ABD trip or Med cruise

[Sarabi's Cubs]

I'm interested in getting some feedback on the merits of an ABD trip vs. a Med cruise in 2012. We're a family of 5 and the kids will be 14, 11, and 6 at that time. We travel in the US but have never traveled abroad. We've been on several non-Disney cruises and enjoyed them, but it's always been more about the ship than the destination so a Med cruise would be different in that respect. We're particularly interested in Italy/Greece.

Laurie

 

[sayhello]

I assume you're proposing a non-Disney Med cruise, as they don't go to Greece?

I did a trip this summer that was an ABD *on* a Med cruise. If you like to cruise, it could be a great option.

Personally, I'm not the hugest cruising fan. While it is fabulous to get to so many different, fascinating places without having to pack & unpack over & over again, I find that I like spending more time in a place than you get to do on a cruise. While I truly enjoyed the ABD/DCL cruise, I found it really hard to leave these places & go back on the ship in the middle of the afternoon some days, and not spend the evening/dinner/etc, in the middle of where I was traveling to. I've definitely found that, for me, I much prefer a land-based trip. You really get immersed in the locale better that way.

Also, sometimes seeing where you are traveling between destinations (even if it's by bus) can be preferable to traveling there while you sleep, in the dark.

And I've found that ABD puts together some really fabulous land-based trips. I don't think you can do wrong signing up for one.

Obviously, this is my personal opinion, and my personal experience.

Sayhello

 

[tufbuf]

In my opinion, you cannot go wrong either way. We had a blast in our Med Cruise last August with Disney and we have done 3 ABDs the past years and will be doing 2 next year. If you are more into the ship, then the cruise should be good for you and your family. It's also convenient since you unpack one time and pack when you go fly home. With ABD, you see more of the places you go to. With the cruise, you see highlights and may feel rushed at times. Disney Magic, which is the one that goes trans-atlantic, is a small and the oldest ship so it won't take long before you will be able to discover every nook and cranny. That's just my 2 cents.

 

[mkmommy]

I have not taken an ABD trip yet but several cruises, most recent the Med with 2 girls 7 and 9, and with kids your age I recommend a cruise. I had no idea how my girls would do with the sights and touring in Europe, they were great, but I think much of that had to do with they knew they had the ship to head back to at the end of the day.

Touring is hard on kids and also parents so being on a cruise allows you to only have to pack and unpack once, and you can pretty much guarantee that their will be a kids menu that will have something your child will eat. My kids still like routine in their life, so having the same bed for 8 nights allowed them to get a good night sleep, but still wake up in a new port and see something new.

I look forward to when my kids are older and I think when they are 12 or so I will take them on an ABP trip.

 

[abdmom]

I have 3 kids of similar age - 15, 12 and 5. I did an ABD with the older two when they were 12 and 9. We had a blast. However, the ABD was quite strenuous. I wouldn't recommend the one we did (China) for anyone less than 8 years old, which is ABD's recommendation too. Take a close look at the minimum recommended age and go from there.

I love cruising too. It is a carefree way to travel and you generally get a lot of bang for your buck. With the ABD's, it generally costs about $500 per person per day. And that doesn't include all of your meals. Cruising costs more in the range of $100-$200 per person per day. We got our DCL Med cruise for $45 per person per day for the cruise itself. Over an 11 night cruise, we spent about another $100 per person per day for shore excursions.

With ABD, you get more individual attention. With a cruise, you get more bang for the buck.

 

[MickeyWatch]

We did the Disney Med cruise when my daughter was 7 and the DCL Baltic cruise this past summer when she was 10. We all had a great time on the cruise and the shore excursions we choose were perfect for us. My only complaint and its not really a complaint, was that the Med cruise was packed! The ship was at full capacity and because the weather was hot the pools and decks were very crowded on sea days. On the Baltic cruise we had no problem: the weather was cool and the pools were nearly empty.

So my advice is to try the cruise with your family.

 

[Sarabi's Cubs]

Thanks for all of the advice! I'm leaning towards the cruise. I think it will give us a taste of Europe and an idea of how the kids travel in a foreign country. With the youngest being 6, I feel like the more rigorous ABD trips may be too much for him. If it goes well, I can start working on DH about an ABD trip and by then, my youngest will be old enough to keep up! Guess I'll just wait and see what the 2012 itineraries look like. I'm still hoping for an eastern Med.

Laurie