Viva Italia vs. Signature - any thoughts?

[bugsmama]

Hi All,

My husband and I are booking a trip for this summer and we're bringing our 7 year old son along. We'll be celebrating two big birthdays and our 10th Anniversary. This will be our first ABD trip. We're considering splurging for the Signature. Does anyone have experience with the regular trips vs. the signature experience? It's about a thousand dollars more per person and we're trying to figure out if it's worth it since we're considering this vacation a big deal celebration. The nice woman at Disney kept saying the hotels, amenities and "experience" were all upgraded on the Signature trip but other than the hotel, I'm still not entirely sure what that means.

We're also planing to arrive in Rome early and take a day trip to Pompeii. If anyone has a tour recommendation, I'd love to hear it!

Thanks,
deb

 

[sayhello]

Hi All,

My husband and I are booking a trip for this summer and we're bringing our 7 year old son along. We'll be celebrating two big birthdays and our 10th Anniversary. This will be our first ABD trip. We're considering splurging for the Signature. Does anyone have experience with the regular trips vs. the signature experience? It's about a thousand dollars more per person and we're trying to figure out if it's worth it since we're considering this vacation a big deal celebration. The nice woman at Disney kept saying the hotels, amenities and "experience" were all upgraded on the Signature trip but other than the hotel, I'm still not entirely sure what that means.

We're also planing to arrive in Rome early and take a day trip to Pompeii. If anyone has a tour recommendation, I'd love to hear it!

Thanks,
deb

I don't know anyone who's been on the Signature trips, but everyone I know who has been on the "regular" trip says the hotels are great. So if the hotels on the Signature trip are an upgrade, they must be pretty fabulous. I think you can't lose with either trip!

Sayhello

 

[tufbuf]

Hi bugsmama! We have done the regular Viva Italia tour and our daughter was also 7 when we went. I can't imagine how it could be better with the signature since we had a fabulous and memorable time! Anyway I looked at the signature itinerary. The hotels are all different. They also included an underground tour at the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence and a side trip to Murano Island in Venice (which I would have loved to visit! - love murano items!!). I am sure either way, you and your family will have a great time! Go ahead and splurge!!!

 

[WeLoveABD]

If you can do it, I'd recommend the Signature trip--we did this as our first ABD back in 2007, when there were no "signature" upgrades. The hotel we stayed at in Rome is the same as that on the Signature trip, and it was a great location--central, things to see and do within walking distance, a very cool hotel with glass floors peering down on old ruins--roof top pool (outside) where you can sit in the pool and look out at Rome. On free time I walked to the nearby subway and rode out to a few spots--and it was walkable from the hotel to the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain...boy this brings back memories! (There was also a McDonalds next door to the hotel--quite upscale, with separate coffee and dessert bar etc). Same with Venice--the hotel in Signature is the same--has a great garden, a "cave" of sorts and nice grounds--and a back pier for the transit boat. And inbetween--very relaxing hotel/location in the Tuscany area (one family did a side trip on their own to see family and sites in Sorrento--I believe they rented a car and driver). We went in early and had a couple of extra days in Rome--allowed us to get over the jet lag from San Diego, and then get our bearings around town (we stayed at a hotel near the airport the first night--they had a shuttle that went into downtown so we did that; then met ABD the next morning at the airport for our transport into Rome and to our first ABD hotel). You'll love it!

 

[bugsmama]

Thanks for the input everyone! I think we're going to go with the Signature - ABD is just checking to be sure we can get the right sized room in all of the hotels. I'll let you know how it goes.

Thanks too for all the fabulous trip reports folks have posted - it's so fun to read about your experiences!

 

[couture1]

We are looking at Signature August 6 or Viva Sept 16. I'm a mom traveling with three kids (9,8,6) Crazy right?
I'm reluctant about the August dates (due to concerns regarding heat and crowds)
Any thoughts?