Who is and who's not booking with ABD for 2010

[Princess Disney Mom]

No booking for me, way too much for a family of 4 and sometimes 5.

 

[PlutoPony]

I was looking at the Galapagos trip for 2010...... $1000 increase plus the $400 EBD is a big difference.

We were also tentatively planning on Galapagos for next summer with ABD but this price change / lack of EBD + other ABD problems from this year have caused us to cross ABD off the list for next summer. Our son is just starting HS and we won't have many more vacations with him, so waiting for ABD to get their act together isn't something we're willing to do. My husband was surprised Monday evening when he came home and found we didn't have a tour booked and plane tickets scoped out.....

 

[Bobo912]

We were also tentatively planning on Galapagos for next summer with ABD but this price change / lack of EBD + other ABD problems from this year have caused us to cross ABD off the list for next summer. Our son is just starting HS and we won't have many more vacations with him, so waiting for ABD to get their act together isn't something we're willing to do. My husband was surprised Monday evening when he came home and found we didn't have a tour booked and plane tickets scoped out.....

I've been looking at Tauck Bridges and Thomson Travel's Galapagos iternaries. Haven't made any decisions yet. Work keeps getting the way of my vacation planning. If you find any other good options, please post or PM me. I would love to hear about it.

 

[DopeyDave]

Nothing against ABD, but next year it's back to 'the World' for Food & Wine!! We never intended to make a 'career' of travelling with ABD. Maybe in a few years we'll look at doing another one of their tours (assuming we have a good time in Italy)!

 

[angelmav]

I am always showing up late to the party! After hearing all the great things about ABD and figuring this summer was our last theme park vacation, we wanted to get back to world traveling. I was SHOCKED when I saw there prices and no EBD. I can book with literally anyone else and get an early booking discount. I just dont understand the pricing structure/move, but then I dont understand alot of things Disney is doing these days. Well looks like Tauck for us for 2010.

 

[Momof3greatkids]

HappyGrumpy,
Thanks for your encouraging words about DCL. We are very pleased with our choice. We have enjoyed two ABD's, but know DCL will offer us the same quality service and excellent time, without the over the top price. Hopefully, someday, ABD will get it back together and we will be able to enjoy them again.

 

[chris44]

I just spoke with a travel agent who called ABD and was told that although there is no EBD, the trips are priced in tiers. So when the first tier is sold out, the price for the next tier goes up! So it's sort of the opposite of an EBD - a penalty for not booking early??? OK, that's not exactly right, but I hope you know what I'm trying to say.

Then you have to figure in the price of plane tickets and travel insurance, so I don't think I'll be able to swing it. Too bad, we've been looking forward to Italy in 2010 since last year.

 

[Bobo912]

I just spoke with a travel agent who called ABD and was told that although there is no EBD, the trips are priced in tiers. So when the first tier is sold out, the price for the next tier goes up! So it's sort of the opposite of an EBD - a penalty for not booking early??? OK, that's not exactly right, but I hope you know what I'm trying to say.

Then you have to figure in the price of plane tickets and travel insurance, so I don't think I'll be able to swing it. Too bad, we've been looking forward to Italy in 2010 since last year.

That stategy would be okay if the first tier was somewhere close to what the EBD rate was last year. But in a lot of cases, the first tier is higher than the non-EBD rate last year.

 

[TDC Nala]

I am considering booking the adults only Peru trip. I do not have a problem with the price except that I will likely have to pay a single supplement. For that reason I have to make sure I can afford both that and the Baltic cruise I am taking in June.

The new pricing structure is like the cruises - the sooner you book, the lower the price you can get. May be the result of combining ABD and cruise line management.

 

[HappyGrumpy]

I am considering booking the adults only Peru trip. I do not have a problem with the price except that I will likely have to pay a single supplement. For that reason I have to make sure I can afford both that and the Baltic cruise I am taking in June.

The new pricing structure is like the cruises - the sooner you book, the lower the price you can get. May be the result of combining ABD and cruise line management.

That is a great point and I could see that being the case b/c of the same people running both shows. At least DCL offers 10% off and a SBC for booking early! I have 2 cruises booked through 2010 because of it!

 

[clarabelle]

I didn't vote. I was not planning on rebooking in the first place -not really -but I was interested in seeing the new rates and dates -we could have been swayed.

I LOVED my Ireland trip and we were toying with the idea of France for 2010.
I was worried there would be some amazing rates or new itineraries that would tempt us away from our decision

Well -that certainly didn't happen. I am not as disappointed as many of the people here-but I understand the frustration.
We are considering an Austin Lehman for some date in the future and we would also consider another ABD in the future.

 

[sayhello]

That is a great point and I could see that being the case b/c of the same people running both shows. At least DCL offers 10% off and a SBC for booking early! I have 2 cruises booked through 2010 because of it!

Pardon my ignorance, but what is an SBC?

Sayhello

 

[WeLoveABD]

We are in the same boat...actually, we really will be in a boat as we opted to do the ABD at Christmas (Germany), and then the DCL next summer, and maybe WDW next December. (Me thinks we are quite Disney crazy--but go with what you like, I say). We were holding back a bit to see what was to come out for 2010, and if Russia had been added, or Japan, I think we may have changed some of our plans...so we were disappointed in the announcement (for purely selfish reasons, I admit), but were quickly over it and looking forward to Germany and our likely next ABD in 2011! (Unless I can convince my DW to fit in the Alaska trip...!)

 

[Bobo912]

Pardon my ignorance, but what is an SBC?

Sayhello

Ship Board Credit

 

[sayhello]

Ship Board Credit

Oh, D'oh! Thanks!

Sayhello

 

[Skylarr29]

We may possibly still book a trip but without the EBD there is no reason to book now due to the cancellation policy. I don't want to lose my deposit and get no EBD, there is no incentive for me to book early.I'd rather wait and see if a discount comes out at a later date to fill a tour and jump on that. I have taken 2 ABD trips and had Costa Rica booked for 2009 until it was cancelled on us.

 

[joyandsyd]

Hi all. Our family decided a couple months ago on the ABD Alpine Magic trip, anxiously awaited the 2010 dates, did all the research on what extra's we were going to do on our own time, read everyone's fabulous reviews on this message board, then Aug 10th came, no EBD, increased prices, and we were completely devastated to realize that our family of five (four of considered adults) could no way afford a trip that went from relatively expensive, but we understood Disney quality was worth paying a premium, to way out of reach for us to afford. Our TA gave us options of other tour group Insightvacations.com and monogramstravel.com They are premium tour groups with similar tours as ABD, but we knew they wouldn't be as family oriented as ABD, so we decided to go on our own, back to Hawaii, for a fraction of the price that ABD was going to charge us, and all is good again in our lives. We've rented a house for a week and a half on the ocean. I'll be drinking Champagne and watching the sunset from the Lanai and I won't miss see the Matterhorn. Thanks to ABD for increasing the prices so in the end my family could still go on a beautiful trip and save a ton of money in the end. Good luck to everyone and happy travels!!!!

 

[JsMom2]

We booked the Peru trip over Christmas 2010. The price was higher than the 2009 rate, but to be honest I was surprised at how low the holiday rate was for this year.

We did the the $100 per person loyalty credit. And you can be sure that I'll keep an eye on the rates (as I do with the cruises) to see if the rate goes down before final payment is due.

Ande although they don't advertise it, they do offer deep discounts to fill up trips that aren't fully booked.

 

[Bobo912]

We booked the Peru trip over Christmas 2010. The price was higher than the 2009 rate, but to be honest I was surprised at how low the holiday rate was for this year.

We did the the $100 per person loyalty credit. And you can be sure that I'll keep an eye on the rates (as I do with the cruises) to see if the rate goes down before final payment is due.

Ande although they don't advertise it, they do offer deep discounts to fill up trips that aren't fully booked.

Who do they offer the discounts to, how deep are they, and how do you find out about them? In 2008 I got an email from Disney Visa offering EBD rates in May on 5 of the itineraries and that is what prompted me to book in the first place. They sent out a similar offer this year for $500 off airfare for certain trips. But that was advertised and neither was what I would call deep. I booked our 2009 trip the first week after the dates were released so I'm sure I wouldn't have been notified of any discounts.

 

[abbyjt]

We booked the Peru trip over Christmas 2010. The price was higher than the 2009 rate, but to be honest I was surprised at how low the holiday rate was for this year.

QUOTE]

I think the Peru trip is the one still reasonably priced trip. We booked the first week the itineraries were announced last summer. We are in a wait and see mode.