New River Cruise: Holland and Belgium

[Jess_S]

Facebook's ad algorithm just alerted me to ABD's new river cruise offering: Holland and Belgium. https://www.adventuresbydisney.com/destinations/europe/holland-belgium-river-cruise/

I'm excited to see new river cruise offerings (in part because the most recent price increase puts a lot of the land adventures outside my budget). And there's a tulip season option!

 

[sayhello]

I was just going to come here and say this. I'm still reading through the itinerary. It sounds cool, although so far none of the excursions had that "wow" factor yet. I'm mostly interested in what the single supplement is going to be.

Sayhello

 

[chuff88]

I was also surprised to see that the pricing for the Adriatic expedition cruise is significantly lower than it was for 2024. I know that some of that is opening day pricing vs pricing closer to departure, but we looked at the Adriatic cruise for 2024 pretty early on and it was definitely higher than what's showing for 2025.

 

[AquaDame]

I was also surprised to see that the pricing for the Adriatic expedition cruise is significantly lower than it was for 2024. I know that some of that is opening day pricing vs pricing closer to departure, but we looked at the Adriatic cruise for 2024 pretty early on and it was definitely higher than what's showing for 2025.

Have you noticed any changes between the two itineraries..? We signed up for the Vietnam/Laos/Cambodia trip despite the jump in price as I was afraid it'd go even higher in '26... I am going to laugh if they DROP the price... then cry, then see if we can move dates once...

 

[chuff88]

Have you noticed any changes between the two itineraries..? We signed up for the Vietnam/Laos/Cambodia trip despite the jump in price as I was afraid it'd go even higher in '26... I am going to laugh if they DROP the price... then cry, then see if we can move dates once...

I didn't notice any obvious changes! I didn't check super thoroughly, but the daily stops are all the same.

 

[sayhello]

Have you noticed any changes between the two itineraries..? We signed up for the Vietnam/Laos/Cambodia trip despite the jump in price as I was afraid it'd go even higher in '26... I am going to laugh if they DROP the price... then cry, then see if we can move dates once...

Yep, on a high-level cursory check, same ports, same excursions, didn't look really in depth. Same ship. I would say the most likely explanation is that Ponant lowered their costs for some reason. But who knows?

Sayhello

 

[chuff88]

Yep, on a high-level cursory check, same ports, same excursions, didn't look really in depth. Same ship. I would say the most likely explanation is that Ponant lowered their costs for some reason. But who knows?

Sayhello

I'm also realizing that, even though it wasn't super late, I also probably looked at it last year after all of the least expensive staterooms were already full.

 

[sayhello]

I'm also realizing that, even though it wasn't super late, I also probably looked at it last year after all of the least expensive staterooms were already full.

Oh, that's true. The prices do vary a LOT based on the cabin type.

Sayhello

 

[AstroBlasters]

Does anyone happen to know if the DVC Exclusive Member River Cruises have historically required the entire payment upfront or if they allow for the 10% deposit upfront and the rest to be paid later?

I called ABD and DVC MS, but they didn’t know the answer.

 

[Mathmagicland]

Does anyone happen to know if the DVC Exclusive Member River Cruises have historically required the entire payment upfront or if they allow for the 10% deposit upfront and the rest to be paid later?

I called ABD and DVC MS, but they didn’t know the answer.

Can’t speak to the D V C River cruises, as there has only been one (maybe two ??) previously, but for this same type of DV member charter on Disney CL, full payment of $$ and/or points is required at time of booking. It seems to be if booking thru MS, full payment required.

 

[AstroBlasters]

Can’t speak to the D V C River cruises, as there has only been one (maybe two ??) previously, but for this same type of DV member charter on Disney CL, full payment of $$ and/or points is required at time of booking. It seems to be if booking thru MS, full payment required.

Ouch. Thank you. I can’t imagine paying $20k for a family of four 16 months in advance…. You lose $1300 just in interest….

I guess you could throw most of it on the Disney Visa for 0% for 6m….

 

[Jess_S]

You might consider applying for a new credit card with a 15 month no interest promotion. We just did that for our ABD Italy trip. I'm just now paying for our trip even though our paid in full was last March. The cost of an ABD will be enough to earn whatever sign up bonus you get for opening the card, as an added bonus.

 

[Mathmagicland]

There seems to be a lot of interest this morning in the new Tulip Time River cruise.

 

[sayhello]

There seems to be a lot of interest this morning in the new Tulip Time River cruise.

Are you doing it?

Sayhello

 

[Mathmagicland]

Are you doing it?

Sayhello

I hope to! I’m booked on it, have always wanted to see the fields of tulips as there weren’t any left when I was in Amsterdam during June a few years ago,

 

[rebeccam31]

See you there (if all goes well in the interim, of course)!

 

[sueg]

This would be a first for us. We are considering the newly announced river cruise. Points chart won't be out until 2/14, but any ideas on the number of points needed? What is the impact of children on a river cruise? Trying to compare to a Viking river cruise. Any information or opinions are welcomed.

 

[sayhello]

This would be a first for us. We are considering the newly announced river cruise. Points chart won't be out until 2/14, but any ideas on the number of points needed? What is the impact of children on a river cruise? Trying to compare to a Viking river cruise. Any information or opinions are welcomed.

Not sure what you mean by "the impact of children on a river cruise"? Like all ABDs, the ABD river cruise itineraries are, for the most part, built around families, so you're going to have probably have more active types of excursions and stuff slanted towards families with kids. I had no issue with this, and enjoyed all the activities on my Danube River Cruise.

There *is* an adults-only departure for the Holland river cruise.

Sayhello

 

[Donalyn]

well, the average age of the ABD cruise will be a lot younger than on a Viking boat (by decades). And kids will be kids. But how they impact it will depend on a few things - your tolerance for kids, how well behaved the kids are, how old they are (note that there were some kids on mine who were under the minimum age, but mainly one of the parents stayed back with them a lot it seemed), and what tours their family signs up for.

The guides are very good with the kids.

also, compared to a Viking cruise - all listed excursions will be included in the price (instead of how Viking does it, as i understand).

 

[GuardMusic]

If anyone is booked on the Tulip Time, you're welcome to join our Facebook group!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/abdtuliptime2025