DCL Mediterranean Magic Add-on

[virtuoso1989]

Hi! Considering the ABD add-on for our upcoming 7-night mediterranean cruise in July. Tried researching and the most recent ones on the boards I think were from 2014. Anyway, reading Sayhello's trip report was what's pushing me to considering it.

First off, this would be our first ABD experience if ever. I was wondering if the experience was worth the difference of booking port adventures through DCL separately. I priced separate trips and it was a difference of about $1200 per person for similar activities. This would be sort of a trial also as we are considering the London/Paris trip in 2020.

Is the experience with the adventure guides worth the difference? I know one of the highlights of ABD is how fantastic the guides are. I was wondering if they would make the trip more special if we were with them. (This is our first trip to Europe also, so definitely wanting to make it as magical as possible.)

Also, do people still get the box? I know it's a little thing but you know how those things make you feel the trip was worth the price you paid. Same question for Shutters pics. Are they still included?

Lastly, a question for recent cruisers. Do you have to pay the entire add-on cost in full upon booking?

Thanks in advance!

 

[jebuen]

The experience that you will have with your ABD guides are priceless. Our family has been fortunate to complete both the Med ABD 2015 and Baltic ABD 2017. The cost of the trip nearly doubles but if this is your first trip to Europe for us it was a no brainer. Europe has so many sights to see and it can be overwhelming. ABD streamlines your experience and truly maximizes your time by doing all the planing for you. Typically the non-ABD cruiser can only knock out maybe one or two excursions per port but with ABD 2-3 excursions are easily possible. ABD takes care of the private coach transportation to and from the ship, provides the meals and snacks for the day, and provides you with another local guide to further enrich your experience. Highly informative for the family. We would do it again in a heartbeat. Just realize that your first off the ship and most likely the last to return to the ship - makes for a long day!!! Our St Petersburg, Russia excursion started at 0730 and ended at 11pm but the weird part was that there was still sunlight. We were treated like super VIP's as we were Concierge, DCL Platinum, and ABD.

The "box" is still sent but its continues to get smaller and smaller. Initially they provided a duffel, luggage tags and luggage straps but now its been reduced to just the luggage tags and a hand tote to hold travel documents. Still its nice to receive a small package to stir the excitement. The shutter pictures are all included to take as many as you can and ask for the memory stick as well - you've paid for it!! ABD cruise add ons are paid up front - painful but well worth it. Hope this helps!!

JB

 

[sayhello]

I agree with everything @jebuen said!

First off, were you really comparing apples to apples for the prices? The ABD excursions are going to be more like the Signature Port Adventures, which can easily cost $200 - $300 or more per person. (Sorry if you did, but I know that when I priced it back in 2010, there wasn't that much of a difference). Plus, as Jebuen said, you can get more done per day. If you were scheduling multiple DCL excursions in a single day, you'd have to get back to the ship/port to catch the next excursion, and board the ship or head into town for lunch in between. That's a lot of extra time. You'd be lucky to manage 2 excursions this way. With ABD, you get at least 2-3 excursions per day, and since they're transporting you, there's no need to return to the ship/port until you're done for the day. Plus, your meals when you're off the ship are included, which they generally aren't with DCL excursions. And the Guides are fabulous! You have 2 adventure Guides *plus* the local Guides. When I did the Med add-on, we were frequently just ahead of the DCL excursions. (First off!) And we'd see 2 or 3 motorcoaches *full* of people getting off as we were leaving. It's more expensive now than it was when I took it (what isn't?) but I'd do it again if I was cruising somewhere they had an Add-on.

Sayhello

 

[sayhello]

PS, I'm so glad my trip report inspired you to look at the Add-on. I'd like to apologize, though. I'm sorry all the beautiful photos are currently unavailable. I am planning to go through all my trip reports and rehost the photos from photobucket to imgur, but it's *really* time consuming!!

Sayhello

 

[virtuoso1989]

Thank you both so much for the responses. I was reading jebuen's reply and thought "Wow, this is so positive it's like an ad for ABD!" Knowing that it was a testimonial by someone who actually experienced it means a lot, and you've basically confirmed that doing it would be the better choice.

Sayhello, I was slightly bummed with the photobucket issue, since a lot of the replies were raving about the nice pictures you shared. But reading through your experiences, it's like I was there. You conveyed your feelings very vividly and the more I read, the more I wanted to do it. This is a 7 night trip to Livorno, Civitavecchia, Naples, and Villefranche, and the cost of your 12 night add-on was the same as for this trip!

I also priced similar port adventures separately, and it came to about half the total cost of the add-on per person. That's why i asked what the value was of having the guides and the few little extras to people who had done them. I came to the conclusion that they are priceless, as they seem to be universally loved around these parts.

We are calling on Wednesday to book the add-on (hate that I have work and meetings tomorrow.). Thanks again for your help!

 

[lucky1]

The shutter pictures are all included to take as many as you can and ask for the memory stick as well - you've paid for it!! ABD cruise add ons are paid up front - painful but well worth it. Hope this helps!!

JB

We have Med cruise add on booked for May, and now seeing that you say Shutter's pictures that we take on the ship are included with the pictures as well as the pictures that the guides take on the excursions is good news. That alone is $295. Correct me if I am wrong.

 

[virtuoso1989]

We have Med cruise add on booked for May, and now seeing that you say Shutter's pictures that we take on the ship are included with the pictures as well as the pictures that the guides take on the excursions is good news. That alone is $295. Correct me if I am wrong.

Yes. It was listed in the Disney Cruise Line website that ship photographer's pictures are included.

 

[lucky1]

Yes. It was listed in the Disney Cruise Line website that ship photographer's pictures are included.

I have not seen that on either ABD or Disney Cruise Line website.. Do you have a link?

 

[sayhello]

I have not seen that on either ABD or Disney Cruise Line website.. Do you have a link?

Here you go:

https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/featured/adventures/?int_cmp=INS-intDCLtoDCL-Packages

It's under "Benefits of Adventures by Disney":

An array of perks and privileges are yours to enjoy when you add an Adventures by Disney package to your Disney cruise. Benefits include:​

• 2 Disney-trained Adventures Guides, who stay with the group throughout the entire experience
• VIP privileges and special surprises
• Private onboard receptions
• Unique onshore experiences—which differ from Port Adventures available to other Disney Cruise Line Guests
• Photo CD with all ship photographer’s pictures, all Adventures by Disney guide photos and an Adventures by Disney slideshow
• A case of bottled water per stateroom, in addition to water, snacks and all meals while in port
• Early debarkation at each port

Sayhello

 

[jebuen]

Thanks for the positive response! I'm so glad you've decided to do the ABD Med cruise add-on - super excited for you! Short comment - Although I enjoy the ABD add-on's, there are a few that I have not done but won't recommend. Those ABD's add-on's are the cruise pre stays or post stays and from time to time there is an Alaska cruise add-on. My thoughts on these add-on's are that the 3-4 day pre or post stay's can easily be done with a little research about your destination (which you should do anyway) and the money spent on an ABD pre or post could easily be spent on a VERY nice AirBNB flat or home in the city you'll be embarking or debarking from. Use this extra fundage to explore your pre and/or post city - use one day to take the "hop on and off bus" to get the lay of the land before you venture out to specific venues. Once you've selected your city venues - most cities (e.g. Paris) have UBER and use Google Translate to help you out. Hmm but what about data and phones? Skyroam is a mobile hotspot device that you can use to tether up to 4 phones with UNLIMITED data at $10/day - I used the mobile hotspot at all our port cities and you can even make calls back home using the Facebook voip phone. Still if you need your cell phone Verizon and most carriers have short term international add-on packages that you can activate during your travels for emergency use.

With respect to the Alaska cruise, since traveling to Alaska from the US is not AS pricey as going to Europe, I would forgo the ABD Alaska and use that money to actually go AGAIN at a later date. We've done the Alaska cruise twice and your money is better spent going twice. Quite frankly the venue on an Alaska trip is the scenery so splurge and definitely get the balcony. Sorry to rant but maximizing an your Disney experience doesn't always mean that you have to go bankrupt - but it can sure feel like it though!

One last note the DCL shutters package for 7+ nights (all photos and memory stick) is $349

Enjoy!
JB

 

[abdgeek]

Hi! Considering the ABD add-on for our upcoming 7-night mediterranean cruise in July. Tried researching and the most recent ones on the boards I think were from 2014. Anyway, reading Sayhello's trip report was what's pushing me to considering it.

First off, this would be our first ABD experience if ever. I was wondering if the experience was worth the difference of booking port adventures through DCL separately. I priced separate trips and it was a difference of about $1200 per person for similar activities. This would be sort of a trial also as we are considering the London/Paris trip in 2020.

Is the experience with the adventure guides worth the difference? I know one of the highlights of ABD is how fantastic the guides are. I was wondering if they would make the trip more special if we were with them. (This is our first trip to Europe also, so definitely wanting to make it as magical as possible.)

Also, do people still get the box? I know it's a little thing but you know how those things make you feel the trip was worth the price you paid. Same question for Shutters pics. Are they still included?

Lastly, a question for recent cruisers. Do you have to pay the entire add-on cost in full upon booking?

Thanks in advance!

Hopefully, you’ve already booked the Med cruise add-on. You will love it! When I did it, we were always the first people off the ship after the crew and usually the last on. The first DCL Med Cruise I did was with the ABD add-on. The second DCL Med Cruise I took I didn’t do the add on because the first 7 days would have been a rehash of before. Unfortunately, because I was spoiled by ABD the 1st trip, I was very disappointed in the guides we had for the DCL excursions on my 2nd Med Cruise. You don’t get anywhere near the information you get with the ABD add-on and the city guides they have. Without it, you’re basically taken to a place and told when to return. While that doesn’t stop me from taking DCL cruises, it does make me try to do as much through ABD as possible.

 

[SonnyEclipseFan]

My wife and I added the ABD add-on August 2017 to out Disney Magic Med cruise. First time in the Med, and first time using ABD. We created a video of our experience on YouTube...

 

[virtuoso1989]

Thanks for the video! Haven't watched it entirely, but I saw that you had Tissa as the club host then. We had her on the Fantasy a few weeks ago and she was awesome. I'll check out the whole video on the weekend. I am getting so excited! A little over two months for us.

 

[jebuen]

Dusty and James are the best!! Missing our toner time!

 

[kristilew]

Dusty just announced on fb that he and James are doing the Disney Magic add ons for this season too. Happy for those who get him, even though I was crossing my fingers that he’d be guiding Iceland!

 

[virtuoso1989]

Hi guys. Just got back from the cruise with the ABD add-on and we have determined that it was definitely worth it! It was as good as the replies above had me expect.

I just wanted to give an update as a couple of things were different. First is that there were I believe over 80 people signed up so we had two groups on the cruise. They said all of ABD has been getting more popular so I assumed this would be the trend going forward. Because of this, Dusty and James were separated and they have two new guides on board. We got Dusty paired with Lori, who came from the southern California trips, and James was working with Pamm who I believe also did domestic adventures before (Lori said ahe had done the UT-AZ trips). Dusty was phenomenal and you could tell he loved what he was doing. This was Lori’s first week guiding in Europe after shadowing Dusty and James the week before, so she still was still learning, but she worked hard and was very awesome as a guide. The farewell reception was definitely a sad evening for everyone.

Btw, the welcome reception was done with the two groups together and the farewell reception was separate.

Regarding the activities, Rome was definitely the busiest, as Dusty even calls it the Amazing Race day. We were definitely the first out and last in, and i think we arrived a few minutes after the all aboard time. There was so many things and so many places we visited that I actually feel bad about having it as the precruise add-on next year instead of being in the main trip itself.

Overall, we were very happy we did it, and felt like all the extras included definitely account for the premium we paid. Now weve been spoiled with the case of water and the unlimited shutters photos. Definitely looking to doing Norther Europe in the future.

Also Dusty said they will be doing the ABD trips for northern europe this year, in case anyone was wondering.

 

[lucky1]

Hi guys. Just got back from the cruise with the ABD add-on and we have determined that it was definitely worth it! It was as good as the replies above had me expect.

I just wanted to give an update as a couple of things were different. First is that there were I believe over 80 people signed up so we had two groups on the cruise. They said all of ABD has been getting more popular so I assumed this would be the trend going forward. Because of this, Dusty and James were separated and they have two new guides on board. We got Dusty paired with Lori, who came from the southern California trips, and James was working with Pamm who I believe also did domestic adventures before (Lori said ahe had done the UT-AZ trips). Dusty was phenomenal and you could tell he loved what he was doing. This was Lori’s first week guiding in Europe after shadowing Dusty and James the week before, so she still was still learning, but she worked hard and was very awesome as a guide. The farewell reception was definitely a sad evening for everyone.

We were on the adventure just before yours and got to meet Pamm (Does Canyons and Cowboys and also DCL Disney vacation line) and Lori (Disneyland entertainment and DL ABD) since they were shadowing. Now after meeting Dusty and James, hard to imagine them split up. I think they were trying to imagine it as well. My understanding is yours and the one after were the only doubled adventures for the Med. Was wondering how they split the groups groups up. In Naples, did one Family go to Capri and the other to the farm to make pizza and then reverse it? Did you make it to the coliseum, someone reported on another board, that their private tour did not go since there was a Russell Crowe concert the same evening and they could not make it in?

Definitely our ABD was well worth it

 

[lucky1]

Dusty and James are the best!! Missing our toner time!

Toner time was still in existence on the first Med ABD add on of the 2018 season!

 

[virtuoso1989]

We were on the adventure just before yours and got to meet Pamm (Does Canyons and Cowboys and also DCL Disney vacation line) and Lori (Disneyland entertainment and DL ABD) since they were shadowing. Now after meeting Dusty and James, hard to imagine them split up. I think they were trying to imagine it as well. My understanding is yours and the one after were the only doubled adventures for the Med. Was wondering how they split the groups groups up. In Naples, did one Family go to Capri and the other to the farm to make pizza and then reverse it? Did you make it to the coliseum, someone reported on another board, that their private tour did not go since there was a Russell Crowe concert the same evening and they could not make it in?

Definitely our ABD was well worth it

The only difference between the two groups was the order for the Naples portions. Our group went swimming first then pizza making. I don't know if there's any advantage to doing one or the other first. We certainly were never hungry as they kept feeding us, plus I would probably enjoy jumping into the sea not as full as I was after eating an entire pizza.

One thing that I realized after this trip, pizza is Via Napoli in Epcot is authentic! I remember the dough being very similar as the one in the farm, with the crunch outside and the chewiness inside.

For the rest of the stops, it was just one group trailing the other. I think we were ahead in Rome, and they were ahead of us in Monaco and Florence.

We were also able to go to the Colosseum. The stage was there which we did not know what it was for, but otherwise we were not aware that other people had a shortened amount of time spent there until after I saw it on Facebook after the trip.

 

[virtuoso1989]

Of course we had toner time too. Dusty was doing it until the farewell party.

Also, I will never his soft, soothing "Buongiorno, Adventurers!" LOL.