Booked Greece, 7/3 Trip!!

[paddles]

Hi - I'm super-excited since I just booked the Greece trip that starts on July 3rd. They said it was only 25% full and I hope there will be other families with kids my age on the trip (my kids will be 7 and 9 next summer).

I'm a newbie to ABD, and I hope it turns out great. Please let me know if anyone else is on this trip!

thanks

 

[jlou]

Hi - I'm super-excited since I just booked the Greece trip that starts on July 3rd. They said it was only 25% full and I hope there will be other families with kids my age on the trip (my kids will be 7 and 9 next summer).

I'm a newbie to ABD, and I hope it turns out great. Please let me know if anyone else is on this trip!

thanks

That's great. I know exactly how you feel. And don't worry, I'm sure it will fill up. Your kids will have a great time. Congrats!

 

[adambomb85]

My fiancé (well, new husband at that time) and I will be there. We were originally slated for July 6, but switched when this opened up. We don't have children, but we like to think we are a good time. Last AbD we went on I was named an honorary junior adventurer - so maybe that counts

Great to meet you here and looking forward to July 3!!!

 

[paddles]

that's great - I'm glad to hear that you and your fiancee are joining us! It should be a great trip.

We originally tried to book the 7/6 trip, but Disney already increased prices on it so it was nearly $1500 more (for a family of four) than going on 7/3. We're happy with either date since we could take advantage of the holiday weekend.

I'm new to ABD, and was surprised how quickly things are booking and how rates were being raised within just a couple days of being released!!

 

[WeLoveABD]

We booked the June 22 trip--called in straight away (6 am on Monday--a day earlier than the official release date as a frequent ABD traveler) and got the listed rate; we asked at the time and they said the rates were subject to go up. This essentially has taken the place of early booking discounts--so with a new trip like Greece, if the movement is quickly toward filling up, then the price goes up more quickly. I note that our trip (rumor has it at 90 percent full already!) has a large increase as well.

I am curious about what people are doing for flights--from the west coast it has been difficult finding direct flights. We are going with Turkish Air from LA to Istanbul and then a short flight to Athens; on the return we are booking a one way flight from Crete to Athens, then hooking up with Turkish Air to get back to LA, again through Istanbul. Given the flight lengths etc, we are doing two pre-nights (the first prenight somewhat short as we get in at midnight!), and one post night. We found that this allowed for a cheaper airfare that more than made up for the cost of the pre and post nights, and allows us time to get over jet lag and see a bit of Athens on our own and enjoy the hotel. On the return I think we'll stay in Crete until early afternoon on the departure day, then fly to Athens and do one night post night so we don't have issues missing the main flight back, and we can enjoy the hotel and an evening in Athens. We debated the wisdom of booking air now vs later--but with the uncertainly of gas prices,mergers in airlines etc, we went ahead and booked now (through Disney, so our flight plans are protected).

I've priced Greece tours with other companies--seem about the same price range; no a cheap trip this!

 

[tufbuf]

Hi WeLoveABD! So you booked your flights already? I was thinking of doing the same but thought it is way too early though the price is actually good for me already. We are flying from Seattle which flies direct to Paris then Athens. Were you able to get the flight you want through Disney? Who chose your seats? Can you modify the flights later? Since we fly Delta, they have Economy Comfort seats which you can upgrade to after purchasing tickets. And being an Elite member, we can actually choose Preferred Seating. I have always booked my airfare tickets myself and after the Egypt cancellation, although ABD helped me change the tickets, it is a hassle.

Thanks for the input!

 

[Bobo912]

tufbuf, I've always let ABD book our air. I just told them which airline/flight I wanted and they booked whatever I asked for. Then they gave me the confirmation number and I logged into the airline website and chose our seats. ABD has booked flights for us on US Air, American, Alaska Air and Delta, so far.

 

[tufbuf]

Thanks, Bobo! Will do just that!

 

[WeLoveABD]

Hi WeLoveABD! So you booked your flights already? I was thinking of doing the same but thought it is way too early though the price is actually good for me already. We are flying from Seattle which flies direct to Paris then Athens. Were you able to get the flight you want through Disney? Who chose your seats? Can you modify the flights later? Since we fly Delta, they have Economy Comfort seats which you can upgrade to after purchasing tickets. And being an Elite member, we can actually choose Preferred Seating. I have always booked my airfare tickets myself and after the Egypt cancellation, although ABD helped me change the tickets, it is a hassle.

Thanks for the input!

We found the flights, then called ABD and booked them through them--still have the Crete to Athens flight to book (and no seats yet--not until March); we are debating whether to fly out early from Crete and have one more day in Athens, or stay and enjoy Crete and the hotel for another afternoon and then fly to Athens for the night and early departure the next day for the airport. And don't forget to take out trip insurance! (It came in VERY handy for us in Peru, after the ABD trip was over had we ran into a bit of trouble). We also saw that Athens has a hop on/hop off bus so may try to do that the day of the welcome dinner or maybe that will be what we do at the end of the trip if we leave Crete in the AM.

 

[tufbuf]

Thanks for the info, WeLoveABD! I would have to call them on Monday since the Air dept. Is not available on weekends. We are doing a pre-night in Athens and I looked at flights from Crete to Athens and Aegean Air have them for about 95 euros pp. Not available for booking yet, as you said. I always get trip insurance but which one did you use (since yours is tried and tested)? Thanks again!

 

[WeLoveABD]

In the past we have booked insurance through AAA (when we booked our trips through them)--it was a little less expensive. We are now booking with CostCo and did so for the Peru trip--and used the Disney recommended trip insurance (Access America); we'll use them again on this trip.

On prior trips we have done all sorts of crazy things--booking our own pre-nights with side trips, then getting back to the airport to be picked up by ABD, and variations of that. Over time I've come to appreciate a more seemless trip and now we do prenights/postnights with ABD, which takes care of all of our airport transfers--and use their insurance as it seems to go pretty smoothly if there is an issue--and book air through Disney as additional insurance against a trip cancelation...and then use our spare time on pre days or post days to book our own short trips (we like Viator, for example).