most mornings. Then we would come back to the boat for lunch and he would join us on the afternoon excursion. It let him sleep in and also avoid some of the longer walking tours. I'd say out of 70 guests, there were usually 10-15 people that stayed on the boat at any given time. The room TV has a lot of English programming, including some on demand movies and TV shows you will recognize. There is a small pool, a sundeck, a lounge with occasional live piano music, a small library. Food and drink is always available. Free WIFI. There should be enough to keep her busy for a few hours while you do something else.
Were you required to obtain travel visas for this sailing? Or passport is ok?
No visas, just need a passport.
It depends on when you are going. If it's May 2023 or after, then you will be required to register for the new "ETIAS" System (European Travel Information and Authorization System) in order to enter Europe. If any of the counties are in the Schengen zone, then the ETIAS will be required. It's not really a Visa, per se, it's a registration system. It's a simple online application, and is good for up to 3 years.
Is there a gym and laundry facilities on board?
