Found a trip we are interested in, probably will not book :(

[clh2]

Found a trip we are interested in, but concerns of cancellations, changes of excursions etc that people are mentioning will probably keep us from booking with ABD.

For us, this would be a post-retirement trip/celebration, and while we have been to Europe several times, a river cruise is on my bucket list, but is only a 1-time chance for us. (Ie we have too many other travel ideas too!).

 

[aggiedog]

There are plenty of river cruise options out there, including booking directly with Ama since ABD just charters the ship. Nothing on Cruisecritic is indicating that river cruises are being canceled left and right.

 

[jimmymc]

Luckily there are a lot of river cruise companies out there.

I agree with aggiedog that the ABD river cruises are more scalable and are much less likely to cancel. But it's also a competitive market.

 

[Marthasor]

Just wanted to reiterate what PPs have noted. ABD works with Amawaterways for their river cruises, so the cancellations you are seeing are far less likely to occur with the river cruise as it's really Ama operated with an ABD overlay. If you don't care about the Disney elements on a river cruise, you may just want to pick one of the very reputable companies that specialize in river cruises - Ama, Viking, etc. We have done both Ama and Ponant through ABD and I wouldn't hesitate to book directly through either one of those lines. Both fabulous.

 

[Eastridge]

If you want to do an ABD river cruise, the chance of cancellation is low since I assume the cruises will run no matter the number of guests. When I booked an ABD Rhine cruise, the Vacationista told me that trip was "guaranteed to go". I would be more concerned about water levels in the river you select.

If you want a land trip, you can ask a Vacationista how many guests have already booked. While ABD doesn't say what the minimum is, the guess is if the trip is at least half full then it is likely to go. For the Morocco trip I'm currently reporting on, there was another Morocco trip that was 3 days ahead of my group. That trip has 17 guests and it still occurred, with 2 guides.

Also, you can buy your airfare through the ABD air department. That way, if ABD cancels then they will refund your trip and airfare. Yes, it would be inconvenient in not leaving much time to plan a replacement but at least you would get all your money back.

We've had two reports on this board of trips where the activities significantly deviated from the posted itinerary, and both were during the Xmas-New Year's week. But not every trip has been affected like that. You can see my ABD New Zealand report which started on Xmas Dec. 2022, and the Morocco trip that I'm still writing the report for.