our first B2B...I have ?s

[kyo413]

[quote name='Seago2']Silly question: what sparkling wine/champagne are you guys speaking of?[/QUOTE]

I am not sure if it is for B2B cruisers, or on your platinum cruise, or both.... or if you happen to be on a B2B when you become Platinum. Guess I should have been paying more attention- so I know what to expect, and how to swap out for wine. :p

[Chubbybunnie]

i just booked a back to back, but didnt book them together. i booked one a week ago, then we decided today to add the second leg to make it a B2B. booked online myself. will carnival know that i am B2B or will i have to let them know.....this is my first B2B and i love all the info in this tread, very helpful! :)

[Noel182002]

[quote name='Chubbybunnie']i just booked a back to back, but didnt book them together. i booked one a week ago, then we decided today to add the second leg to make it a B2B. booked online myself. will carnival know that i am B2B or will i have to let them know.....this is my first B2B and i love all the info in this tread, very helpful! :)[/quote]


We had to call and tell them we were doing a b2b...we booked online and even though they were the same room they didn't realize it....I don't know as our first b2b is in september.....but i think sometimes you get a small gift for doing a b2b so I would try to give it a try and see maybe if you get something special!!! I'm hoping we do!!

[oldrailfan]

[quote name='darth frosty']UMM you no longer make platinum with 10 cruises they changed it to number of days sailed.

At least thats my understanding someone correct me if I am wrong.-[/QUOTE]

Grandfather clause - [i]if you were Gold[/i] when they changed the criteria, and you make 10 cruises before December of 2013, you are Platinum on your tenth. Otherwise, it's 75 cruising days to Plat...

Reading all of the comments, and based on my own B2B experiences, I guess it depends on ship and port...

We've done two B2B's on [i]Fascination[/i] which included cabin changes, and in both cases, there was a letter from Guest Services that told us the procedures. They had us pack our belongings the night before just as everyone else did, but we left our bags in the first cabin. The stewards from both cabins took care of moving our stuff from the first cabin to the second.

We checked in with the Guest Services people, and after everyone else was clear of the ship, they walked us down to Customs, where we basically did a "handshake," then they took us back aboard the ship and at the brow gave us our new S&S cards so Security could "bong" us back aboard. We were then free to move about the ship, including going to our new cabin, (which was ready for us both times) or up to the Lido for lunch, or whatever.

In September, we'll be doing another B2B on the [i]Fascination[/i], this time staying in the same cabin, and we've already been told that we just leave everything in place and go to GS after breakfast.

As far as Customs Declarations, we've only submitted one after the second cruise both times. Neither Customs or the ship's staff seem to have a problem with that, and in fact, the shipboarad people told us to do it that way.

ADDED: You have to settle your bill for each leg, but if you have a positive balance, you can take the check to GS after you're back aboard, and they'll credit it to your S&S account. Think about prepaying your gratuities so you don't get smacked with that surprise the last day...

[oldrailfan]

[quote name='darth frosty']:eek::(:eek:

Hmm so If I can finagle 3 more cruises this year I'll be platinum?!?[/QUOTE]

Simple answer - YEP!!! :D

[TrinaLC]

That is the first I've heard that you had to be gold at the time of the change for the grandfather thing to work. I think we were, but not 100% sure. Is this really true? We have a b2b booked to make plat.

[oldrailfan]

That is the first I've heard that you had to be gold at the time of the change for the grandfather thing to work. I think we were, but not 100% sure. Is this really true? We have a b2b booked to make plat.

 

I worded that poorly - if you ever took a cruise before the policy change, you were Gold, (they stuck the Red card in there during the changes) and for all I know, they may be allowing someone that has never sailed before to get 10 cruises in and make Platinum...

 

My grandchildren and DSIL were Gold under the old "rules" and got bumped back to Red on our last cruise, but my DD got her 25th day in during the cruise so she stayed Gold.

[Sparky2]

Silly question: what sparkling wine/champagne are you guys speaking of?

 

On both of our B2B cruises (2008 & 2012), we received a fruit basket & bottle of champagne as a gift for doing B2B. Some people have said they never received a gift for doing B2B, though.

[Sparky2]

i just booked a back to back, but didnt book them together. i booked one a week ago, then we decided today to add the second leg to make it a B2B. booked online myself. will carnival know that i am B2B or will i have to let them know.....this is my first B2B and i love all the info in this tread, very helpful! :)

 

We booked our B2B for 2014 while on our B2B in 2013 so I know we're linked.

 

I would definitely call Carnival to be sure your cruises are linked as B2B.

[Seago2]

On both of our B2B cruises (2008 & 2012), we received a fruit basket & bottle of champagne as a gift for doing B2B. Some people have said they never received a gift for doing B2B, though.

 

Ok, thanks for the info!

[BooBooMonkey]

Can you get off in the home port in between and make a port day out of it?

[kyo413]

Can you get off in the home port in between and make a port day out of it?

 

This will be our first B2B in October, and I had thought about that as well. From what I am gathering here, you could, but it may be more headache than it's worth. You would go through the entire debarkation and (re)embarkation process. I think I would prefer staying put, and enjoying the ship being empty- may be a once in a lifetime chance for me, and not have the headache. I would rather come in a day early/take a late flight home, and take in the port city before or after the B2B. (Ex: I was looking, and Miami offers a Hop on Hop Off tour of the city after debarkation, and it will take you to MIA or FLL airport. That kind of intrigued me....)

[pinkiek]

We did a b2b onthe Fascination out of Jacksonville in 2010. We needed to get off the ship between cruises and were allowed to board VIP when we came back on the ship. We are not platinum.:)

[kristinp36]

We just booked our first B2B over the Thanksgiving holiday but I have one question.....we have the same room booked but the person I booked with through Carnival said that the B2B would be indicated on our confirmation. I do not see anything in our confirmation email or under our on-line account that mentions a B2B. Can someone tell me where that should be showing? Or was the agent misinformed?

[Sparky2]

We just booked our first B2B over the Thanksgiving holiday but I have one question.....we have the same room booked but the person I booked with through Carnival said that the B2B would be indicated on our confirmation. I do not see anything in our confirmation email or under our on-line account that mentions a B2B. Can someone tell me where that should be showing? Or was the agent misinformed?

 

There has never been any mention that it's a B2B on our confirmation email. January 2014 will be our 3rd B2B. They are connected through Carnival but don't show that on our booking confirmation or Manage My Cruise.

[Seago2]

I'm adding someone to my party- my husband :)- its just occurring to me that maybe they will want my son and me to get off and join him and all board together? That would not be any fun at all......

[PatrickZJD]

Has anyone done a B2B but did it on two different boats? My DW and I are on the Glory on August 3rd and then moving on to the Splendor on the 5th. We were told to speak to Guest Relations the night before we got off the Glory, but otherwise we don't know what to expect. I can't imagine it running as smoothly as a regular B2B, which we've done once before, but I'd still gather we should be able to get onboard earlier, etc. We'd love to hear othercruisers' experiences!

[oldrailfan]

There has never been any mention that it's a B2B on our confirmation email. January 2014 will be our 3rd B2B. They are connected through Carnival but don't show that on our booking confirmation or Manage My Cruise.

 

Other than the fact that both booking numbers show on "My Cruise Manager" there is nothing on the documentation that shows they are linked, but the ship will know - though it never hurts to check in with Guest Relations on the first or second day of the cruise to make sure they know...

[bonnys]

Has anyone done a B2B but did it on two different boats? My DW and I are on the Glory on August 3rd and then moving on to the Splendor on the 5th. We were told to speak to Guest Relations the night before we got off the Glory, but otherwise we don't know what to expect. I can't imagine it running as smoothly as a regular B2B, which we've done once before, but I'd still gather we should be able to get onboard earlier, etc. We'd love to hear othercruisers' experiences!

 

You will get off the ship and go over to the other one. There are no special lines or assistance. Just find a porter after you have gotten off the ship and ask him if he can point you in the right direction to you next ship. I have heard of some people grabbing a taxi from one to the other if they are very far apart. I have also heard of one couple that had a shuttle service run them over for free (though they did tip the driver).