Jean and Phil
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Jun 18, 2017
- Messages
- 2
Just got back from our Magic of the Baltic Cruise with ABD add on. This was our third ABD (Ecuador and Galapagos, 2013 and China, 2015) and, while enjoyable, it wasn't the experience the others were. It's advertised as a 7 day adventure, but in reality it's 4 and a couple of minor ship board activities. Tour guides and excursions were top notch but the experience wasn't up to par with the others. I would classify it as enhanced shore excursions. We probably could've gotten close to the same experience by purchasing shore excursions from the ship. Even though we had two ABD guides, most of the actual "guiding" was done by local tour companies.
So here's what happened for us and our impressions day by day.
Day 1 - Boarding the ship in Copenhagen. Experience was pretty much what you can expect from any cruise. Stand in a long line and check in.... After checking in we are directed to the ABD desk where we meet our ABD guides. Nice guys, bubbly and full of energy, took our picture and gave us a flyer with the ABD activity for the following day (day at sea). That's it. We got on the ship and didn't see them for the rest of the day. That evening we had dinner with a few of our tour group as we did every night except the St Petersburg night. We never had dinner with the whole group.
Day 2 - Day at sea. We had a welcome reception in one of the ships lounges in the morning where we meet the other ABD tour group members. Took about an hour. Then on our own until mid afternoon, when we had the option to visit an ABD information desk for any questions about the upcoming adventures or to just get to know the guides some. We stopped by and talked with them for a few minutes. Asked them about why we didn't see them at dinner the night prior and they told us it was something to do with Disney Cruise Line not wanting them to interfere with the cruise experience or something. Didn't see them for the rest of the day.
So first two days weren't really ABD adventures in our opinion.
Day 3 - First ABD excursion in Tallinn, Estonia. Met the group in one of the ship restaurants and got off the ship with everyone else. Once off we were directed to one of the many tour buses. From there, it was off on our first adventure, a walking tour of old town Tallinn. We had a local tour guide in addition to our two ABD guides. The local tour guide gave us a little radio receiver with headphones that we used on the tour so we could hear her. This turned out to be a common thing with all of the shore excursions. So, we did our walking tour and saw the old town. A really scenic town, but typical touristy area. Lots of people and souvenir shops. Had lunch in a local restaurant (another common theme with all of the excursions) and then had a little interactive show with some local performers, that in at least my mind (Phil) was probably the highlight of the whole tour. From there we got back on the bus and visited Kadriorg Palace for a short while. Another scenic tourist attraction. Though not as crowded. Then it was back to the ship around 4 or 5 pm. Once there we were given a sheet of paper with info on meeting time and what to expect the next day in St. Petersburg and our ABD tour guides said goodbye. Didn't see them for the rest of the night.
Day 4 - Met the group in the ship restaurant for the St. Petersburg excursion. Got off the ship and went through Russian customs which got us a passport stamp...cool...Though we were warned that it could take a while, the whole thing for us was pretty painless. Once through we were directed by Disney Cruise Line staff tour the tour bus where we met our ABD and local tour guides. Another headset and we were off for a 13 hour whirlwind tour of St. Petersburg. First of all the weather was rainy and cool. Second of all, St. Petersburg was advertised as the "Venice of the North" and scenic, but first impressions were not so great. Drab Soviet era apartment buildings, and even the older part of the city had a dull feel to it. Could've had something to do with the dreary weather. First adventure was a long bus ride to Peterhof Palace (about an hour and a half). We arrive and it is a crush of tourists. Our guides take us to the "special" quick entry, that turns out to be the general tour group entrance. There was a line, but it moved quickly and we were inside. No photography was allowed inside and we had to move along as there was a steady stream of tourists both in front and behind us. It was a scenic place, but very crowded. Our ABD guides said it was actually better than it normally is. If it had been any more crowded, I would've taken a pass on going inside and waited for the group on the outside. From there we walked through the gardens and got on a hydrofoil back to St. Petersburg. Back on the bus and into traffic. It seemed we went around in circles a few times as we passed the same sights. We ended up at a local restaurant where we had beef stroganoff and a shot of Russian vodka. Pretty cool experience. Then it was back on the bus and off to the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood. Another tourist area, but not crowded at all. The ABD guides said that was the first time they had been there without a crush of tourists. I guess we got lucky. It is a spectacle and something to see. After walking through we were given some free time and pointed to some souvenir shops. Then it was back on the bus and sitting in traffic until we got to our canal boat ride. It was raining and cold, but thankfully it was inside, though that limited the sightseeing a great deal. There was a small three man band on board that played some local music to entertain us. After the boat ride we went to another restaurant were we had tea/coffee and pastries, then it was off to the Hermitage Museum which was overwhelming. We spent about an hour and half there and saw only a small fraction of it. At about 9 pm we were back at the ship where our ABD guides said goodbye and we made it back through Russian customs and on the ship.
Day 5 - Met the group in the ship restaurant again, this time around noon, and off the boat and to our tour bus for our Helsinki excursion, where we got handed our headsets and met two local guides this time. From there we went on a boat ride to Suomenlinna Island where we had lunch. Then it was a walking tour of the island fort. The weather was bad again. This time sleet/hail and cold. Thankfully there were places to slip into to get out of the weather. After the island tour it was back on the boat and then to the bus where we did a very quick stop at Senate Square and then made our way to the Rock Church, which was underwhelming in our estimation. The whole excursion was about 4 hours long and we were back on the boat around 5 pm.
Day 6 - Met the group in the ship restaurant for our final excursion in Stockholm. The weather was much better, which made everything seem better. Lots of tourists though and lots of bus riding. One local tour guide and headsets like the other places. A walking tour of the old town, a visit of the Royal Armory, lunch, then a short visit to the Vasa Museum before it was back to the bus and the trip to the ship. Said goodbye to the ABD guides and didn't see them for the rest of the night.
Day 7 - A day at sea. Our only ABD activity was a short farewell reception. We did see the ABD guides at dinner when they came by to give us our pin for the last day.
Day 8 - Off the ship and to the airport using Disney Cruise Line transport.
So, while billed as a 7 day ABD adventure, it was really only four unless we count the welcome and farewell receptions on the days at sea. Less group activities in general than the other ABD tours we've done. And it seemed that there was almost a bit of competition between ABD and the Disney Cruise. A couple of nice add ons included a case of bottle water each placed in our stateroom, which we couldn't finish and the inclusion of all the shipboard photographs electronically (about $300 if purchased through the cruise). Notably missing. Meeting us at the airport and airport transfers. We purchased the airport transfer from Disney Cruise Line.
Admittedly, this ABD was less expensive than the others we've been on. But it was still far more than inexpensive and it just didn't seem to be a good value for the money. We would probably do another Disney cruise, but not the ABD add on.
So here's what happened for us and our impressions day by day.
Day 1 - Boarding the ship in Copenhagen. Experience was pretty much what you can expect from any cruise. Stand in a long line and check in.... After checking in we are directed to the ABD desk where we meet our ABD guides. Nice guys, bubbly and full of energy, took our picture and gave us a flyer with the ABD activity for the following day (day at sea). That's it. We got on the ship and didn't see them for the rest of the day. That evening we had dinner with a few of our tour group as we did every night except the St Petersburg night. We never had dinner with the whole group.
Day 2 - Day at sea. We had a welcome reception in one of the ships lounges in the morning where we meet the other ABD tour group members. Took about an hour. Then on our own until mid afternoon, when we had the option to visit an ABD information desk for any questions about the upcoming adventures or to just get to know the guides some. We stopped by and talked with them for a few minutes. Asked them about why we didn't see them at dinner the night prior and they told us it was something to do with Disney Cruise Line not wanting them to interfere with the cruise experience or something. Didn't see them for the rest of the day.
So first two days weren't really ABD adventures in our opinion.
Day 3 - First ABD excursion in Tallinn, Estonia. Met the group in one of the ship restaurants and got off the ship with everyone else. Once off we were directed to one of the many tour buses. From there, it was off on our first adventure, a walking tour of old town Tallinn. We had a local tour guide in addition to our two ABD guides. The local tour guide gave us a little radio receiver with headphones that we used on the tour so we could hear her. This turned out to be a common thing with all of the shore excursions. So, we did our walking tour and saw the old town. A really scenic town, but typical touristy area. Lots of people and souvenir shops. Had lunch in a local restaurant (another common theme with all of the excursions) and then had a little interactive show with some local performers, that in at least my mind (Phil) was probably the highlight of the whole tour. From there we got back on the bus and visited Kadriorg Palace for a short while. Another scenic tourist attraction. Though not as crowded. Then it was back to the ship around 4 or 5 pm. Once there we were given a sheet of paper with info on meeting time and what to expect the next day in St. Petersburg and our ABD tour guides said goodbye. Didn't see them for the rest of the night.
Day 4 - Met the group in the ship restaurant for the St. Petersburg excursion. Got off the ship and went through Russian customs which got us a passport stamp...cool...Though we were warned that it could take a while, the whole thing for us was pretty painless. Once through we were directed by Disney Cruise Line staff tour the tour bus where we met our ABD and local tour guides. Another headset and we were off for a 13 hour whirlwind tour of St. Petersburg. First of all the weather was rainy and cool. Second of all, St. Petersburg was advertised as the "Venice of the North" and scenic, but first impressions were not so great. Drab Soviet era apartment buildings, and even the older part of the city had a dull feel to it. Could've had something to do with the dreary weather. First adventure was a long bus ride to Peterhof Palace (about an hour and a half). We arrive and it is a crush of tourists. Our guides take us to the "special" quick entry, that turns out to be the general tour group entrance. There was a line, but it moved quickly and we were inside. No photography was allowed inside and we had to move along as there was a steady stream of tourists both in front and behind us. It was a scenic place, but very crowded. Our ABD guides said it was actually better than it normally is. If it had been any more crowded, I would've taken a pass on going inside and waited for the group on the outside. From there we walked through the gardens and got on a hydrofoil back to St. Petersburg. Back on the bus and into traffic. It seemed we went around in circles a few times as we passed the same sights. We ended up at a local restaurant where we had beef stroganoff and a shot of Russian vodka. Pretty cool experience. Then it was back on the bus and off to the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood. Another tourist area, but not crowded at all. The ABD guides said that was the first time they had been there without a crush of tourists. I guess we got lucky. It is a spectacle and something to see. After walking through we were given some free time and pointed to some souvenir shops. Then it was back on the bus and sitting in traffic until we got to our canal boat ride. It was raining and cold, but thankfully it was inside, though that limited the sightseeing a great deal. There was a small three man band on board that played some local music to entertain us. After the boat ride we went to another restaurant were we had tea/coffee and pastries, then it was off to the Hermitage Museum which was overwhelming. We spent about an hour and half there and saw only a small fraction of it. At about 9 pm we were back at the ship where our ABD guides said goodbye and we made it back through Russian customs and on the ship.
Day 5 - Met the group in the ship restaurant again, this time around noon, and off the boat and to our tour bus for our Helsinki excursion, where we got handed our headsets and met two local guides this time. From there we went on a boat ride to Suomenlinna Island where we had lunch. Then it was a walking tour of the island fort. The weather was bad again. This time sleet/hail and cold. Thankfully there were places to slip into to get out of the weather. After the island tour it was back on the boat and then to the bus where we did a very quick stop at Senate Square and then made our way to the Rock Church, which was underwhelming in our estimation. The whole excursion was about 4 hours long and we were back on the boat around 5 pm.
Day 6 - Met the group in the ship restaurant for our final excursion in Stockholm. The weather was much better, which made everything seem better. Lots of tourists though and lots of bus riding. One local tour guide and headsets like the other places. A walking tour of the old town, a visit of the Royal Armory, lunch, then a short visit to the Vasa Museum before it was back to the bus and the trip to the ship. Said goodbye to the ABD guides and didn't see them for the rest of the night.
Day 7 - A day at sea. Our only ABD activity was a short farewell reception. We did see the ABD guides at dinner when they came by to give us our pin for the last day.
Day 8 - Off the ship and to the airport using Disney Cruise Line transport.
So, while billed as a 7 day ABD adventure, it was really only four unless we count the welcome and farewell receptions on the days at sea. Less group activities in general than the other ABD tours we've done. And it seemed that there was almost a bit of competition between ABD and the Disney Cruise. A couple of nice add ons included a case of bottle water each placed in our stateroom, which we couldn't finish and the inclusion of all the shipboard photographs electronically (about $300 if purchased through the cruise). Notably missing. Meeting us at the airport and airport transfers. We purchased the airport transfer from Disney Cruise Line.
Admittedly, this ABD was less expensive than the others we've been on. But it was still far more than inexpensive and it just didn't seem to be a good value for the money. We would probably do another Disney cruise, but not the ABD add on.
