ABD vs DCL

[MickeyMouse718]

Looking at doing Europe (most likely Italy and or Greece) summer 2025 with 2 adults/2 children. We are flexible on location and don’t have anything specific we must see. Comparing costs of 9 night cruise with DCL to ABD’s in the region, ABD is at least $20,000 more. Biggest difference I see between DCL and ABD is having the guide for the entirety of the trip. Is that really worth the cost difference? I’m having a hard time justifying the cost difference for what could be a comparable trip.

 

[Donalyn]

DCL base price doesn’t include any sightseeing tours. And without tours, I don’t see DCL and ABD being at all equivalent.

And if you look at the excursions at the different ports - the prices get much closer to the same.

And yes, you could do it cheaper in ports, if you want to.

Value is a personal thing. Good luck planning your trip.

 

[AquaDame]

As has been said so many times before, "worth it" is very subjective.

Cruising vs. a land based are (perhaps just IMO) very different trips.

Biggest difference IMO is how you spend your days... the all inclusive nature of a cruise ends at the pier, and when you are talking about "seeing Europe", that isn't really done ON the ship unless you are really just satisfied with what you can see on deck. You do get the same room through the entire trip which is a huge plus for a lot of people as you only unpack once, and you get the dining on the ship as well which is again a plus or minus depending on how you want to see Europe. It is entirely possible to walk off the ship every day and not spend a penny beyond your fare if you want to just wander around, but most will go with a tour of some sort unless they're very independent and confident. That adds to the cost, but of course you'd be exceptionally hard pressed to add up to 20K. Folk also like sleeping while they move between locations, and of course the joy of sailing to begin with, so I'm not knocking that way of getting around. Most feel like they need to ALSO enjoy the ship, which takes time away from the ports. I've said it before and I'll say it again, for us personally, pulling out of port in Norway at 5-6pm every day ended up really irking us. We don't intend on ever sailing in Europe again until we are older and less mobile, if at all. We'd have much rather been able to have dinner, see a sunset, walk around more than get back on a ship we can easily sail on from the US. We LOVE sailing and I was blindsided by how differently I felt compared to other cruises we've been on.

The "value" of ABD is that you spend time in the countries the entire time. You still have someone else moving your luggage about (you do have to pack and unpack), and dealing with the logistics of getting you from place to place. You eat local food, speak with local guides, do local activities and the extra 20K is spent paying those folks, and to cover what amounts to included "excursions". The guides are like being concierge level (and I would argue the rooms themselves are an upgraded experience as well as they do choose very nice hotels) and the group size is infinitely smaller than your normal ship excursion size. Because you aren't tied to the sea, they tailor the trips to what is the best overall experience and not what is reachable from a port.

 

[Bad Pink Tink 2.0]

Looking at doing Europe (most likely Italy and or Greece) summer 2025 with 2 adults/2 children.

Just be aware that summer in Italy and Greece is brutal. Both ABD and DCL excursions will involve long days, walking on uneven surfaces in the open sun and in crowds. There is no air conditioning so even in restaurants , shops and indoor attractions, it will be very hot.

DCL will have American style food, drinks, entertainment and American style air conditioning. You unpack once and have one base room for the entire trip. You pay the initial cost of the cruise but then have additional costs of onboard extra charges. You travel to the ports during the night but then have additional travel each day as many of the ports are over an hours bus journey from where the main part of the day will be spent. DCL excursions are a very controlled way to see places, as you have limited time to see everything and have to be back on the ship by a specific time. Other than on excursions, you are on your own.

ABD will be in local hotels, with local food, drinks, entertainment and very little to no air conditioning. You are continually on the move, packing and unpacking, checking in and checking of various hotels. ABD initial cost is expensive, but you have very little additional costs once on the trip. You just have one travel journey, as the hotels where you stay are in the places where you spent the main part of the day. ABD has on your own time as part of the itinerary, so you can take part in the organised excursion as well as explore at your own place. ABD has guides that travel with you for the entire trip.

 

[abdgeek]

Looking at doing Europe (most likely Italy and or Greece) summer 2025 with 2 adults/2 children. We are flexible on location and don’t have anything specific we must see. Comparing costs of 9 night cruise with DCL to ABD’s in the region, ABD is at least $20,000 more. Biggest difference I see between DCL and ABD is having the guide for the entirety of the trip. Is that really worth the cost difference? I’m having a hard time justifying the cost difference for what could be a comparable trip.

As OP have said, DCL and ABD will be two totally different experiences. The first time I went to Italy, I took a DCL Mediterranean Cruise with the ABD add on. The add on is no longer available. We were the first off and the last on the ship. The local guide who accompanied us was very knowledgeable and explained everything at each site we saw. The two ABD guides made sure we had everything we needed at all times. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize that I couldn’t see everything on one trip and have since taken another DCL Mediterranean Cruise and an Italy ABD to see most everything I want to see. I still need to do the Amalfi Coast ABD and then I can say I will have seen everything I wanted to see in Italy. The second DCL Mediterranean Cruise I took, I took the regular DCL excursions and was very disappointed because the “tour guide” didn’t explain anything. They just took us to the site and told us when to return. There was little or no guiding. ABD is so much more. You experience the country, the people, and the food in depth. The Greece ABD was the first ABD I took and it is still my favorite to this day. However, whenever I travel I have specific things that I want to see. If I had it to do over, I would have done the two Italy ABDs. That way I could have seen everything in just two trips.

If you decide to do the ABD, you will see the major sites in the cities that you visit. If you do the cruise, you will need to decide which sites in each city are important to you. Good luck with your decision.

 

[Donalyn]

Also, not sure how old your kids are, but it seems that your initial pricing comparison was for one cruise cabin. If you do an ABD - you would normally get two rooms for 4 people. They indicate that they can't guarantee connecting rooms. We had 3 different hotels in the Italy trip we did, 2 were connecting, one was next door but not connecting.

We thought that having two bathrooms and more spread out space (European hotel rooms tend to be smaller than US rooms) was great for our family (with two teenage girls). Also - having real beds after long hot days was also helpful for keeping them happy and rested (versus a pull out type bed situation).

Just another thing to consider when doing your value comparison.

Oh, and we had air conditioning in our hotels. Maybe not quite the same as US, but generally comfortable.

And the guides do most of the logistical work of travel - checking you in and out of hotels, moving the luggage, getting you to your transportation (such as if you use a train, etc.). I didn't find any of this stressful when I was traveling with ADB (but can find it stressful when doing it in Europe normally).

I think that you will have a great vacation either way - but it really depends on what sort of experience you want.

(As an aside - I wish that they still had those ABD ad-ons for the European DCL cruises. Seems like the best way to have a great port experience on a big cruise, for people used to ABD touring.)

 

[AquaDame]

A/C in rooms has been plentiful and acceptable when we've been in Europe. Not so much in all the restaurants, but hotels have been fine except when we've knowingly cheaped out on lower quality rooms (not an issue when you're on an ABD). Folk have complained about the A/C on DCL ships as well - A/C is frequently a sore spot no matter where Americans go. Some folk around here like it COLD when they sleep, in the 60s or even 50s and yes that tends to be a struggle.

There was muttering about the DCL add-ons being too large of groups. I never experienced one, but on the cruise board people have commented it did not feel like an ABD in the same way as the normal smaller groups do.

 

[sayhello]

You've gotten so many excellent answers already, I'll just throw in my bit.

To me, the biggest downside of cruising (even when I did the ABD add-on to a DCL Mediterranean cruise) is, like @AquaDame said, you generally don't get to spend late afternoon/evening in port. You go back to a very culturally neutral ship and have meals that you could have on a cruise anywhere. On land ABDs, you are usually staying in the cultural centers of the countries you are visiting, and usually go to local restaurants and eat local food and experience those places in the evenings and occasionally see local entertainment. I really, REALLY missed that doing the DCL cruise. We had to leave Rome at 3 o'clock in the afternoon to get all the way back to the port in Civitavecchia in time. I just really feel more immersed in the places I'm at on an ABD than I do on a cruise.

And as others have said, you definitely do have to include the costs of excursions in each port into the equation. Most cruises you can only manage one or maybe two excursions/activities in a day, whereas ABDs can have multiple activities some days. Also, many of the days on an ABD include lunch, whereas if you are out touring and don't make it back to the ship, you are paying for your own meals. Most ship excursions do not include lunch.

Sayhello

 

[Mathmagicland]

To all of the great comments above, I’d add to consider the factor of your time spent waiting in lines at sites and the crowds inside the sites. While I have not yet been to either Italy or Greece, everything I read says they are both crazy popular and thus very crowded.

With the D-CL, you will either be with a big group like the other tour groups in town. or on your own, and thus waiting in long lines for tickets or to get in, or trying to buy tix online ahead of time and hoping you pick a time that will work. Read over the port adventure descriptions for Italy - for example, some in Rome mention traffic or crowds as being a potential to impact your tour experience. Some that include fhe colosseum even say that while you may be booking a tour inside, with time constraints it may end up just being a viewing from the outside, so you can make it back in time.

With the adventure, there can often be shorter lines, priority entrance, or after hours private access, all of which can result in a better travel experience. And even with a full group size, it is often fewer people than most port excursions unless you are fortunate enough to be offered and be able to book a small group one.

 

[jimmymc]

They are two very different trips.

With ABD, you are staying in hotels and have activities/tours planned every day. The guides stay with you for the whole trip, and it's a smaller group that your guides are dedicated to helping.

With DCL, you are getting transportation and meals, but you'll then need to book activities and excursions on your own. You also get less time in the actual countries you're visiting.

ABD is more expensive, but all your activities are included, you get a lot more time actually in Italy and Greece, and you get the same two guides for the whole trip. ABDs tend to be a lot more active, while cruises are a slower pace and more relaxing.

 

[chuff88]

I've done 5 cruises on DCL and 2 ABDs and just want to add to the chorus of people saying that they're completely different. I wouldn't necessarily recommend DCL for a trip where you want to do heavy sightseeing - the time in each port is more limited and you don't get a lot of time to immerse. ABDs, on the other hand, are very culturally rich and you get to do a lot in a relatively short time. My experience has also been that the hotels on ABDs are very nice, much nicer than I would normally book if I was booking a trip on my own. I'd recommend DCL for a trip where your main priority is relaxation - I really like that it sort of forces me to unplug and disconnect.