Triple occupancy

[Pens Fan]

We are a family of three considering an ABD trip to Europe. DS would be 18 at the time. It appears that the prices they quote per person are the same regardless of room occupancy. Is it really the same pp price if there are three or four to a room as it is for a double?

 

[kristilew]

Yes, it is priced per person. This is one of my only real complaints about Adventures by Disney. I even mentioned it in detail on our survey after our recent Viva Italia trip.

It is frustrating to pay full price for a third person to sleep on a tiny cot crammed into an already small European hotel room. We are also a family of 3, and at 17, DD does not fit very well onto that little cot. The worst was in Florence, where the only place to put the cot was pressed up against the foot of the one bed. DH is tall, as is DD. So the poor girl spent two nights with her feet hanging off her "bed" while DH's feet were against her legs!

(I suppose, as the short one in the family, I could take the cot, but I'm not generous enough to do that. Teenagers sleep more easily than older ladies!)

I am unwilling to pay the single supplement for her to stay in another room, but I do wish they'd discount her price even a little. She is definitely NOT getting the same level of experience as everyone else on the trip when it comes to the hotel rooms, yet is paying the same. Most of the other tour companies we have looked at do discount a third person in the room, so not sure why Disney is so set on this.

Incidentally, this has not been an issue on our two South American ABDs. Hotel rooms there are much larger, and set up for several people to stay in them. DD has always had her own bed - and sometimes a second bathroom - in the hotels, and even on the ship in the Galapagos, the sofa bed had a real mattress and was larger than the European cots.

This situation is why we are waitlisted for another South American ABD, and are looking at the Asia one for after that, but will be doing Europe on our own from now on. We're renting a lovely apartment in Paris this summer with two beds and two baths!


ETA: Pens Fan, I don't mean to sound overly negative about this. It was only one small aggravation on what was otherwise a perfect trip. If your son is a typical teen boy, he could probably sleep just fine on the floor or a chair, so don't let my little rant turn you off from going on an ABD to Europe.

However, I do think that the only way Disney will consider changing this price policy is if enough of us triples question them about it. Unfortunately, I just think it's not that common for a group of 3 to take these Adventures.

 

[mare1203]

I will echo everything kristilew says above. We were 3 on our trip to Italy last year. My dad is a widower, so it's just, him, my sister, and I, both of whom are young adults. He was the one that ended up with the cot. It was definitely tight and the 3rd person doesn't get the same experience when sleeping on a cot. Plus, Disney is making bank on triples because there is no way there is a huge extra charge for that third person in those hotel rooms. We thought about paying the single supplement, but ultimately decided it was not worth the extra $$ and we would make do.

I also don't know what the answer to their issue would necessarily be, especially in Europe where hotel rooms are notoriously small. Or what other tour operators do for threesomes. If the 3rd is a kid it's one thing, but for anyone over about 15, it's a totally different ballgame. That being said, we booked the ABD to Italy and Switzerland for this summer as a 3, so it clearly didn't bother us enough to stop using ABD! I would still absolutely recommend using ABD. They pack the days so full that you are really only in the room to sleep anyway. One morning I woke up with my glasses still on and my tablet on my chest; I literally just conked out!

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

After our first trip where we realized there was no break for having 4 in a room (and we were kicking ourselves for not realizing it), we *always* book two reservations for our family of four. They do a good job of trying to get families close together.

 

[carpenta]

Triple occupancy is one aspect that ABD does come up short compared to other family travel companies. We traveled to Italy, Rome, Florence, and Venice. Our room(s) consisted of a two room suite, a bedroom as well as a sitting room where a pull out couch was situated, as well as a huge bathroom that had both a shower and bath tub. The cost was basically the same between the two tour companies. Maybe ABD should look at the hotel situations.

 

[kristilew]

After our first trip where we realized there was no break for having 4 in a room (and we were kicking ourselves for not realizing it), we *always* book two reservations for our family of four. They do a good job of trying to get families close together.

Yes, Disney bends over backwards for families of 4. It is totally different for families of 3.

Triple occupancy is one aspect that ABD does come up short compared to other family travel companies. We traveled to Italy, Rome, Florence, and Venice. Our room(s) consisted of a two room suite, a bedroom as well as a sitting room where a pull out couch was situated, as well as a huge bathroom that had both a shower and bath tub. The cost was basically the same between the two tour companies. Maybe ABD should look at the hotel situations.

I agree, carpenta. We travel in Europe frequently. DH goes for work all the time, and sometimes DD and I join him. On those occasions, we pay the difference between his company-booked single room and a junior suite to accommodate our 3-person family. As Mare1203 intuits, it is not as much as another room would cost, ever. Hotels in Europe have rooms they call "family rooms" and also suites such as you experienced. It is not as difficult as Disney would like to pretend to make a third person comfortable.

I can't remember if you've talked about it in another thread - can you share which company you went with, and how they compared to ABD on other parts of the trip? (since we know they won for accommodating a triple?)

 

[mare1203]

Has anyone ever called and talked to Disney directly about other possible options? For example, I just checked our starting hotel for the next adventure. There is a triple room option, even though on the ABD website it states that we will be accommodated with 1 Italian double and a single. I wonder if we inquired about it, we would be able to get a Triple option, if available of course. Or, even if we could offer to upgrade from a regular double room to a junior suite? I'd pay the difference in price. I just wish we'd at least get the option, though I'm also aware that they most likely book room blocks in advance. In some of the ABD hotels, the room options and set-ups can vary widely.

 

[kylmac]

We are thinking of booking Peru in 2016 with our teenage daughter-maybe because I am the shortest I could take the cot? Do they have the family suites in South America?
Elizabeth

 

[kristilew]

We are thinking of booking Peru in 2016 with our teenage daughter-maybe because I am the shortest I could take the cot? Do they have the family suites in South America?
Elizabeth

The room set up for the Peru ABD was fantastic for a family of 3! There were full size beds for everyone - a couple of our rooms (at Casa Andina hotels) had 3 double beds so we didn't even use one of them! The bungalow we were in at Sol y Luna had a king bed for DH and me, and a full size bed for DD.

 

[SMH1168]

I asked our Vacationista about triple occupancy for our China trip this summer. He indicated we would be getting the same hotel room as double occupancy with an added rollaway bed. Sure seems like Disney is making a mint off of us! His only suggestion was to put a comment in the survey at the end of the tour about the triples getting the short end of the stick. They should consider giving triples a slightly larger room (whenever available), or some other premium (higher level floor, view etc) to compensate for the fact we've paid for 1/2 a hotel room in our tour fees.

 

[Cousin Orville]

They should consider giving triples a slightly larger room (whenever available), or some other premium (higher level floor, view etc) to compensate for the fact we've paid for 1/2 a hotel room in our tour fees.

I've been on the France and SE Asia ABDs with 3. In France 2/4 hotels we did get larger than normal rooms (1 with a pullout sofa, 1 still with a rollaway). In SE they were all standard rooms. Our view from our room in Saigon seemed better than most, but that could have been a coincidence. They probably should give some discount on all 3rd guests, even though it fluctuates somewhat on what ABDs are able to provide larger family size rooms and what ABDs are not. Although if you added a 4th guest, the discount on the 3rd would have to go away since they would be bumped to a separate room. Not terribly complicated, but I don't know how easy it is to promote. Do other tour companies give 3rd guests a discount? Right or wrong, I doubt the lack of a discount is affecting bookings. And as long as that's the case, I highly doubt any change will come.

Having done ABD China, I think you'll be very happy with the hotel choices. I'd vote them as the highest quality hotels on any ABD (certainly that I've done). Room should be good for 3 (unlike cramped European rooms). The only two hotels I had mixed feelings about (Beijing and Hong Kong) have been replaced. And even those were very nice. It's just the other hotels - particularly the Peninsula in Shanghai and Ritz in Chengdu are ridiculously nice. And now they've added the Peninsula in Hong Kong, quite possibly the most famous and nicest hotel in all Asia.

 

[TXTransplant]

I asked our Vacationista about triple occupancy for our China trip this summer. He indicated we would be getting the same hotel room as double occupancy with an added rollaway bed. Sure seems like Disney is making a mint off of us! His only suggestion was to put a comment in the survey at the end of the tour about the triples getting the short end of the stick. They should consider giving triples a slightly larger room (whenever available), or some other premium (higher level floor, view etc) to compensate for the fact we've paid for 1/2 a hotel room in our tour fees.

Just as an FYI...I corresponded with ABD through my TA about possibly switching the dates of our Germany trip this summer. ABD wouldn't approve the request right away because, according to the information I got from them through my TA, there were only triple rooms available on the dates that we wanted to switch to, and ABD had to "see if they could convert a triple to a double" to accomodate only two travelers. So, it sounds like, at least on that trip, ABD might be doing something more to accomodate parties of three in a single room. What the accomodations are IDK, but it gives you a starting point from which to ask more specific questions.

 

[carpenta]

We did the Germany trip last year and we also needed a triple room. The hotel were very comfortable IMO. Not crowded at all. In the castle we had a two story hotel room with a double bed and also another double bed in the loft area. Really nice room with a wonderful view of the valley. In Munich we had a larger room with a king sized bed and a pull out couch but our daughter said the couch bed was pretty comfortable.

 

[SMH1168]

I've been on the France and SE Asia ABDs with 3. In France 2/4 hotels we did get larger than normal rooms (1 with a pullout sofa, 1 still with a rollaway). In SE they were all standard rooms. Our view from our room in Saigon seemed better than most, but that could have been a coincidence. They probably should give some discount on all 3rd guests, even though it fluctuates somewhat on what ABDs are able to provide larger family size rooms and what ABDs are not. Although if you added a 4th guest, the discount on the 3rd would have to go away since they would be bumped to a separate room. Not terribly complicated, but I don't know how easy it is to promote. Do other tour companies give 3rd guests a discount? Right or wrong, I doubt the lack of a discount is affecting bookings. And as long as that's the case, I highly doubt any change will come.

Having done ABD China, I think you'll be very happy with the hotel choices. I'd vote them as the highest quality hotels on any ABD (certainly that I've done). Room should be good for 3 (unlike cramped European rooms). The only two hotels I had mixed feelings about (Beijing and Hong Kong) have been replaced. And even those were very nice. It's just the other hotels - particularly the Peninsula in Shanghai and Ritz in Chengdu are ridiculously nice. And now they've added the Peninsula in Hong Kong, quite possibly the most famous and nicest hotel in all Asia.

I enjoyed reading your China trip report. Thanks for taking the time to write it and include such great pictures!

 

[aggiedog]

So, as a family of 6, with only two adults, can we book three doubles, or would it have to be two triples? We have two older teens that would fine either in a room by them selves or as the "adult" in the room each with a younger sibling. We're contemplating trying ABD for the first time, but I'd be upset to have two of my 4 kids on cots at the foot of the bed the whole trip. Not for those prices.

 

[carpenta]

I would ask a travel agent if you should book 3 separate trips. Two people in each reservation. Who knows? At least give it a try.

 

[DisneyKevin]

So, as a family of 6, with only two adults, can we book three doubles, or would it have to be two triples? We have two older teens that would fine either in a room by them selves or as the "adult" in the room each with a younger sibling. We're contemplating trying ABD for the first time, but I'd be upset to have two of my 4 kids on cots at the foot of the bed the whole trip. Not for those prices.

This would depend on the age of your children.

For booking purposes, someone in the room must be 18 years of age.

Once at you arrive at your destination, no one will check who sleeps in which room.

Finding connecting rooms in Europe is very difficult, except at newer hotels.

 

[aggiedog]

As only two of us will be over 18, I guess that means two triples, then, which is what I figured. Dds will be 17. Thanks.

 

[SingingMom]

So, as a family of 6, with only two adults, can we book three doubles, or would it have to be two triples? We have two older teens that would fine either in a room by them selves or as the "adult" in the room each with a younger sibling. We're contemplating trying ABD for the first time, but I'd be upset to have two of my 4 kids on cots at the foot of the bed the whole trip. Not for those prices.

We have taken 2 ABD trips as a family of 3. DD was 18 and 19 at the time. Only Foxhills in England had a cot, the rest of the accommodations had a single or double for her. She was very comfortable except for that stop.

 

[kanadar]

echoing what my sister mare1203 said, we were a party of 3. We did find that it was more of an issue but looking back the only hotel that it was more difficult was in Rome. In Tuscany we had a bed and a pullout couch. And in Venice we actually had 2 beds and a cot. I could have shared with Mary but I decided to have a bed all to myself