Basic ABD info?

[TXTransplant]

My guess would be if they send out your box, then they intend for it to go. But that's just a guess. And still not a guarantee.

That's what I was trying to say, I just didn't quite get the words out correctly. I don't think they would send out the box if they are planning to cancel the trip because not enough guests are booked. However, they could still cancel for some other reason, or if a significant fraction of the trip is a group booking and the entire group backs out at the last minute.

Take it with a grain of salt, but our guide said that a group cancellation is the most likely reason a trip would be cancelled at the last minute. Meaning, you book a reservation on a tour that also includes a large group of people who booked as a group, and for some reason the entire group has to cancel. I assume this goes into ABD's determination of which trips to designate as guaranteed (ie, they wouldn't guarantee a trip that consisted of a group of twenty traveling together and one family of four traveling separately because if the group backed out, ABD is probably not going to let a trip with only four people go).

 

[sayhello]

That's what I was trying to say, I just didn't quite get the words out correctly. I don't think they would send out the box if they are planning to cancel the trip because not enough guests are booked. However, they could still cancel for some other reason, or if a significant fraction of the trip is a group booking and the entire group backs out at the last minute.

Take it with a grain of salt, but our guide said that a group cancellation is the most likely reason a trip would be cancelled at the last minute. Meaning, you boo a reservation on a tour that also includes a large group of people who booked as a group, and for some reason the entire group has to cancel. I assume this goes into ABD's determination of which groups to designate as guaranteed (ie, they wouldn't guaranteed a trip that consisted of a group of twenty traveling together and one family of four traveling separately because if the group backed out, ABD is probably not going to let a trip with only four people go).

That all makes sense to me.

Sayhello

 

[Cousin Orville]

Just to confirm... ABD can't book flights with points/miles, right? I just booked my own going to Ireland.

 

[sayhello]

Just to confirm... ABD can't book flights with points/miles, right? I just booked my own going to Ireland.

That's what I've been told.

Sayhello

 

[carpenta]

In this market there are competing companies that guarantee trips no matter what the numbers are at the time. In our life because our vacation time is so precious and so difficult to coordinate it is a major aspect of terror we live with when we book with ABD. Maybe new management will take a look at this situation and somehow guarantee a portion of trips in the future.

 

[TXTransplant]

In this market there are competing companies that guarantee trips no matter what the numbers are at the time. In our life because our vacation time is so precious and so difficult to coordinate it is a major aspect of terror we live with when we book with ABD. Maybe new management will take a look at this situation and somehow guarantee a portion of trips in the future.

The fact that there are competing companies who offer a comparable product that is guaranteed from day one makes me hopeful that ABD will revisit their silly cancellation policy. However, I also got a pretty hard sell on why Disney is so much better than all of those "other" companies by one of our guides. I'll give the guide props...he/she really believes in the Disney product. I haven't been on a group tour with another company, so I have no first-hand comparison. But, on paper, the Tauck trips look VERY similar to the Disney trips. And Tauck is typically a little cheaper, offers trips that are guaranteed from day one, and offers more opportunities to travel (if we want to travel in June and take a trip to Canada or Alaska, based on the 2016 Disney dates for those itineraries, we will HAVE to go with Tauck). My personal guess is that ABD management really does feel like they are offering a product that is superior to the competition and that if you don't travel with Disney, then you will get a "lesser" experience (ie, if you want the "best" experience, you'll suck it up and deal with ABD's policies).

 

[carpenta]

Having now traveled with two other companies than Disney on similar type trips I can attest it is much like Chevy vs. Ford. Both offer similar products which mostly have a good reputation. IMO ABD does not have a superior product than the others. Tauck stays in better hotels and does not put a third person on a roll away bed for a full priced fare mind you. More Disney centric but offer similar attractions on the trips. As my kids get older we find ourselves looking towards different choices since we are not tied to Disney in a vacation type arraignment.

 

[Rapunzellover]

RE: Cancellations-- ABD uses outside vendors for their trips. Vendors are paid in advance, which is why you aren't allowed to cancel without penalty after a certain time. Thus, I don't see cancellations so close to the trip. And if there are, i'd think that ABD is still collecting enough in penalty to keep the trip going.

 

[carpenta]

They all use outside vendors. Tauck has one guide with the group that stays through the whole trip and hires local experts in each city or stop you take. In each museum or stop we were split into smaller groups and led by an expert on that museum such as the Uffizi. We just returned from a trip through National Geographic and they actually use Backroads America company for the guides/drivers and vans and a National Geographic expert is with the group also for narration. They use three vans with each having a window seat and it was a neat way to see the parks. They were just as good as ABD IMO.

 

[tufbuf]

One other aspect ABD has is the security value. Our guides disclosed some info on how safe ABD guests are who travel to different countries. I won't divulge more than what I know, but that might just be the difference. I'm not sure how other companies work, like how they secure their guests in other countries but that was just good to know and might just be worth the cost.