Has anybody done the same cruise B2B ???

Hi All

We were thinking about a longer cruise..... and just love being on the ship, and sea days..

Starting looking at long cruises more than 20 days... not a lot on offer...

then compared cost per day...... OMG some over 50% dearer per day than a 14 day....

So was thinking about the idea of doing the trip to Zealand twice so it is a 26 nighter.... ( do you think we're silly....)

Cheers Don ( we too much time on hands )

Hi All

 

We were thinking about a longer cruise..... and just love being on the ship, and sea days..

 

Starting looking at long cruises more than 20 days... not a lot on offer...

 

then compared cost per day...... OMG some over 50% dearer per day than a 14 day....

 

So was thinking about the idea of doing the trip to Zealand twice so it is a 26 nighter.... ( do you think we're silly....)

 

Cheers Don ( we too much time on hands )

I see no problem with that.

Great idea, you'll have a better idea of what to see in each port. Also cruises sometimes visit different ports - some visit Picton others Napier.

I see no issue with booking a B2B to NZ, especially as weather seems to affect the NZ cruises regularly.

Why not! Another option would be to pair a NZ cruise with a South Pacific cruise on the same ship. Some lines provide that option once or twice a season as they cater for international visitors who want to see as much as they can in our region.

Just that it could be a bit repetitive, as distinct from a longer cruise which will have more new sights.

And you get to do the fire drill twice. :-)

Why not! Another option would be to pair a NZ cruise with a South Pacific cruise on the same ship. Some lines provide that option once or twice a season as they cater for international visitors who want to see as much as they can in our region.

Yeah I had a similar thought, but it sounds like OP wants to use some of the second Port days as de facto Sea days.

Another thing the OP should consider is repositioning cruises. They can be quite reasonably priced and often have lots of sea days. The one we did recently to Japan on Diamond Princess was brilliant - 22 days and only 7 ports.

the idea was getting the cost down to spend as long on a cruise, leaving from home port, so no flight or train or whatever. The idea of seeing the same thing twice, is you know where to go... and could ever book a local tour for the second trip...

The thought started about round Australia, but cost per day went up a lot, and having limited funds... trying get the best bang for your buck...

So thanks for all the comments and will see our TA this week and make some plans....

and besides were on a cruise.. which is the main thing.... and another thought is if you miss something the first time you can do the second time..

Right time for a G&T

Cheers Don

wonder if many cruise lines do the exact same cruise back to back? I think not.....

we did 3 cruises B2B in the Mediterranean (stayed on the same ship, in the same cabin) but the itinerary was totally different for each sector

There are limited port options here, compared with the Med. NZ cruises tend to mostly visit the same ports with only one or two variations.

Yes, most cruise lines will repeat itineraries, especially to NZ, during the peak season. Sometimes they toss in a South Pacific or Queensland cruise for variety. For example Majestic Princess arrives in Sydney in September and does the following cruises:

Sydney return to the South Pacific

Sydney return to NZ

Sydney to Auckland

Auckland to Sydney

Sydney return to NZ

Sydney return to Tasmania

Sydney return to NZ

Sydney to Auckland

Auckland to Sydney

Sydney return to NZ

Sydney return to NZ

Sydney return to NZ

Sydney return to NZ

Sydney to Auckland

Auckland to Sydney

Sydney return to NZ

Then she heads back to China.

Very minor variations in itinerary - the one way cruises go via Tasmania, sometimes they add in the Bay of Islands on the Sydney return cruises.

Hi All

 

 

 

We were thinking about a longer cruise..... and just love being on the ship, and sea days..

 

 

 

Starting looking at long cruises more than 20 days... not a lot on offer...

 

 

 

then compared cost per day...... OMG some over 50% dearer per day than a 14 day....

 

 

 

So was thinking about the idea of doing the trip to Zealand twice so it is a 26 nighter.... ( do you think we're silly....)

 

 

 

Cheers Don ( we too much time on hands )

Don,

Holland America have some great B2B itinerary’s around Aus, they are true specialists at these. Have a look at their web site (a little wild to get around) or other Oz cruising sites.

Don’t think they have the down under 2019/20 season released yet except for one cruise - last I looked anyway [emoji848] and this is a great idea [emoji106] make your own cruise; start a new trend .....

Rose

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I’d certainly consider doing a B2B to NZ. There is a little variation in itineraries, Tauranga, Picton, Napier are only sometimes in the mix. Added to that, the weather plays a big part and any ports you miss first time round, you may be lucky to pick up on the second attempt. There’s too much to see in one day too [emoji4]

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We did a B2B NZ cruise on Emerald Princess last year. Cruise 1 was Sydney, Hobart, Fiordland, Dunedin, Akaroa, Picton, Gisborne, Tauranga and then Auckland .. 11 days. Coming back it was Auckland, Tauranga, Napier, Wellington, Akaroa, Dunedin, Fiordland, Hobart, Sydney .. 11 days. The BIG advantages wer that Fiordland first was Milford Sound from 7.30 am in morning and then down the coast to other Sounds. Coming back it was other Sounds and thenMilford Sound late afternoon. Both beautiful days but scenery was different with different lighting at different time of day. Going over bad sea fog stopped us going into Dunedin and Akaroa but we were not worried as we knew we were going on our way back. Of 3000 passengers on board 43 were staying on for B2B. We did not have to get off the ship in Auckland if we did not want to. Were given transit tickets to use that morning if we went ashore. Any other questions please ask.

Yes I know it is an old thread....

But to update things    ( wow doesn't time fly almost 11 months )

We had booked a cruise to NZ on Dec 7th 2019  earlier this year and yesterday booked on the cruise before as well....

So we are off to New Zealand twice in the same cabin.... on now  a  26 night cruise....

Looking forward to it..... and our first B2B.... and it will so relaxing

Cheers Don

Hi I am glad you were  able to find a cruise to to a b2b. We did this with a Balitic cruise and it worked out really well. It is a really  port intensive cruise and there is so much to see. We also had an issue with weather for Berlin we could not dock due to fog so our all day excurssion got canceled so we just changed the excursion for the next cruise. You also have time to settle into the rythum of the ship. This also inspired me to look to see if I could do something to see New Zealand and Tasmania and he south Pacific. I was able to find 3 cruise that hit all of these areas. We have the same cabin for all 3 for 2020. It will make the long 23 hr flight worth while. When others are packing up to leave the ship you know you get to stay on.

I hope you have a fabulous  time and the weather gods are kind and the seas calm. Hopefully this will be one of many b2b you sail.

thank you Juniper Berries, we will enjoy....

Part the reason for doing it as we have only really done 10-13 night cruises and felt we would like longer

so thus the try out of 26 nights to see if we still want to stay on board after it...

Also the important other half doesn't want to fly, so there are not a lot of options...... but we will see

Cheers Don..... with a G&T  

10 hours ago, getting older slowly said:

Yes I know it is an old thread....

 

But to update things    ( wow doesn't time fly almost 11 months )

 

We had booked a cruise to NZ on Dec 7th 2019  earlier this year and yesterday booked on the cruise before as well....

 

So we are off to New Zealand twice in the same cabin.... on now  a  26 night cruise....

 

Looking forward to it..... and our first B2B.... and it will so relaxing

 

Cheers Don

Good job are there many repeat ports?

2 hours ago, getting older slowly said:

thank you Juniper Berries, we will enjoy....

 

Part the reason for doing it as we have only really done 10-13 night cruises and felt we would like longer

so thus the try out of 26 nights to see if we still want to stay on board after it...

 

Also the important other half doesn't want to fly, so there are not a lot of options...... but we will see

 

Cheers Don..... with a G&T  

I think you will find longer cruises are quite easy to do and you will not want to go back to shorter ones.

23 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

Good job are there many repeat ports?

I assume its these two so the answer is all ports are the same. 

https://www.cleancruising.com.au/itinerary.asp?sched=PRIGOL272_20191207

https://www.cleancruising.com.au/itinerary.asp?sched=PRIGOL272_20191124

1 day is rarely enough in most locations so i don't see an issue. 

I suppose it depends on the port, but being NZ the weather is always a bit iffy, so two days in port will ensure a good chance of seeing and doing what you want.

On 4/2/2019 at 4:33 PM, juniper berries said:

 When others are packing up to leave the ship you know you get to stay on.

 

 

One of life's little pleasures 🙂 Just loved it on our B2B2B, when we saw all the luggage in the hallways on the last night of each leg, and we knew we were staying put.

That is such a nice feeling and not having those debarkation forms.

There is no better feeling then walking down the corridor and seeing the departure forms and bag tags in the mail slot and knowing there is nothing in your mail slot.

Enjoy your B2B.

I have been to Akaroa 3 times and I still haven't seen everything in that small town.

We just have a relaxing day and walk a different way each time.

I think that next time one only way left is straight uphill.😁

Good point Sewgood.....  Akaroa lovely small town....

and thanks we will enjoy.....    we are on a cruise ship

Last time in Port Chalmers spent the day walking to the three lookouts and round the foreshore.... very relaxing..... next time will do the ferry from Port Chalmers into Dunedin for something different...

Exploring on foot it the only way to really see the place.

Cheers Don