Adventures by Disney River Cruises: Your Questions Answered

Table Of Content

• AmaWaterways Hit Record Sales in January
• White Truffle Macarons and Living History: Why You Should Take a Disney River Cruise in France for Your Next Trip
• Adventures by Disney River Cruise Itineraries Announced
• On a Disney European River Cruise, Families Get Magic Minus the Mouse
• Adventures by Disney river cruise trip add-ons

They've considered this for their Adventures by Disney river cruises, just in a different way than their DCL sailings since the ship situation is drastically different. Absent are characters autographing books, like Goofy or Mickey Mouse would at the Theme Parks. However, there is a themed night on ABD river cruises, where guests can dress up as their favorite Disney character. Additionally, there were a few times when we “double parked” at a dock with another river cruise ship. This meant that to exit our ship, we had to actually walk through theirs, in one case crossing from the sundeck of our ship to the sundeck of our neighbor, and then down their internal stairs to a gangplank. Exiting the ship in this way would be all but impossible for a guest with restricted mobility.

AmaWaterways Hit Record Sales in January

Bookings for the Adventures by Disney river cruises open to the public on Jan. 20; check out the itineraries here. For these sailings, Adventures by Disney charters ships from the upscale river cruise line AmaWaterways, a family-owned business that has a fleet of 22 river ships in Europe, plus vessels in Southern Africa, Southeast Asia, and Egypt. There’s a misconception that river cruising tends to cater almost exclusively to an older crowd. That couldn't have been further from the truth — in fact, our adults-only sailing of about 100 people had passengers ranging from twenty-somethings to retirees, and Disney often welcomes kids as young as 4. On average, ABD river cruise rates are around $5,350, per adult (based on double occupancy), and children are priced at $4,800. These prices do fluctuate and differ depending on the exact itinerary you book, but overall that's the price we've seen most.

White Truffle Macarons and Living History: Why You Should Take a Disney River Cruise in France for Your Next Trip

Not fully understanding what I was doing, on one day I ended up booking excursions that included two wine tastings and a schnapps tasting. Our guide started teasing me when my glasses fogged up midway through the second excursion. On the AbD river cruise, beer and wine are included with lunch and dinner. At each dinner the wine steward selects a red and a white for the meal and asks which you’d like. Throughout the meal he circles back and refills glasses, much like your assistant server will refill your water glass on DCL.

Adventures by Disney River Cruise Itineraries Announced

And most meals are enjoyed as a family in the common dining room on the ship. The AbD river cruises are almost entirely free of add-on costs; effectively everything is included — the price is the price. With DCL, port excursions cost extra, adult dining costs extra, Internet access costs extra, airport transfers cost extra, crew gratuities are extra, all alcohol costs extra. The river cruise pricing includes all excursions, all gratuities, airport or hotel transfers, adult dining, WiFi, and free flowing beer and wine during lunch, dinner, and various receptions. AmaWaterways is a leader in luxury river cruising, and their ships are spacious and well-appointed, with everything guests need for a comfortable and enjoyable experience. Activities onboard may include cooking classes, wine tastings, dancing, and live entertainment.

Adventures by Disney River Cruise Itineraries Revealed

Because Christmas Markets in western Europe are so popular and such an attraction, there are also a few itineraries available in December. Many of the staterooms on the large Disney Cruise Line ships have a family-friendly split bath, with the tub/shower in a separate room from the sink/toilet — allowing two guests to get ready for the day simultaneously. Additionally, there only in the river ships’ four suite rooms have bath tubs, the other 75 cabins have showers only. We suggest you continue doing your research, view deck plans, read some online reviews, and check out the in-depth itineraries for each trip. However, getting in touch with an expert is the best way to start planning your trip. Plus, all meals onboard the cruise ship are included, along with select meals ashore.

Disney Unveils New River Cruise Options for 2025 - Cruise Hive

Disney Unveils New River Cruise Options for 2025.

Posted: Thu, 11 Jan 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]

Instead, when you’re on a river cruise, you are literally steps from historic sights, quaint cafes, magnificent artwork, and lush landscapes. The Disney Rhine River cruise is an Adventures by Disney tour where kids won’t get bored. With so many activities and sights to see, it’s no wonder this AmaWaterways exclusive is a popular river cruise for families. Disney has teamed up with AmaWaterways to offer various river cruises along the Rhine, Danube, and Seine rivers.

Tauck director guides organize trivia and movie nights, as well as family feud contests and a French food Fear Factor contest (that introduces kids to new foods like oysters) during evenings on board. The minimum age is three; Tauck recommends its river cruises for kids age eight and older. One thing that really makes the Adventures by Disney river cruises stand out are the adventure guides. The guides audition for the role and the result is cruises led by a high-energy group of talented individuals dedicated to family fun. A full ship generally has six guides on board who do everything from supervising pajama parties to organizing a karaoke night and leading active excursions. The minimum age to join a cruise is four, but Disney recommends age eight and older for its river cruises.

If you want to extend your stay, consider the options offered by the cruise line and compare them with the costs and flexibility of planning that additional time on your own. On every adventure, guests are invited to tap into all the senses, including taking part in hands-on culinary activities for a true flavor of the destination. In Vienna, Austria, a traditional apple strudel tasting transforms into a cooking demonstration and baking lesson.

There were several times that the river ship had set sail and I was completely unaware that we were moving. Due to size constraints related to the Danube River and river lock system, the AmaViola is necessarily much smaller – just 443 long and three decks high. Stateroom sizes are comparable on the two types of ships, which means that it’s the public spaces that are more limited on the river cruise. By contrast, the AbD Danube River cruise is all about where you’re going. There are no sea days and there’s not much to do on board during the day.

The same thing happened with the other families with older teens on the ship. In another instance, a biking excursion was advertised as being for guests age 10 and up. A family with an 8-year-old was able to have their young son join them this excursion.

Adventures by Disney Unveils New River Cruises in Holland and Belgium - TravelPulse

Adventures by Disney Unveils New River Cruises in Holland and Belgium.

Posted: Thu, 11 Jan 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]

While we visited many of the same ports as we did on our original sailing, that’s about where the similarities ended. This time, we were sailing with Adventures by Disney, Disney’s tour operating arm, which has been partnering with river cruise line AmaWaterways since 2016 on family-focused itineraries. We were comfortably within the age range of the adults on board (a far younger average than our original cruise), and most, like us, were traveling with their kids or grandchildren. There are no dedicated child spaces on the Adventures by Disney river ships.

AmaWaterways owns the ships and will use them for other purposes when they’re not running AbD programs. You won’t find any mouse images hiding in your bed linens or see dozens of Disney-owned entertainment stations on your cabin television. There was literally nothing Disney-themed sold in the small onboard gift shop.

We were on the Adventures by Disney Seine River Cruise, and while there weren't many overt signs of Mickey Mouse, you couldn't help but embrace the infectious perky attitudes of our Adventure Guides. What is included are things like gratuities, beer/wine/soft drinks with lunch and dinner, and at a daily Sip & Sail Cocktail Hour, Wifi, and access to an Onboard Wellness Coach. In Vienna, for example, adults can tour the inside of Schonbrunn Palace, while their kids are outside with the Adventure Guides, navigating a garden maze. One example is when there are adults-only itineraries and for certain times of year (like their Oktoberfest itinerary on the Danube River). Don't be surprised if your Adventure Guides have some great stories to tell about the places you visit; the Disney brand is synonymous with excellent story-telling, which isn't really a focus for other river cruise lines.

Any time you opened the bathroom door without turning on the main bathroom light, a dim blue overhead light was activated, making packing a night light unnecessary. The Disney Dream and Fantasy have 28 different stateroom classifications, each with slightly different pricing. The Adventures by Disney AmaWaterways cruises have just 8 stateroom classes, with only minor differences among them, making sorting out the differences in room types much easier. ABD’s Rhine River cruise travels through (and stops in) Switzerland, France, Germany, and The Netherlands.

Lauded as the first to offer a family river cruise in 2010, Tauck sticks to cruises in its family-friendly Bridges portfolio that run during school breaks and holidays and host a maximum of 130 passengers. Your fare includes all transfers to and from airports and hotels, gratuities, and even some off-ship meals and special events (in addition to all on-board meals, adult and kid-friendly drinks, and all shore excursions). Newer ships have game spaces (there are board games are on all cruises and select cruises have video game options as well), a hot tub and small pool, and a small putting green.