Danube River Cruise Meets Thread

[sayhello]

OK, here it is! The Meets Thread for the new ABD Danube River cruises! Post here to talk & share about this trip and hopefully connect with other DISers on the same departure.

Roll Call:

Current:

• Jul 7 - 14, 2016 (DVC cruise)
  • - calypso726 & W@LL-E (DH)
  • - JimB & DW
  • - engle, DH, & another couple
  • - jeneric997, DH, DD (16) & DD (12 almost 13)
  • - tatafernow (Mary), Sheila, their 2 girls Haley (21) & Taylor (19), her brother & his wife & her sister & sister's sig other
  • - DVC doc & partner (33), DVC doc's parents & sister (25)
• Jul 14 - 21, 2016 - tsgirl, husband & 3 older daughters (18, 22, & 24)
  
• Jul 21 - 28, 2016
  • - Sayhello
  • - Hlee, husband, daughter (8) & Hlee's mother-in-law
  • - Eeyore18, mom (Irene) & daughter (11)
  • - pandw & husband
  • - slg, DH, 3 sons (20,15,17) & oldest son's girlfriend
  • - bruinspin & husband, SIL & her husband, & a dear friend & her husband
  • - Jmagid & daughter (10)
  • - Carolann4 & ? & friends
  • - PrincessRunningSlow & ?
• Aug 4 - 11, 2016
  • - 263a2879, hubby, 2 daughters (4 & 8) & in laws
  • - cbarganz, husband, son (18) & daughter (14)
• Dec 22 - 29, 2016
  • - sabremc & daughter (11)
    
  • - acndis, DH & DS (9)
  • - Kez250, DH, DD (13) & DS (15)
  • - rubybell_99, husband, daughter (13), daughter (11) & rubybell_99's sister
  • - atheneze & husband
  • - wendy151950 & DD (21)
  • - AddictedtoTravel & daughter (15)

 

[sabrecmc]

I booked the Dec. 2016 cruise for myself and my daughter. Hope we will be able to do it. It will be our first ABD. It looks like such a great itinerary, and I really thought you got a lot for the price.

 

[sayhello]

I booked the Dec. 2016 cruise for myself and my daughter. Hope we will be able to do it. It will be our first ABD. It looks like such a great itinerary, and I really thought you got a lot for the price.

Congrats on your first ABD! I really like the looks of this itinerary!

Sayhello

 

[acndis]

Hi all!

We are also in for the December 2016 trip. It is me, DH, and DS who will be 9 by then! Due to the wisdom of this board, we ended up booking 2 cat C rooms for less than the triple! Thanks to all who weighed in on that. The triple is getting a bit of a raw deal but it was easier to swallow knowing that we have 2 rooms, 2 balconies, and 2 bathrooms. Can't wait for this one!

 

[carpenta]

Good choice. Now the down side......you have to wait until Dec. 2016. To me that's the worse part.

 

[aggiedog]

We are booked for the July 21 sailing, myself, dh, kids ages (at that point) of 16, 16, 13, 10, and my parents. Also in a cat C. Now I just need my business to be on track so we can actually pay when the time comes. I don't always know year to year what our expendable income will be, though so far so good. Fingers crossed!

 

[Hlee]

We are booked for the July 21st sailing! It will be me, my husband, daughter age 8 and my mother-in-law! Yay! We are booked in category C.
Can't wait! Gonna fly in a day early to Budapest. Looks like it's cheaper to book the marriot on your own rather than thru ABD, so that's the plan!!

 

[sayhello]

Hi all!

We are also in for the December 2016 trip. It is me, DH, and DS who will be 9 by then! Due to the wisdom of this board, we ended up booking 2 cat C rooms for less than the triple! Thanks to all who weighed in on that. The triple is getting a bit of a raw deal but it was easier to swallow knowing that we have 2 rooms, 2 balconies, and 2 bathrooms. Can't wait for this one!

I've added you to the Roll Call!

We are booked for the July 21 sailing, myself, dh, kids ages (at that point) of 16, 16, 13, 10, and my parents. Also in a cat C. Now I just need my business to be on track so we can actually pay when the time comes. I don't always know year to year what our expendable income will be, though so far so good. Fingers crossed!

I've added you to the Roll Call. I'll be on that sailing with you! I figure I never know from year to year what's going to happen, so all I can do is make plans, and hope I can follow through with them!

Sayhello

 

[sayhello]

We are booked for the July 21st sailing! It will be me, my husband, daughter age 8 and my mother-in-law! Yay! We are booked in category C.
Can't wait! Gonna fly in a day early to Budapest. Looks like it's cheaper to book the marriot on your own rather than thru ABD, so that's the plan!!

I've added you to the Roll Call. You'll be on the same departure as aggiedog & I! Which hotel are they using for the pre-night in Budapest? I didn't see it listed anywhere. Do you recall how much ABD is charging for the pre-night?

Sayhello

 

[carpenta]

Ask for a higher floor room in the Marriot for it has a wonderful view of the Chain Bridge as well as the Danube.

We are booked for the July 21st sailing! It will be me, my husband, daughter age 8 and my mother-in-law! Yay! We are booked in category C.
Can't wait! Gonna fly in a day early to Budapest. Looks like it's cheaper to book the marriot on your own rather than thru ABD, so that's the plan!!

 

[tufbuf]

Aaaah, Budapest.... goulash galore! We stayed in the Kempinski when we were there. Nice hotel. The Marriott though is right along the Danube so it's a great location. Their Parliament is the most awesome sight on the Danube! Try to visit the Buda side, really pretty and you get a great view of Pest, especially the Parliament. The landscape is almost similar to Prague, two areas divided by a river with one flat side and the other hilly.

 

[Cousin Orville]

We stayed in the Sofitel which is somewhat close to the Marriott. The big unknown on the schedule is where do they take you on their panoramic tour of Budapest? On the movie, they're on Castle Hill which certainly is "panoramic". That's a must do. They also visit the Great Market Hall - good to see. I'd recommend Heroes Square if you arrive early and can confirm its not on the ABD tour. Near Heroes Square are the Szechenyi Baths. We just visited and looked through the windows, but if you're without kids, it's probably worth a longer visit. Budapest is not quite a life changing city to visit (unlike Prague which is) but it's absolutely a worth a visit and I think everyone will enjoy their time there.

 

[Woodview]

To those who are doing their own hotel bookings remember to Price for Half Board per person ( 1/2 Pension )

This is Bed & Breakfast & Evening Dinner + maybe afternoon tea . ( This works out cheaper than looking for somewhere to eat dinner )

 

[Hlee]

I've added you to the Roll Call. You'll be on the same departure as aggiedog & I! Which hotel are they using for the pre-night in Budapest? I didn't see it listed anywhere. Do you recall how much ABD is charging for the pre-night?

Sayhello

It's at the Budapest Marriott for $298.

 

[sayhello]

It's at the Budapest Marriott for $298.

Thanks!

Sayhello

 

[carpenta]

Hungary's exchange rate is very favorable. They use their own currency.

 

[acndis]

We just booked the Prague post days, too, and my dad and his friend are joining us on the December trip.

Our fabulous travel agent, Sandy Bevolo from Small World actually got us a free pre-day at the Marriott that's being offered to Insiders. I don't know if the offer is limited or what the deal is but needless to say, we grabbed it the moment she mentioned it. Kevin also probably has the details.

Also, just some advice, booking the two C categories for the cruise ended up costing us more money for the Prague add-on since you have to add it to your existing reservation. I know that's complicated but that means we had to pay the single supplement for Prague. Prague was $700 more expensive than if we had booked as a triple. However, we saved $500 by booking two category C rooms. So, in the end, we are paying $200 more total for the two rooms when we added Prague. We ended up deciding that $200 was worth the extra space on the ship and we will have two hotel rooms in both Budapest and Prague. It's a bit extravagant for three but oh well!

Sandy is a saint for helping us figure this out! If you have questions, let me know. We are breaking the bank on this but are so excited! It sounds like the trip of a lifetime.

 

[Hlee]

We just booked the Prague post days, too, and my dad and his friend are joining us on the December trip.

Our fabulous travel agent, Sandy Bevolo from Small World actually got us a free pre-day at the Marriott that's being offered to Insiders. I don't know if the offer is limited or what the deal is but needless to say, we grabbed it the moment she mentioned it. Kevin also probably has the details.

Also, just some advice, booking the two C categories for the cruise ended up costing us more money for the Prague add-on since you have to add it to your existing reservation. I know that's complicated but that means we had to pay the single supplement for Prague. Prague was $700 more expensive than if we had booked as a triple. However, we saved $500 by booking two category C rooms. So, in the end, we are paying $200 more total for the two rooms when we added Prague. We ended up deciding that $200 was worth the extra space on the ship and we will have two hotel rooms in both Budapest and Prague. It's a bit extravagant for three but oh well!

Sandy is a saint for helping us figure this out! If you have questions, let me know. We are breaking the bank on this but are so excited! It sounds like the trip of a lifetime.

Sandy is our agent too! Small world​

 

[sayhello]

We just booked the Prague post days, too, and my dad and his friend are joining us on the December trip.

Our fabulous travel agent, Sandy Bevolo from Small World actually got us a free pre-day at the Marriott that's being offered to Insiders. I don't know if the offer is limited or what the deal is but needless to say, we grabbed it the moment she mentioned it. Kevin also probably has the details.

Also, just some advice, booking the two C categories for the cruise ended up costing us more money for the Prague add-on since you have to add it to your existing reservation. I know that's complicated but that means we had to pay the single supplement for Prague. Prague was $700 more expensive than if we had booked as a triple. However, we saved $500 by booking two category C rooms. So, in the end, we are paying $200 more total for the two rooms when we added Prague. We ended up deciding that $200 was worth the extra space on the ship and we will have two hotel rooms in both Budapest and Prague. It's a bit extravagant for three but oh well!

Sandy is a saint for helping us figure this out! If you have questions, let me know. We are breaking the bank on this but are so excited! It sounds like the trip of a lifetime.

Congrats! I think the Prague add-on looks like a great way to end the trip!

And yes, I got the free pre-night in Budapest, also. It's only for Adventure Insiders, if you book the trip by June 13, 2015. I knew about it, but Kevin had that info, also. I'm just toying with the idea of adding a second pre-night. But with the new ABD policy about providing transfers even if you book the pre-day on your own, I may see if I can book the second day cheaper myself. Bookings aren't open that far out, so I'll just have to keep an eye on it. I probably won't do the extra day, but it's good to have all the info.

I'm really glad that ABD is back to giving perks to Insiders. Although I think something like this should apply to all previous travelers.

The extra room on the ship sounds like a good way to go. For $200, I think you'll be glad you did it.

Sayhello

 

[Kez250]

We're going on the Christmas one as well - me, DH, DD will be 13 then and DS who will be 15. There are also a number of people who were on our South East Asia Xmas and NY who have also booked this already