Adventures by disney

[localoneguy]

New to this site so excuse me if this has been asked and answered already. We are on a Disney cruise in Alaska and have been offered the adventures by Disney add on. It is pricy and I wonder if anyone has done it and is it worth it. We have no problem with the cost if it is worth it. Thanks

[cantgetin]

"Worth it" is always a personal decision.  In Europe, the ABD  add on included a reception on the ship with a character, a collectable pin,  and some excursions that couldn't be booked "on your own" or thru DCL otherwise.  There were similar excursions that you could book.  For instance, in Venice the ABD excursion included making a mask while the other excursion had a demonstration of how the classic masks were made.  One downside of the ABD is that you'll have all your excursions pre-chosen for you.  They tell you that they are the premier excursions, but they might not be the ones you'd choose.  And if there is a jerk in your group, you're essentially stuck with him for the cruise (yes, we've done DCL excursions where there were rude jerks).  On the positive side, you need to do nothing other than pay for the add on and show up on time.

 

In Alaska, it is easy to book excursions on your own as well as booking thru DCL.  The first time we did it on our own thru a company that offers shore excursions, we were a little concerned.  In one port, we ended up with a private tour--no one else had signed up.  The guide talked to us about what we wanted to see and altered the route accordingly!