DCL/ABD add ons

[FairyGodfatherJason]

Hello - We are planning on doing the 12night Baltics cruise next summer and ABD offers add-ons but as you can imagine they are not cheap. I'm wondering if anyone has ever done these on other voyage itineraries. Any insight would be helpful.

Thanks!!

 

[sayhello]

Hello - We are planning on doing the 12night Baltics cruise next summer and ABD offers add-ons but as you can imagine they are not cheap. I'm wondering if anyone has ever done these on other voyage itineraries. Any insight would be helpful.

Thanks!!

Hi! I did the ABD add-on the first year they were offered (2010) for a 12-night Med cruise. ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS! Yes, they definitely aren't cheap. But if you compare the cost to comparable excursions, it tends to even out a bit more. Yes, you can do *cheaper* excursions, but they aren't equivalent to the quality and depth that you get with ABD. They are premium activities, and frequently, because they handle all the logistics and transportation (and get you off the ship first) you end up doing the equivalent of 2 or 3 excursions each day (plus your meals on shore are included and figured in to the whole schedule). Also, having the services of the Adventure Guides (who are AMAZING) as well as having the same small group of people on all your excursions for the whole cruise, makes for a really nice experience. I'd do it again in a minute if I was to take another DCL cruise that offered one. Personally, I prefer the land-based ABD's to cruises, but if I was going to cruise, that's how I'd go.

Let me know if you have any specific questions, I'd be happy to answer. You can also check out my ABD/DCL Mediterranean Magic Trip Report that's linked in my signature to get a good idea of how it all worked.

Sayhello

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

Hello - We are planning on doing the 12night Baltics cruise next summer and ABD offers add-ons but as you can imagine they are not cheap. I'm wondering if anyone has ever done these on other voyage itineraries. Any insight would be helpful.

Thanks!!

We are signed up for both, but I'm debating whether to do it. I've had a huge post ready to go on this board about the value of ABD add-ons and my disappointment with the itinerary of this one in particular (they have gone up significantly in cost since the first years they were offered and things like gratuities and free Palo dinner have been removed), but I haven't put it up yet.

There was another thread though that talked about it a while back. http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3294563

FYI I believe the add-ons for our cruise (July 10th) sold out in a few hours and have a long waiting list, so they might not even be an option for you if you aren't already booked.

 

[abdgeek]

Hello - We are planning on doing the 12night Baltics cruise next summer and ABD offers add-ons but as you can imagine they are not cheap. I'm wondering if anyone has ever done these on other voyage itineraries. Any insight would be helpful.

Thanks!!

Ditto everything Sayhello said. I did the Med Cruise add on in 2011 and loved it. When I did the DCL Med Cruise in 2013 I didn't do the add on and there is a HUGE difference in what you get with a regular excursion and ABD. I also do the ABD land tours, so I have become very spoiled and now expect all of my experiences to be like ABD. Good luck with your decision.

 

[sayhello]

FYI I believe the add-ons for our cruise (July 10th) sold out in a few hours and have a long waiting list, so they might not even be an option for you if you aren't already booked.

It's always worth checking with ABD/DCL. We've already had at least one DISer who was on the waiting list, and subsequently got on the add-on. I think since it's refundable up until paid-in-full date, some people may have grabbed them with the intention of deciding later whether to keep it or not.

Sayhello

 

[crafty91]

Just off the 12 night Mediterranean cruise and this was our first ABD so I can't speak to the difference between ABD and regular excursions. What I do know is we LOVED the ABD experience on this cruise! Only 44 ppl can do the ABD add-on and it sold out the day it opened. I loved the ease of doing a Europe vacation and not having to really plan anything! They take care of EVERYTHING! As others have said you do things that others don't get to do and you are priority for pretty much everything. For example, ABD set up lunches in each port specific to the country we were in and it was amazing! In Mykonos we went to a lady's house that cooked lunch for us, OMG! There isn't an excursion you can get that does that. Its also really nice walking around the ship "knowing" several other families. Lots of people to chat with or go to entertainment with, everyone sits in the same area for dinner and with other ABD families so you really get to know each other. The ABD guides are second to none! Snacks and water all the time, keeping up with our stuff, etc. No other excursion will do that for you. (Thanks James and Robyn!)

 

[Mickey&JoshNut]

Just off the 12 night Mediterranean cruise and this was our first ABD so I can't speak to the difference between ABD and regular excursions. What I do know is we LOVED the ABD experience on this cruise! Only 44 ppl can do the ABD add-on and it sold out the day it opened. I loved the ease of doing a Europe vacation and not having to really plan anything! They take care of EVERYTHING! As others have said you do things that others don't get to do and you are priority for pretty much everything. For example, ABD set up lunches in each port specific to the country we were in and it was amazing! In Mykonos we went to a lady's house that cooked lunch for us, OMG! There isn't an excursion you can get that does that. Its also really nice walking around the ship "knowing" several other families. Lots of people to chat with or go to entertainment with, everyone sits in the same area for dinner and with other ABD families so you really get to know each other. The ABD guides are second to none! Snacks and water all the time, keeping up with our stuff, etc. No other excursion will do that for you. (Thanks James and Robyn!)

Thanks so much for this information....I have the ABD cruise add on for my 7 night Baltic cruise next year and I am so excited....your post reassures me that I made the right choice in getting my TA to book this for me (as well as the Copenhagen pre-cruise escape).

 

[crafty91]

Congrats on even getting in! I'm hearing that the DCL add-ons are selling out the day they open! You will absolutely love it!

 

[Mickey&JoshNut]

Congrats on even getting in! I'm hearing that the DCL add-ons are selling out the day they open! You will absolutely love it!

We booked it on day one....I was keeping my fingers crossed that our TA would be able to get us a spot since there are only 44...was so happy when I got his call to say it was booked!!!!

 

[walnut611]

It's always worth checking with ABD/DCL. We've already had at least one DISer who was on the waiting list, and subsequently got on the add-on. I think since it's refundable up until paid-in-full date, some people may have grabbed them with the intention of deciding later whether to keep it or not.

Sayhello

Sayhello, I had to pay for the ABD/DCL add on full in one shot. I was told it is fully refundable up to 120 days prior to departure. How much did you put down for deposit and when is the paid-in-full date? TIA!

 

[walnut611]

It's always worth checking with ABD/DCL. We've already had at least one DISer who was on the waiting list, and subsequently got on the add-on. I think since it's refundable up until paid-in-full date, some people may have grabbed them with the intention of deciding later whether to keep it or not.

Sayhello

Sayhello, when I booked the ABD add on to DCL 2016 Med, I had to pay in full at time of booking. I was also told it's fully refundable until 120 days prior to departure. Do you mind sharing how much is the deposit and when was the paid-in-full date for you? TIA!

 

[sayhello]

Sayhello, when I booked the ABD add on to DCL 2016 Med, I had to pay in full at time of booking. I was also told it's fully refundable until 120 days prior to departure. Do you mind sharing how much is the deposit and when was the paid-in-full date for you? TIA!

Oh, my! I'm not sure I still have that info! It was 2010! I'll see if I can find the paperwork. I'm pretty sure the paid-in-full date was like 90 days prior to departure.

Sayhello

 

[walnut611]

Oh, my! I'm not sure I still have that info! It was 2010! I'll see if I can find the paperwork. I'm pretty sure the paid-in-full date was like 90 days prior to departure.

Sayhello

LOL, don't worry about it! You mentioned you're selling your home and finding a piece of paper from 5 years ago shouldn't even be on your mind. I'll just chalk it up to ABD/DCL changing the policy since then.

 

[Calfan]

We are doing the add-on for an upcoming Baltics cruise and, when we booked just about a year ago, we had to pay in full for the ABD add-on at the time of booking. We were told that the ABD portion was cancellable for a full refund up until the cruise PIF date, just like the cruise fare.

 

[sayhello]

I did the Med cruise add-on the very first year that it was offered, so I wouldn't be surprised if the policies have changed since then. There was a lot of confusion as to who was doing what, and whose policies would prevail, etc. Hopefully they've ironed that all out by now!

(And yes, I'm selling my house! In fact, it sold yesterday in 10 hours!!!! Crazy market! Not that I'm complaining!)

Sayhello