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dilemma

Jborosara

By Jborosara,
in Celebrity Cruises

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Jborosara

Jborosara

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I'll be 50 in 2014 - will also be celebrating wedding anniversary #25 - we are planning a two week vacation to celebrate both occasions - right now I'm considering either a back-to-back on the Summit or the 14 day exotic Caribbean out of Ft. Lauderdale.... opinions?

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Lsimon

Lsimon

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Take the 14 night cruise out of Florida!!

 

If you take the 7 night b2b cruises they'll be some duplication of ports and the menus and entertainment on the second cruise will be mostly duplicates. While it's great relaxing while everyone is packing and then disembarking the next day, the atmosphere around the ship isn't quite as nice as a regular day of cruising. Also, the 7 night cruises don't get a far south so they won't visit Aruba, Curacao and/or Bonaire as the 14 night cruises do.

 

The 14 night trips are definitely my favorite itinerary. We did this on the Constellation in 2011, and are doing a similar trip on the Eclipse in 2013 and have another tentatively booked for 2014.

 

Now if you were considering the b2b 10 and 11 Night Ultimate Caribbean cruises on the Equinox my answer might be different. This set of back to back cruises covers the Eastern and the Western Caribbean. We did that in 2009 and it was great. Of course 21 nights is harder to fit in, and usually more expensive, than the 14 nights.

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Andy

Andy

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I'll be 50 in 2014 - will also be celebrating wedding anniversary #25 - we are planning a two week vacation to celebrate both occasions - right now I'm considering either a back-to-back on the Summit or the 14 day exotic Caribbean out of Ft. Lauderdale.... opinions?

 

Hi Jborosara,

 

I think it's an easy decision. We've sailed two 7 nights, back to back on Solstice (for my 50th Birthday) and it was great... but a 2 week itinerary wasnt available at the time. If it were, we would have definitely opted for the longer sailing.

 

As you have 2 weeks, I strongly recommened going with the single 14 night sailing. The Eclipse itinerary is Celebrity's best Caribbean itinerary by far. As Happy Cruiser mentioned, (and this is huge) - if you are on one 2 week sailing, you will not have repetitive meals, entertainment, ports, and resetting your cabin charges etc. Also, you will not have to disembark & embark the ship on turnaround day.

 

I hope this is helpful, and please let us know what you choose. Happy Upcoming 50th !!!

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Lois R "Live from...." Rare

Lois R

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I'd go for the exotic southern Caribbean 14-day one. You will have a different menu every night in the MDR as opposed the the 7-day menu repeating twice. You won't have to deal with turnaround day. And I haven't looked at your 7-day itinerary, but wouldn't it repeat also?

 

Hi Linda:) no, Summit does 2 different itineraries on her Southern

Carribean Routes. So they are different ports.

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FLHugh

FLHugh

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We are booked on Summit from San Juan next year but are considering changing to a 10 Day out of FLL The additional cost of Airfare to San Juan and the cost of the Hotel the night before the cruise just about covers the additional 3 days of the 10 Day Equinox fare.

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debshomespun

debshomespun

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I would go on the 14 night. Will definitely be more R&R and lazy sea days on this itinerary. We are booked on Eclipse 14 night end of Jan/13. We have done 7 night B2B on ships, and the turnaround day is almost a lost day. Also, you will repeat the menu and entertainment the 2nd week. It's always great to have all those days to look forward to. A great way to celebrate the big 50 and your 25th anniversary!

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Jborosara

Jborosara

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The two week cruise in AQ , with elite privileges (if you are so entitled) would be outstanding. Also, that itinerary with the ABC's, et al, will be great.

 

i will say that seeing Curacao and Aruba are weighing heavily

 

i personally love San Juan, so the turnaround day would not be lost - we'd get off - take a taxi to OSJ and have some mofungo and sangria...

 

since our last cruise on Summit was in AQ - I'm spoiled - would never not do AQ, even if a Sky suite was the same cost....

 

appreciate the thoughts - two other factors...

- the b2b in aq would be four cruise credits - which makes us elite - the 14day in aq is only three, leaving us one shy

- we've never sailed the S class before - have sailed summit twice and ROTS and LOTS once each - i really do think i might like the "smaller" ship vibe better, but the s class does look amazing

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Happy Cruiser 6143

Happy Cruiser 6143

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i will say that seeing Curacao and Aruba are weighing heavily

 

i personally love San Juan, so the turnaround day would not be lost - we'd get off - take a taxi to OSJ and have some mofungo and sangria...

 

since our last cruise on Summit was in AQ - I'm spoiled - would never not do AQ, even if a Sky suite was the same cost....

 

appreciate the thoughts - two other factors...

- the b2b in aq would be four cruise credits - which makes us elite - the 14day in aq is only three, leaving us one shy

- we've never sailed the S class before - have sailed summit twice and ROTS and LOTS once each - i really do think i might like the "smaller" ship vibe better, but the s class does look amazing

 

Amazing how the same amount of time on a ship can yield differing points. :eek:

 

I must admit that I really enjoy some of the benefits that come with elite--the free internet and free laundry and some free drycleaning & pressing are the ones I value. So, if that were the tipping point and you enjoy San Juan and don't mind repeating menus and shows, then that might be the way to go. You can always enjoy the ABC islands on a subsequent cruise as elite!

 

It's a tough decision. I'll also throw into the hopper that I too am partial to the M class ships; however, they've pulled the Connie from the Southern Caribbean run. Good luck deciding! No matter which you choose, I'm sure you'll have a wonderful cruise and celebration.

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Redtravel

Redtravel

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If it's winter, sail out of San Juan. You will be warmer. Florida is often cool in the winter. WE have sailed out of San Juan, Tampa, Miami, and Fort Lauderdale several times. San Juan is always a winner. The others are nice, but you take a gamble with the weather. On Back to Back cruises, you can ask the kitchen to make different stuff in advance. I like back to back. If you are Captains Club, you get double coupons.

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A Sixth?

A Sixth?

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If it's winter, sail out of San Juan. You will be warmer. Florida is often cool in the winter. WE have sailed out of San Juan, Tampa, Miami, and Fort Lauderdale several times. San Juan is always a winner. The others are nice, but you take a gamble with the weather. On Back to Back cruises, you can ask the kitchen to make different stuff in advance. I like back to back. If you are Captains Club, you get double coupons.

 

I'd second that thought, but having said that this winter we've gone with the 14 Day Eclipse out of Florida for a change. The turn around day isn't too bad, but we wanted to try a Solstice class ship for the first time.

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Jborosara

Jborosara

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Hi, to the Original poster...what did you decide to do?

 

After much consideration - we went with the back to back out of San Juan - for a number of reasons....

 

- the blue moon sale - got 150 buck OBC TWICE for the 14 days

- i, too, like the idea of starting off in the tropics rather than chancing some cooler days in florida

- hubby tends toward motion sickness and its not as bad in the SoCa

- we really just love the Summit and the smaller ship

- availability of the same aft AQ cabin on both sailings

- i tend to be a touch ADD and like more port days rather than fewer - plus i just LOVE San Juan....

 

so b-2-b for 14 days in the SoCa in Jan/Feb 2014 for us!!! already counting the days!

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Lois R "Live from...." Rare

Lois R

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After much consideration - we went with the back to back out of San Juan - for a number of reasons....

 

- the blue moon sale - got 150 buck OBC TWICE for the 14 days

- i, too, like the idea of starting off in the tropics rather than chancing some cooler days in florida

- hubby tends toward motion sickness and its not as bad in the SoCa

- we really just love the Summit and the smaller ship

- availability of the same aft AQ cabin on both sailings

- i tend to be a touch ADD and like more port days rather than fewer - plus i just LOVE San Juan....

 

so b-2-b for 14 days in the SoCa in Jan/Feb 2014 for us!!! already counting the days!

 

Ahhhh...you have a while to wait before your cruises:D;):)

Sounds like you are happy with your decision and that is the most

important thing.

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Jborosara

Jborosara

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Ahhhh...you have a while to wait before your cruises:D;):)

Sounds like you are happy with your decision and that is the most

important thing.

 

we are happy with it - final payment isn't for over a year and the good news is that we have plenty of time to change our minds with no penalty! i do want to do an S class at some point, but for me, the warmer weather sooner just won out.

 

on the good side - we don't have to wait until 2014 - got a late Jan 2013 cruise already booked!

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