B2B doubts

[edunava]

Good morning from Barcelona.

First of all, I apologize for my sorry English. I have some very basic notions of the language and I read and write here with the help of my "friend" the google translator.

On August 30th (if this coronavirus nightmare is over) we will board the Intinity for our first B2B cruise. We are experienced cruise passengers but this will be the first time that we do two consecutive cruises and we would like to know what the process is like on the day the first cruise ends and the second begins:

- We stayed in the same cabin on both cruises. Will the cabin, clothes and suitcases have to be completely vacated ???

- We will have different cards for the two cruises, but do we have to leave the ship and re-enter with the new card ???

 

Well, if someone can explain to us how all this works, we will be very grateful.

 

Best regards.

Edu & Montse.

[FlorenceItaly]

All your belongings will stay in place since you are in the same cabin.  You will have different cards for the two cruises.  Your account will be closed out after the first cruise, and a new card will be issued for the second.  You will receive instructions in your cabin letting you know the b2b procedure of the next morning.

[edunava]

15 minutes ago, FlorenceItaly said:

All your belongings will stay in place since you are in the same cabin.  You will have different cards for the two cruises.  Your account will be closed out after the first cruise, and a new card will be issued for the second.  You will receive instructions in your cabin letting you know the b2b procedure of the next morning.

 

 

Thank you very much for your clarifications.

[barbette165]

As you will be on a European cruise you will be allowed to stay on board. It is only in the US that the authorities require the ship to be cleared of all passengers from the completed cruise before new passengers are allowed to board.

 

(Unless there is a post Covid19 change in procedure requiring an empty ship deep clean)

 

Bon dia

[edunava]

6 minutes ago, barbette165 said:

As you will be on a European cruise you will be allowed to stay on board. It is only in the US that the authorities require the ship to be cleared of all passengers from the completed cruise before new passengers are allowed to board.

 

(Unless there is a post Covid19 change in procedure requiring an empty ship deep clean)

 

Bon dia

 

That would be fantastic, thank you very much for the information.

 

Bon día.😃

[PelicanLvr]

Sometime in the middle of your first cruise you will receive a "disembarkation form" for that first cruise along with everyone else.  There will be a place on that form to check that you are remaining for the next cruise.  That is (as I remember) the first part of the procedure.

 

Near the end of the first cruise you will get the letter (referred to in the above posts) with instructions for "change-over day".  
Since there will most likely be others that will also remain for the second cruise, you will probably be instructed to meet at a set time in a lounge (I think ours was at 9:30am).  Someone from the ship staff will be there and will guide you thru the process.  They may even have your new cards for the second cruise to distribute at that meeting.  

 

It's very easy.  No worries.  

 

Best part is saying "see you tomorrow night" to the staff in the restaurant and bars you visit on the last night of cruise #1.  Everyone else is so sad to be leaving .... but not you!  

 

Really hope all is restored by the end of August and you enjoy your cruises.

 

 

[Bruin Steve]

The "process" is that you will be led down to the area where most get on and off the ship...and you will scan your first card to check out, then go over to the other scanner and scan your new card to check back in.

As a back-to-back passenger, you may have lunch in the main dining room rather than the buffet if you want.

Edited April 16, 2020 by Bruin Steve

[davekathy]

6 hours ago, edunava said:

Good morning from Barcelona.

First of all, I apologize for my sorry English. I have some very basic notions of the language and I read and write here with the help of my "friend" the google translator.

On August 30th (if this coronavirus nightmare is over) we will board the Intinity for our first B2B cruise. We are experienced cruise passengers but this will be the first time that we do two consecutive cruises and we would like to know what the process is like on the day the first cruise ends and the second begins:

- We stayed in the same cabin on both cruises. Will the cabin, clothes and suitcases have to be completely vacated ???

- We will have different cards for the two cruises, but do we have to leave the ship and re-enter with the new card ???

 

Well, if someone can explain to us how all this works, we will be very grateful.

 

Best regards.

Edu & Montse.

A day or so before the first leg of your B2B cruise ends you will receive in your stateroom a detailed letter outlining the whole TAD process, where to meet, what time and what you will need to bring with you on TAD. If yo have any non refundable OBC on the first leg spend it or you will lose it as non refundable OBCs will not transfer to the second leg. Also after the TAD process is complete you will have access to your stateroom. The fire doors will be shut not locked. You will need to open them to gain access to the hall way where your stateroom is located. Just make sure to close them behind you. 

Edited April 16, 2020 by davekathy

[In_Steerage]

The situation I'm about to describe is not that of the OP's , but I thought I'd mention it for the benefit of anyone considering doing something like this.

 

A few years ago we did B2B cruises with the first cruise, a Royal Caribbean disembarking in Ft Lauderdale, and the second cruise embarking the same day in Miami.

 

Upon contacting the on-board Crown & Anchor host and describing our situation, they made arrangements for a free connection between the two cruises.  They put us on a RC shuttle which dropped off everyone but us at Ft Lauderdale airport, then took us to the cruise terminal in Miami.

[jelayne]

In_Steerage I believe the complimentary transportation you described is no longer offered.  At least it wasn’t about 18 months ago when we inquired.

[kwokpot]

30 minutes ago, In_Steerage said:

The situation I'm about to describe is not that of the OP's , but I thought I'd mention it for the benefit of anyone considering doing something like this.

 

A few years ago we did B2B cruises with the first cruise, a Royal Caribbean disembarking in Ft Lauderdale, and the second cruise embarking the same day in Miami.

 

Upon contacting the on-board Crown & Anchor host and describing our situation, they made arrangements for a free connection between the two cruises.  They put us on a RC shuttle which dropped off everyone but us at Ft Lauderdale airport, then took us to the cruise terminal in Miami.

I'm curious how you managed to get that complimentary? Are you Pinnacle status? Basically you were given free port transfers and I don't know any situation that free port transfers are given UNLESS they are part of some travel package, which seems very, very popular for most UK travelers. Would you happen to be from the UK?

 

[edunava]

Thank you all very much for your advice and comments, they will be of great help to us.

[TeaBag]

Internet minutes will not carry over either.  You will enjoy seeing all the bags in the hall the night before the second leg starts, too!  Warning, after this you might want to do a B2B2B!

[edunava]

13 minutes ago, TeaBag said:

 Warning, after this you might want to do a B2B2B!

 

Yes, most likely. 😂

Edited April 16, 2020 by edunava

[Langley Cruisers]

1 hour ago, kwokpot said:

I'm curious how you managed to get that complimentary? Are you Pinnacle status? ....

 

Yes, very unusual indeed. In my experience here on the boards, it's been years since Royal did this. And it wasn't even a true B2B; it was a S2S (side to side) on a different ship in a different city. Imagine if they did this for everyone - wow. 😮 (Anyway - different line, not Celebrity.)

~

OP, enjoy your cruises. I sincerely hope this nightmare is over and you get to go. 👍

Edited April 16, 2020 by Langley Cruisers

[In_Steerage]

3 hours ago, kwokpot said:

I'm curious how you managed to get that complimentary? Are you Pinnacle status? Basically you were given free port transfers and I don't know any situation that free port transfers are given UNLESS they are part of some travel package, which seems very, very popular for most UK travelers. Would you happen to be from the UK?

 

No, not Pinnacle. We're Diamond / Elite, from the US.  Transfers weren't part of any travel package, and not planned for ahead of time.

 

We just schmoozed the Crown and Anchor host a bit during social hour on the first cruise, he made a phone call, and we threw him a few bucks.  We never had the occasion to attempt that again, so we probably just got lucky.  But I'm surprised to hear that it's not a typical practice.  I figured with the same parent company and port cities not too far apart, RC / Celebrity would want to accommodate brand-loyal cruisers to make a seamless transition in the middle of their cruise vacation.

[kwokpot]

15 minutes ago, In_Steerage said:

No, not Pinnacle. We're Diamond / Elite, from the US.  Transfers weren't part of any travel package, and not planned for ahead of time.

 

We just schmoozed the Crown and Anchor host a bit during social hour on the first cruise, he made a phone call, and we threw him a few bucks.  We never had the occasion to attempt that again, so we probably just got lucky.  But I'm surprised to hear that it's not a typical practice.  I figured with the same parent company and port cities not too far apart, RC / Celebrity would want to accommodate brand-loyal cruisers to make a seamless transition in the middle of their cruise vacation.

Gotcha! My husband is the King of Schmoozers. He does that regularly at the Casino with the Pit bosses and liberally tips all the dealers so EVERYONE in the casino knows who he is. Helps with getting drinks faster and multiple comped drinks in one order. Additionally making friends with the Pit bosses helps with them giving you the benefit of the doubt when rating you at the tables.

 

We also schmoozed the Captains Club Loyalty Ambassador on a TransPacific cruise on the Millenium from Vancouver to China. To make a long story short we were disembarking early at the last portstop in Japan and touring Japan on our own rather than disembarking in China. We had made Bullet Train reservations so wanted to get off as soon as possible. We made friends with the Loyalty ambassador and she was able to get us to the front of the line at the port stop - we were literally the first passengers off! Ironically though since we were not reboarding the cruiseship we had to stand at a different Passport control line. Turns out that the passport machine on the line we were at was malfunctioning, and we WERE NOT allowed to go to another Passport agent. We literally spend 30 minutes waiting for the machine to be fixed, all the while watching all the other passengers stream past us. So much for being first off the ship! In any event we made our train reservation and spend the next 7 days touring Japan via bullet train!  

Edited April 16, 2020 by kwokpot

[Orator]

I've received free transportation from ship to ship twice in Port Evergaldes. I had to take a cab within the port to transfer once and Celebrity did not offer to pay. In each case I went from one Celebrity ship to another. Once I walked from one ship to another, but they were very close.

to the OP: What ports will you be using for the B2B? 

[Essiesmom]

1 hour ago, Orator said:

I've received free transportation from ship to ship twice in Port Evergaldes. I had to take a cab within the port to transfer once and Celebrity did not offer to pay. In each case I went from one Celebrity ship to another. Once I walked from one ship to another, but they were very close.

to the OP: What ports will you be using for the B2B? 

Infinity is going from Barcelona to Lisbon (with an ON) and back to Barcelona.  So turnaround day is Lisbon.  EM

[varoo]

In the past, Celebrity and Royal Caribbean would routinely comp transfers between their ships for B2B passengers who were changing ships. 

They would even provide an overnight hotel stay, when that was necessary.

 

Many of us used their free transfers between Miami and Ft. Lauderdale.

They even comped us an overnight hotel room in London after a transatlantic cruise, with ground transfers and meal vouchers included, when we were changing from a Celebrity ship to a Royal Caribbean ship.

 

Then they discontinued the policy several years ago.

I don't remember what year that happened., but maybe someone else will.

 

[edunava]

11 hours ago, Orator said:

I've received free transportation from ship to ship twice in Port Evergaldes. I had to take a cab within the port to transfer once and Celebrity did not offer to pay. In each case I went from one Celebrity ship to another. Once I walked from one ship to another, but they were very close.

to the OP: What ports will you be using for the B2B? 

 

Indeed, as Essiesmom previously commented, the port where the B2B will be is Lisbon.

[AlohaLivin]

We’ve just decided to do an “almost” S2S although I am not sure it won’t be a giant pain (and I am trying to tell myself something positive, but...). The plan is to arrive in Miami on a Saturday and then sail from Fort Lauderdale on Sunday. We are trying to make sure we get our vacay days in and that will save another plane fare. I am just not sure how much of a scramble that will all be (hotel to port we’ve done a million times, but port to hotel from Miami to a Fort Lauderdale is a different matter, Anyone who does this kind of b2b/s2s often have any advice?

[Von & John]

11 hours ago, AlohaLivin said:

We’ve just decided to do an “almost” S2S although I am not sure it won’t be a giant pain (and I am trying to tell myself something positive, but...). The plan is to arrive in Miami on a Saturday and then sail from Fort Lauderdale on Sunday. We are trying to make sure we get our vacay days in and that will save another plane fare. I am just not sure how much of a scramble that will all be (hotel to port we’ve done a million times, but port to hotel from Miami to a Fort Lauderdale is a different matter, Anyone who does this kind of b2b/s2s often have any advice?

@AlohaLivin

We did a S2S Fort Lauderdale to Miami on the same day...

We rented a car in Fort Lauderdale - shuttle from port to Rental location.

Visited the beach, stopped & replenished some essentials, enjoyed a late lunch, dropped the car off @ the Miami Rental Location & took the shuttle to the ship for a leisurely boarding...

If we had an overnight - we'd select a location we were interested in to stay & again do the car rental...

If you are not interested in a car rental - I would imagine they have shuttle service available between the port cities (possibly supershuttle).

Either way, please enjoy the S2S & both your cruises!

[AlohaLivin]

6 hours ago, Von & John said:

@AlohaLivin

We did a S2S Fort Lauderdale to Miami on the same day...

We rented a car in Fort Lauderdale - shuttle from port to Rental location.

Visited the beach, stopped & replenished some essentials, enjoyed a late lunch, dropped the car off @ the Miami Rental Location & took the shuttle to the ship for a leisurely boarding...

If we had an overnight - we'd select a location we were interested in to stay & again do the car rental...

If you are not interested in a car rental - I would imagine they have shuttle service available between the port cities (possibly supershuttle).

Either way, please enjoy the S2S & both your cruises!

Thanks! I great idea. I so wish it was the same day, but it’s not so I need to try to focus less in the extended scrambling and more on some positives (like maybe we get some basic laundry done!).