New To ABD- Talk Me Into Greece 2018

[fauntleroy1953]

We have been AP holders to WDW and are Platinum level on DCL,but have never done an ABD tour. DH and I are looking at the Greece tour for 9/2018. On paper, it looks great. We're used to visiting countries/ cities by way of cruising. I'm not even sure where my hesitation is coming from,because,well, it's Disney,so it should be just fine,right? I'm comparing certain cruises to ABD land tour, in terms of towns that are visited,experiences in those towns.....don't know if this should be the time we give up the sea and try the land.......any advice??

 

[sayhello]

I've done 8 ABD's and while I love them all, Greece was my #1 favorite. Greece itself is amazing, and the ABD itinerary has a wonderful variety of locations & activities. And the resort on Crete is *the nicest* hotel I've ever stayed at, with amazing views of the Aegean Sea. And the food on this trip is really, really good! Do not hesitate! Go for it! You will love this trip, and love Greece!!

Let me know if I can answer any questions, and check out the beginnings of my trip report that is linked in my signature (and I really will finish it)!

Sayhello

 

[DD's Prince]

We're headed to Greece this summer. Will post TR when we return. Hopefully others will as well. That should be enough to convince you if you're still undecided in August.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

We did Greece last summer. It was our 5th ABD and probably our second favorite (behind the original--year one--Scotland trip that is probably going to be impossible to beat). I did a trip report if you haven't seen it: https://www.disboards.com/threads/links-to-abd-trip-reports.2167714/page-5#post-56129477

 

[abdgeek]

We have been AP holders to WDW and are Platinum level on DCL,but have never done an ABD tour. DH and I are looking at the Greece tour for 9/2018. On paper, it looks great. We're used to visiting countries/ cities by way of cruising. I'm not even sure where my hesitation is coming from,because,well, it's Disney,so it should be just fine,right? I'm comparing certain cruises to ABD land tour, in terms of towns that are visited,experiences in those towns.....don't know if this should be the time we give up the sea and try the land.......any advice??

On a yearly basis I either do a DCL cruise(Western Caribbean, Eastern Caribbean, Southern Caribbean, Alaska, Mexican Riviera, Mediterranean(2), Norway-Iceland-Scotland) or ABD(Greece, Australia, Italy Signature, NYC, Med Cruise ADB add-on) tour. While you can't go wrong with either, it really depends on what you want to do in the destination and where you want to go as to whether a cruise or land tour is best. While I'm working my way to Platinum on DCL(two more cruises to go), I usually take a cruise when I want to visit a destination and an ABD tour when I want to immerse myself in a destination. Of the two DCL Med Cruises I have taken, I definitely had a better immersive experience when I did the ABD add-on(the first Med cruise I did). The main differences being that the local guide who went on the excursions could answer all our questions instead of dropping us off and telling us to meet them at a specific time, and that we were the first group off the ship and often the last to return. While I enjoyed the other Med Cruise I did and used it as an opportunity to see things still on my list, I noticed that there was an obvious difference in the information that the "guide" shared on the DCL excursions. I decided to do the Norway-Iceland-Scotland cruise first because I wasn't sure if I just wanted to see these places or be immersed in them. I now know that I want to return to Iceland and am excited about the Iceland ABD, don't need to return to Norway(wasn't ever excited about the ABD itinerary), and am still deciding about the Scotland ABD.

I did the Greece ABD when it first came out and LOVED it!!! Other than the Australia ABD, that is one of my favorite ABDs to date. With DCL debuting two new ships in 2020 & 2021(I think the years are right), you can always wait and see if they sail to Greece. However, unless they do an ABD add-on the experience likely won't be the same. While I love Italy, if I had done the two Italy ABD's to begin with, I wouldn't have had to do two cruises and the ABD to see everything that was on my list. In my opinion, you can never go wrong with ABD. Good luck with your decision.

 

[Cousin Orville]

We've done several DCL European cruises including Greece in 2014 as well as ABD's. I enjoyed the variety of ports that we stopped at on the cruise - Athens, Santorini, Crete, Mykonos, Rhodes, and Kusadasi. Unfortunately, it seems DCL has stopped all Eastern Med cruises for now. Hopefully they'll start them again someday soon. If you're looking at Greece, it seems a perfect opportunity to give ABD a try. As others have said, ABD will give a more immersive experience. As you're Platinum cruisers already (we're going on #8 in June) ABD seems like a perfect change of pace.

 

[mmouse37]

Greece is on my list for DCL but since they are not going there any time soon would love to do an ABD to Greece. I am Platinum on DCL (38 DCL cruises on various itineraries) but think Greece by land would be an awesome experience.

Doing my first ABD on the Danube River Cruise this July and really looking forward to experiencing the differences between ocean cruising and river cruising!!

MJ