DVC exclusive Danube River Cruise

[calypso726]

Thanks so much for your wonderful reports and photos. We're heading to the Danube cruise on 7/21 with friends for our third ABD. Can't wait!! You've given us more to look forward to. Thanks again hope the rest of your vacation is as fabulous as it has been so far!!

You are very welcome! I'm already looking forward to another river cruise with ABD! We've enjoyed it very much!!!

We're very interested in hearing more about the 3.5 hr (6) bike ride. Any wisdom will be greatly appreciated!! Thank you!

I heard that 11 people opted for this ride and 10 made it to the end. It was really hot yesterday too. I also heard that they started at 11 am and arrived to the destination at about 10 minutes until 5 pm.

Also, you mentioned the warmth of the concert area. Do they allow people to bring in water bottles? That may be a bit easier on the room temp. We are on the July 21 cruise. Thanks again.

We are all being given bottles of water before we leave the ship each day and they are making sure everyone is hydrated. I don't recall seeing anyone with bottles of water at the concert but I also don't recall signs or warnings that prohibited us from doing so. During the intermission beverages were available for purchase too. So it doesn't seem like they'd have a problem with bottles water in the audience.

That's an excellent question. I try to always carry a water bottle with me when I'm on vacation.
Sayhello

It's a good practice and ABD does a good job of making sure we are all fed and watered regularly LOL

 

[calypso726]

This morning we went to the salt mines and had a blast! It was a great tour! It was informative and fun for both kids and adults. The mines are a little dank and much cooler than the outside temperature. When we arrived we put on our miner gear to keep us warm and make sure our clothing didn't get messed up on the slides.



Mine train that did not require a 45 minute wait or fast pass!



This part was so awesome sauce!!!



Hmmmm it's a little salty. (No, I did not really touch the wall with my tongue)





This was on the drive this morning. The Alps!

 

[Kidoctr]

@Kidoctr - I asked some of the VIP ABD peeps about how allergies are being handled. They said Ama is working very well with ABD to accommodate allergies and avoid cross contamination. They said that Ama cannot guarantee a mistake wouldn't be made but I don't think any company could make that guarantee. I understand that the chef will come to the table like at WDW. I am also told that by 2017 all menus at restaurants in the EU countries will be required to have the a legend with corresponding numbers or letters by each menu item letting guests know what common allergens may be in the food. I forgot to ask about the marzipan activity but will do that later. I hope this helps.

Thanks SO much for this information - I trust Disney and when we went to WDW last year, our friends were so impressed with their handling of allergies. They were delighted that some Disney restaurants were completely nut free and they were able to order anything they wanted. The chef coming out to check on us is always reassuring. I've traveled with them enough to completely understand the frustration when you get someone who just doesn't "get it" how serious allergies can be. Thanks!!

 

[PrincessRunningSlow]

Were there stops along the 3.5 mile ride for sightseeing, rest, food, etc? In your opinion and those of the intrepid 11, is this grueling, or taken at a leisurely pace? I would imagine not much uphill (please) but it must be gorgeous. Thanks for all your information. This report is making decisions for excursions a bit easier.

 

[calypso726]

Thanks SO much for this information - I trust Disney and when we went to WDW last year, our friends were so impressed with their handling of allergies. They were delighted that some Disney restaurants were completely nut free and they were able to order anything they wanted. The chef coming out to check on us is always reassuring. I've traveled with them enough to completely understand the frustration when you get someone who just doesn't "get it" how serious allergies can be. Thanks!!

You are welcome. Safety is always a priority with ABD. I may not have food allergies but I always feel safe traveling with ABD.

Were there stops along the 3.5 mile ride for sightseeing, rest, food, etc? In your opinion and those of the intrepid 11, is this grueling, or taken at a leisurely pace? I would imagine not much uphill (please) but it must be gorgeous. Thanks for all your information. This report is making decisions for excursions a bit easier.

There are no 3.5 mile bike ride options so I am guessing you mean the one listed as 3.5 hours. That is the 24 mile bike ride that will take nearly 6 hours. Then there is a 10 mile bike ride option that is a couple of hours from what I heard. I don't know to be honest since I did not take either of these tours. That said, it is my understanding that all guides will have done all tours and they would be able to answer you honestly and help you decide what is best for you and your family. I am sorry I can't be more helpful on this one.

 

[calypso726]

After our outing at the salt mine we headed to Salzburg. There we had lunch at Stiftskeller St. Peter. This is the oldest restaurant in Europe. It was established in the year 803. The venue was really neat! Afterwards some headed on walking tours and we opted to go exploring on our own. The town was a great town for walking and exploring. I the signs in front of the shops gave a sweet nostalgic nod to days gone by. I bought some lovely eggs which are hand made and painted ornaments. They are super fragile. So, I wound buying a t shirt I didn't want because it came in a tin that I can use to protect my eggs. Someone in my family will be getting a t shirt that says I love Salzburg

We all met up again at the Mozart House and the headed towards Mirabellgarten. What a beautiful place!

 

[tgeorge]

There are no 3.5 mile bike ride options so I am guessing you mean the one listed as 3.5 hours. That is the 24 mile bike ride that will take nearly 6 hours. Then there is a 10 mile bike ride option that is a couple of hours from what I heard. I don't know to be honest since I did not take either of these tours. That said, it is my understanding that all guides will have done all tours and they would be able to answer you honestly and help you decide what is best for you and your family. I am sorry I can't be more helpful on this one.

As an avid cyclist, if it is taking 6 hours to go 24 miles, it is definitely not at a very tough pace and it will also include stops/rest, etc. I'm sure the scenery is amazing and that would definitely be an excursion that I would be interested in. However, just as an FYI, even with a number of stops and a leisurely pace, if you aren't used to being on a bike, it may not be one for you. Your sit bones will definitely be sore .

If someone on the board does this on a future adventure, I'd love to hear about it

 

[PrincessRunningSlow]

As an avid cyclist, if it is taking 6 hours to go 24 miles, it is definitely not at a very tough pace and it will also include stops/rest, etc. I'm sure the scenery is amazing and that would definitely be an excursion that I would be interested in. However, just as an FYI, even with a number of stops and a leisurely pace, if you aren't used to being on a bike, it may not be one for you. Your sit bones will definitely be sore .

If someone on the board does this on a future adventure, I'd love to hear about it

Thanks for the correction. We are really interested in this excursion. Both of us are athletic to a point. I figure the ol' ischial tuberosities will be sorely tested!!

 

[SCFamily4]

View attachment 180775

Thank you!!

 

[SCFamily4]

Thank you Calypso for your awesome posts! We're booked on the July 28th sailing. I assume the wifi on board is pretty decent? I have an odd question. We started looking at river cruises last year and decided on AMA. The other couple we travel with have severe, life threatening peanut and tree nut allergies. When I spoke to AMA - I was flat out told that they couldn't accommodate their allergies. We booked the ABD Costa Rica trip instead. When the ABD river cruise opened up, we moved our reservation over but only after we checked with several sources (ABD as well as a few Guides I know from previous adventures) to make sure my friends would be safe on this adventure. Being such a new adventure, I just want to make triple and quadruple sure that they will be safe (especially since we talked them into this trip). Is there anyone on board, by chance, that has a food allergy and how do you think they've been handling them? The marzipan making demonstration will be a real problem (cross contamination) so I wonder how that will be handled. Also, I'm glad you mentioned that the motion sickness wasn't bad - our friends have never cruised before (have never been to Europe before either - it's hard to communicate how severe their nut allergies are when you don't speak the language) because she has terrible motion sickness too. Your pictures are GORGEOUS and I can't WAIT for our friends to experience this! Thanks for any information!

We are traveling on the July 14th sailing. My son (17 yrs) has a severe allergy to peanuts and nuts. This is one of the main reasons we travel with Disney! I will let you know how the excursions and meals are handled. Have not been super impressed with allergy handling in Prague thus far (note: we are on our own here, not doing the ABD add-on) . Well, maybe I should just say for one restaurant. They had a menu listing allergies - so we selected accordingly. And then when the food came out, there were walnuts on the cheese plate and walnuts in the sausage!! Yikes! But all was good in the long run.

More to follow!

 

[calypso726]

Last night we went to the evening entertainment and had a lovely time. Brush up on your songs from the Sound of Music ;-) The performers were very talented. I must say I have found the intimate setting of the smaller area for the performers to be very nice. I was afraid I would not like it as I am so accustomed to the large scale productions on the Disney Cruise line ships. That has been a pleasant surprise!

This morning we did the walking tour in Passau and seemed to be the envy of all the other company's guides. ABD had local guides dressed in period costume. The guides brought the adventurers into the story of the history of their city. Our group wound up with only adults somehow and everyone still "got into" the story and played along. It was not only interesting but it was also fun! I heard one of the groups that walked by us from another company asked their guide why they weren't dressed up and doing what we were doing. A few others in our group heard and whispered, "Cuz you didn't book with Disney, that's why." I thought it was funny.

After our guided city tour we headed to the marzipan making activity. DH made his look like Bart Simpson. Mine looked like a mutated muppet that had suffered severe nuclear radiation exposure.

Note to those with nut allergies: I asked about alternate activities for the marzipan making activity and it would be on your own time in the city. The marzipan making comes at the very end of the walking tour so there would not be any time wasted for those who are unable to do it. The activity also takes place right across the street from where the ship is docked so it is a convenient spot if you want to explore the city some more in your own or head back to the ship for lunch, either way.

This afternoon we went to the Kopfing Tree Tops excursion. We enjoyed that as well. It was really neat to see the views from up so high. There area is like a park that has suspension swings to walk across a la American Ninja Warrior but with a near zero difficulty level.

There is also a looooong and steep slide. The ABD guides warned us that the slide is rough, not much fun and even they were injured when trying it out. They said if you were even a little hesitant, don't do it! Well, some people chose to heed the warning and just didn't do it. Some of us did it anyhow and made it through unscathed and some of us earned a bruise/badge of honor on the way down. If you opt to try it and are wearing shorts, grab a burlap sack first. If you are in long pants, lie flat going down and keep your arms away from the sides, tuck in your shirt to avoid your back being flayed. Seriously, this slide would fit it easily at the Dreadfort along with all of Ramsay's other amusements. Game of Thrones fans will get the reference. You're better off listening to the guides and just avoid the bloody slide (no pun intended).

I can't believe the cruise is coming to an end. It has been sooooo much fun! If there is any way I can figure out how to fit doing the Rhine into our budget next year with everything else I have planned I will!











The slide that Ramsay Bolton built.

 

[calypso726]

I enjoyed receiving the nightly gifts from DVC on this cruise. It's been a long time since I was on a DVC member's cruise and the nightly gifts were always a lot of fun. Today we also received a note from DVC in our stateroom about our gifts.

 

[calypso726]

Random thoughts and hopefully helpful info for future cruisers.

In our stateroom there is one USA style 110V outlet behind the iMac monitor. By one of the nightstands there are 2 USB outlets. There is a hair dryer in the room. The closet has an upper and lower rack. Drawers are not deep and wide but there is shelf space. Take a photo of your daily adventurer each day so you know what is going on and when it is going on while you are out and about.

 

[carpenta]

Calypso, You must dread the last sentence of your ABD letter you posted. It really is a "magical" river cruise, wasn't it?

 

[BluesTraveler]

I'm a little depressed it's ending, too, as I've loved your trip report! Thank you for taking the time to do it. These trip reports people write make it so helpful to evaluate different trips. Motivates me to write one for our upcoming Alaska trip.

 

[tgeorge]

I'm a little depressed it's ending, too, as I've loved your trip report! Thank you for taking the time to do it. These trip reports people write make it so helpful to evaluate different trips. Motivates me to write one for our upcoming Alaska trip.

Please do write one, if you have time! I know how much work and time they take,but it really does help when trying to decide which Adventure to take. The itineraries are one thing,but seeing and hearing from others who are experiencing the Adventure is priceless.

And, I'm sad it is over too. I've enjoyed reading about your trip Calypso. Thanks for sharing. I'm now trying to figure out if I can fit the Rhine cruise into my 2018 plans

 

[Cousin Orville]

Great trip report! River cruises sound like a great option. We may look at doing one when my kids get a little bit older. It's great they're offering the Rhine as well. Hopefully they'll prove to be very popular and keep expanding.

 

[bearsgirl]

Random thoughts and hopefully helpful info for future cruisers.

In our stateroom there is one USA style 110V outlet behind the iMac monitor. By one of the nightstands there are 2 USB outlets. There is a hair dryer in the room. The closet has an upper and lower rack. Drawers are not deep and wide but there is shelf space. Take a photo of your daily adventurer each day so you know what is going on and when it is going on while you are out and about.

Thank you for taking the time to write this TR, Calypso! When I saw the literature for the ABD River Cruises they featured pictures of groups of kids and since only my husband and I travel, I wasn't interested. It seemed liked it was geared toward families with children and Junior Adventurers were the main focus. After reading your TR, I want to go on the Rhine in 2017!! I don't think 2 adults would feel out of place and I think ABD should pay you for the fabulous publicity!
Thanks again!!

 

[tufbuf]

Calypso, did you get Mozart chocolates in Salzburg? Those are yummy and pricey! Looks like a lovely trip! Thanks for the trip report!!

 

[PrincessRunningSlow]

bears girl....my DH (who I may add does NOT like much anything Disney) and I have done 5 out of our six DCL cruises sans children....2007 we had our daughter and 6 yo granddaughter with us. We have always enjoyed all of our Disney cruises, except part of one, which is another story, to the hilt and we both look forward to this cruise with eager anticipation! He does love Disney cruises and we're already reserved on the transatlantic next year.

Calypso, thank you so much for your TR. It has helped greatly in furthering our decision making process. One day is still a conundrum, but we'll get there. Again, thank you!!!!