Any Perks for booking a B2B

[LMHSRN]

Does Celebrity give you any little goodies when you book B2B?  A bottle of wine, Dinner, Fruit Basket, etc.?  How about OBC?

 

Curious minds want to know!

[davekathy]

Just now, LMHSRN said:

Does Celebrity give you any little goodies when you book B2B?  A bottle of wine, Dinner, Fruit Basket, etc.?  How about OBC?

 

Curious minds want to know!

When booking the B2B (directly with Celebrity or a TA) ask for the B2B discount. Our experiences have been $50.00 per leg. Nothing other than that from Celebrity. At least our experiences. 

[Cruising is my passion]

Depending on the length of each cruise, you should get a discount of either $50 or $100 per stateroom. Check with your booking agent and ask to get it applied.

[canderson]

Amount of B2B discount varies with length of each leg.  Would have to look at a recent invoice to be sure of the exact time/$.  Here's a post with $ information, but from more than a year ago: https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/topic/2508500-b2b-discount/?do=findComment&comment=59973660  If you don't see that discount on your invoice, be sure to ask X or your TA to be sure it is included.

 

Not sure if they're still doing it, but they also used to provide a special lunch (away from the crowds) lunch for their B2B guests.

 

B2B guests have also traditionally met together early the morning of the turn, been escorted through the re-boarding procedure, and back to the ship.  The B2B group will be the first ones aboard.  Has traditionally taken 10-20 minutes, and then you're back to your cabin.

 

You should receive instructions left in your cabin beforehand that will provide the meeting and other information.

 

Best perk... sitting out on deck and watching those suitcases roll away only to realize that you're just beginning leg #2!

 

 

 

[Jim_Iain]

Pre-Covid they use to also have a raffle at the B2B meeting and gave away Laundry Bag Coupons,  Specialty Dinner, Internet and Bottles of wine .    This isn't done on all ships nor all of the time.

 

We won the Murano's dinner for 2.  

[NutsAboutGolf]

Free Covid test if one's required!

[TeaBag]

In all the B2B's and B2B2B's we have done, we have had the invitation to the lunch once.  Never had seen a raffle.  We have always received the B2B discount

[miched]

The perks are if you are in the same cabin for both cruises you don’t have to pack up the night before and no rush the next morn to have breakfast.

 

The biggest perk is you get to attend 2 YES  2 Muster Drills 🤗

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

 

 

[LuvCruzn4Evr]

You will also receive the perk of being notified the day before disembarkation that you cannot stay on for the next sailing if you are identified as a close contact, regardless of your 2 tests showing negative.

[jg51]

On 8/19/2021 at 12:44 PM, canderson said:

Amount of B2B discount varies with length of each leg.  Would have to look at a recent invoice to be sure of the exact time/$.  ... If you don't see that discount on your invoice, be sure to ask X or your TA to be sure it is included. ...

 

We don't know the exact cutoffs, but these numbers are reliable [from actual 2021 experience on an Equinox back-to-back]:

-- A 7-day cruise or a 9-day cruise will get you $50.

-- A 12-day cruise will get you $100.

 

NOTE:  You will get BOTH discounts, not just one of them.  Oh, we almost forgot ... They will not appear on your invoices immediately after you book.  It will take at least a week before a supervisor (or accountant?) gives an OK, after which the discounts will appear on a new "edition" of your invoices.

 

On 8/19/2021 at 12:44 PM, canderson said:

 

Not sure if they're still doing it, but they also used to provide a special lunch (away from the crowds) lunch for their B2B guests.  ...

 

As of today, these E-Day luncheons (in combination with Concierge-class guests) have not resumed.

 

On 8/19/2021 at 12:44 PM, canderson said:

 

Best perk... sitting out on deck and watching those suitcases roll away only to realize that you're just beginning leg #2!

 

Amen to that!

.

Please expand the quoted posts, above, and read our (red) comments.

.

Edited August 20, 2021 by jg51

[C-Dragons]

18 hours ago, miched said:

The perks are if you are in the same cabin for both cruises you don’t have to pack up the night before and no rush the next morn to have breakfast.

 

The biggest perk is you get to attend 2 YES  2 Muster Drills 🤗

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

 

 

No Muster drills on X ships. 😁

You can view the information on your phone or on the TV in your stateroom, then just show up at your muster station to check in. 

Edited August 20, 2021 by C-Dragons

[Denny01]

The best perk is the night prior to arriving back at the end of the first itinerary, you get to sit back and enjoy the evening….no packing, no looking at the flight apps, just another port of call!

 

Also, don’t know if this is changed, but at the end of our 1st leg, they returned the wine and alcohol they took at previous ports. Neat. 

 

Den

[jg51]

.

Here's an afterthought, from multiple past experiences ...

 

Suppose you have booked back-to-back, "non-always-included" fares.  You therefore don't have an included beverage package.

Suppose you don't want to purchase a beverage package, because you are a light drinker ... BUT you intend to bring two bottles of wine from home (the maximum permitted per stateroom). 

 

Well, you may think that you are "out of luck" on your second Embarkation Day, because you were not permitted to bring a third and a fourth bottle aboard for your second cruise.  BUT ... if you explain the situation to your vacation-planner, the chances are good that Celebrity will grant you the gift of two "free" bottles of wine -- delivered on or just after the second E-Day.  [We have even been allowed to specify white/red and even varietals (e.g., Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.]

.

[jg51]

3 minutes ago, Denny01 said:

The best perk is the night prior to arriving back at the end of the first itinerary, you get to sit back and enjoy the evening….no packing, no looking at the flight apps, just another port of call! 

Amen to that too (tied with canderson's "best perk")!

 

3 minutes ago, Denny01 said:

Also, don’t know if this is changed, but at the end of our 1st leg, they returned the wine and alcohol they took at previous ports. Neat. 

Also bottles that one has purchased in a ship's shop.

 

[canderson]

9 minutes ago, Denny01 said:

Also, don’t know if this is changed, but at the end of our 1st leg, they returned the wine and alcohol they took at previous ports. Neat. 

 

Den

Unless changed this season, yes, a little known loophole!  Finding a really good wine shop in a port on leg 1 can be a big plus!  Shhhhh!

[Denny01]

We bought a bottle of Lemonchello in Italy once and got it for the TA. I found it a bit too ‘lemony’ for me, so I poured one into a cheap bubbly wine and it was great! We now called it Champello! 

 

Den

[sunpsyche]

We were offered lunch at Sushi on Five on turnover day 3 weeks ago. 

[jg51]

1 hour ago, sunpsyche said:

We were offered lunch at Sushi on Five on turnover day 3 weeks ago. 

.

Now that sounds very special, "sunpsyche."

Could you please mention the name of the ship?  (Sorry if it is in your "signature," which we are not able to see.)

Thank you.

[Northern Aurora]

Our experience has been different than "TeaBag."  Since air fare is generally the same whether we do a single leg, a B2B, a B2B2B or the periodic B2B2B2B it is rare that we do a single cruise.  The last time we did a single leg was our "free" Zenith cruise.  I would have to check our cruise spreadsheet but we certainly have done a number of turnaround days.

 

Before the introduction of the Concierge Class embarkation lunch we would receive vouchers, which could be used at any time during the cruise (not just turnaround day) for the old Bistro on Five.  The vouchers were included in the turnaround day packet which had the letter about the B2B procedure and the transit pass.  This seemed to be somewhat of a problem for Celebrity as sometimes B2B passengers would realize later that the voucher was not in their packet.   Once the Concierge Class embarkation day lunch was introduced the letter about the B2B procedure included the information that B2B passengers and embarking Zeniths were also invited.  

 

As already noted the amount of the small B2B discount is tied to the length of the legs, not the stateroom category.  And there is a minimum length for the leg.  In 2016 we did a B2B2B2B which included a two night "Taste of Modern Luxury" out of Southhampton, and that two night cruise broke the B2B chain.

 

We have never had the B2B discount applied to the reservation a week later.  If you book onboard with a future cruise sales person the discount is applied immediately (before the booking is transferred to a preferred TA).  If you book with a Celebrity vacation planner the discount again is applied immediately.  And if book directly with your TA it is applied immediately, although some TAs may need to be reminded about the discount.  And the legs do not have to be booked at the same time for the discount to apply.

[cublet]

Hello,

 

I noticed that all the posters that included their location are in the US.

 

Is the B2B benefit we are discussing for US pax only? There are some 'benefits' that are universal and some not. If this benefit is also due to UK passengers then I am owed thousands - and so unlikely to get it I am not even going to raise it. New bookings going forward I would raise it but in my opinion the GSAs for the UK are least trained and tend to 'make things up' as they go along.

 

Regards,

 

Cublet

[Redtravel]

We did many b2b cruises.  Some cruise lines discount. Never got any discounts from X.  We sometimes got an invitation to a special lunch on turn around day and laundry coupons. Not a big deal.   Get enough laundry coupons as elite plus.  Turn around day is not pleasant on a Celebrity ship. Many venues and services are closed.  You also have to waste time filing out paperwork, getting a new key card, or presenting docs to authorities.  In some some ports they make you meet and walk you off and through security before you can sail again. In some ports, guests meet in a lounge.  It varies from port to port. Celebrity seems to always put a dent in time on turn around day. There are some cruise lines that don’t intrude on your time. Checkin at the start of the first leg, key card lists end date of all sailings, and keeps all venues open.  No need to do anything different on turn around day.  We like to plan a full day tour or activity for those days. Get up, eat a leisurely breakfast, meet a private guide,  enjoy a full day, and return after most new guests have embarked.  Some ships ask us to attend the next muster drill. Some don’t.  Other than seeing some luggage, nothing is different from any other day on the cruise.  

[Glendakayself]

In our experience, the B2B discounts have to be requested. When we booked our 2022 B2B and requested the discount, the booking agent had to ask his supervisor if there was a B2B discount. At that time, we were told that it would not appear for 30 days. My old-fashioned OCD brain likes to have everything confirmed in print, so after 30 days I called and received an updated invoices showing the discount. 

Edited August 21, 2021 by Glendakayself

[wrk2cruise]

@LuvCruzn4Evr  Did Celebrity assist with your travel?   I know if you test positive they provide travel home.  I'm on a B2B in a couple of weeks and am aware this situation can and has happened so I am wondering how it was handled.  May impact if I fly or drive to the port as well.

[canderson]

@wrk2cruise

Since you're sailing before 31 October, you're still within the timeframe for the 'Assistance program.  There are no exclusions for US ports.  It's an unusual circumstance, but again, not excluded:

 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/health-and-safety

[wrk2cruise]

@canderson

 

I'm aware but they explicitly state it "if you test positive".    In this case they were close contacts, tested negative with 2 tests but were still asked to leave the ship prematurely.   

 

Other cases I've read about, close contacts were confined to their stateroom until their negative test was completed then they were allowed to freely complete their cruise with no restrictions or even a disembarkation test to confirm they are not positive before traveling home.

 

Just doesn't seem like consistent policy to me.  Hoping they were treated well.