China ABD Question

[Robinhood123]

I am looking at going to China with ABD. I see that they have their summer 2024 dates posted, however, they don't have any 2025 dates. For those who are familiar with ABD, does this mean they won't go to China in 2025 or will they release the 2025 dates at a later time because I see that there are other ABD trips in the summer of 2025. Thank you for any insight!

 

[jimmymc]

2025 trips will be announced this May. That's the usual timing from past years.

 

[sayhello]

The ABD Land trips, as @jimmymc said, are normally announced in May of the prior year. There are some trips where dates in early 2025 (Jan/Feb/Mar) were considered part of the 2024 season so were announced last year.

The River Cruises and the Expedition cruises (Small Ship Adventures) are announced in January of the prior year.

Looking at the ABD website, what you are seeing for Summer 2025 are River cruises, Expedition cruises and Escapes (which are generally scheduled around these small ship cruises or DCL cruises). They are scheduled much farther in advance than the Land trips.

China is a Land trip, so you should see those trips for 2025 in May of 2024.

Sayhello

 

[AgentMama]

For those of you doing China. Will you get a separate phone service? We typically don't, but am unsure the steps to be sure personal information isn't compromised on China trips?

 

[sayhello]

For those of you doing China. Will you get a separate phone service? We typically don't, but am unsure the steps to be sure personal information isn't compromised on China trips?

I got a VPN. And didn't really make any actual phone calls (mostly texting, messaging, etc.) As far as I know, everything was OK while I was in China. It also allowed me to access some websites and apps that aren't available on China's networks.

Sayhello

 

[abdgeek]

For those of you doing China. Will you get a separate phone service? We typically don't, but am unsure the steps to be sure personal information isn't compromised on China trips?

When I travel, I always use Travelpass (Verizon) as my international calling plan. For me, it’s not worth it to get a SIM card for the country I’m in because then my family would have to pay for an international call vs a local call to check on me. I’ve never had a problem.

When I did the China ABD before Covid, I also got a VPN so that I could access websites (email mainly) that I had read would be blocked. When I made calls home, I made sure I didn’t mention anything that could be controversial (making statements against the government, criticizing policies, etc.) in case someone was listening in. During my trip, I just assumed I was being monitored just like everyone else was. It didn’t change anything I did, but I made sure I was as informed as I could be about what to expect.

 

[antoniobernardopelomundo]

Hi, do you think this itinerary for China would be cool for a 7-year-old, almost 8? Or too much?

 

[sayhello]

Hi, do you think this itinerary for China would be cool for a 7-year-old, almost 8? Or too much?

Honestly, it really depends on your 7-year-old. When I did the China trip, we had brothers on the trip who were 8 and 9. A lot of it was too much for them. They fell asleep at dinner more than once, had trouble finding food they wanted to eat (they ate a LOT of rice) and spent much of the trip playing games on their phones. It may have just been them, or their parents, but they just seemed to be overwhelmed at times. There *were* times they enjoyed, but it was a mixed bag.

On the other hand, there were multiple teens, and they really seemed to enjoy it.

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