Germany- Underwhelmed?

[Smuggs]

We still have Germany on the top of our short list. Still looking at other suppliers as well. Twice, recently, people have posted they were Underwhelmed by the adventure, but really did not give specifics. Too many moves? not enough time? too cutesy? other difficult adventurers?

If you did Germany and were less than thrilled, can you state why?

Many thanks.

 

[Miss SD]

We still have Germany on the top of our short list. Still looking at other suppliers as well. Twice, recently, people have posted they were Underwhelmed by the adventure, but really did not give specifics. Too many moves? not enough time? too cutesy? other difficult adventurers?

If you did Germany and were less than thrilled, can you state why?

Many thanks.

Wow, people posted they were underwhelmed? I'm surprised! We (me, DH and DD12) went two months or so ago and we had a blast! We moved a few times during the trip (spent time in four hotels), but it didn't feel rushed. The guides (Nadine and Daniel) were fantastic.

If you tell me what you're expecting from the trip, maybe I tell you if the trip would offer that.

 

[bobrex]

My dw and I did the Germany trip in July. It was great. Nadine and Daniel were also our guides (but it was Daniel's last trip). They were very attentive to the group. In fact, for my dw's birthday, they arranged for the baker to make her a special 50th birthday pretzel.

The hotels were topnotch. There was a balance of free time and tours. We stayed in four different hotels, and there was free time in each place except Munich which was the one place that there could have been more free time; however, one could stay an extra night in Munich at the end of the trip.

We had excellent local guides. Michael in Munich was very knowledgeable, but it was a bit rushed -- or it could have been the fact that it rained heavily during our walking tour.

I would recommend the trip.

 

[abdalums]

Okay, I think I may have been one of the people who said I was underwhelmed. In retrospect, that may not have been the right word--although I can't think of another. We did the trip last summer. It was our fourth adventure and our standards were pretty high. I was not impressed with the hotel in Heidelberg. In past trips, I have been impressed with all the accomodations. The hotel in Heidelberg seemed more geared to business travel than vacation travel. It was a trip that was focused on the storybook theme. The young kids (under 11) loved the whole thing. My DD was 13 and my DS was 11. They weren't as into the fairy tale aspect as the little ones were. The little girls on the trip LOVED it all. If I had it to do over again, I would have done Germany when my kids were younger. By the time you hit your fourth trip, the special Disney surprises aren't so surprising (if that makes sense.) We also happened to have a number of well-seasoned travellers with us who had been on tours with other companies. I think I listened to their comparisons too much. That doesn't mean that they didn't have legitimate issues with some things (ie the rooms in the castle) but I think I may have allowed it to cloud my thinking. The castle experience was okay. Now, I know for lots of people it was a highlight. But I was comparing it to the castle experience in Ireland which was outstanding. The rooms in the castle in Germany were small, stuffy, dusty and HOT. While we expected no AC, I hadn't expected no screens on the windows. We had to close the One small window at night as we were told bugs and bats could come in. Nice. So, of our four trips (Ireland, Wyoming, Italy and Germany) Germany was our least favorite. Ask anyone in my family which was there favorite trip and we are hard pressed to answe, because the other three trips were fantastic. Ask which was our least favorite and we all agree.
However, it has not dampened our opinion of ABD, and we are booked for
Greece next summer. Hope that helps.

 

[Miss SD]

abdalums: Did you stay at Waldeck Castle? We heard that ABD replaced the previous castle with the one at Waldeck. At Waldeck, we had a large room with a loft and a terrific view of Lake Edersee. (I remember reading a trip report from last year on the DIS about a family who woke up with a bat flying around their room in the old castle. I think they all had to get rabies shots or something. Didn't sound like fun.)

And, yeah, the Crowne Plaza in Heidelberg wasn't worth writing home about. The Kempinski, on the other hand, was something else.

 

[marcemch]

When I read all of these comments, it reminds me that there are SO many variables that impact how much you enjoy a trip. Germany was our first ABD trip in 2008, and of all of our trips (we've done 2 ABDs, and 2 Tauck Bridges), it is still our favorite. That said, there were so many things that made this trip a great one for us: a great group of people who both my daughter and I "clicked" with, my daughter was the perfect age (8) and it was her first taste of Europe, fabulous guides, and good weather. All of the ABD surprises were new to us, and there were quite a few, so it definitely exceeded all of our expectations.
That said, the Heidleburg hotel wasn't great but the location was good. But I HATED the Kempinski! Our rooms smelled like cigarette smoke (we got a new room, but it was only a little better), I got stuck with a big charge for using internet, and I felt like we were at the bottom of the pecking list of guests there (granted, it did happen to be filled with a large group of very wealthy Saudi Arabian folks). I loved the authenticity of the castle hotel, even though we did get a few bugs in the room at night with the windows open. My daughter still talks about our turret room there. The kids ran around playing Rapunzel on the grounds on a beautiful afternoon, while the adults had a glass of wine and relaxed on the terrace. Very nice.
We had a underwhelmed experience on our next ABD - Alaska. I thought there was WAY too much bus/inactive time for my then 9 yr old. But many folks on this board loved their Alaska experience, so I think it depends on so many factors. As has been said before, you know your family best and what they enjoy doing, and should look at the itinerary and judge accordingly.

 

[WeLoveABD]

I think many of us who are repeat customers go through this "let down" feeling--I know we were overwhelmed by Italy (our first ABD), and that continued with China (but that would be a wow place no matter what--and ABD did a great job)---so when we hit our third, Knights and Lights--we felt a slight downward bump in our enthusiasm. But in retrospect--there were great things on that trip, and it was at Christmas and we had a crazy xmas eve dinner at a small shack on the shores of the Seine (we waited too late to get onto a dinner cruise, and other restaurants were packed)--turned out to be a great family experience. But I know at the time we were not feeling overwhelmed--but I think there is some trip psychology in all of this! (Our guides were great, hotels perfect etc--hard to put our finger quite on it).

(We can't comment on Germany--we did xmas/Christmas Markets and it was snowy and charming and very different from the summer trips).

 

[Skatetigger]

DH & I did the Germany ABD trip Sept last year (hard to believe it's been a year) and we absolutely loved it. I can't say enough good things about our trip. Our guides Stephane and Marc were excellent.

I didn't mind the hotel in Heidelberg as I was a great location and it had exercise room . DH loved the uniqueness of Trendelberg Castle although I would have to admit I wouldn't have minded trying Waldeck Castle, but that being said for a couple nights it wasn't too bad. Sitting out and looking over the valley was wonderful.

Our favorite city was Rotenburg. The hotel was great (we got lucky and had a nice big room) and it was located in a great position. We just enjoyed walking around the town and loved the bakery.

And I agree Munich does seem a bit rushed but DH and I did stay and extra day. We LOVED Michael and wish he could have spent more time with us....as he would say Goody goody...

I would say yes you could do this trip for cheaper on your own but there was just something dare I say magical about our trip. We got along great with everyone on the trip and we just had sooooo much fun. There's a uniqueness that I think you can only get with ABD. it was also great to not have to worry about speaking the language, find our way around and dealing with the luggage (espeically up the 4 flights of stairs in Trendelberg with no elevator).

I would highlly recommend going, I really think you'll enjoy it.