An Adventure By Disney, or a Cruise?

[BuckeyeGuy28]

The decision was a 7-day cruise, or the Viva Italia Disney Adventure. Two of us would do the ABD, the other four the cruise (two of those four will be seven and two at the time of the cruise). I don't know which one to choose!

I've been on nine cruises already, and I love them so much, I get excited just thinking about one. I think that the funnest times of my life happen on Disney Cruises. They're relaxing, fun, and magical.

This would be my first ABD though, so I don't know what to expect or get excited about. For those of you who have been on an Adventure by Disney and a cruise, please tell me which one is better, and which vacation I should choose. Thanks for all the help!

 

[BuckeyeGuy28]

What's your guys' opinion?

 

[WeLoveABD]

Hi! We have done the Disney cruises (med, Mexico in 05, the 3 day and the 7 day out of Florida), and loved them. We did our first ABD (Italy) in conjunction with the med cruise--great way to see Italy from all angles, but it was a long trip with two kids in tow (then 7 and 14). But--it all went well. We have since been on the China ABD, and have two more in the works (Knights and Lights--London/Paris, and South Africa). If I had to pick, I'd go with ABD, as you are more immersed in the local culture, and that is important to us. We generally don't find ourselves hanging out on the ship deck, so that is probably a factor in our choice. BUT! There are age restrictions with most ABD trips--so I don't know if your 2-yr-old could go, so do check that out. The other thing about the land tours is that, as you know, there are no kids clubs or other ways to spread out---the ABD groups, max of 40, do all of the highlights and travel together, and there is enough free time built in for families to go off on their own to explore.

The adventure guides on the ABD (there are always two--and then at each location a local guide) really pamper you, help find restaurants and sights for your free time, etc. There are special Disney touches along the way as well--things not offered by other tour groups.

Bottom line: it depends on how interested your kids are in touring, seeing local culture etc, but maybe another cruise now and ABD when your youngest is older? Either way--Disney does it right, so you'll have a great time!

 

[sayhello]

I'm assuming from your original post that if you do the ABD, you plan on leaving the kids at home (you say there'd only be 2 of you on the ABD). You'd have to do that, as the 2-year-old is too young for ABD (minimum age is 4). Unless you'd care to leave one & bring the other...

So, I'm assuming the question is NOT whether or not to vacation with the kids, but rather that you're wondering which would be a better experience for the adults, ABD vs. the cruise. I haven't done a Disney cruise, but I have cruised other lines. I think it really depends on what you're looking for. If you like really getting to know an area, vs just seeing the highlights, ABD is definitely the choice. Because of the way cruises work, being in port only a short amount of time, you just don't get as much of a chance to experience each place. But with a cruise, you visit a wider range of places, and only have to unpack/pack once. All meals are included on the cruise (unless you choose to eat on shore) whereas only *most* of the meals are included in the ABD. On the ABD, depending on where you are, the accommodations may be a bit more on the "rustic" side than what you're used to -- A/C may or may not exist, etc. Whereas, on the cruise, whatever accommodations you choose is what you have for the entire trip. Activities are included with the ABD (unless you choose to do extra activities during your free time) whereas activities are extra on the cruise.

Plus, the time spent "touring" is much more personal & special on the ABD, since you have your own ABD guides there, and you are touring with your own ABD group rather than a cruise excursion group of misc. people from any cruise line.

Personally, I'm more into the in-depth, interactive type of vacation, so I'd definitely choose the ABD. Plus, since you *have* cruised so many times, it might be nice to do something new.

Just my opinion!

Sayhello

 

[awatt]

I've done both. With a 2 year old I'd do the cruise, it's more relaxing/enjoyable for all members of your group.

With an older child, say 6 or 7 at the youngest, I'd do ABD. It's really, really special. But it's also pretty expensive with airfares and all, and it's also pretty active (sometimes tiring for adults!), so I'd wait until all members of our group could enjoy it more, get the most out of it.

 

[BuckeyeGuy28]

Wow thanks for the tips! Would anybody pick the cruise? Even if they do, your ABD arguments are good enough for me! I can't wait!

 

[awatt]

Wow thanks for the tips! Would anybody pick the cruise? Even if they do, your ABD arguments are good enough for me! I can't wait!

I guess I wasn't clear. I think I read that one member of your travelling party is a two year old? If that's teh case i would definitely pick the cruise.

 

[KLondon]

Having done a few Disney cruises and a few ABD tours, I'll chime in, too

These are just totally different types of vacations, I think. While a cruise can be as relaxing and laid back as you want it to be, an ABD tour is *not* that way. While you do have strategically-placed downtime and freetime on an ABD tour, I've found them to be very active. We've had a blast on both tours, but they were definitely busy. In contrast, some of my favourite memories of our Disney cruises is relaxing poolside on Deck 9 with Sun, Sea, and a lovely tropical beverage close by.

As for travelling with kids - there are minimum age requirements on ABD tours, for sure. My advice is that any kid under 6 is not going to fare well on an ABD tour. 2 years is definitely too young given the pace, the subject matter, etc. etc. That said, kids who are old enough for the ABD experience always have a great time (at least in my own experience).

Not sure that I've helped, but that's my take on the question.

 

[carolinatennisgirl]

Until this past summer most of our international trips were by cruise, 8 in all, going everywhere from England, Russia, Norway, Sweden, Finland ,Italy France, Croatia, Greece, Greek Isles, Turkey and Egypt, just to name a few. We are very active on the cruises, taking a shore excursion or private guided tour at every port. We have always taken our children (now ages 10 and 15) on every trip. This past summer we decided to make a change based on the wonderful ABD reviews and went on Knights and Lights in July. In my opinion they are completely different experiences. We enjoyed the cruises for what they were, the ease of unpacking once and getting a small taste of a town/area. You are able to see so much in some parts of the world I would not want to travel to on my own. You have the consistency of same bed and dependable food, although sea days can get a little boring depending on the activities on board. Given our children's ages there is no other way we could have seen so much of the world and taken them with us. However, given all that, the ABD trip this summer was probably the most enjoyable trip we have ever taken. The kids absolutely LOVED it, they said it was the perfect trip, due the other children on the trip that they were able to enjoy the activities with. My husband and I enjoyed ABD taking care of everything so I did not have to feel like cruise director the entire time. The quality of the tours, guides, restaurants and surprises was outstanding. We thoroughly enjoyed the other guests on our trip. We have already booked Ireland for next summer. I would base your decision on your children's ages and exactly what type of trip you are looking for. If you want a taste of many different cities and cultures, a cruise can't be beat. But if you want a more in depth, quality experience, with no worries, the ABD was perfect. On our trip there was a family with two younger sons, 5 & 8. The 8 year old was fine, but the mother of the 5 year old spent most of her time running around after the 5 year old. It's not that he was misbehaving, but he's 5 years old, which is too young to have the attention span most of the ABD tours require. Hope this is helpful.

 

[Lizardbeth61]

I'd pick the cruise with no question. The age requirements already nixed ABD, but ABD is NOT for toddlers. We've been on one and we're leaving for another in a little less than two weeks (Yippeeee!) and I'm just now thinking our kids will enjoy ABD at the ages of 12 & 15 . . . some adventures, of course, are more suitable than others for younger ones.

Relax and enjoy a cruise now and then plan for ABD when the little one is school age. That's my two cents.