ABD, European or Alaskan Disney Cruise, or Aulani?

[Susie22]

I have six children, and my oldest daughter will be graduating from high school next year. We want to take one final grand trip as an entire family next summer, most likely to Europe, Hawaii, or Alaska. Our children will be 5, 7, 13 (twins), 15, and 17. We've done a Disney cruise before, and we loved it, but disliked the short time in port. We'd like to try an ABD, but are concerned our son will still be too young. If we went on DCL, it may be a better fit for him with the kids club, etc. Considering the extraordinary expense of this trip, we'd like to get it right. Any opinions from those who have gone before which would be best?

 

[Cousin Orville]

We've done several of both - European Cruises and ABD's. I've taken my son as young as 7 on the France ABD and he did great. I've seen kids younger, but I wouldn't want to paint an overly rosy picture of ABD for very young children. ABD is best for kids just a bit older and kids that can tolerate longer days of traveling. It really depends on your 5 yo. If he still feels the need for a stroller or rest time, that would be a strike against ABD. ABD is definitely going to be best for your kids 7-17.

On the other hand, I'm one to take kids traveling young. I've taken all my kids on multiple DCL European cruises even as babies and toddlers. Maybe not an ideal age for a European cruise, but it always worked out well. The same could probably be said for taking a 5yo on an ABD.

Incidentally, if you were looking at Hawaii, I would recommend spending several days at Aulani even at the expense of a cruise. I would definitely go to Aulani before doing a DCL cruise to Hawaii.

 

[2PrincesseInTow]

It depends on the type of vacation you're looking for.... The Aulani would be a great choice for a relaxing family beach vacation. You still have the kids club so your younger kids can have fun there and you can spend some focused time with your older children. The pool area has something for everyone and the cove beach is really nice. The spa at the Aulani is amazing as well.

The nice thing about a cruise to Alaska is, unlike a European cruise, you don't have museums, ruins and churches that you may want to see but a small child might find not so fun. My daughter was six when we went on our Alaska cruise and she had a lot of fun on all of the excursions. We were outside most every day enjoying nature.

My ABD experience has been a cruise add-on in Europe and it was great fun for the kids as they made new friends and were entertained by the Adventure guides.

 

[aggiedog]

We have 4 kids, 10, 13, 16, 16 (also twins), so I understand what you mean about cost. I agree with the PP, it depends what your family likes and what sort of travelers the younger kids are. We did the Baltic cruise last year and had a blast. We spent a week before the cruise split between Iceland and Copenhagen. Our youngest was 9 at the time, and completely disinterested in museums, etc. We still did some of those, but also included items in our tours that appealed to the younger kids.

We did elect to pull the kids out of school the last 4 days to take the earliest cruise. The next identical cruise 10 days later was 50% more. The kids missed some finals but the school district worked with us. I know that's not an option for everyone, and it was a hassle, but gave us enough extra money to do the first week of travel.

 

[TXTransplant]

Considering the extraordinary expense of this trip, we'd like to get it right. Any opinions from those who have gone before which would be best?

This part of your question really stood out to me. Having done both ABD and DCL with my son (haven't ventured to Hawaii, yet), I'm not sure I would be willing to pay $4,000-$6,000 (or even more depending on the trip, cost of airfare, and when you book) for a 5 year old to go on an ABD trip. The issue really is the value for your dollar. When you book DCL, you do get a bit of price break for kids (assuming there are two paying adults), which helps mitigate the cost for the younger ones. Also, if your older kids want to do excursions and your youngest doesn't, you can opt out of that additional expense and use the (already paid for in your cruise fare) kids' club. Even the expense of a hotel room at Aulani is sort of dollar cost averaged over all guests. And in Hawaii, you can customize your experience specific to your kids' interests (and again, not pay for anything you don't want).

But, with ABD you are paying an all-inclusive PER GUEST price. Is your 5 year old (based on your knowledge of him) really going to get the full value out of a $4k-$6k ABD trip? Because there is no way to "opt out" of anything, in terms of the cost. Sure, if your youngest doesn't want to go to whatever museum is scheduled for the day, you don't have to participate. But, you also don't get your money back, and someone has to stay behind and babysit (meaning there will be diminished value for the adult's vacation, too). I'm not sure ABD offers the flexibility for a family of 6 with such wide age ranges needs to get the most bang for your buck.

 

[Susie22]

Thanks everyone. This is good feedback and has me leaning against ABD for now. Leaning now toward either Alaskan or European, cruises or Aulani.

 

[Golden Rose]

We recently got back from an ABD to Costa Rica with our two kids, who are 5 and 11. Our 5 year old LOVED the trip. She would not have loved a trip that was all about museums, but she loved Costa Rica and had an amazing time. We actually chose ABD because we thought she would rather travel with other kids. (She was disappointed that she couldn't zip line or whitewater raft - she is my little daredevil. Those were the only two activities she was too young to participate in.) We have also done 3 Disney cruises and Aulani with both kids, plus and Alaska cruise not with DCL. We also did a Europe cruise not with DCL when our son was 5, and it was amazing for him, but we really picked shore excursions around his interests more than half the time. I do not think the Mediterranean cruise would have worked quite as well for our daughter as it did for our son - so much depends on the individual child at that age. That said, we are seriously considering one of the ABD river cruises for next year, and she'll only be 6.

We loved Aulani. It was great for both kids, and the kids regularly ask to go back. We had a really nice mix of time together and adult time while the kids were at Aunty's Beach House, the Aulani Kids' Club. We split our time between Aulani and another hotel, and we did all our sight seeing while at the other hotel. Once we got to Aulani, we just hung out there. It worked really well for us.

We did Alaska with Princess instead of with Disney, because I was afraid the princess crazy 5 year old would remember princesses instead of Alaska if we went on DCL. Both kids absolutely loved Alaska on Princess. Alaska is spectacular, some of the most beautiful scenery you will ever see. We did a ferry to a shore excursion with a group from DCL, and they were having an amazing cruise, too. You can't go wrong!

 

[Cousin Orville]

We recently got back from an ABD to Costa Rica with our two kids, who are 5 and 11. Our 5 year old LOVED the trip. She would not have loved a trip that was all about museums, but she loved Costa Rica and had an amazing time. We actually chose ABD because we thought she would rather travel with other kids. (She was disappointed that she couldn't zip line or whitewater raft - she is my little daredevil. Those were the only two activities she was too young to participate in.) We have also done 3 Disney cruises and Aulani with both kids, plus and Alaska cruise not with DCL. We also did a Europe cruise not with DCL when our son was 5, and it was amazing for him, but we really picked shore excursions around his interests more than half the time. I do not think the Mediterranean cruise would have worked quite as well for our daughter as it did for our son - so much depends on the individual child at that age. That said, we are seriously considering one of the ABD river cruises for next year, and she'll only be 6.

We loved Aulani. It was great for both kids, and the kids regularly ask to go back. We had a really nice mix of time together and adult time while the kids were at Aunty's Beach House, the Aulani Kids' Club. We split our time between Aulani and another hotel, and we did all our sight seeing while at the other hotel. Once we got to Aulani, we just hung out there. It worked really well for us.

We did Alaska with Princess instead of with Disney, because I was afraid the princess crazy 5 year old would remember princesses instead of Alaska if we went on DCL. Both kids absolutely loved Alaska on Princess. Alaska is spectacular, some of the most beautiful scenery you will ever see. We did a ferry to a shore excursion with a group from DCL, and they were having an amazing cruise, too. You can't go wrong!

Were there other children as young as your DD in Costa Rica? I'm debating myself when to take my youngest DD on an ABD. Costa Rica might be a good option.

 

[Hlee]

We recently got back from an ABD to Costa Rica with our two kids, who are 5 and 11. Our 5 year old LOVED the trip. She would not have loved a trip that was all about museums, but she loved Costa Rica and had an amazing time. We actually chose ABD because we thought she would rather travel with other kids. (She was disappointed that she couldn't zip line or whitewater raft - she is my little daredevil. Those were the only two activities she was too young to participate in.) We have also done 3 Disney cruises and Aulani with both kids, plus and Alaska cruise not with DCL. We also did a Europe cruise not with DCL when our son was 5, and it was amazing for him, but we really picked shore excursions around his interests more than half the time. I do not think the Mediterranean cruise would have worked quite as well for our daughter as it did for our son - so much depends on the individual child at that age. That said, we are seriously considering one of the ABD river cruises for next year, and she'll only be 6.

We loved Aulani. It was great for both kids, and the kids regularly ask to go back. We had a really nice mix of time together and adult time while the kids were at Aunty's Beach House, the Aulani Kids' Club. We split our time between Aulani and another hotel, and we did all our sight seeing while at the other hotel. Once we got to Aulani, we just hung out there. It worked really well for us.

We did Alaska with Princess instead of with Disney, because I was afraid the princess crazy 5 year old would remember princesses instead of Alaska if we went on DCL. Both kids absolutely loved Alaska on Princess. Alaska is spectacular, some of the most beautiful scenery you will ever see. We did a ferry to a shore excursion with a group from DCL, and they were having an amazing cruise, too. You can't go wrong!

Tell Thea we said hi!!!! Need to start working on our picture book Hope you guys are doing well!

 

[Golden Rose]

Were there other children as young as your DD in Costa Rica? I'm debating myself when to take my youngest DD on an ABD. Costa Rica might be a good option.

My daughter was the youngest at 5. There were two 7 year old girls, and several other girls just a little bit older. The little girls basically ran in a pack the entire trip, with new best friends each day. It worked really, really well. My daughter had a blast. They sat together, swam together, talked together, and played together, and my daughter still asks why we can't see the other girls again. Our trip was basically half "children", ranging in age from my daughter at 5 up to college age.

Costa Rica is a great, active trip for all ages. It worked really well for our whole family (we were three generations, my mom and step-father were with us). My daughter's only frustrations were not being allowed to zipline (they say it is by age, but it is actually by height, and the 7 year olds were allowed to go because they were tall enough) or to whitewater raft (which was by age, and you HAD to be 8.) She enjoyed the rough spots on the not-whitewater rafting we did as the alternative.

There may have been such a high percentage of young people since it was spring break for many of us.

 

[Golden Rose]

Tell Thea we said hi!!!! Need to start working on our picture book Hope you guys are doing well!

I'll tell her! Thea misses Claire! She was so mad when I told her that Claire and Lila wouldn't be on our next trip. She was assuming they were now her travel buddies!

I've started making a photo book, but between the 5 of us taking pictures, plus the ABD shots, I'm trying to pick from almost 800 shots! I have made a separate nature book of the interesting animals and plants we saw for the kids.

We're doing well. Hope y'all are, too!

 

[laceltris3]

We recently got back from an ABD to Costa Rica with our two kids, who are 5 and 11. Our 5 year old LOVED the trip. She would not have loved a trip that was all about museums, but she loved Costa Rica and had an amazing time. We actually chose ABD because we thought she would rather travel with other kids. (She was disappointed that she couldn't zip line or whitewater raft - she is my little daredevil. Those were the only two activities she was too young to participate in)

We are doing DCL Baltic next summer, and did Alaska last year with our kids who are now 10, 7 and 4. We also just did Costa Rica, though with Tauck Bridges instead of ABD, and the kids picked TB over ABD. I think that a European ABD might be a little much on the little one. Mine are great travelers, it's just that the youngest is a bit young to appreciate the cultural aspects and it is easier (on me) to have something everyone can enjoy. Alaska would be perfect. We spilt up on excursions and someone would take the older one(s) of the "cooler" excursion, but even the "lame" option, like the Lumberjack show was still fun, and we took turns.

Golden Rose, I had gathered that ABD had different rules, and that was part of why we did CR with TB last month for Spring Break My 4 year old got to zip line at Buena Vista, though with a guide, and the 6 year old did that and at the sky tram by himself. Our rafting trip wasn't white water, but on the way back there was a giant multi-raft water fight, and even the youngest got to participate. He was very happy he got to do everything his older siblings did.

 

[ldo]

I have never done ABD, but have done European cruises several times with kids. What works really well for us is this:
1 week DIY land pre-cruise, then 1 week cruise. The cruise at the end is nice b/c yonger kids can stay in the kids club if they are tired of touring. After our 1st "Grand Tour," I also learned to slow down and schedule only a 1/2 day for most days with more downtime. With a Rick Steves book and a few hours of research, you can easily manage 1 week DIY. There are also day tours that you can book in cities, when you don't want to manage logistics. I look @ Viator.com to decide what there is to do. Sometimes I DIY and sometimes I book a day tour with them (they are just a booking agency for local tours). Our best day tour ever was from Florence called Best of Tuscany. Went to Sienna, san Girmangno (?), Pisa and a farm for lunch/wine--amazing for $130PP and kids under 9 free!
I really like Florence pre-cruise (easy access to Pisa and Lucca, Bologna, 2 hrs by train to Venice, Rome). Italy is very easy to manage with kids. And, the train is super easy. Walk up and ask the ticket agent for tickets (alomst all speak english) and there's a train every hour to/from most places. London, and Copenhagen also have a lot to offer. Pre-Baltics, it's easy to add London. It's also easy to fly from a different city to your cruise via a low cost carrier. We have used easyjet and SAS--both are fine.
Adding a week pre or post gives you time to explore and mitigates the short port times on the cruises. It's the best of both, IMHO. My kids LOVE getting on a familiar ship with all the amenities--pool, buffets, movies, kids clubs after a week of hotels and touring. The 7 day DCL in Europe tend to be a lot less $$$ than the longer ones. I find that the price difference is enough to do a week DIY in Europe. We have done both Baltics and Med. Kids enjoyed both.

 

[EllinK]

We've done several Disney Cruises and have been to the Aulani. We love both! But we feel like DCL is a pretty good value compared with Aulani and ABD. Also, it accommodates a broad range of ages. If you did Aulani as a DVC, that could be affordable. The pool is fantastic, the beach is okay, food options are limited (and $$$) and there isn't a lot else nearby. The younger ones would love it but Aulani might not be the best fit for the twins.

 

[DCPhotoGal]

We are just back from Aulani, and have done DCL and ABD trips. My thoughts on Aulani as an option: for us, a family of 4, kids aged 10 and 12, it was a pricey hotel stay. We went over spring break, non-DVC, and paid full price. It was a lovely resort, but as other people have mentioned, there isn't much nearby, and the beach is really not as we expected. We stayed 6 nights, and my girls were bored. The water park was really fun, but so crowded when we were there, and also on-and-off closed for water quality problems. Another thing to note is that kids 10 and over are considered "adults" at Aulani, so you will pay full adult price at the restaurants, which is really pricey for buffets. With a larger family, the suites with full kitchens might work really well.
DCL can be a good deal for families if you find a good deal on a sail date. Two rooms can get a little pricey, but I have heard families getting one oceanview suite, and then an inside suite across the hall for the kids, to save money.
I agree with the pricing issue that pp mentioned about ABD being expensive as a per-person priced trip. I will say, however, that it may work out really well for your family group on an ABD if the kids can find other kids of similar age to hang out with and break out a little during the trip. My girls have really enjoyed meeting new friends on the ABDs and it has made travel with them much more pleasant as the kids have "kids time" on the trips and the adults have adult time.

 

[SingingMom]

We are of the minority that didn't "love" Aulani. I was very disappointed in the lack of real beach. It's a manmade grotto/cove with rough sand and lounges one on top of another. The pools are gorgeous, but if I wanted to sit by the pool, I wouldn't have flown across the country, I would have sat in my own backyard. LOL The beach we went to for DD & DH surf lesson was beautiful and what I had hoped for at the resort. We wouldn't return - definitely would go back to Bermuda instead. I will say, however, that I thought the Hawaiian people are the warmest, kindest, people I've ever encountered in our travels!

I think the multi-age of an ABD trip is great for families. We loved our three trips and can't wait to take another!

 

[ldo]

just to add, if you want Hawaii, and decide Aulani is not for you, what I would suggest: We stayed at Hilton Grand Vacation Club in Waikoloa Village (Big I) when my kids were younger and had an amazing time. If you can get a 2BR for a cash rate from Hilton or rent from a HGVC owner, it is very nice. Some units have privileges at the Hilton nearby, which is amazing. My 3 yr old swam with sea turtles in their manmade lagoon. The Hilton hotel facilities are amazing. I was in heaven with twin 3 year olds, just staying at the great pools and lovely grounds. We snorkeled, DH/DS deep sea fishing, volcano hike (long day trip, or book a hotel on the other side), went to a luau, etc. The units are very nice. There is a small resort village with some restaurants (Roys-yum). You could fly into Oahu and do Aulani or elsewhere for a few days, then move other to Big I. HGVC is as nice as DVC, IMHO.