Interesting Change...curious what you think!

[sayhello]

I read in our December book and this one it says some Guides may accept PayPal for tips.

But it says "some Guides may", so you can't count on it. Unless you wait to get your tip cash until after you find out...

Sayhello

 

[CrazyZeus1]

But it says "some Guides may", so you can't count on it. Unless you wait to get your tip cash until after you find out...

Sayhello

Yea, it didn't seem like a reliable way to know how much $$ to bring!

 

[sayhello]

Is it really petty for me to be so annoyed about the TIP envelope??? We did not have it in Peru, either (December). It's bad enough we can only basically give the guides cash (that I don't like to keep track of throughout the trip) but then I had to use the envelopes in the hotel room to give them their tips. We had a mostly 'new to ABD' group and I wonder how many forgot to tip at all (I hope none...Our guides were AWESOME). I wish they would go to an online/electronic system or just make things easier.

I usually bring Thank You cards from home, anyways, so I never used their tip envelopes...

Sayhello

 

[OhanaCuz]

Sigh. I knew it sounded too good to be true. If it was for the danube cruise that makes sense. That was one of the perks they marketed for that trip.

Sorry for the false alarm. I'm eyeing a river cruise for my first ABD so my perspective is skewed.

 

[Cousin Orville]

Sure! This was our box this time..[GALLERY=][/GALLERY]

They gave a bank bag and luggage tags? Oh that is just sad.

 

[SingingMom]

Be careful about the "Paypal" option.... spoke to a few guides that really would prefer the cash (although they would never complain) - too difficult to deal with, especially if they are on their way home or to a different tour.
These "gifts" in the box are no where near the quality the past backpacks are. I'll have to see what we get in May. We missed the ipad cover - I think I would have liked that. LOL Do they still give the duffels in the room? I must admit we've never used the luggage bands; just the luggage tags. Guess we should pull them out! lol

 

[CrazyZeus1]

I loved the canvas tote bags we used to get! They've always given the duffel.bag and I hope that continues as well.

 

[SingingMom]

I loved the canvas tote bags we used to get! They've always given the duffel.bag and I hope that continues as well.

LOVE the canvas tote! Especially since it had a zipper!

 

[White Rose]

I have been waiting to see what the gift would be for this year...I am underwhelmed. I liked 2015. The heavy duty tote bag was used on the way home to bring extra souvenirs home!

 

[RebelHawk]

We should be getting our NYC ABD box soon. A little disappointed that they are making yet another cut to what we are getting for these premium priced trips.

 

[CrazyZeus1]

I'd be good if they cut back on the box and just gave us more wine, sodas, etc at meals! hahahah!!!

 

[HtomSirveaux]

So as someone who hasn't gone on an Adventure before (but has SF booked in May), I didn't even realize I would be getting anything other than paperwork (too used to WDW where it's just MagicBands and Magical Express paperwork.) This isn't just for repeat adventurers, is it? And what's the timeframe they usually go out in relation to the trip date?

 

[sayhello]

So as someone who hasn't gone on an Adventure before (but has SF booked in May), I didn't even realize I would be getting anything other than paperwork (too used to WDW where it's just MagicBands and Magical Express paperwork.) This isn't just for repeat adventurers, is it? And what's the timeframe they usually go out in relation to the trip date?

Everyone gets the "Pre-trip box", not just repeat adventurers. It will contain a booklet with more details about your specific departure, and the gifts CrazyZeus1 showed in her picture. I think they've been generally showing up somewhere between 30 and 45 days prior to your trip. Unless you're in Canada. They seem to have issues getting the boxes to Canada.

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[carpenta]

I really liked the draw string laundry bag. We used it on our trip and it's good to segregate your clean laundry from your dirty stuff. Like others I have tons of backpacks. We just received a hard covered book about the history and highlights of Iceland from Nat Geo.. We are going with them in a few months to Iceland.

 

[Cousin Orville]

We just received a hard covered book about the history and highlights of Iceland from Nat Geo.. We are going with them in a few months to Iceland.

Wow, that's nice. Sounds like a perfect gift. I hope you report back on your Iceland trip. It looks interesting.

I'm still a fan of the backpacks. My kids have used them for school. I've used as a day bag for WDW, and had other guests ask me about ABD in the Parks. The laundry bag was also useful.

 

[carpenta]

I will report gladly.

 

[sayhello]

I really liked the draw string laundry bag. We used it on our trip and it's good to segregate your clean laundry from your dirty stuff. Like others I have tons of backpacks. We just received a hard covered book about the history and highlights of Iceland from Nat Geo.. We are going with them in a few months to Iceland.

Iceland is high on my list to go back to for a proper trip (I was there for a day and a half in 2015 on the way home from London, and fell in love with it!) I'm looking forward to hearing about your experiences on this trip!

Sayhello

 

[anonymousegirl]

I love our luggage straps, and we always liked getting more (we've done 3 ABD), because sometimes the strap goes walkabout and disappears forever. We got tote bags twice and a backpack once, plus the laundry bags and luggage tags.

 

[BluesTraveler]

Oh no, we loved the luggage straps last year. Those were genuinely useful and I don't think we've managed to hold on to all of them. I'm bummed they're not included this year. I have no use for luggage tags - that's something we have a million of.

 

[calypso726]

I love the canvas tote bag with the zipper. I bring one on every single flight I take. It is prefect to hold everything I need and slide under the seat on a plane.