Is ABD for us--please be candid

[spyhill]

We are considering Imperial Cities this summer with our two kids, who will be 6 and 8. We are lucky to be able to afford luxury travel and are concerned about some of the reviews here, which complain of poor food, herding around, immature guides, and other typical mass-market bus tour experiences. On the other hand, the itinerary sounds fun, we love Disney, and it seems they've included a lot of fun extra kid-friendly activities.

Please don't flame me with accusations of snobbery. I am well aware that anyone who can travel to Europe under any circumstances is blessed.

But for those of you who like the good life AND have been on ABD, what has been your experience?

 

[wdwsos]

We are considering Imperial Cities this summer with our two kids, who will be 6 and 8. We are lucky to be able to afford luxury travel and are concerned about some of the reviews here, which complain of poor food, herding around, immature guides, and other typical mass-market bus tour experiences. On the other hand, the itinerary sounds fun, we love Disney, and it seems they've included a lot of fun extra kid-friendly activities.

Please don't flame me with accusations of snobbery. I am well aware that anyone who can travel to Europe under any circumstances is blessed.

But for those of you who like the good life AND have been on ABD, what has been your experience?

We are a couple in our 50s with three grown children, two of whom are almost done college. We also feel blessed that we can do things now that we couldn't do years ago. And although I'm a travel agent and people do assume at times that my trips are discounted, we're paying the same price as everyone else. (I do get my commission back, so there is a slight discount there.) All of this is just to say that I think I'm in a similar boat, but my vessel is just way older.

We did Viva Italia in 2006, Imperial Cities in 2007, and are booked for Flavors of France for June. We have, so far at least, found wonderful and knowledgable guides, very good food, and pleasant bus rides. The hotels are top-notch, the tours within each city well organized, and I'm obviously really pleased with AbD to have booked my third. I sell a lot of these trips and it's because I really believe in the product, not because I'm a pushy person. One of my closest friends just booked Viva Italia over other companies for this coming September, and I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I gave her anything but my honest opinion.

I'm not sure if a Kodak Photo Gallery link will work on this forum, but our Imperial Cities photos are here:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=e09s25h.4rrn21eh&x=0&y=s08jfe

Just a warning though -- there are over 700 photos! You can see that the whole group, including the two 6-year-olds, were having a wonderful time! I also have a very long trip report and photos for Viva Italia. Unfortunately, the Imperial Cities report is still in my head.

Dotti

 

[spyhill]

Thanks so much for the beautiful photos and the positive words. I look forward to hearing from other people as well.

 

[KLondon]

Spyhill.... I know exactly what you're asking here. Let me just say that we're of a similar mind. We're a family of 4 with kids 15 and 12. At the risk of sounding slightly snobbish - we, too, like the good life. We've worked hard to get where we are, and we will not compromise on anything when we take vacations. Some people spend all of their money on bigger houses or nicer cars, I suppose - but we prefer to spend our money on traveling. As a consequence, we travel a lot and we travel well.

With all that as a prelude, let me just say that ABD did not disappoint us. Our expectations for quality and service (and value) were met at all times - and often exceeded. We did the Knights&Lights tour last July and were so impressed with ABD that we've booked Costa Rica for later this year.

While 'quality' can be pretty subjective, all I can say is you'll never know until you try. As for the complaints you mention (poor food, herding, mass-market mentality, etc.) - we just never encountered anything of that nature. It was those kinds of worries that led us to avoid other tour companies in favour of ABD. Rest assured that if we had run into those kind of issues, we would not be using ABD again.

 

[MJGirl]

Hi... I too can attest to the great treatment and fun we had on our London Paris ABD. The guides were fantastic. They left no one out, from the 6 year old to the 70 year old on our trip. The food was great, even my picky eater didn't go hungry. I found that the guide knew the area and offered great advise on how to spend our down time! I too am booked on my 2nd ABD in August.

 

[disneytraveler]

I was really pleased with the tour guides and service on Viva Italia.
And Dotti, thanks for the Imperial Cities photos .I am going on this tour in September!

 

[cydlei]

Hi Dottie,
Can you post those Viva Italia photos and trip report?
Thanks!
Cindy

 

[disneytraveler]

Hi Dottie,
Can you post those Viva Italia photos and trip report?
Thanks!
Cindy

Look for my trip report and photos on this forum

 

[spyhill]

We decided to book! Thanks for your help.