B2B why?

[fitoldguyinspeedo]

So this is for the B2B folks and is meant to be a friendly question. not attacking or judging but my question is why? And then I'd have to ask if you've done multiple B2B's, WHY?

 

My wife and I are travelers. We've traveled the world. We love to fly someplace new and exciting each time and be immersed in the local culture. Very rarely do we do touristy things. We've been lucky enough to see and do things that most people only dream about. A true blessing.

 

We only cruise once about every 5 or 6 years. From the number of cruises most folks on here show in their signatures that they have completed, how many times can you see the Caribbean? So, do these B2B cruises go other places than the Caribbean?

 

If it's a matter of liking to be on a ship for that long, I've seen cruises that are anywhere from 10 days to 64 days that travel the world.

 

Just wondering.

[californiatripman]

Getting ready to do b2b 15 day Hawaii, 13 day Mexican riviera, both journey cruises so yes others besides Caribbean. Also always completely different activities you can do if you repeat a destination.

[Essiesmom]

Did my first B2B, 5+5 because I wanted to cruise more than 5 days. Have done others because they were bargains. Have done them with different itineraries. I do them to relax. I too have traveled the world to places hard to get to, but age and physical limitations no longer allows me to do that. EM

[kona_wahine]

We are forgoing our annual Hawaii trip to do a b2b. First reason is the ship goes to several ports we haven't been to. One leg has Aruba, bucket list, the other leg has grand Cayman, bucket list. The other is only one set of airfare from Oregon to Florida. I look at it like a two week cruise, since the two legs go to completely different areas. I wouldn't if it was the same ports.

[kayhold]

I am in Atlanta so I am close to many ports, so this isn't an issue for me but when people are spending a grand or 2 on airfare, I can see doing a b2b to maximize shiptime vs travel fees.

[dewyandkitt]

So this is for the B2B folks and is meant to be a friendly question. not attacking or judging but my question is why? And then I'd have to ask if you've done multiple B2B's, WHY?

 

My wife and I are travelers. We've traveled the world. We love to fly someplace new and exciting each time and be immersed in the local culture. Very rarely do we do touristy things. We've been lucky enough to see and do things that most people only dream about. A true blessing.

 

We only cruise once about every 5 or 6 years. From the number of cruises most folks on here show in their signatures that they have completed, how many times can you see the Caribbean? So, do these B2B cruises go other places than the Caribbean?

 

If it's a matter of liking to be on a ship for that long, I've seen cruises that are anywhere from 10 days to 64 days that travel the world.

 

Just wondering.

 

We're getting ready to do our first B2B next year on the Magic - so this will be in the Caribbean. I don't have much interest in doing a B2B that goes to the exact same places like some people do. Luckily ours only has one repeat port, and it's a port we've never been to before. Typically we do 7 day cruises. Our upcoming cruise this year is a 10 Day on the Vista in the Med, and we wanted to try a 14 day - something a little longer. We like the idea of getting a taste of each culture we visit, and if we really want to immerse, we would consider flying in and staying longer. This will be a trial for us to see if we like 14 days on a ship. We don't have a long list of cruises, but our frequency seems to be increasing. We started out 4-5 yrs between cruises, and increased to one this year and our B2B next year.

[TrqoisWtrs]

Back in the old days, you needed 10 cruises to reach Platinum. My first back to back gave me cruises 9 and 10. One was 4 days, the other was 3, and I only had to take a week off of work. First itinerary did Western carib and second did Eastern. So a few reasons to book that B2B. :)

 

I haven't done a second one yet, but would not hesitate to do so if the chance arose. Love that feeling of knowing everyone is getting off, but I get to stay on for another cruise! :)

[DaytonCruiser]

I like to spend a week or two in Europe, book the last Mediterranean/European cruise then the Transatlantic. It give me great variety of ports and just one long flight, plus lots of 25 hour days :-)

Edited January 8, 2016 by DaytonCruiser

[Davey Wavey]

So this is for the B2B folks and is meant to be a friendly question. not attacking or judging but my question is why?

 

Because I can. :D

[Jana60]

So this is for the B2B folks and is meant to be a friendly question. not attacking or judging but my question is why? And then I'd have to ask if you've done multiple B2B's, WHY?

 

My wife and I are travelers. We've traveled the world. We love to fly someplace new and exciting each time and be immersed in the local culture. Very rarely do we do touristy things. We've been lucky enough to see and do things that most people only dream about. A true blessing.

 

We only cruise once about every 5 or 6 years. From the number of cruises most folks on here show in their signatures that they have completed, how many times can you see the Caribbean? So, do these B2B cruises go other places than the Caribbean?

 

If it's a matter of liking to be on a ship for that long, I've seen cruises that are anywhere from 10 days to 64 days that travel the world.

 

Just wondering.

 

If you wanted a vacation home on the ocean in the Caribbean it would probably cost you $500,000 and would not include your food and entertainment. Unless you are retired and able to stay in the Caribbean full time you would be spending that amount for a home you used maybe four to six weeks out of the year max. I jokingly refer to Carnival cruise ships as my winter home because I take frequent cruises during the offseason. I may spend several thousand dollars per year cruising the Caribbean enjoying the ocean and island ports I have visited many times but this is much less money than I would spend even paying for my dinners and airfare if I had a winter home in the Caribbean. I know people who have timeshares in the Caribbean and they spend more for their maintenance fees, and food for a one week stay than I spend for a week long Caribbean cruise. Further I have no long term commitment is a timeshare would entail.

[tkportersat]

I would love to do a B2B someday...for now work (and the Hubby) will not allow :(

[Micahs Grandad]

Interesting but think if we took two weeks would jump off first ship and get onto a second one so as to see different shows and entertainers.

[SHayesShip]

My cruises completed encompass less than a third of my overall total cruises. However, since I have moved to Florida about 6 years ago I cruise out of Florida almost exclusively and don't have airfare. I also cruise mostly for the ship and less for the destination anymore.

With that said I have done only 2 btb that were both a total of 14 days each. 7 Days Eastern/7 Days Western but they were on two different cruise lines and the itineraries overlapped some but were different enough to make it interesting.

Edited January 8, 2016 by SHayesShip

[crabbdock]

I have not done a b2b yet, but I am researching it. I want to be on a ship for 2 weeks and a B2B on Carnival is the only way I can afford it.. I cruise to be on the ocean, relax, have good food, and play when I want to. So I don't really care what the ports are if the price is right..I hope to be able to afford a transatlantic or Hawaiian cruise some day, till then, Im happy with planning a B2B in the Caribbean...

[BARBARA J.W.]

So this is for the B2B folks and is meant to be a friendly question. not attacking or judging but my question is why? And then I'd have to ask if you've done multiple B2B's, WHY?

 

 

I am a BTB Cruiser............:)

Also afew BTBTB.................

 

I enjoy being on the Ship............

[tandemcruzr]

All of our B2Bs (5 now with more booked), each leg has been to different ports.

[mediccruzin]

The first leg of our back to back is to see the port and do things. The second leg is to just relax. I work 24/72 and only get 9 days a year off. So if I take 4 shifts off that gives me slightly more than 14 days. I reserve the rest of my time off for BBQ cook offs.

[GatorGirl57]

Many ships sail two different itineraries (like eastern then western). Also, many B2Bs are repositioning cruises. If I wasn't working, I would have gladly hopped on the Legend when it left Tampa, went through the Panama Canal, did Hawaii, and then Australia in a B2B2B. That sounds awesome.

[wickedhangover]

I find cruises very relaxing. So we used to drive down to Miami, as I also find driving very relaxing and then go on a cruise. But eventually we figured why do all that driving and only go away for 7-8 days on a cruise? So we started driving down and doing B2B cruises.

 

I can't imagine B2B2B, as it stands in a few days we go out for 21 days on B2B out of Baltimore which is almost like B2B2B.

 

When I weighed up traveling to Aruba, St Maarten or some other island and staying there for a week or two to a cruise, two main factors came into play. First is cost. I could go down a path of renting a condo or something with a kitchen and doing a lot of cooking but going out for lunch and dinner each day can eat up a lot of money. All inclusives like Sandals are intriguing but we buy a lot of day passes to those resorts and I can't imagine being there for 3 meals a day for 1-2 weeks, or even going outside of the place from time to time to change the scenery seems like a hassle.

 

Second is I like moving around. Going on 1 cruise means seeing 2-3 islands but B2B I would likely see 6-8 islands. So if there's some bad weather and I miss 2 of the stop, I still got to go to 4 other islands. But one seven day cruise could have so much rain that I miss everything. I've had several friends buy a week at Sandals on Antigua only to hear that it rained non-stop the first 4 days.

[FloridaGram]

Our first B2B was booked onboard because we enjoyed the first cruise so much. We had waiters we adored and we enjoyed the piano bar so we stayed for the second week. They always go to the different itineraries and we had not been to the western in a long time so we did it!

 

We liked that so much we came home and booked again for another back to back in 3 weeks on the same ship! They were going to totally different places and it felt like going home! (It was DH first year retired so we had the time)

 

We just like cruising and there are so many things to do on the ship we did different stuff. Once you have seen the shows there is always the comedy club or movies or musicians or karaoke that is different each week. We like that we know how much it is going to cost up front and it is up to us how much we spend over that cost. We would love to travel the way the OP poster does but it really is not in our budget. Cruising is just a great option for us and we love the the islands. We usually go to to the beach while there, and although we live in FL none are as beautiful as the ones in the Caribbean.

[cruising meemee]

Because I hate getting off the ship after 7 days! We are doing our first

B2B in two weeks--can't come soon enough!!

[KPfromCT]

So this is for the B2B folks and is meant to be a friendly question. not attacking or judging but my question is why? And then I'd have to ask if you've done multiple B2B's, WHY?

 

My wife and I are travelers. We've traveled the world. We love to fly someplace new and exciting each time and be immersed in the local culture. Very rarely do we do touristy things. We've been lucky enough to see and do things that most people only dream about. A true blessing.

 

We only cruise once about every 5 or 6 years. From the number of cruises most folks on here show in their signatures that they have completed, how many times can you see the Caribbean? So, do these B2B cruises go other places than the Caribbean?

 

If it's a matter of liking to be on a ship for that long, I've seen cruises that are anywhere from 10 days to 64 days that travel the world.

 

Just wondering.

 

I mean absolutely NO disrespect in my reply.

I have NO desire to travel all over the world. Yes, there are a handful of places I would like to see, ie; Hawaii, Tahiti, Bora Bora. No desire to do Europe, etc. With that being said, I am deathly afraid of flying, so that doesn't help things. I don't think I could manage anything more than 6 hours.

 

I am a Caribbean girl. I love beaches and turquoise waters.

I LOVE being on a ship.

Hey, it's not for everybody, and that's fine.

But for this girl, it's what I LOVE.:D:D

[nunuc2000]

Being in land-locked Canada, we have quite a ways to travel anywhere on vacation, be it cruises or land vacations, so we make the most of those long flights whenever possible.

 

B2B cruises are wonderful for maximizing our time... and one of the best feelings is wandering the ship on the last night of the first leg (or first two legs sometimes! :p) and seeing all that luggage in the corridors and knowing we don't have to pack for at least another week or two!! :D

 

We usually try for a B2B or B2B2B with varying itineraries so that we can mix it up, plus we usually have some friends and family join us on one leg, and a different group of friends and family join us on the next leg... it's fabulous!! And if it is a similar itinerary, then we can see and do different things on the repeat leg that we didn't get to do no the first leg - it's the best of everything in our minds. :)

 

Even on our upcoming Hawaii land trip in March, it's like a B2B in that we're on Oahu for one week, the Maui for another week.

 

Celine

Edited January 8, 2016 by nunuc2000

[Tapi]

So, do these B2B cruises go other places than the Caribbean?

 

 

Yes, there's the more traditional B2B containing two different regions of the Caribbean, but there are many others. For example, a world cruise is a B2B containing several segments. It can also be a European cruise followed by a Transatlantic crossing, etc, or a Mediterranean cruise covering the Eastern and Western, etc.

 

Also, keep in mind that for many, cruising is not the only way to travel. For example, for every cruise that you see in my signature, I take on average 5-6 other land vacations domestically and internationally. But to answer your question more specifically, it all boils down to personal choice and budget. Some people may choose to cruise over and over to the Caribbean because it's where they want to go on vacation. Some may choose a Caribbean cruise because how accessible and affordable they are. Others may choose it simply because it's what they are comfortable with.

 

For us, cruising has evolved. We would take Caribbean cruises primarily because of the simplicity of it and because we genuinely enjoy the region, but we are now more focused on cruising, not only to new destinations but also new cruise lines.

 

Our last cruise was aboard Princess and we met a lovely retired couple from Canada who had literally cruised all over the world. To repeat their words, what better way to see the world than in the comfort of a cruise ship? They gave me something to look forward to when I get older. [emoji3]

[Taters]

First off, I live in Fairbanks, Alaska, and traveling anywhere to get on a ship is expensive. So, once I am there, I take as many cruise days as I can get my hands on before I fly back home.

 

Secondly, I love to cruise and love being a tourist. I do NOT want to immurse myself in the local culture. I like to see the highlights, have some nice, local cuisine and get the heck out and onto the next place.

 

Third, I love calling the ship "home" after a long day in port. I like traveling from place to place and always coming back to sleep in the same bed at night, my toothbrush always in the same spot.

 

And fourth, I do love those lazy, hazy days at sea. This, IMHO, is the best thing on the earth. I love the motion of the ocean, leisurely mornings with coffee on my balcony, swimming in the afternoon and kicking my heals up at night.

 

Back to back cruising is great. I try to book longer cruises, though, because I do not care for the muster drills. Poor me!

Edited January 8, 2016 by Taters