Slight Change to 2017 San Francisco/Napa

[HtomSirveaux]

DW and I have only had our May 2017 San Francisco/Napa Adventure booked for a few weeks, but I got the below email from AbD on Feb 2 and haven't seen anybody mention it yet.

Actually come to think of it, I rarely if ever see this one mentioned and I didn't even see it in the 2017 booklet we just received. We've never booked AbD before, but DW has wanted to go to SF for a while. Did we book a "dud?" Worried about lack of guarantee if nobody even knows it exists.

We are pleased that you will be joining us in San Francisco! We would like to inform you that we are making a change to our planned itinerary for the 2017 season.

On Day 2, the Adult Wine Blending and Junior Adventurer Craft activities have been replaced with a Grape Stomp for all Adventurers at Silverado Vineyards (established by Diane Disney Miller and Ron Miller in 1981).

We begin our visit with a tour that will start with the history and philosophy of Silverado Vineyards and the Napa Valley. Your group will then follow the journey of the wine from grape to glass.

After a delicious lunch, Adventurers will roll up their jeans and lose the shoes! In a spirited atmosphere of competition and cooperation, teams consisting of "winemakers" will crush real grapes and collect the juice running from the barrel, not spilling a precious drop.

End your day at the winery with some leisure time to taste and shop in the Silverado tasting room or take in the gorgeous views of the vineyard and the hills surrounding Napa Valley.

 

[sayhello]

DW and I have only had our May 2017 San Francisco/Napa Adventure booked for a few weeks, but I got the below email from AbD on Feb 2 and haven't seen anybody mention it yet.

Actually come to think of it, I rarely if ever see this one mentioned and I didn't even see it in the 2017 booklet we just received. We've never booked AbD before, but DW has wanted to go to SF for a while. Did we book a "dud?" Worried about lack of guarantee if nobody even knows it exists.

I wouldn't say nobody knows it exists. A lot of folks have already done this trip.

You can call ABD and ask them how many people have signed up for your departure. Some trips are never guaranteed. It seems to be random which ones are actually guaranteed, and which ones are not. I've been on 8 ABDs, and not a one of them was ever guaranteed to go.

Here's a Trip Report from 2015:

http://www.disboards.com/threads/san-francisco-adults-only-trip-report.3449114/

That said, I think the change they've announced sounds like fun! We did grape stomping in Greece, and it was a blast!

Sayhello

 

[HtomSirveaux]

You can call ABD and ask them how many people have signed up for your departure. Some trips are never guaranteed. It seems to be random which ones are actually guaranteed, and which ones are not. I've been on 8 ABDs, and not a one of them was ever guaranteed to go.

Interesting; this whole "not guaranteed to go" thing is very new to me so having the key part of the trip be "officially" unknown is scary.

When I called AbD to book (direct, before I found out about DU but by then final payment was already made so it was too late), we were told that including us there were 12 people booked. They also said that as this was an Adult Only date, that it is normal for it to go half-full.

Guess nothing for me to do but be my nervous self and wait and see. I just wish there was some point that it would be definite...

 

[sayhello]

Interesting; this whole "not guaranteed to go" thing is very new to me so having the key part of the trip be "officially" unknown is scary.

When I called AbD to book (direct, before I found out about DU but by then final payment was already made so it was too late), we were told that including us there were 12 people booked. They also said that as this was an Adult Only date, that it is normal for it to go half-full.

Guess nothing for me to do but be my nervous self and wait and see. I just wish there was some point that it would be definite...

Oh, we're all with you there. We've had MANY conversations on this Forum about ABD's nerve-wracking lack of commitment when it comes to guaranteeing trips. Cancellations are rare, but they do occasionally happen. ABD will work with you to try & resolve your travel plans if it does happen.

And yes, Adult only trips do frequently go with much fewer people on them than the non-adults-only departures.

Sayhello

 

[OKW Lover]

We did the SF trip in 2015 and really enjoyed it. As an adult wine lover however I'd be disappointed in that change at Silverado. We really, really enjoyed the wine blending experience. Wound up joining the Silverado wine club while we were there.

 

[HtomSirveaux]

I wrote to our "Vacationista" late last week to check in on status. Here's her reply (note that there were 12 guests including DW and myself at the time of booking in mid-January, so nobody new):

While your Adventure is not yet "guaranteed," we currently have 12 guests confirmed. Based on my experience, between the number of days from the start of the trip and the number of people confirmed, I would not be concerned about the "official" status.

 

[HtomSirveaux]

Just as a follow-up/data point: I wrote to our advisor again and she said that the trip is definitely going, and it's with 12 people. Definitely have to remember the adults-only trick if/when we look at any in the future and want to increase the odds of it going.

(EDIT: Trip leaves on 5/11)

 

[AddictedtoTravel]

My daughter(16) and I were just on the March 30th departure. We had a total of 21, I think. It was a great weekend and we thoroughly enjoyed all of it. The grape stomping was super fun!

 

[HtomSirveaux]

My daughter(16) and I were just on the March 30th departure. We had a total of 21, I think. It was a great weekend and we thoroughly enjoyed all of it. The grape stomping was super fun!

Logistically, how does the grape stomping work? Anything DW and I should be aware of in advance as far as clothing/footwear and risk of anything getting "ruined"?

Also if you don't mind, I have one other question about the adventure since DW keeps asking me: At the LucasFilm stop, there there *anything* in addition to the lobby stop and fountain photo opp listed in the itinerary? Do they have any type of shop there that you were allowed access to?

 

[AddictedtoTravel]

The stomping is with white grapes in smaller barrels, so nothing that will stain, but super sticky. They have water to rinse your feet off after.

LucasFilm is locked down tightly, so the visit to the two spots you mentioned and not much else, but still pretty cool.

 

[mathgeek]

LucasFilm is locked down tightly, so the visit to the two spots you mentioned and not much else, but still pretty cool.

Wasn't there a movie showing or something like that at Lucasfilm on previous itineraries? If this is all there is now, then I'm even more glad I did SF on my own instead of through ABD.

 

[mouselike-harrier]

We were originally scheduled to go on this trip, but had to cancel. Would love to hear your opinions on it!