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Has anyone tried back to back cruising?


deer stone
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1 hour ago, Husky61 said:

We did one B2B cruise out of Fort lauderdale and would definitely not do it again.  We returned to FL after 7 days and had to go through customs and waste our time sitting in the port all day.

 

Not for us but others seem to like it.

That sounds a bit odd to me.  Many times on a B2B you are off the ship for a very short period of time. No wasted time really.   I took a b2b a few years ago and once we were cleared we went right back on the ship........it was lovely being on board with so few guests (other back to backers).😃  I mean, the ship

is in port of course, but you can come and go as you please until the next sailing begins.

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I would agree with everyone else saying that saving on flights is the big bonus of sailing on consecutive cruises in addition to seeing a lot more ports.

 

I went on a back to back cruise with Norwegian in December and loved it. We went from Florida to Chile, and then Chile to Argentina. The day between cruises was super easy too as we had members of our travel group get off the boat (they had a separate line for back to back cruisers getting on and off) and people stay on the boat (they had a special reception and the ship to themselves).

 

I actually created a personal blog post What to Expect: Back-to-Back Cruising with tips I found were useful for when I go on the these back to back cruises. Feel free to check it out!

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47 minutes ago, elimimzy13 said:

I would agree with everyone else saying that saving on flights is the big bonus of sailing on consecutive cruises in addition to seeing a lot more ports.

 

I went on a back to back cruise with Norwegian in December and loved it. We went from Florida to Chile, and then Chile to Argentina. The day between cruises was super easy too as we had members of our travel group get off the boat (they had a separate line for back to back cruisers getting on and off) and people stay on the boat (they had a special reception and the ship to themselves).

 

I actually created a personal blog post What to Expect: Back-to-Back Cruising with tips I found were useful for when I go on the these back to back cruises. Feel free to check it out!

Good tips.

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2 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

No, you went through immigration. And the process typically takes less than an hour. Or you could have gone on an excursion, or disembarked on your own, and could have gone wherever you wished. Worst case, you should have been able to reboard when general boarding resumed.

You are correct, we went through immigration, my error in what I wrote.

 

But you seem to not understand that we didn't like the B2B, so why tell me all the things I could have done, which I already knew.  It wasn't my first cruise.  So that you will understand, "we did not like the B2B" is that clear enough for you?🙄

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1 hour ago, Lois R said:

That sounds a bit odd to me.  Many times on a B2B you are off the ship for a very short period of time. No wasted time really.   I took a b2b a few years ago and once we were cleared we went right back on the ship........it was lovely being on board with so few guests (other back to backers).😃  I mean, the ship

is in port of course, but you can come and go as you please until the next sailing begins.

Why is it odd that we don't like a B2B cruise?  Maybe you like it, we don't!

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I have, and I would again if the itineraries required it and I couldn't get the single, longer cruise that I wanted.  I would prefer to do it in one voyage but, for instance, I just reserved a Caribbean B2B, one out to San Juan for 7 days, and the other back from San Juan for 7 days.  I would have preferred a 14 day round trip, but they chose to make it two 7 day voyages......the ports are not the same, but I don't really care because I might not get off the ship except in Puerto Rico anyway 

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4 minutes ago, Husky61 said:

You are correct, we went through immigration, my error in what I wrote.

 

But you seem to not understand that we didn't like the B2B, so why tell me all the things I could have done, which I already knew.  It wasn't my first cruise.  So that you will understand, "we did not like the B2B" is that clear enough for you?🙄

Perhaps because the way you presented your case as not liking B2Bs was due to having to "waste your time sitting in port all day", which one doesn't have to do. There are options.

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10 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

Perhaps because the way you presented your case as not liking B2Bs was due to having to "waste your time sitting in port all day", which one doesn't have to do. There are options.

Of course, but the ship is pretty much closed down much of the day, so there is neither the feeling of a sea day or of  a port call.  While you can go ashore for a while, it will be the same port you boarded from and will debark at.     I do see I at as more of a wasted day than would be the middle day of a longer itinerary.

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23 minutes ago, Husky61 said:

Why is it odd that we don't like a B2B cruise?  Maybe you like it, we don't!

Hi, I wasn't saying you not liking it was odd.......I meant the part of being in port all day. I thought you meant you sat 

in the terminal for 8 hours.  If I misunderstood, my apology.

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19 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

Perhaps because the way you presented your case as not liking B2Bs was due to having to "waste your time sitting in port all day", which one doesn't have to do. There are options.

Don't you think that I know what options are available?  Maybe I don't are for those options like you must?  And why do you care that I don't like B2B cruises?

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3 minutes ago, Lois R said:

Hi, I wasn't saying you not liking it was odd.......I meant the part of being in port all day. I thought you meant you sat 

in the terminal for 8 hours.  If I misunderstood, my apology.

Okay.☺️

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We have done B2B  that  do not return to the embarkation port on the 1st segment so  good to go off & explore

Some people just do not like getting off in some ports & that is OK also

Sometimes you cannot get a longer itinerary to see all the ports you want

 If you only sail from Florida  that might  be an issue

YMMV

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We've done quite a few b2b cruises of various lengths, 7x7, 10x11, 9x12, with varying amounts of time spent in the  disembarkaton/reembarkation process.  You usually have to wait somewhere on the ship with the others who are doing a b2b.  Sometimes you have to physically get off the ship and sometimes you don't.  If we're not getting off to do an excursion or go shopping, we have our phones, water & books to pass the time.

 

Mr Chew LOVES hanging over the side and watching the luggage/trash/etc go off, and watching supplies coming on for the next cruise.  If they'd let him down there to help with any of that, he'd do it for free, and even do the really "grunt" work!

 

You usually have full access to your cabin at any time, you can usually get a snack or a (non-alcoholic) drink somewhere and there are plenty of lounge chairs available on the pool deck, in the sun & in the shade.  

 

We call those "turn around" days, and we find them very  relaxing.

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We did our first B2B  end of last year   two 13 nights cruises  same itinerary.... it was very relaxing did different thing in each of the ports...... Main reason was to see if we would like a longer cruise...... we decided 20 days would be ideal for us      26 nights we were ready to go home .....

 

Overall enjoyed the experience and would do it again...

 

yes we were in the same cabin..

 

Cheers Don   

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15 hours ago, deer stone said:

I have been on a couple cruises but one of my friends recommended trying back to back cruising... what are the benefits to this way of cruising? She got back from two back to back Norwegian Cruise Line cruises and said she would do it again in a heartbeat.

A friend and his wife have been doing back to back cruises on Princess ships every January to the Caribbean,They only have to unpack once .

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B2Bs are our preferred way to cruise when we can't find a single cruise that has the length and itinerary we'd like.  So far the longest was 35 days total.

 

Sometimes we've had the same cabin; sometimes we've had to change. But the stewards make the process very easy.

 

As for turn around day- if it's a Florida port, we just stay on board except for the short time it takes to go through Immigration.  Relax on deck, say goodbye to the friends we made on the last cruise, and watch the newbies come on board. If it's a foreign port, we are usually off the ship and exploring until sometime in the afternoon.

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All this time I was thinking of B2B in terms or repeating the same itinerary.  Clearly now I understand that isn't necessarily the case.  But I guess B2B still means at least the same ship.   Anyway, I haven't done a B2B but think I would if the itineraries and timing were appealing.   

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We choose to do an Asian B2B for our 50th wedding anniversary. A 14-N from Yokohama to Hong Kong and another 14-N from Hong Kong to Singapore.  Absolutely no hassle with the turn-around day; could get on and off at whatever time we wished. And it game us another day for excursions in Hong Kong. At our ages, we knew we would never be going back to Asia - or wish to take such long flights ever again. So we suffered through the flights for a 4-week cruise of a life time - at least for our life time!

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Only done B2B once, on Freedom of the Seas, out of Port Canaveral. First week was Western Caribbean, then back to Port Canaveral, then Eastern Caribbean for the second week. We kept the same stateroom. On turnround day we took a trip to Kennedy Space Centre. We were given our Seapass cards before setting off, so just breezed back on board on arrival back at the terminal.  Would do it again, in an instant, if weeks 1 and 2 were different itineraries.

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10 hours ago, ldubs said:

All this time I was thinking of B2B in terms or repeating the same itinerary.  Clearly now I understand that isn't necessarily the case.  But I guess B2B still means at least the same ship.   Anyway, I haven't done a B2B but think I would if the itineraries and timing were appealing.   

Yes, B2B is always on the same ship. Also a B2B cruise is two different cruises. At the end of the first leg you account is closed out, If you have a non refundable OBC you lose it if you don't use it. Refundable OBCs are credited back to you and not transferred to the second leg. You receive a new Sea Pass card for the second leg. The whole process for B2B cruising is easy and well organized (at least on all our B2B cruises). You receive a letter in your stateroom a day or two before TAD telling you where to meet, what time to meet and what to bring with you. You also are invited to a consecutive cruisers lunch in the MDR on TAD or your free to leave the ship to do your own thing instead of staying on board.  

Edited by davekathy
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31 minutes ago, davekathy said:

At the end of the first leg you account is closed out, If you have a non refundable OBC you lose it if you don't use it.

depends on the cruise line

 Ours is carried over until the last night  onboard

Always check with your cruise line once onboard  so you do not lose the  OBC

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42 minutes ago, davekathy said:

Yes, B2B is always on the same ship. Also a B2B cruise is two different cruises. At the end of the first leg you account is closed out, If you have a non refundable OBC you lose it if you don't use it. Refundable OBCs are credited back to you and not transferred to the second leg. You receive a new Sea Pass card for the second leg. The whole process for B2B cruising is easy and well organized (at least on all our B2B cruises). You receive a letter in your stateroom a day or two before TAD telling you where to meet, what time to meet and what to bring with you. You also are invited to a consecutive cruisers lunch in the MDR on TAD or your free to leave the ship to do your own thing instead of staying on board.  

Good morning, wouldn't that depend on the cruise line? (the lunch you are referring to).

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4 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

depends on the cruise line

 Ours is carried over until the last night  onboard

Always check with your cruise line once onboard  so you do not lose the  OBC

Of the second leg from the first leg? Not on Celebrity, RC or Princess. 

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3 minutes ago, Lois R said:

Good morning, wouldn't that depend on the cruise line? (the lunch you are referring to).

On Celebrity and RC there is a TAD (first day of the second leg) lunch for all consecutive cruisers in the MDR.  Your option to attend or not. 

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14 minutes ago, davekathy said:

Of the second leg from the first leg? Not on Celebrity, RC or Princess. 

As I said  some cruise lines  are different   so best to check  when onboard

 

On Oceania  it is carried forward 

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