Jewel Back-to-Back Alaskan Cruises

[Yo Adrienne]

DH and I are seriously considering booking back-to-back Alaskan cruises on the Jewel in September 2022...Vancouver to Seward/Seward to Vancouver.  (This is assuming that cruising resumes by then--which, of course, we hope will be the case.)  We would be staying in the same cabin for both cruises. 

 

We've never done B2B cruising before, so we're looking for some info about what we can expect when we arrive in Seward.  (Although there's an Alaska cruise forum, I know that each cruise line handles things differently, so am only looking for info on how NCL does this.) 

 

Specifically: 

 

Do we stay on the ship...or do we need to get off the ship...?  If we disembark, how and when can get on again...?  Do we leave our luggage in our cabin or take it with us at the end of the first cruise, and then have to recheck it for the second cruise...?  If we do have to disembark, where can we wait till we can reboard...?  How long a gap is there between when we would need to disembark and then reboard...?  Do we get separate bills (one for each individual cruise) or one total bill at the end of both...?  

 

I'm sure we'll have more questions as we try to make our decision, but would love to hear details from folks who've done this B2B in Alaska previously. 

 

Thanks in advance...

[MeHeartCruising]

On pre-Covid NCL B2Bs you generally are assembled with other B2Bers on turnaround morning and processed as a group.   You usually are taken off the ship, they scan your old card OFF the first cruise and then very quickly escort you back ON the ship using your new card.  The new cards will be left in your cabin the night before or given to you as a group the morning of turnaround.  The process details will be described in a letter left in your cabin on the last night or 2 of your first cruise. 

If you wish to sightsee between cruises, they will tell you how to leave the ship and return without having to go back thru the full check in process. 
 

if you’ve booked the same cabin for both cruises, you don’t need to do anything with your possessions.  If you’re in different cabins, you work with your cabin steward, who will move your possessions for you to the new cabin.  Usually they don’t ask you to remove items from hangers when moving, but I prefer to put my clothes back in the suitcases and just have them relocate the bags. 
 

Your 2 cruises are billed as 2 cruises.  So your first bill will be closed out and settled and a new bill started for the second.  Nothing carries over from cruise 1 to cruise 2. 
 

Make certain that an NCL agent has linked your 2 cruises in their computer as a B2B as soon as you have made the reservations.  And then, once on board after a day or 2 of your first cruise, stop by guest services and make certain the ship has you listed as staying onboard for the next cruise.  This ensures you’re properly processed on turnaround day. 
 

B2Bs are fun!

Edited April 27, 2021 by MeHeartCruising

[HowardK]

Thanks for posting this- I will be following this as by the time I can cruise again I was thinking of a B2B to Alaska given it would be cross country for me. 

Is it better to book the same cabin in advance for both weeks or is it not much of an issue come time? 

When they escort the people in between do they clear customs again? I assume you should have your passport with you anyway ( in addition I got a passport card as backup)

[MeHeartCruising]

2 minutes ago, HowardK said:

Thanks for posting this- I will be following this as by the time I can cruise again I was thinking of a B2B to Alaska given it would be cross country for me. 

Is it better to book the same cabin in advance for both weeks or is it not much of an issue come time? 

When they escort the people in between do they clear customs again? I assume you should have your passport with you anyway ( in addition I got a passport card as backup)

Most people would book the same cabin from the start because as the cruises fill up, you may not find the same cabin available on both cruises later on.  For me, it’s not a big deal to move, so I book whenever I’m ready and take what I can get.  
 

There will be some form of immigration clearance, although it’s often not a big deal.  They know who you are in advance.  I don’t recall if you have to show passports or not, but I would plan for it.  They will let you know in advance, I’m sure. 

[julig22]

I have seen some posts speculating that staying in the same cabin might not be allowed, due to cleaning protocols.  So hard to actually say what will happen. 

[Yo Adrienne]

2 hours ago, MeHeartCruising said:

On pre-Covid NCL B2Bs you generally are assembled with other B2Bers on turnaround morning and processed as a group.   You usually are taken off the ship, they scan your old card OFF the first cruise and then very quickly escort you back ON the ship using your new card.  The new cards will be left in your cabin the night before or given to you as a group the morning of turnaround.  The process details will be described in a letter left in your cabin on the last night or 2 of your first cruise. 

If you wish to sightsee between cruises, they will tell you how to leave the ship and return without having to go back thru the full check in process. 
 

if you’ve booked the same cabin for both cruises, you don’t need to do anything with your possessions.  If you’re in different cabins, you work with your cabin steward, who will move your possessions for you to the new cabin.  Usually they don’t ask you to remove items from hangers when moving, but I prefer to put my clothes back in the suitcases and just have them relocate the bags. 
 

Your 2 cruises are billed as 2 cruises.  So your first bill will be closed out and settled and a new bill started for the second.  Nothing carries over from cruise 1 to cruise 2. 
 

Make certain that an NCL agent has linked your 2 cruises in their computer as a B2B as soon as you have made the reservations.  And then, once on board after a day or 2 of your first cruise, stop by guest services and make certain the ship has you listed as staying onboard for the next cruise.  This ensures you’re properly processed on turnaround day. 
 

B2Bs are fun!

 

All of this info is SO helpful...!  Thank you so much...! 🙂 

[BSR]

I've done several b2b's and only received 1 bill at the end of the cruise.

[don't-use-real-name]

These maybe the answers ???s

 

*** Not the Official NCL Guide ***

 

 

Do we stay on the ship...
or do we need to get off the ship...
If we disembark, how and when can get on again...

 

With all B2B cruises NCL needs a ZERO headcount
therefore you will be required to leave the ship 
and then board (you may not actually leave the
ship but have this done in a Main Dining Room or
a Theatre - exchanging of cabin key cards.
A day or two before the B2B takes place if NCL
has not notified you of the procedure contact
Guest Services for the exact details.

You left Canada at Vancouver clearing customs and
immigrations -at- Seward (USA) you will not be
doing any of that (only Canadian and Foreign guests)
Upon return to Vancouver you will clear at that point

Do we leave our luggage in our cabin or take it with us...
at the end of the first cruise,
and then have to recheck it for the second cruise...

If staying in the same cabin leave your luggage and 
other belongs in place the cabin attendant will clean and
work around your stuff just like he would daily.

If CHANGING cabins pack-up your stuff and leave it for
your cabin attendant to transfer to your new cabin digs
Usually NCL will provide cabin tags for this move
There is no need to lug check recheck and move the luggage

 

If we do have to disembark, where can we wait till we can board...

 

At Seward there is not much of shelter to hunker down for boarding
and weather may be a factor in play. More in likely you will do the
disembark and board while on the ship.
Only if you want to go a shore for a walk-about town or an excursion
would you want to leave the ship.

How long a gap is there between when we would need to disembark and then board...

 

NCL JEWEL arrives approximately 7am or there about and sails at 9pm

Normally NCL requires guests at a terminating port to disembark by
a set time (9-10am) so that the turn around cleaning can commence - - -
Where on board you can mingle is subject to how much room is needed for
the cabin cleaning crew to do their job - The Buffet will be open and one
of the main dining rooms and perhaps the Spinnaker Lounge Deck 13 while
your cabin and/or new quarters are being readied. Whether you have to leave
the ship and board (see above) is in question - - -
You would have priority for boarding which would be before general
boarding starting at around 11am or so - Haven and suite quests would
be first to board followed by the other cabin classes.

If you choose to debark take a long 1 hour or more walk-about into Seward
and then that long 1 hour trek back to the ship should work out right for
timing. Stop for lunch somewhere - take a shore excursion to the Exit Glacier.
See the guests arriving on the Alaska RR Coastal Classic train and later
the NCL Charter train - - - Watch the weather 

The boarding pavilion at Seward is not much bigger than two basketball courts.
For the most part when the guests start arriving (NCL having reached the
ZERO headcount point) Boarding will commence - the pavilion does not have
the space to hold crowds of guests.

Do we get separate bills or one total bill at the end of both...

 

Depending on how the B2B cruise was booked check with Guest Services during
the first cruise and discuss the arrangements of the billing - better yet
get the billing settled before you even start to check-in - get the ducks in a row !

Things to do staying on the ship before general boarding -
get any dining reservations booked and if shore excursions is open book them too.

You already know the drill having boarded at Vancouver - take advantage of being
first in line to grab those dining times and tours that are still available.

 

Here is a MAP LINK to plan your Seward visit:

https://www.google.com/maps/@60.1105106,-149.435482,2650m/data=!3m1!1e3

The Map is zoomable - pan in plot your own course - - -

At the top of the image are four pier structures - the one with the WHITE rectangle
that is the Check-In Pavilion.

The walk-about into Seward is about some 2 miles one-way.

 

Readers may add some more and then there is the Alaska Forum LINK:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/33-alaska/

Now barring any further covid virus complications - start dreaming ! ! ! ! ! 

Edited April 28, 2021 by don't-use-real-name
Fine tune

[bonvoyagie]

DURN you get a gold star for info - the only part that needs changing is the zero count - that only applies to US ports - remember in Quebec you had the option of getting off the ship or not.

 

I have never been to Seward but am looking at trying to cruise in 2023 and the one way NB is one of my bucket list cruses. Having done some research I think I would look at doing one of the glacier/wildlife tours out of Seward for the day. If I coiuld afford it I would look at spending a couple of weeks touring the interior and then doing the SB cruise so week1 NB cruise, weeks 2 and 3 touring week 4 SB cruise. 

[joshgates]

12 hours ago, BSR said:

I've done several b2b's and only received 1 bill at the end of the cruise.

This is my experience too, I've only done a couple but both times they kept the account open or rolled the balance over to the second one.

[BSR]

3 minutes ago, joshgates said:

This is my experience too, I've only done a couple but both times they kept the account open or rolled the balance over to the second one.

Yes, it was automatically rolled over and I didn't have to inform guest  services. 

[Middleager]

For b2b cruises during covid times, even if you book the same cabin, you still have to pack everything up to leave the room as they need to do full cleaning.  I'm thinking to book Panama b2b in Jan/2022 and asked NCL consultant about it.   That can change if pandemic cleaning procedures is no longer in place later.

 

 

We did the Jewel Vancouver to Seward in July 2018.  It was great.  At Seward we took the Major marine cruise (they pick up from pier and store luggage), with lunch, which was very informative and saw a lot (whales, birds, glaciers, etc.).  That cruise was timed well to follow with the train ride to Anchorage.

 

At Anchorage we rented an SUV (for 4 of us), with the rental company meeting us at the train station (we got a coupon book, to get the rental rate down,  and discount to that Seward fjord cruise).   We then drove to Denali NP and Fairbanks.  At Fairbanks we saw the Alaska pipeline, Santa Claus House at North Pole, Morris Thompson Center, Pioneer Park, U of Alaska Geophysical Institute tour, etc.  We figured we come that far, we should see that part of Alaska.

[Crazy planning mom]

7 hours ago, bonvoyagie said:

DURN you get a gold star for info - the only part that needs changing is the zero count - that only applies to US ports - remember in Quebec you had the option of getting off the ship or not.

 

I have never been to Seward but am looking at trying to cruise in 2023 and the one way NB is one of my bucket list cruses. Having done some research I think I would look at doing one of the glacier/wildlife tours out of Seward for the day. If I coiuld afford it I would look at spending a couple of weeks touring the interior and then doing the SB cruise so week1 NB cruise, weeks 2 and 3 touring week 4 SB cruise. 

I agree.  Get off the ship in Seward  to explore.  My cruise out of Seward was cancelled and we are doing a land trip this summer to Alaska instead including Seward.  Seward looks like a gorgeous town and we are taking a Kenai Fjords Glacier Tour.

[Yo Adrienne]

For those of you who have done the back-to-back cruises before...when it comes to the perks ("Free at Sea")...do they count these as 2 cruises of 7 days each...or do they count it as 1 cruise of 14 days...?  It's a little hard to tell...and I can't find the specific info on the NCL website.

 

In particular, we're looking at the specialty dining and the internet packages (believe me, we know the free internet isn't great...but it's enough to get us by without needing to upgrade). 

 

For the dining...it looks like a 2-specialty meal package is included for a 7 day cruise.  So, if the B2B counts as two cruises, would it be 2 for each period (total of 4)...or is it just a 2-specialty meal package for the entire 14 days. 

 

Similarly...with the free internet, it's supposed to be 250 minutes for a 7 day cruise--so if the B2B counts as two cruises, should that be doubled (2 x 250 = 500).  But, if it's a 14 day cruise, then it's only 250 minutes for the whole 14 days...?  

 

Anyone able to shed some light on this...?  

 

 

[mianmike]

32 minutes ago, Yo Adrienne said:

For those of you who have done the back-to-back cruises before...when it comes to the perks ("Free at Sea")...do they count these as 2 cruises of 7 days each...or do they count it as 1 cruise of 14 days...?  It's a little hard to tell...and I can't find the specific info on the NCL website.

 

In particular, we're looking at the specialty dining and the internet packages (believe me, we know the free internet isn't great...but it's enough to get us by without needing to upgrade). 

 

For the dining...it looks like a 2-specialty meal package is included for a 7 day cruise.  So, if the B2B counts as two cruises, would it be 2 for each period (total of 4)...or is it just a 2-specialty meal package for the entire 14 days. 

 

Similarly...with the free internet, it's supposed to be 250 minutes for a 7 day cruise--so if the B2B counts as two cruises, should that be doubled (2 x 250 = 500).  But, if it's a 14 day cruise, then it's only 250 minutes for the whole 14 days...?  

 

Anyone able to shed some light on this...?  

 

 

 

On our B2B they treated both cruises as separate cruises. 

[MeHeartCruising]

47 minutes ago, Yo Adrienne said:

For those of you who have done the back-to-back cruises before...when it comes to the perks ("Free at Sea")...do they count these as 2 cruises of 7 days each...or do they count it as 1 cruise of 14 days...?  It's a little hard to tell...and I can't find the specific info on the NCL website.

 

In particular, we're looking at the specialty dining and the internet packages (believe me, we know the free internet isn't great...but it's enough to get us by without needing to upgrade). 

 

For the dining...it looks like a 2-specialty meal package is included for a 7 day cruise.  So, if the B2B counts as two cruises, would it be 2 for each period (total of 4)...or is it just a 2-specialty meal package for the entire 14 days. 

 

Similarly...with the free internet, it's supposed to be 250 minutes for a 7 day cruise--so if the B2B counts as two cruises, should that be doubled (2 x 250 = 500).  But, if it's a 14 day cruise, then it's only 250 minutes for the whole 14 days...?  

 

Anyone able to shed some light on this...?  

 

 

You will be buying 2 separate cruises and each will be treated as such, with respect to pretty much everything.  Everything gets reset when the second cruise starts.  So you would get 2 specialty meals per cruise.  But, You can’t use 3 of them on cruise 1 and then use 1 of them on cruise 2. 
 

The only time this is not the case is when the cruise line happens to market the 2 individual 7-day cruises as a single 14-day cruise.  They do this some times.  If you search for it and you see a 14-day cruise that matches your 2 7-day cruises, then you can make one purchase of the longer cruise.  You would then be entitled to perks that are defined for a 14-day cruise.  But you would need to purchase the single cruise at its price and terms. 

[Turtles06]

6 hours ago, Crazy planning mom said:

Seward looks like a gorgeous town and we are taking a Kenai Fjords Glacier Tour.

It’s been many years since we did the Kenai Fjords tour, but it was fabulous.  I presume it will still be. 
 

Enjoy your trip! 

[Crazy planning mom]

36 minutes ago, Turtles06 said:

It’s been many years since we did the Kenai Fjords tour, but it was fabulous.  I presume it will still be. 
 

Enjoy your trip! 

Thanks!

[BSR]

1 hour ago, mianmike said:

 

On our B2B they treated both cruises as separate cruises. 

Same for us.

[don't-use-real-name]

8 hours ago, Crazy planning mom said:

I agree.  Get off the ship in Seward  to explore.  My cruise out of Seward was cancelled and we are doing a land trip this summer to Alaska instead including Seward.  Seward looks like a gorgeous town and we are taking a Kenai Fjords Glacier Tour.

YES - get your duff off the ship at least for a walk-about (again weather permitting Ha Ha) !

You can arrange all that B2B stuff the day-night before and have ample time for shore

excursions self guided and hired. Leave the ship early on take a/the tour and be back for

a sail away cocktail and dinner with many thoughtful memories to toast to !

 

If not doing a B2B trip consider taking the Alaska RR on some or ALL of the trackage from

Seward to Anchorage to Fairbanks !

 

Alaska RR LINK:

Alaska Railroad | Alaskan Tours & Vacations | Train Packages

 

Doing a B2B is great - but there is oh so much more of Alaska to see - - -

B2B is just an appetizer (sea food variety) ! 

[Yo Adrienne]

Thank you, everyone...all of this info has been SO helpful...! 😃