Back 2 Back Questions

[teach/2/cruise]

How does B2B cruises work?  Do you have to repack and get off the ship?  Or do you have to get off and check in again?  Can you have the same cabin?    We are thinking of doing this with my in-laws but concerned it might be to much for them if you have to get off and on again.  Will be thankful with any help or suggestions.

[helen haywood]

Depends on what port the ship sails from.  If you are sailing the Caribbean from Florida you will have to get off the ship (escorted by a staff member along with all the other B2Bers) and go through Immigration.  New sea pass cards will be issued.  This will be after the regular passengers have debarked....generally around 9:30ish.  If you book the same cabin then you still have to get off and back on but of course no packing required.  If you have a different cabin for the second leg the procedure may differ from cruiseline to cruiseline.  Best to ask on the specific boards of that line.  I can say that on Celebrity all you need to pack is your toiletries and clothes in drawers.  Your steward will transport your luggage and your hanging clothes to the new cabin.

[paul929207]

You may want to ask this in the section for your cruise line. Some of the answers above are incorrect for Princess.

[cb at sea]

If you can get the same cabin for both legs, you simply are escorted off (your stuff remains in your cabin), then you get a new room key for the next leg, and you're back on the ship!  If you have different cabins for the 2 legs, the cabin attendant will move your stuff to the new cabin for you.  You will, of course have to pack up your loose items, but the bags and hanging clothes will be moved for you.

[ducklite]

This is ENTIRELY dependent on the cruise line and port.

 

We did a back to back on Windstar and didn't have to do any of the above mentioned things.  We left our stuff where it was in our cabin--and got off the ship in Venice for a day of sightseeing.  When we got back on at our leisure about 90 minutes before we left port,  our ID/room key let us back on with no problem.  Later that day we went to reception to update our folio and drop off our passports.  

Edited June 21, 2019 by ducklite

[CruiseDigits]

What cruise line and itineraries?  As others have mentioned it totally depends.  For example you could have a sailing where the cruise line sells two consecutive segements as different 7 day cruises and they also sell the same combined segment as one 14 day cruise.

[George C]

We did back to back earlier this year on celebrity could not get same cabin but moved to suite next door , we were told to pack, but leave anything hanging in closet alone. We were walked off about 945 and in 20 mins we were able to move to our new suite. 

[MBP&O2/O]

I booked a B2B a few months ago ... I spoke to my TA and told them what I wanted. They came back to me with a list of available cabins that were free for both cruises. They also gave opinions on the pros and cons of each in respect of location etc.

The thought of having to change cabins mid way through the cruise never even crossed my mind. 

Had a cabin change been required then I would have seriously considered my options.

[Reina del Mar]

We cruised B2B and needed to change cabins to be close to family. Told to pack everything that wasn't hanging. Did the walk around with cruise staff to enable zero count.  Steward was meant to be moving everything to new cabin.

 

I know stewards are busy on turnaround day but our things weren't moved as early as we would have liked. Passengers for 2nd cruise started embarking. We didn't want other s to walk in and find our possessions in their cabin, so we moved everything ourselves. New steward was furious with first steward and went to give him what for!

 

Found the experience pretty stressful. Have another B2B booked but no cabin change.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We have done lots and lots of back-to-back cruises.  Love them.  In fact our first cruise(s) was a back-to-back.

 

But we planned everything far enough in advance that we had the same cabin for both segments.  Didn't have to worry about changing cabins except for 1 time when we were moved from a Neptune Suite to the Pinnacle Suite on HAL.

 

Some cruise lines issue new ID cards for the second segment while others program their ID cards to cover both segments.  

 

Depending on where you are embarking your cruise, depends on whether you have to get off the ship and go through immigration and the ship has yo go down to zero count.

 

OP -- it would be nice if you could have given us more information as to the cruise line and embarkation you will be sailing so that we could help you more.

 

 

[davekathy]

On 6/21/2019 at 6:01 AM, teach/2/cruise said:

How does B2B cruises work?  Do you have to repack and get off the ship?  Or do you have to get off and check in again?  Can you have the same cabin?    We are thinking of doing this with my in-laws but concerned it might be to much for them if you have to get off and on again.  Will be thankful with any help or suggestions.

Book early to ensure you get the same cabin. A day or so prior to the last day of the first leg you will receive a TAD letter giving you all the details of the TAD process. What to bring, where and what time to meet. The TAD process won't start until all the non consecutive cruisers are off the ship.  On Celebrity and RC we have always received a consecutive cruises lunch in the MDR on TAD. If you don't plan on getting off the ship after the TAD process you can go back to your cabin at anytime. The fire doors will be closed (not locked). You are allowed to open them to get to your cabin. It's nice having very few cruisers on the ship for a couple of hours. The whole TAD process is well handled by the cruise staff.

[ducklite]

49 minutes ago, davekathy said:

Book early to ensure you get the same cabin. A day or so prior to the last day of the first leg you will receive a TAD letter giving you all the details of the TAD process. What to bring, where and what time to meet. The TAD process won't start until all the non consecutive cruisers are off the ship.  On Celebrity and RC we have always received a consecutive cruises lunch in the MDR on TAD. If you don't plan on getting off the ship after the TAD process you can go back to your cabin at anytime. The fire doors will be closed (not locked). You are allowed to open them to get to your cabin. It's nice having very few cruisers on the ship for a couple of hours. The whole TAD process is well handled by the cruise staff.

Again, this is specific to one cruise line, not all.

[davekathy]

2 hours ago, ducklite said:

Again, this is specific to one cruise line, not all.

No kidding! That's exactly why I mentioned RC and Celebrity in my post . As the OP didn't mention what cruise line they were cruising with. Now the OP knows a little (not everything as we all know TAD procedures can be different from ship to ship, and for different embarkation ports) about RC's and Celebrity's TAD procedure for B2B cruises. 

Edited June 22, 2019 by davekathy

[ducklite]

33 minutes ago, davekathy said:

No kidding! That's exactly why I mentioned RC and Celebrity in my post . As the OP didn't mention what cruise line they were cruising with. Now the OP knows a little (not everything as we all know TAD procedures can be different from ship to ship, and for different embarkation ports) about RC's and Celebrity's TAD procedure for B2B cruises. 

But before that you also said you'd get the TAD a few days before--implying that would happen on any line.  Not so.

[davekathy]

1 hour ago, ducklite said:

But before that you also said you'd get the TAD a few days before--implying that would happen on any line.  Not so.

 Just posting our experiences with RC and Celebrity. So. 

Edited June 22, 2019 by davekathy

[teach/2/cruise]

Thank you for all of the responses and suggestions.  I am sorry that I am vague at what cruise line we might be traveling.  I can say it is going to be 1 of 3.  NCL, RCCL, or Celebrity.   We are at the beginning stage of planning ( my in-laws won't give me a straight answer of when and where.  LOL)

I thought getting some insight on B2B would help with the planning and hopefully can ease the in-laws minds/stress level when speaking to them.

Thanks again for all of your help.

[davekathy]

3 hours ago, teach/2/cruise said:

Thank you for all of the responses and suggestions.  I am sorry that I am vague at what cruise line we might be traveling.  I can say it is going to be 1 of 3.  NCL, RCCL, or Celebrity.   We are at the beginning stage of planning ( my in-laws won't give me a straight answer of when and where.  LOL)

I thought getting some insight on B2B would help with the planning and hopefully can ease the in-laws minds/stress level when speaking to them.

Thanks again for all of your help.

If you decide to do a B2B cruise with Celebrity, request from Celebrity their B2B discount. It's a $50.00 discount (not a OBC) for each 7 day leg of your B2B cruise and it's per stateroom, not per person. Royal Caribbean doesn't offer a B2B discount. Can't speak for NCL as we've never cruised with them. No matter the cruise line you elect to cruise with I highly recommend you/they get the same stateroom for both legs of the B2B cruise. No need to unpack, repack and unpack again. 

Edited June 23, 2019 by davekathy

[sail7seas]

On 6/21/2019 at 12:08 PM, ducklite said:

This is ENTIRELY dependent on the cruise line and port.

 

We did a back to back on Windstar and didn't have to do any of the above mentioned things.  We left our stuff where it was in our cabin--and got off the ship in Venice for a day of sightseeing.  When we got back on at our leisure about 90 minutes before we left port,  our ID/room key let us back on with no problem.  Later that day we went to reception to update our folio and drop off our passports.  

 

 

the get off the  applies only to U.S.  ports. You 'mwy; get off the ship in other ports bu mut inU.S. port.

 You  will be advised  what yhou must do on

'turn around

 

I just did- b to b in May on HAL .Our turnaround was in Montreal. I stayed on the ship. cleared Canada Immigration in a public room on the ship.  I had the same cabin so the rest of my day was free to do as I  wished

 

 

 

years ago, we had to do a second lifeboat drill but that is no longer required.

 

 

 

 

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