DVC Rhine River Cruise April 8-15, 2017

Day 8 – Amsterdam and NYC (4/15/17)

I woke up early because we wanted to eat breakfast with our friends before they left. They were going on the post-night Amsterdam excursion with ABD, which was scheduled to leave at 8 am. Our flight was not until 1:15 pm, so we were not scheduled to leave for the airport until 10:15 am. There were two earlier groups who left at 5:30 am and 6:15 am. I was surprised to see that there were about 50 adventurers (almost half the group!) going on the post-night. We had debated about going on the post-night to spend more time in Amsterdam, but ultimately decided against it because we wanted to be home for Easter. I did hear that our friends really enjoyed the post-night – they spent more time with the windmills and had a farewell dinner in a guildhall. So despite the price, I do think it sounded like a worthwhile experience if you want to spend one more night in Amsterdam with ABD!

We said goodbye to our friends at 8 and then finished up packing as we had to be out of our rooms at 9. We then went to hang out in the lounge and I took one more walk around the ship. Funnily enough, people going on the next Ama Waterways Rhine cruise were already on the ship and milling around in the lounge too! Some of the next guests were getting directions from the purser at the reception desk, while others were relaxing in the lounge. I also watched as they removed the ABD-room guide from the rooms (for example it mentions we do not need to tip as tips were included and referred to the Daily Adventurer, etc) and removed the ABD mat and signs from the main lobby. Those would not return to Ama Kristina’s lobby until June!
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At 10:15 we were escorted down to the bus to head to the airport. Danny and Kira were there to give us hugs and wish us a safe journey. It was only a 15 minute ride to the airport, and after a short trip through security, we went to the lounge to relax before our flight. I enjoyed that the lounge had a self-serve tap of Heineken. Our flight was on time so we then headed to the gate to board.

We flew home on KLM, which I really liked because they had a delft-pottery-themed safety video! The flight was calm and uneventful – but of course I could not sleep despite being exhausted! – and after 7 hours we landed at JFK.
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We all had Global Entry – which I totally recommend for everyone to get, as it is very much worth it, especially at JFK where customs lines can be ridiculous – so it was an easy trip through security. Then we waited for our bags. And then waited and waited because our bags arrived but one of our friend’s bags never showed up! His wife’s bag arrived so it made absolutely no sense. We couldn’t believe it – especially after how horrible their experience was flying to Basel! – but he went to check with Delta and sure enough, his bag had been sent to Ohio. He took it pretty well (he is a pilot for Delta which makes it even more ridiculous) and we said goodbye as we went to drive home and they went to wait for their flight back home.

A few weeks after the cruise, we received the final DVC gift – an exclusive framed ceramic tile featuring Beauty and the Beast.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I thought the trip was fabulous, even with some of the mishaps! I definitely felt we were the guinea pigs and I do hope that future cruises benefit as ABD works out all the kinks.

I think due to the time of year of this cruise, we had a more atypical ABD cruise children-wise as we only had 10 junior adventurers. I think ABD thought having the trip the week before Easter (which had its own challenges due to crowds) would allow DVC members to bring their kids, but not every school has spring break the week before Easter. Because we did not travel with kids, I cannot speak too much to the experience of the junior adventurers but I do know that between the first dinner (I walked past the wine dining room and saw the junior adventurers sitting in silence as the Adventure Guides chatted with them) and the last dinner (the kids were laughing and chatting) there was a huge change and all the kids seemed like they bonded. I know ABD has some special events for the junior adventurers – one afternoon they made cookies in the Chef’s Table restaurant – and I often saw Kira doing crafts with the junior adventurers in the library. Pete told us that the Ama staff had to adjust to having children on the river cruise, as river cruises do not tend to have them, and he said the next ABD cruise had 40 children signed up. It will be interesting to hear about their experiences!

The Adventure Guides were great and I really hope you all get to experience the same guides – and I really hope Andreas is able to join the rest of the cruises. He was a sweetheart and very excited about joining ABD, and I know the other Guides thought he would be able to return. This was my first ABD so I do not know how it usually works with the Adventure Guides, but based on my parents’ experiences and the trip reports I have read on these boards, it seems like you get to know them a lot more on the regular ABD trips. We had 6 for our cruise, but as they kept switching excursions you might go an entire cruise and potentially not speak to one of the guides. I did try and chat with all the guides I could and pick their brains about ABD and the river cruise, but I think the number of adventurers and guides can make it more difficult to have that one-on-one time.

I cannot speak more highly of Ama Waterways and the staff of the Ama Kristina – the ship was always immaculate and the entire crew did everything they could to make our stay comfortable and memorable. I loved the more intimate setting of the river cruise because you could get to know the crew.

I would recommend the laundry service – I used it to clean my clothes after the horse riding, to press some clothes that wrinkled, and to clean my clothes right before the end of the cruise. The prices were very reasonable (and it was free for the suites) and it was so nice to have clean clothes!

I enjoyed all the excursions and do not regret the choices (although I do wish I could go back and do the other excursions to check them out too!). I hope the future ABD cruises make it easier for people to choose and change their excursions, but I do not think you can go wrong with any of the excursions as everyone I spoke with enjoyed their choices.

I am sure there are many things I forgot to mention – so I will come back and add as things come to mind. And of course I am happy to answer any questions anyone might have about the Rhine River Cruise!
 
Tiger04,

Thanks so much for doing such a comprehensive trip report!! The photos are great. We are going on the last cruise this summer so this report is very helpful. I have to admit it was disappointing to learn that there are limits to some excursions and do not look forward to the possibility of needing to "bum rush" the Abd guides :worried: but there are certain excursions that we really don't want to miss. Happy to hear you had a fabulous trip despite some snafus. :thanks:
 
Thank you so much for our report Tiger04! We are booked for July 30, 2018 and your pictures and excursion descriptions have been so helpful! Thanks again for taking the time!
 


Thanks for taking the time to write the trip report- it makes me more excited for our trip in December :) I'd like to do the Van Gough excursion so was very interested in your description of it. Hope you get your Delft tiles soon!
 
Great trip report! Thank you! We're trying to decide if we should do this trip next summer. Hopefully the little kinks will be worked out by then! :-)
 



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