Question for those who have booked Back to Back (and more!) cruises

[CutestLittleEvil]

I was hoping to get an idea about back to back cruising with this line. I'm hoping people could share their experiences about what they liked, what they didn't like, how long they were gone on their sailing, if the length of the trip was too long (or not long enough!) etc...

 

How did you come to decided a back to back cruise was what you wanted to do and how did you book such a thing (independently or with a TA)? Did you stay on the same ship or switch ships? Was the process easy or confusing? How important is the time of year when you chose your back to back cruise?

 

And would you do it again?

[TeaBag]

We have done this 4 times. The longest cruise was B2B2B,37 days.

 

Depending on where the cruise is, we look at the second segment as including free airfare because we are already there. Our first B2B was to Australia so the savings in airfare was quite a bit.

 

B2B usually implies the same ship. If you change ships/companies it is not regarded as a true back to back. If you can get the same cabin for both sailings it really simplifies the changeover day. if you can't, the steward will help you move but it is a pain waiting for the previous occupants to vacate the cabin, cleaning etc.

 

You will get instructions re the changeover day delivered to your cabin 2 days or so before the end of the first segment. You have to clear off your shipboard account at the end of the first segment and you get a new seapass card for the second. You may have to meet with others doing the same to be escorted off the ship and then let back on again before the new people board. We have had different experiences with this but it has never been difficult.

 

Time of year depends on where you are going.

 

Yes, we would do it again in a heartbeat.

 

Love seeing those bags out in the hall and knowing we don't have to do that at the end of the first segment!:D

[Sow There]

We currently are considering a B2B and have some additional questions.

 

If we book a guarantee for both legs, will we have any assurance that we will get the same cabin for both legs? If not do we have to pack and disembark or can we have someone move our luggage to the new cabin? (My guess is we will have to totally disembark and wait along with the other passengers waiting to board.)

 

The alternative as I see it is that, if we want to stay in the same cabin for both legs, we will need to book a specific cabin that shows availability for both legs.

 

I assume everything else (dining choices, beverages packages, on board credits, etc.) are treated separately and nothing is carried over.

 

Although we're not considering a B2B2B this time, I suspect that, on a 3 leg, the same would apply.

[jerrymanos]

I have done 2 back to back cruises, although not on Celebrity. The first was with Holland America (Zuiderdam). First leg was western Caribbean and second leg was eastern Caribbean. It was 14 days and was perfect length of time. I booked both with the same TA and it was very easy. I had enough vacation time, and it was nice to see different islands while staying on the same ship and in the same stateroom. The time of year did not matter and I would do it again.

 

The second back to back was on Cunard in January 2014. We left on the Queen Mary 2 from New York to Southampton, disembarked and boarded the Queen Elizabeth on the same day back to New York and then down to Ft. Lauderdale where we disembarked and flew home. Total length of time was 18 days and it was just right. I booked both legs with the same TA and it was not a problem. I have always wanted to do a round trip transatlantic, so this just worked out. We love dancing especially in the Cunard ballrooms. The logistics were very easy. Cunard provided a shuttle between the two ships in Southampton and the total transfer time was about 2 hours between the two staterooms. There were probably 30 of us doing a round trip, so they were very accommodating. The timing of this was of course very important because these ships are seldom in the same port with itineraries in opposite directions. I would do this again.

 

The financial aspects of these trips were treated separately for each leg. If you have the time, I recommend btb's.

[lexdisic]

We currently are considering a B2B and have some additional questions.

 

If we book a guarantee for both legs, will we have any assurance that we will get the same cabin for both legs? If not do we have to pack and disembark or can we have someone move our luggage to the new cabin? (My guess is we will have to totally disembark and wait along with the other passengers waiting to board.)

 

The alternative as I see it is that, if we want to stay in the same cabin for both legs, we will need to book a specific cabin that shows availability for both legs.

 

I assume everything else (dining choices, beverages packages, on board credits, etc.) are treated separately and nothing is carried over.

 

 

Although we're not considering a B2B2B this time, I suspect that, on a 3 leg, the same would apply.

 

We sailed B2B (28 days) earlier this year. We tried to get the same cabin for both legs but were unable to as we had left it too late and had to accept what was left - moral of the story is book early for B2B and not GTY

 

Was promised help to move but when it came down to it, no-one was around so we moved ourselves - had to pack anyway so no big deal to take suitcases ourselves - forewarned the next cabin steward and he prepared our cabin first so we could move in. You do not have to leave the ship to embark again other than US ports where you are escorted off and on again, or you will be given a pass so you can go ashore and dont have to go through check-in on your return.

 

The ship bill has to be cleared after the first leg - as you say, nothing is carried forward. As you're already onboard, speciality reservations etc easily fulfilled as you are the first there.

 

We had complimentary laundry bag at the end of the first leg.

 

A special lunch in the MDR was served on changeover day if you wanted it.

 

Downside is that menu's are repeated as well as on board activities and promotions. Even "guess the weight" of a diamond was the same diamond next leg -moral here is remember the competition results.

 

It is also sad that you may be waving goodbye to some new found friends but as a previous poster said - there is nothing like seeing all the suitcases in the hallway when you are staying on. :p:D:p

 

The waitstaff dont have to learn your preferences - they already know and they always welcomed us "home" again.

 

We love B2B but be warned that once you do it, we found it is very difficult to go back to a short, even a 14 day cruise - in fact we have never done a short one since.

 

Enjoy

[judyfssw]

We did a 7 day b2b out of Puerto Rico. We said goodbye to our friends from the first cruise and hello to friends for the second cruise. It was great. Because we were greeting the new friends, we elected to leave the ship to greet the friends in the terminal. We could gave just gone through customs but chose to leave the ship for our new friends.

Now we're taking a 14 day b2b in the month of January so escape the cold. We will be in the same cabin again and don't plan to leave the ship unless I have to do some personal shopping (which I hope I don't).

I am so looking forward to this. I hope that you book the same cabin and that you have a wonderful time. Good Luck

[flyingv4me]

We did a B2B on the Silhouette in January, same cabin. It was great not having to pack to move to another stateroom, and I must admit that it was nice seeing the luggage in the hallway knowing that we were staying on board.

 

Two days before the first cruise ended we received instructions and our new cards. Don't forget to take BOTH cards with you on turn-around day as you'll need the old one to leave the ship and the new to get back on board. There were about 50 of us doing the B2B and we all met in the MDR around 10:30 am. After a short wait as they cleared the ship, we were led off and had our passports/documents reviewed. We were then led back onto the ship. It was fun having the line of Celebrity staff that were leaving the ship acknowledge us with smiles, waves, and claps. Once back on the ship we had new pictures taken and we were good to go, or so we thought. We still needed to visit guest relations to have our credit card swiped for the second cruise. Once we were back on board we went to our stateroom to return our passports to the safe and then we relaxed until lunch at the Porch.

 

It went very smoothly for us and we've already booked another B2B for 2016 (still working on an Alaska trip for 2015). I highly recommend B2Bs!

[3418ahl]

We almost always do b2b. Our longest was 5 lasting 60 days from New Zealand to Seattle, WA. We always book our cabin in advance, arranging to stay in the same cabin. Meals have never been a problem, especially on Celebrity. There are many nights I have had an appetizer made into a main meal, or added shrimp and chicken to a salad, or eaten in Bistro on 5. Since most of our cruises are far from the US, and we want to see as much of the world as possible, we make our airplane dollars count. Plane fare often costs as much as 1 leg of the cruise.

 

On the other hand, we are not a couple that needs a new show every night. We are happy to read our books many nights. I think the shows are the biggest drawback, if you are into entertainment.

[ghstudio]

I was hoping to get an idea about back to back cruising with this line. I'm hoping people could share their experiences about what they liked, what they didn't like, how long they were gone on their sailing, if the length of the trip was too long (or not long enough!) etc...

 

How did you come to decided a back to back cruise was what you wanted to do and how did you book such a thing (independently or with a TA)? Did you stay on the same ship or switch ships? Was the process easy or confusing? How important is the time of year when you chose your back to back cruise?

 

And would you do it again?

 

We've done a couple of B2B's...enjoyed them both.

 

One was B2B out of Singapore, both with interesting itineraries but one of the big decision factors was "if we're going to put our bodies through the agony of flying 1/2 way around the world, we're going to stay more than 2 weeks".

 

The second was a transatlantic and we stayed on the next cruise...two very different cruises.

 

The big pluses...less air travel and unpacking once. The minuses...same menus repeat ....and the cabin seems smaller each day (if you've been married for a while, you'll understand that comment).

 

We've booked another B2B in South America....one scenic, one repositioning cruise to get home.....only one flight to get to the cruises. We like flying less and less as the airlines fight to see which can serve the worst food in the most uncomfortable seats with the most extra charges.

Edited May 14, 2014 by ghstudio

[gimletgal]

We currently are considering a B2B and have some additional questions.

 

If we book a guarantee for both legs, will we have any assurance that we will get the same cabin for both legs? No guarantee whatsoever.

 

If not do we have to pack and disembark or can we have someone move our luggage to the new cabin? (My guess is we will have to totally disembark and wait along with the other passengers waiting to board.) Your cabin steward will assist in moving your personal belongings. You will not need to wait to reboard with the new passengers.

 

The alternative as I see it is that, if we want to stay in the same cabin for both legs, we will need to book a specific cabin that shows availability for both legs. That is correct.

 

I assume everything else (dining choices, beverages packages, on board credits, etc.) are treated separately and nothing is carried over. Correct.

 

Although we're not considering a B2B2B this time, I suspect that, on a 3 leg, the same would apply. Yes.

 

A B2B is really a very simple transition, especially if you have the same cabin! :)

[Northern Aurora]

We tend to do B2B cruises as we live in the interior of Alaska and so fly to every cruise port (even when we've done Alaska cruises). When we do B2B cruises it just seem like we are maximizing our air fare. We just left the Constellation last week after its TA, and that was the first one leg cruise we've done in quite some time. We have a B2B scheduled for this fall, and our five cruises booked for 2015 are organized as one set of B2B2B in the spring and a fall set of B2B.

 

Almost every turnaround day has been handled differently. But the one constant is that when other passengers receive their disembarkation packets the B2B folks will receive a succinct instruction letter regarding the turnaround day.

[Jenna109]

We have done b2b2b and b2b - never had to change cabin but TA sorted this for us. Above posts seem to have covered everything. We had no problem BUT the menu for each cruise was the same as well as the shows so no excitement! Of course, enough on the menu not to repeat. Would we do it again??? Probably but the change over day is boring unless you leave the ship and you do have to do the life boat drill each time - by our third cruise on b2b2b I could have done a better job than the staff who do it every week (probably why very little enthusiasm)