Alaska Cruise ABD Add-on

[OKW Lover]

My wife and I will be on the 5/27/13 Alaska sailing and we were wondering about the ABD add-on for this cruise. I've read a few reviews and it sounds interesting but perhaps a bit more strenuous than we may be up for. I suspect that ABD has alternatives for those of us that are a bit older.

But my real question is, what is the cost?

 

[sayhello]

My wife and I will be on the 5/27/13 Alaska sailing and we were wondering about the ABD add-on for this cruise. I've read a few reviews and it sounds interesting but perhaps a bit more strenuous than we may be up for. I suspect that ABD has alternatives for those of us that are a bit older.

But my real question is, what is the cost?

Jeff, I haven't seen any of the pricing for this year, but here's the pricing from last year:

• $2,499/adult (ages 12 and up)
• $2,369/child (ages 6-11)

Expect it to be at least a couple of hundred dollars more this year.

I noticed that the itinerary for this year looks seriously jam-packed. A lot of stuff in each port. But the dogsledding is back!

And yes, ABD has always managed to have alternatives set up for those who aren't quite up to the more strenuous activities. I wouldn't worry about that. If you called ABD, they might be able to fill you in on some of those options.

If I didn't already have an ABD scheduled for that week, I might just have joined you guys!

Sayhello

 

[OKW Lover]

Thanks Tobi. I had seen that pricing on the Dreams site but was confused because it seemed to be very high and the descriptions mention things (meals) that are already a part of the cruise itself.

 

[sayhello]

Thanks Tobi. I had seen that pricing on the Dreams site but was confused because it seemed to be very high and the descriptions mention things (meals) that are already a part of the cruise itself.

All your lunches on shore are included in the add-on (I also think there's a dinner on shore that's included on one day). Unless they've changed something this year, the price includes all your onshore activities, transportation, the services of 2 Adventure Guides, a couple of activities onboard, all photos taken both on & off the ship (ie, all the Shutters photos and all the photos taken by the Guides), a case of bottled water, a dinner at Palo and all gratuities (except for the Adventure Guides' tips). There were also a couple of extra things, like upon boarding, you could leave your carry-ons with the Guides until your cabin was ready, so you didn't have to shlep them around with you. I did the Med add-on, and thought it was totally worth it. There's fewer days in port on the Alaska cruise, so the "worth it" part is a bit more subjective. I must say, the days in port are very full, with way more activities than you could manage on your own. Whether that's a plus or not is up to you. Again, they may have changed some of that since I did the add-on.

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[meajuly5]

I am considering this as well in July and would lock to hear from someone who did it. My concern is on part due to what they might substitute as excursions if the weather is poor

 

[carpenta]

Just remember that Alaska is a sub artic rain forest and the weather is very variable. Even Disney can't control that.m.

 

[meajuly5]

We are doing the Akaska cruise this summer on Dcl. Abd add on worth it? I am having a hard time justifying the extra cost but looking for insight from someone who has experienced it!

 

[meajuly5]

Does anyone know what any of the substituted excursions might be in poor weather?

 

[sayhello]

I'm going to merge these 2 threads to prevent confusion.

Sayhello

 

[Noelle]

We just booked the add on for our August 12th Cruise. The price was 2499 per person. I also was a little worried considering it seemed pretty high when you take in the fact that the ship costs are separate and the ship costs cover your room and food. But the cruise line rep told me that I have several months to decide if I want to cancel and the 20% deposit is refundable as long as I stay within my window. So if I get to April and decide it just doesn't seem worth it, I can put the money I have down towards our cruise portion. Now I just need to read more reviews to see if it's something that justifies the cost.

 

[meajuly5]

That is good to know Bout the cancellation window. I am am curious to hear what you learn about the reviews. I haven't found many for this particular abd

 

[CBEB]

We did this ABD two summers ago when they had this same itinerary. I added up the prices for the individual excursions that were included in ABD and came within $200. Knowing we would probably never get back to Alaska it was easier to get past the sticker shock when we realized we would be doing far more excursions than we could on our own. It was worth EVERY PENNY!!!

The only excursion that I think was subject to weather was dog sledding because of the helicopter ride up to the camp. We got to go but the sub would have been their training summer camp. Others have posted that this was still a lot of fun though.

 

[Noelle]

Knowing we would probably never get back to Alaska it was easier to get past the sticker shock when we realized we would be doing far more excursions than we could on our own.

That's kind of how we're looking at it...I can't imagine that we'll go back to Alaska and I doubt we would ever be able to book more than one excursion at each port if we did it separately on our own through DCL. I'm also hoping it will serve as a good test to see if we are a good fit for other Adventures by Disney itineraries.

 

[sayhello]

That's kind of how we're looking at it...I can't imagine that we'll go back to Alaska and I doubt we would ever be able to book more than one excursion at each port if we did it separately on our own through DCL. I'm also hoping it will serve as a good test to see if we are a good fit for other Adventures by Disney itineraries.

I think that sounds like an excellent idea!

Sayhello

 

[Gonecruisin]

The only excursion that I think was subject to weather was dog sledding because of the helicopter ride up to the camp. We got to go but the sub would have been their training summer camp. Others have posted that this was still a lot of fun though.

I went on an Alaska cruise (not with ABD obv) July 2009 and the dog sled excursion was the only thing to get cancelled due to weather (low cloud cover up high on the mountain). We substituted a helicopter ride to a glacier which was fabulous. Nothing else was effected by the "weather" which was cloudy but fine most days.
I had the same line of thinking when I booked our excursions -- I'll probably never get back here so I went all out. Alaska is amazing. Have fun!

 

[kimdesimone]

We are booked on the Wonder, July 22, 2013 to Alaska. We booked the ADB Alaskan excursions. My travel agent called and said ADB called her and said they are canceling all Alaska add-ons? I have not gotten any info from them directly. Apparently, she just got word yesterday. Anyone else know anything?
Kim

 

[sayhello]

We are booked on the Wonder, July 22, 2013 to Alaska. We booked the ADB Alaskan excursions. My travel agent called and said ADB called her and said they are canceling all Alaska add-ons? I have not gotten any info from them directly. Apparently, she just got word yesterday. Anyone else know anything?
Kim

Wow! I haven't heard anything about this! Please let us know what happens. The Med add-ons are really popular; I'm surprised that the Alaska one apparently is not. It seems odd that they'd cancel *all* of them!

ETA: It's *very* odd that the Alaska add-on is still on both ABD's and DCL's sites. You'd think if they were canceling *ALL* of them, they'd remove them from the websites.

http://www.adventuresbydisney.com/north-america/alaska-cruises-vacations/

http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/cruises-destinations/packages/pre-cruise-packages-by-adventures-by-disney/

Sayhello

 

[Noelle]

I sure hope they are not canceling them. The fact is my hubby and my kids really want to go on this cruise to Alaska. I'm not saying that I don't want to go - but Alaska wouldn't have been my first choice. The ABD add-on was what tilted me into saying yes in the first place. The fact that we'd be able to see as much as we could w/ ABD - really feel like we saw everything we could. If they cancel it, then I'm back to one port excursion per day. Really don't know if I want to do it then...All the good excursions will be taken by the platinum and gold Castaway Club members or Concierge. Leaving us w/ the so-so excursions. Guess I'll just have to cross my fingers and see what happens...
If anyone hears anything further, please let us know.

 

[Noelle]

I just got a call from DCL. ALL of the ABD add-ons for Alaska have been cancelled. They quoted that there were not enough people booking so they were canceling Alaska's ABD add-on - but we were welcome to switch cruises to the Mediterranean add-ons. Kind of odd because when I booked it, she said there were only 2 spaces left on our sailing and it was a good thing I booked when I did. But whatever...Now I need to think if I even want to take the cruise at all. All I can say is this is a big bummer.

 

[sayhello]

I just got a call from DCL. ALL of the ABD add-ons for Alaska have been cancelled. They quoted that there were not enough people booking so they were canceling Alaska's ABD add-on - but we were welcome to switch cruises to the Mediterranean add-ons. Kind of odd because when I booked it, she said there were only 2 spaces left on our sailing and it was a good thing I booked when I did. But whatever...Now I need to think if I even want to take the cruise at all. All I can say is this is a big bummer.

That *is* a really big bummer. I know exactly what you mean, because the *only* reason I booked the Med with DCL was to be able to do the Med cruise ABD add-on. I would have been really pissed (and probably would have canceled the cruise) if they'd canceled the add-on.

The only suggestion I can give you is to look into doing Alaska with another cruiseline, like Princess. With Princess, there's no "tiered" scheduling of excursions. Once the excursions are available on the website to be booked, everyone has access to book them at the same time. You have just as good a chance as anyone to get what you want. And there really isn't this culture that DCL fosters of rushing to do everything the minute it is available. MUCH less stressful.

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