Looking to go Back to Back to Back on 3 different Ship

[tpwolfe]

Looking to create our own 21 or more days cruise by doing a back to back to back on 3 different ships from the Fort Lauderdale Port. If you have done this is there any advance you can give me? Is it possible? Can you take a taxi between the ships? etc. We think it would be interesting to be on different ships each week of a 3 week trip.

[iflyrc5]

We are doing something similar starting next month. We are doing a Collectors Cruise on the Noordam (10 day, 11 day) out of Ft. Lauderdale. We get back to FLL on Feb8 - we are renting a car and driving over to Tampa then on Feb 10th doing a Collectors Cruise on the Ryndam (7 day, 14 day). 42 days of Cruising on beautiful HAL ships and only 4 port overlap.:D:D:D

[sail7seas]

We've had folks come here from time to time saying they did similiar to what you wish to do. The only 'stress factor' is if for some reason, one ship is delayed returning to Port Everglades significantly enough for you to miss the next ship's sailing time.

 

The odds of that are negligible yet it is not totally out of the question.

 

No taxi is going to like taking you from one ship to another but they really are obliged. Be sure to tip them well. IMO

I would load the luggage and get in the taxi and then tell driver where you wish to go.

 

Sounds fun.

Should be a great three weeks.

 

[innlady1]

I would love to do the same this winter....drive from Tampa on 2/10 and take another cruise out of Fort Lauderdale. But so far I've come up with nothing that works.

[rucrazy]

Looking to create our own 21 or more days cruise by doing a back to back to back on 3 different ships from the Fort Lauderdale Port. If you have done this is there any advance you can give me? Is it possible? Can you take a taxi between the ships? etc. We think it would be interesting to be on different ships each week of a 3 week trip.

 

While it is possible to accomplish what your talking about.. my ONLY concern would be if all ships you will sail disembark and embark on the same day... what happens if the ship you are on has a problem and doesn't make it back to port until a day later?

If you are going to do this two words.... TRAVEL INSURANCE.

 

Sounds like fun.. good luck on the planning and execution!

 

Joseph

[PathfinderEss]

It certainly is possible to do what you want and does sound like fun. We have done a back to back on two different ship once and it worked out fine. Your biggest problem is getting from ship to ship, and as Sails said tip the Taxi driver well, because sometimes they get really mad at you for those kind of short trips. Please come back and tell us what you decided.

[sail7seas]

Down side for me to this sort of thing is all the packing and unpacking and packing again. Check in lines, security checks, wait to board....... I'm not sure I'd want to do that three times in three weeks. :rolleyes:

[CruiserBruce]

Just curious, have you looked at the schedule to see if this is doable? Look at next December or January's schedule to see if it works. You do know that most of the HAL ships rotate itineraries weekly, so you could do a Eastern Caribbean, followed by a Western on the same ship.

 

I am assuming you are planning to do this across several cruise lines? The reason I mention this is it is fairly rare for there to be three HAL ships in at FLL on the same day.

[innlady1]

Down side for me to this sort of thing is all the packing and unpacking and packing again. Check in lines, security checks, wait to board....... I'm not sure I'd want to do that three times in three weeks. :rolleyes:

 

I was going to try to turn ours into a Collectors Cruise and add the 7 day portion and that cruise appears to be close to sold out and the prices went through the roof!

[jtl513]

Depending on the ships involved, it may be possible to walk from one ship to the next. For example, if one of your ships is a HAL ship at pier 26 and the next one is at piers 25, 27, or 21 those are easy walks. (See Port Map HERE)

 

It will not be possible to learn definitely what piers the ships will be at until about a week before each one. At that same Port Everglades site linked above, check the Ship Schedule about a week before each. That means you'll have to check near the end of the 1st and 2nd cruises. Also note that you may not return to the same pier you left from.

 

I am assuming you are planning to do this across several cruise lines? The reason I mention this is it is fairly rare for there to be three HAL ships in at FLL on the same day.

You don't need 3 at once, just 2 on each turn-around day, and that's pretty common for HAL.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I would never consider such an adventure.

Packing and unpacking and packing, etc -- just not for me.

If one part of your cruise includes a cruise on Princess -- most times those ships dock at pier 4 - not close to 26. It is quite a walk between those piers.

You really should rethink your ideas.

[hobo1937]

We recently did a b2b that involved changing ships in Ft Lauderdale. It was from Princess to Celebrity so there was no way we could walk between piers. We did take a taxi and we told the driver we would pay him the usual fare to the airport plus a good tip..didn't have any problem. I would definitely get travel insurance just in case there are any delays..

[Richjoxyz]

This idea sounds fun, but, trust me, on the last night of your first cruise you WILL be saying..."sure would be nice to just stay on board tomorrow, sure would be nice not to have to pack. Sure would be nice to have the entire ship to ourselves after everyone else gets off." Etc, etc, etc.

[Richjoxyz]

We've only done one B2B. It was two seven day cruises with different itineraries. One of the best parts of the trip was the last night of the first trip. We got to relax, no packing, and we knew we had another week. We knew many of the crew by then and it was nice just staying on board the next day.

 

Sounds fun to try different ships, but it will be hectic getting situated over and over, and dealing with all the lines over and over.

[jtl513]

Sure would be nice to have the entire ship to ourselves after everyone else gets off."

That part won't happen in FLL. Everyone has to get off at least briefly to "zero out" the ship. You do get to get back on ahead of new boarders, though.

We've only done one B2B. ... and it was nice just staying on board the next day.

I take it your B2B did not turn around in FLL, or it was many years ago.

[Richjoxyz]

That part won't happen in FLL. Everyone has to get off at least briefly to "zero out" the ship. You do get to get back on ahead of new boarders, though.

I take it your B2B did not turn around in FLL, or it was many years ago.

 

It was in San Juan, April 2012 on the Celebrity Summit. We were allowed to sleep in, and then we met the other B2B passengers at 10:00 for a private and quick escorted walk off the ship, through customs to show our passport, and back onto the ship. There were about twenty of us. My wife was first to board and I was second. We had the ship to ourselves until they opened general boarding, and our cabin was always available for our use. It was a very relaxing day for us as opposed to the hectic nature of the first day boarding a ship.

[Typhoon1]

Seems pretty complex to assemble such an itinerary, good luck if you do.

[whogo]

Sounds like a cool idea, tpwolfe, to try three ships in three weeks, especially if they are three different cruise lines. I wish you well and hope you tell us how it turns out. Your quest is not for me, too much time in Ft. Lauderdale and too much time packing and unpacking.

[sail7seas]

That part won't happen in FLL. Everyone has to get off at least briefly to "zero out" the ship. You do get to get back on ahead of new boarders, though.

I take it your B2B did not turn around in FLL, or it was many years ago.

 

 

On our recent Westerdam cruise, we did not have to leave the ship in FLL to zero down as the day before we had been in Key West and we cleared Immigration there. As it turned out, DH and I wished to leave the ship for the day and we did but this was the first time in a long time on a b-to-b that it was our choice and not required.

 

[catl331]

If one part of your cruise includes a cruise on Princess -- most times those ships dock at pier 4 - not close to 26. It is quite a walk between those piers.

It's entirely possible that a Princess ship could use 25 or 21. The Grand P is at 21 today.

[BJane]

Your idea looks like fun. Many years ago we took a B2B that was a little different. We sailed a 7 day Miami to Miami. We got off the first ship and went to the airport for a flight to San Juan. As soon as we got to SJ we boarded a second ship for another 7 day. Our only problem was that my husband lost my credit card at the San Juan ship terminal and I had to call back to San Francisco to cancel the account before we boarded the ship. I was not smiling for my welcome aboard photo!!

[rkacruiser]

This kind of plan is easy to do. Ships rarely are so late arriving that one would need to worry about missing the connection, particularly during the Winter months.

 

I did this, going from a Carnival ship at Pier 19 to a HAL ship at Pier 26. I had driven so the car was parked in the Mid-Port Parking Garage. I had about 60-90 minutes between disembarkation and embarkation. So, I went to the car and using the trunk, removed the unwanted items from the first week's luggage, added whatever I wanted for the next week from luggage that I had stored in the trunk, and sat in the car until it was time to go to Pier 26.

 

Really enjoyed doing this as I could immediately compare two different ships/cruise lines/experiences offered.

[sail7seas]

This kind of plan is easy to do. Ships rarely are so late arriving that one would need to worry about missing the connection, particularly during the Winter months.

 

I did this, going from a Carnival ship at Pier 19 to a HAL ship at Pier 26. I had driven so the car was parked in the Mid-Port Parking Garage. I had about 60-90 minutes between disembarkation and embarkation. So, I went to the car and using the trunk, removed the unwanted items from the first week's luggage, added whatever I wanted for the next week from luggage that I had stored in the trunk, and sat in the car until it was time to go to Pier 26.

 

Really enjoyed doing this as I could immediately compare two different ships/cruise lines/experiences offered.

 

 

You made it easy......

with your car parked at Port Everglades, you're all set. :)

 

[JLC@SD]

Looking to create our own 21 or more days cruise by doing a back to back to back on 3 different ships from the Fort Lauderdale Port. If you have done this is there any advance you can give me? Is it possible? Can you take a taxi between the ships? etc. We think it would be interesting to be on different ships each week of a 3 week trip.

 

This would be interesting to do .....especially if you sailed on 3 different lines.

 

Depending on the ships involved, it may be possible to walk from one ship to the next. For example, if one of your ships is a HAL ship at pier 26 and the next one is at piers 25, 27, or 21 those are easy walks. (See Port Map HERE)

 

It will not be possible to learn definitely what piers the ships will be at until about a week before each one. At that same Port Everglades site linked above, check the Ship Schedule about a week before each. That means you'll have to check near the end of the 1st and 2nd cruises. Also note that you may not return to the same pier you left from.

 

You don't need 3 at once, just 2 on each turn-around day, and that's pretty common for HAL.

 

If you sailed HAL, Celebrity, Carnival RCL or Grand Princess ......they all are usually docked at Terminals 19, 21, 22, 24, 25 or 26 .....all within walking distance of each other.

[sail7seas]

This would be interesting to do .....especially if you sailed on 3 different lines.

 

 

 

If you sailed HAL, Celebrity, Carnival RCL or Grand Princess ......they all are usually docked at Terminals 19, 21, 22, 24, 25 or 26 .....all within walking distance of each other.

 

 

:confused: Grand Princess docks clear across Port Everglades from HAL's 26. Grand Princess is always near the 17th Street bridge.