New announcement from ABD

[sayhello]

Count me out for this trip, 2 of the days are exact replicas of the Central Europe trip, and while I understand that 100% supplement is standard practice in the cruise industry I am not paying double for excursions on a cruise but I would be on this trip as they are included in the fare and as such there should not be 100% surcharge for any category.

I have to agree with you on the surcharge. It's bad enough on a cruise where you aren't eating twice as much food or taking up two seats in the shows, but to be paying for twice the full price for the "excursions" too is ridiculous. I'm only willing to do this if I can get one of the ones at 50%.

Sayhello

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

If we hadn't just done the central Europe ABD we would have definitely considered this. However we have toured many of the cities (even Melk on the Danube river cruise we did on our own after the ABD ended) and I just can't justify the cost. Many of the activities are duplicates of what the land tour offers. Such a shame as I would have preferred doing a river cruise over the land trip (where you have to pack up your bags every few nights).

Those who choose this trip will have an AWESOME time. It does look amazing.

 

[Rapunzellover]

I have no interest in River crusing or cruising of any kind. Don't like boats for extended periods of time.

I'm sorry for those solos that want to with that single supplement. Ouch.

I want 2016 Spain and Scotland dates.

 

[calypso726]

I'm curious as to the contract between Disney and AMAWaterways. What if they only fill 50% of the rooms? Are the rest released as nonABD rooms by AMA? Does ABD rent out the entire ship and incur a loss if not enough guests book? I guess limiting the available dates will help. I have no doubt these will become very popular, I'm just curious if they will be 4X as popular as their typical ABDs. I hope so.

I'll probably pass on it just because I was recently in many of these cities. Still, it looks pretty neat.

I asked the Vacationista this morning if ABD was sharing the ship with non ABD guests and was told "no" that the ship will be all ABD. We booked for the July 14th sailing with a pre-cruise 3 day Prague ABD and the free post night Budapest. When the DVC member exclusive details are released we may wind up switching the sailing date, to July 7th though depending on the pricing and or point costs. Sadly, no info available right now to compare we decided to book this as "plan b" if "plan a" winds up being harder on the wallet

 

[tufbuf]

Whoa, the single supplement is eye popping! We didn't have to pay for a single supplement before on our river cruise so our DD was able to stay in her own room, which she wanted.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

I asked the Vacationista this morning if ABD was sharing the ship with non ABD guests and was told "no" that the ship will be all ABD. We booked for the July 14th sailing with a pre-cruise 3 day Prague ABD and the free post night Budapest. When the DVC member exclusive details are released we may wind up switching the sailing date, to July 7th though depending on the pricing and or point costs. Sadly, no info available right now to compare we decided to book this as "plan b" if "plan a" winds up being harder on the wallet

This is exactly what I just sent an email to do. I'm still leaning toward China but this looks awesome. I hope I'll be able to transfer my deposit to abd China if I decide to do that instead.

 

[sayhello]

This is exactly what I just sent an email to do. I'm still leaning toward China but this looks awesome. I hope I'll be able to transfer my deposit to abd China if I decide to do that instead.

You should be able to!

Sayhello

 

[distravel]

We did the Central Europe land trip last summer and it is a wonderful itinerary. I wonder if they are going to cancel the land tour as the itinerary is very similar. Would have loved for this to be my first cruise but the trips are almost identical. We plan to go ahead with our plans to visit China with ABD on one of the fall adults only tours in 2016.

 

[Calfan]

This trip does look awesome, but there are so many repeats with the Central Europe ABD that we definitely won't be booking for Summer 2016. It's not just repeat locations, but identical activities as are on the Central Europe ABD (and we also did Melk and the abbey on our own). Like others, I wonder if they plan to discontinue the Central Europe land-based ABD. But I am intrigued by this itinerary for Christmas 2017 when we plan to do a European Christmas Markets river cruise. I don't think the repeats would bother me so much in the winter with all of the holiday overlay going on. Plus, there are some places on this river cruise that were not part of the Central Europe ABD like Vilshofen, Passau, Bratislava and Budapest. With the new cities/towns and the ability to avoid some of the repeats with the optional activities, this could be very exciting for Christmas 2017. It is pricey though, especially compared to the straight-up AMA Waterways holiday itinerary. As always with ABD, it boils down to the premium one is willing to pay for the Disney magic and the family-oriented nature of the tour. Definitely a possibility...

 

[tufbuf]

Yes, the itinerary looks really awesome! I don't mind going back to all those cities. Passau has one bakery with the most awesome tasting chocolates!! As well as Salzburg. I really like the options they presented in some of the cities, especially Vienna on your own. A day though in Vienna is really cutting it short since there are so many to places to go to there!

The great part about the river cruise is that the guides' gratuities are all included! I sure hope they offer the December cruise once more in 2017, something to consider then...

 

[sayhello]

Well, I'm signed up for the July 21st cruise! I hadn't said anything until it was official, but I was planning on postponing my Central Europe trip for this year. A wonderful opportunity for 9 days in London with friends came up, so I had to go with that! Which is perfect, because now I can do the Danube river cruise without any duplication! It's like it was meant to be. Got a Category C with the 50% single supplement, so that works. Just a tad higher than the regular ABD single supplement, which is usually 40%. I'm excited about this! It's going to be a new experience, but with ABD, so I know it will be well done.

Sayhello

 

[paddles]

This river cruise and itinerary look amazing! Bravo Disney - you did a great job with this!! I love the fact there are choices each day regarding activities and the price point is great given all meals are included (and the Prague add-on also is very reasonable).

Unfortunately, I'm not in position to book right now because of some job transitions that may happen next year, and I can't commit this far in advance. Otherwise, I would have totally booked! I hope the prices don't go up too much YoY, because it's very attractive right now (especially with a pre/post night) - but a sizeable increase would make me look at other alternatives.

I'm jealous of Calypso and SayHello who were able to book this!

 

[kristilew]

Well, I'm signed up for the July 21st cruise! I hadn't said anything until it was official, but I was planning on postponing my Central Europe trip for this year. A wonderful opportunity for 9 days in London with friends came up, so I had to go with that! Which is perfect, because now I can do the Danube river cruise without any duplication! It's like it was meant to be. Got a Category C with the 50% single supplement, so that works. Just a tad higher than the regular ABD single supplement, which is usually 40%. I'm excited about this! It's going to be a new experience, but with ABD, so I know it will be well done.

Sayhello

I was wondering about your CE trip when you were interested in this one! All that planning - at least you can save it til next time. Besides, London with friends always wins! Like you said, meant to be.

I'm on the fence - we have been planning to do Prague and Vienna on our own next summer for DD's graduation trip. This could be a fun way to make it a longer trip and get the ABD vibe. But we have so many trips planned for 2016, including a sort of river cruise for DH and me after she's off to school, that I think this would be just too much. I will be eagerly following everyone's plans and reports before making a final call!

 

[sayhello]

This river cruise and itinerary look amazing! Bravo Disney - you did a great job with this!! I love the fact there are choices each day regarding activities and the price point is great given all meals are included (and the Prague add-on also is very reasonable).

Unfortunately, I'm not in position to book right now because of some job transitions that may happen next year, and I can't commit this far in advance. Otherwise, I would have totally booked! I hope the prices don't go up too much YoY, because it's very attractive right now (especially with a pre/post night) - but a sizeable increase would make me look at other alternatives.

I'm jealous of Calypso and SayHello who were able to book this!

The vacationista told me that not only are there choices each day, but you don't have to decide until the day before which ones you want to do! They have full availability for everyone to do each activity!

Sayhello

 

[2PrincesseInTow]

Do the DVC exclusives ever open up to non DVC? That date works best for us.​

 

[kristilew]

So basically you get hit for an upcharge twice for a room of three. You have to add the additional person for a full fare, then you can only book in the more expensive categories?

I just did the math from the ABD website. For our family of 3, with the third person sleeping on a tiny pull out chair in a 235 sq ft room, we'd actually pay MORE than if we booked two smaller rooms and paid a 50% single supplement for the third person to have her own room. It actually doesn't save money until we get up to a 70% single supplement. That is crazy. But would certainly make us think carefully if we were to book this about how we would do it. Pay less for more space and an extra bathroom? Ok.

 

[DanceswithDisney]

Here is more about it:

http://www.adventuresbydisney.com/europe/river-cruise/trip-at-a-glance

Best thing about the river boat is only have to pack and unpack once as your hotel moves with you.

 

[carpenta]

On the Tauck ship the suites hold three people comfortably. There was a queen sized bed and a pull out love seat which our daughter said was comfortable. Those ships held fewer passengers. It is eye opening when you did the math Kristilew on the pricing.

 

[calypso726]

Do the DVC exclusives ever open up to non DVC? That date works best for us.​

I haven't seen that happen on previous DVC exclusives.

 

[helenk]

The Danube River Cruise looks amazing. I priced it as going solo and yikes! I am going to see if my sister would be interested, then it would be affordable.