Back to Back Question

[beg3yrs]

We were successful getting this done on the ship last winter. We simply gave the CC host a list of the cruises and the dates. She could see in her system that they were two cruises with one booking number.

 

We'll be trying it again twice this winter, as we have one set of B2B cruises booked as a longer cruise just before the next set of B2B cruises which will be our 51st and 52nd cruises. I'm not expecting the extra $25 on that cruise where we hit 52, as it's part of a B2ab, but I'm hoping to get it on our 53rd cruise, and should, assuming the extra two cruise credits get added by the CC host on the ship.

 

Thanks for the info. I'll give them a call. Right now we've only got one like that under our belts but have another booked for next year. We're still a long way from loyalty credits but every penny counts these days.

[paul929207]

OK, so I wasn't concerned about getting cruise credits as we generally take longer cruises now and make our Captain's Circle status based on days.

 

Now I'm reading there's a loyalty bonus that's based on number of cruise credits. Given that, I want to make sure I understand.

 

If you take a cruise with a single booking number that could have been booked as a B2B with two booking numbers, does a simple call to the Captain's Circle desk will get you two cruise credits instead of one?

Yes. A call to Captain's Circle will get you the second cruise credit in the scenario you describe.

[Pia1913]

As a retirement gift to ourselves, we plan on taking a world cruise. My TA recommends booking it as one cruise when it first opens. She says it will be less expensive that way and we will be able to have the same cabin the entire cruise. I am already Elite, so I am not too concerned with cruise credits. What I am wondering is how the internet minutes will work and if they will re-stock the mini bar? :eek:

 

You have to book it as one cruise if you want gratuities to be included. That's a lot of money. You also get a lot of OBC which you wouldn't get with segments. Believe me, I checked it out because we just booked the WC for 2015.

[CDay]

You have to book it as one cruise if you want gratuities to be included. That's a lot of money. You also get a lot of OBC which you wouldn't get with segments. Believe me, I checked it out because we just booked the WC for 2015.

 

Thank you for that information. Did not know about the gratuities. Do you know if they will renew the internet minutes and mini bar with each segment?

 

Pia, would you mind if I asked what category cabin you booked or do you go with a guarantee? We have never had any luck with the upgrade fairy. :( After 2 upgrades that weren't to our liking we usually just pick a cabin and mark it no upgrade. A majority of the time we travel in insides, but I'm afraid with a WC we might get a bit claustrophobic.

 

Are WC something you need to sign up for immediately when they open? I'm not sure of the popularity. My TA mentioned something about selling them only as a WC for the first 6 months, then opening it up to segments.

[Pia1913]

Thank you for that information. Did not know about the gratuities. Do you know if they will renew the internet minutes and mini bar with each segment?

Yes, to both.

 

Pia, would you mind if I asked what category cabin you booked or do you go with a guarantee? We have never had any luck with the upgrade fairy. :( After 2 upgrades that weren't to our liking we usually just pick a cabin and mark it no upgrade. A majority of the time we travel in insides, but I'm afraid with a WC we might get a bit claustrophobic.

 

We never travel inside; not even for a day. On short cruises we will sometimes do a guarantee or OV obstructed. Long cruises we must have a balcony.

 

Are WC something you need to sign up for immediately when they open? I'm not sure of the popularity. My TA mentioned something about selling them only as a WC for the first 6 months, then opening it up to segments.

 

If you are interested in doing a segment or two, then of course you have to wait. If you want the WC, there is no reason to wait. I could never book a guarantee for that length of time. And yes, the ship does fill up. Remember, it's a small one that does the WC.

[Travelrd]

pia1913...thanks for the ta help.

 

cheers

[nukesubsailor]

I have booked our first ever back to back cruise and I have some questions. We booked a 5 day followed by a 4 day on the Ruby out of FLL in January. The booking summary has a note about it being booked as one logical cruise with it being two actual separate cruises. We made one $100 deposit each charging our FCC. I know we will need to clear customs on turn around day and re-board using new cruise cards.

 

My question is how will they count this as far as cruises completed for Captain’s Circle status. Will this be counted as one or two cruises? On a similar topic as we are both Platinum we each get 150 free internet minutes. Will this start over for the second segment?

Once the 2nd leg of your b2b has begun, go see the Captain's Circle host on board and explain your situation. They can get on their computer and get your cruise credits updated to show a second credit. I did this when on a b2b made up of two 10-day cruises but booked under one booking number as a 20 day cruise. By booking as one cruise instead of two, I got a cheaper fare and more on board credits as a shareholder and veteran.

[CDay]

If you are interested in doing a segment or two, then of course you have to wait. If you want the WC, there is no reason to wait. I could never book a guarantee for that length of time. And yes, the ship does fill up. Remember, it's a small one that does the WC.

 

Thank you for responding to my post. :) At least now I have a better idea of when to book and some costs. We would probably choose 7112 or 7117. We prefer aft and have seen pics of the obstruction and don't think we would mind. We would prefer the savings to the obstruction. :D

 

The itinerary dictates if we go inside, oceanview or balcony. We are not fans of the heat, so for Caribbean we go inside. Alaska we like Plaza oceanview. First time for something like Baltics or Norwegian Fjords, we go balcony. If we repeat one of those it will most likely be an inside. :(

[Pia1913]

Thank you for responding to my post. :) At least now I have a better idea of when to book and some costs. We would probably choose 7112 or 7117. We prefer aft and have seen pics of the obstruction and don't think we would mind. We would prefer the savings to the obstruction. :D

 

The itinerary dictates if we go inside, oceanview or balcony. We are not fans of the heat, so for Caribbean we go inside. Alaska we like Plaza oceanview. First time for something like Baltics or Norwegian Fjords, we go balcony. If we repeat one of those it will most likely be an inside. :(

 

You just need to be sure that you can spend 3+ months in an inside cabin, no matter what the itinerary. With so many sea days on this itinerary you would be utilizing your balcony a whole lot. But of course your pocketbook enters into it too. ;)

[trbarton]

Thank you for that information. Did not know about the gratuities. Do you know if they will renew the internet minutes and mini bar with each segment?

 

Pia, would you mind if I asked what category cabin you booked or do you go with a guarantee? We have never had any luck with the upgrade fairy. :( After 2 upgrades that weren't to our liking we usually just pick a cabin and mark it no upgrade. A majority of the time we travel in insides, but I'm afraid with a WC we might get a bit claustrophobic.

 

Are WC something you need to sign up for immediately when they open? I'm not sure of the popularity. My TA mentioned something about selling them only as a WC for the first 6 months, then opening it up to segments.

 

After reading a post on CC I had my Dec. 20th cruise on the Grand out of San Francisco marked "Meta Upgrade" which means that I will only be considered for the next type of cabin upgrade like from Balcony to Mini Suite. Has anybody had their reservation marked "Meta Upgrade" and if so were you offered anything?

 

Tom:)

[monakayk]

We got our 14 days B2B cruise (which we booked as 1 cruise) credited as 2 cruises. Talk to the folks on the ship, when you buy a FCC...they will fix it for you and make sure you get 2 cruise credits!:D

[paul929207]

You may want to start a new thread for this. It is off topic and you may be missing your desired audience.

[gardener718]

My experience has been that you will only get 1 Captain's Circle cruise point but other benefits such as the Internet package are treated like 2 cruises. Thus you'll get 2 of them & my remaining minutes automatically rolled over when activating the 2nd package.

 

Paul has posted that by contacting Captain's Circle after his cruises he's received a point for each segment of a longer cruise & I plan to try it on my upcoming b2b booked as 1 cruise.

 

If you are Elite with Princess, I don't think the amount of cruises matter. They count the days.

 

I am Elite am leaving on what I tried to book as a B2B to Alaska (which they also have listed as a 14 day) to try to get the double bar set up & internet minutes, each person I spoke to said something different). I am going solo so will get 28 days credit, but, told only 1 bar set up and the 1 250 internet minutes. when onboard I may try to see if that can be changed, as it was called b2b 4 years ago on this same cruise, but, I don't know if that will happen. I also own stock so will get obc for that. the cost was the same except for a small difference in port charges. I also used 2 fcd. O well, I am looking forward to my cruise and hope to meet some others to share my experiences.

 

Happy Cruising to All! AND Happy Father's Day to all past and present!

 

Marianne

[paul929207]

You will get the second minibar setup and internet minutes no matter how you book.

You will not get double the days for traveling solo. You only get a second Cruise Credit.

Once you make Elite, there are two things that cruise credits count for. First, if there is a tie for most traveled, the tie breaker is number of cruise credits. Second is the Loyalty OBC. It is based on cruise credits.

[gardener718]

You will get the second minibar setup and internet minutes no matter how you book.

You will not get double the days for traveling solo. You only get a second Cruise Credit.

Once you make Elite, there are two things that cruise credits count for. First, if there is a tie for most traveled, the tie breaker is number of cruise credits. Second is the Loyalty OBC. It is based on cruise credits.

Sadly again different information each time I called. They supposedly checked to see if by paying 200% I would get double the days and was told yes.I deserve that, I'm paying for 2 peope :( we shall see........I will also be checking on bar set up & minutes.........I am only at maybe 180 days without this cruise so I know there will be someone or many someone's with more days. I did get invited to the lunch with the captain on my last cruise. :)

[Pia1913]

Sadly again different information each time I called. They supposedly checked to see if by paying 200% I would get double the days and was told yes.I deserve that, I'm paying for 2 peope :( we shall see........I will also be checking on bar set up & minutes.........I am only at maybe 180 days without this cruise so I know there will be someone or many someone's with more days. I did get invited to the lunch with the captain on my last cruise. :)

 

When you call Princess and speak to their reps,. sometimes you get a knowledgeable one; oft times not. You do get double cruise credits as a solo; you do NOT get double days. You will get more good infomation here by experienced travelers rather than on the phone with someone who has never been on a cruise ship.

[Astro Flyer]

If you are Elite with Princess, I don't think the amount of cruises matter. They count the days.

 

Marianne

We're also Elite & cruise credits do affect the Most Travelled OBC which begins with the 21st cruise credit at $25 per household. The amount increases in $25 increments for every 10 additional cruises up to $100 beginning with the 51st cruise. :D

 

We'll never attain that many credits but 2 additional credits for our two b2b cruises gets us closer to $50 on our 31st cruise. ;)

 

http://content.princess.com/princess/?jlxQWO8V08urQu4TF2t.OlAj4g2cicQNj#royalrewards

[Hlitner]

I am going to post again to this thread to talk about why we are not big fans of back-to-backs. With the exception of Celebrity and HA the mass market lines have darn near stopped with true 14 day Caribbean Cruises (we cruise all over the world but still like to do one a year in the Caribbean). On a real 14 day cruise you will usually get a great itinerary with both Eastern and Southern Caribbean ports. On the true 14 day cruise its a different atmosphere with fewer children/teens, and a more relaxed state of mind. But on the back to backs what you get are two 7 day cruises. This often means lots of kids, repeated menus, repeated entertainment, etc. You also have to deal with 2 Welcome Aboard Shows, and 2 Farewell Shows not to mention 2 Life Boat drills. We will sometimes do the back-to-back Caribbean thing....but normally look very hard for a true 14 day (or longer) cruise.

 

 

Hank

[Pia1913]

I am going to post again to this thread to talk about why we are not big fans of back-to-backs. With the exception of Celebrity and HA the mass market lines have darn near stopped with true 14 day Caribbean Cruises (we cruise all over the world but still like to do one a year in the Caribbean). On a real 14 day cruise you will usually get a great itinerary with both Eastern and Southern Caribbean ports. On the true 14 day cruise its a different atmosphere with fewer children/teens, and a more relaxed state of mind. But on the back to backs what you get are two 7 day cruises. This often means lots of kids, repeated menus, repeated entertainment, etc. You also have to deal with 2 Welcome Aboard Shows, and 2 Farewell Shows not to mention 2 Life Boat drills. We will sometimes do the back-to-back Caribbean thing....but normally look very hard for a true 14 day (or longer) cruise.

 

 

Hank

 

1. The second muster is your choice. It is not mandatory

 

2. Lots of kids are only present when school is not in session

 

3. You most likely don't go to the welcome aboard show anyway.

[Milestandish]

You guys are the BEST! I just called and was credited for 2 additional cruises. Painless! Thanks

[beg3yrs]

Woo Hoo! We too called today and bagged two more cruise credits which was one more than we thought we should get. The Captain's Circle rep spotted the additional one. Will be in double digits on the next cruise. Loyalty credit is now just barely visible on the horizon.

[PescadoAmarillo]

I don't know how Paul first became aware of this, but it has earned us $150 in additional OBC by getting the Captains Circle OBC earlier. We all owe Paul a drink!

[paul929207]

I don't know how Paul first became aware of this, but it has earned us $150 in additional OBC by getting the Captains Circle OBC earlier. We all owe Paul a drink!

A year or two ago, a Captain's Circle rep mentioned it in a presentation. I figured I had misunderstood, so I asked her about it. She repeated that calling would get the extra credit. I was still "sure" she was wrong, but figured I would give it a try. The rest is history.

 

PescdoAmarillo

 

Looking forward to having a drink with you one of these years.

[beg3yrs]

I don't know how Paul first became aware of this, but it has earned us $150 in additional OBC by getting the Captains Circle OBC earlier. We all owe Paul a drink!

 

Agree!

 

Paul - you'd better get your drinking shoes on.

[Carolina Cruisr]

Thanks Paul! I called this morning and had a credit added from our 2010 sailing on the Ocean Princess Med cruise. A little closer to the Loyalty Program.

 

Love Cruise Critic for sharing info.

 

How can you not love Princess! FCC's, Stockholder OBC, Miltary OBC and Loyalty program.