Adriatic Expedition cruise

[Candycane83]

Hey there! I just saw this new expedition cruise available to book…. It sounds amazing but I’m not too familiar with the destinations. Any opinions on this cruise?

 

[AquaDame]

I'm looking forward to the reviews for this one. It seems like a boutique DCL option; somewhere between ocean cruising and river cruising with smaller (dare I say better) ports than ocean cruising. I feel that unlike the galapagos, arctic, and Antarctica cruises this one COULD be done OYO to much the same result... not that it makes it a bad choice, just gave me a double-take using the same 'expedition' tag. I'd be more likely to book this than DCL in the Mediterranean or anywhere in Europe again, that is for sure!

 

[Candycane83]

I'm looking forward to the reviews for this one. It seems like a boutique DCL option; somewhere between ocean cruising and river cruising with smaller (dare I say better) ports than ocean cruising. I feel that unlike the galapagos, arctic, and Antarctica cruises this one COULD be done OYO to much the same result... not that it makes it a bad choice, just gave me a double-take using the same 'expedition' tag. I'd be more likely to book this than DCL in the Mediterranean or anywhere in Europe again, that is for sure!

Yeah the price is really out there! Lol I’ll have to see if we could do this trip on our own as opposed to the expedition cruise I guess… the itinerary just caught my eye today

 

[TravelJunkieHubby]

I asked one of the New Zealand guides (who had guided on the River cruises previously) on our trip last month why there was such a big price difference between this and the River cruises - she couldn’t really give me a good answer.

 

[Candycane83]

I asked one of the New Zealand guides (who had guided on the River cruises previously) on our trip last month why there was such a big price difference between this and the River cruises - she couldn’t really give me a good answer.

Hmm good to know… maybe I would wait until I see reviews out first. I just looked and it’s about double the price of river cruises.

 

[sayhello]

I asked one of the New Zealand guides (who had guided on the River cruises previously) on our trip last month why there was such a big price difference between this and the River cruises - she couldn’t really give me a good answer.

I'm just guessing here, because I don't know how much of the cost fuel is, but the river cruises are one-way, and much shorter (for instance, Budapest to Vilshofen is around 550km) where as the Adriatic Expedition Cruise is round-trip to Venice, and the one-way from Venice to Kodor is (very) approximately 900km, for a round trip of 1800km. So well more than 3 times the distance. So that would cost way more for fuel. And maybe Ponant just charges more than AmaWaterways does to use their ships & crews? Again, just guessing here.

ETA:

Hmm good to know… maybe I would wait until I see reviews out first. I just looked and it’s about double the price of river cruises.

It's not really almost twice as much. The 2 lowest categories of cabins on the Adriatic cruises are sold out, so you can't really compare the "starting at" prices to the lowest category on the river cruises. A lot of the river cruises are at like $5400 for the lowest price, which, while much less than $8800, is not half. But yes, it's pretty pricey.

Sayhello

 

[TravelJunkieHubby]

I'm just guessing here, because I don't know how much of the cost fuel is, but the river cruises are one-way, and much shorter (for instance, Budapest to Vilshofen is around 550km) where as the Adriatic Expedition Cruise is round-trip to Venice, and the one-way from Venice to Kodor is (very) approximately 900km, for a round trip of 1800km. So well more than 3 times the distance. So that would cost way more for fuel. And maybe Ponant just charges more than AmaWaterways does to use their ships & crews? Again, just guessing here.

ETA:

It's not really almost twice as much. The 2 lowest categories of cabins on the Adriatic cruises are sold out, so you can't really compare the "starting at" prices to the lowest category on the river cruises. A lot of the river cruises are at like $5400 for the lowest price, which, while much less than $8800, is not half. But yes, it's pretty pricey.

Sayhello

but it’s also a bigger ship… so fuel costs should be offset by more guests no?

 

[sayhello]

but it’s also a bigger ship… so fuel costs should be offset by more guests no?

Oh, I didn't think about that. One would think so!

Then that just leaves me with the guess that Ponant must charge ABD more than AmaWaterways does.

Sayhello

 

[evilipoo]

I know this is an older thread, but wondering if anyone has done the Adriatic with ABD and has any opinions?

We are very interested, but the mid-summer dates (and heat) are just not attractive. I would love to know if there is an alternative for a similar type of cruise that hits these specific ports!

Or, if you’ve been, what temperatures did you experience?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Mathmagicland]

I know this is an older thread, but wondering if anyone has done the Adriatic with ABD and has any opinions?

We are very interested, but the mid-summer dates (and heat) are just not attractive. I would love to know if there is an alternative for a similar type of cruise that hits these specific ports!

Or, if you’ve been, what temperatures did you experience?

Thanks in advance!

The first one is happening this June, followed by another in July, so hopefully someone will post about it later this summer.

 

[evilipoo]

Ah, didn’t realize it’s a brand new itinerary. Thanks!