Back to back cruises

[oaktree78]

How do you find back to back cruises on the same ship?  Looking at booking a back to back in early 2023.  Thanks.

[davekathy]

4 minutes ago, oaktree78 said:

How do you find back to back cruises on the same ship?  Looking at booking a back to back in early 2023.  Thanks.

B2B cruise are two different cruises. They aren't sold as a B2B cruises. Just look at a couple of different itineraries and dates that will line up to make a B2B cruise.  

[mo&fran]

They do not sell back to back cruises, you book them yourself.

[Mama24]

Easiest for me to give you an example.  I'm leaving April 17 for a seven-day Western Caribbean on Harmony OTS.  The day we return, April 24, we're doing a seven day Eastern Caribbean on the same ship. I booked each cruise individually.

 

[retiredgram]

We always do B2B. When checking each individual sailing, try to see if the same cabin is available.  As others have said, each cruise is booked separately. 

[davekathy]

Just now, retiredgram said:

We always do B2B. When checking each individual sailing, try to see if the same cabin is available.  As others have said, each cruise is booked separately. 

Agree. We wouldn't book a B2B if we couldn't stay in the same cabin. Others have said it's an easy move but we are homesteaders. 😉

[Surfguyxxx]

Recently, we were doing a B2B and were scheduled in the same cabin.  Unbeknownst to me, there was a Royal Up bid for a GS which we got.  It really wasn't a bit hassle changing cabins but it was sure nice having the nicer room on the second leg of our journey.

[Surfguyxxx]

I love B2B's but this year we're doing, and I've only just heard this expression, a Side to Side.  That's when we finish a cruise, a13 night Panama Canal Eastbound and end up in Tampa FL on 10/15/2022.  That same day is our 8 night Southern Caribbean out of Miami, FL.  3 hour drive over should be fun but just have to figure out how to clean the clothes  🤣

[davekathy]

3 minutes ago, Surfguyxxx said:

I love B2B's but this year we're doing, and I've only just heard this expression, a Side to Side.  That's when we finish a cruise, a13 night Panama Canal Eastbound and end up in Tampa FL on 10/15/2022.  That same day is our 8 night Southern Caribbean out of Miami, FL.  3 hour drive over should be fun but just have to figure out how to clean the clothes  🤣

Pack another suitcase, leave it in the car with additional clean clothes in it for the second cruise.😁

[Ashland]

1 hour ago, Surfguyxxx said:

I love B2B's but this year we're doing, and I've only just heard this expression, a Side to Side.  That's when we finish a cruise, a13 night Panama Canal Eastbound and end up in Tampa FL on 10/15/2022.  That same day is our 8 night Southern Caribbean out of Miami, FL.  3 hour drive over should be fun but just have to figure out how to clean the clothes  🤣

You could always make use of the wash-n-fold and dry cleaning onboard. I know I would prefer to use the same clothes. I'm assuming you'll have a car rental and not having access to your own when you disembark. ???

[Missusdubbya]

2 hours ago, davekathy said:

Pack another suitcase, leave it in the car with additional clean clothes in it for the second cruise.😁

this is genius

[flamingos]

3 hours ago, davekathy said:

Agree. We wouldn't book a B2B if we couldn't stay in the same cabin. Others have said it's an easy move but we are homesteaders. 😉

Rookie mistake, one that we will not make again.  🙂  

[Cigar King]

7 minutes ago, Missusdubbya said:

this is genius

Genius is just bringing the suitcase with you.  

[firefly333]

Plan on treating yourself to a couple new tee shirts. Give yourself a couple extra days of tops you don't have to pack. 

[DeltaJoe15]

Watch your time an distance   Tampa to Naples is 2.5 hrs  Naples to Miami is a tade over 2 hrs  with a least one pit stop it will be close to 5 hrs  

[brillohead]

On one of my fall cruises, someone was getting off a Carnival ship and getting on our ship.  He stopped at a laundromat in between the cruises!  LOL

I do all my B2B and S2S cruises on Royal and now that I'm D+ I get one free bag of wash-n-fold laundry each week. 

I hand-wash my tops, let drip in the shower, then lay them flat on a towel (I used my towel after my pre-dinner shower) and roll them up, then walk on the rolled towel to drive out the moisture.  This gets them quite dry without having to wring them, which causes wrinkles and stretches the fabric.  Then I hang them from the ceiling on hangers with heavy-duty magnetic hooks, and they are dry in the morning. 

I have learned to warn my room attendant about this, so they don't walk into the room and think there are people in the room, hanging from the ceiling!  LOL

[cruisegirl1]

We try to do only B2B or an occasional side to side. 
 

There is no way we would give up a second cruise just because we had to change cabins.  
 

While we  prefer to stay in the same cabin, we’ve had to change cabins many times. We find it is not a big deal. The one plus is we enjoy getting a freshly cleaned cabin for the second cruise.  
 

We generally use packing cubes, and just put them back in the suitcase. We leave the hanging clothes in closet. When we return back on the ship everything is moved to the new cabin. It takes five minutes to put the packing cubes back in the drawer. 
 

We’ve been doing back to back since about 2010. Back then, we often didn’t have enough people to have a back to back luncheon. You needed  25. Now, there are so many back to back cruisers that there is no more back-to-back lunch offered. Or, at least that has been the experience since the return on several  sets of back-to-back cruises on Oasis class ships.
 

We miss the luncheon.  It was a nice touch. 
 

m

[RosieRoo]

1 hour ago, cruisegirl1 said:

We’ve been doing back to back since about 2010. Back then, we often didn’t have enough people to have a back to back luncheon. You needed  25. Now, there are so many back to back cruisers that there is no more back-to-back lunch offered. Or, at least that has been the experience since the return on several  sets of back-to-back cruises on Oasis class ships.
 

We miss the luncheon.  It was a nice touch. 
 

m

There was a luncheon on Anthem last week. 

Edited April 7, 2022 by RosieRoo

[RosieRoo]

10 hours ago, DeltaJoe15 said:

Watch your time an distance   Tampa to Naples is 2.5 hrs  Naples to Miami is a tade over 2 hrs  with a least one pit stop it will be close to 5 hrs  

I agree. It’ll be more than 3 hours. I lived an hour south of Tampa and it took a good 3+ hours to get to the port in Miami. 

[Surfguyxxx]

1 hour ago, RosieRoo said:

I agree. It’ll be more than 3 hours. I lived an hour south of Tampa and it took a good 3+ hours to get to the port in Miami. 

Thanks; I'm anticipating on getting off the ship and getting the rental car by 9am or so.  This should be ample time to arrive in Miami and continue our journey.  Thanks all for the great responses.  

[island lady]

15 hours ago, Missusdubbya said:

this is genius

 

I have done that before with no problem in Tampa, taking bag of dirty clothes off, put in parked car, grabbed new bag of clothes and another bag of bottled water...walked back on the ship.   

 

In Port Canaveral they would not let me take off the bag of dirty clothes.  Saw another B2B pax trying to do the same thing in PR.  

 

No problem bring ON the new clothes, but for some reason....they don't want those dirty clothes off the ship.  😜

[island lady]

15 hours ago, Ashland said:

You could always make use of the wash-n-fold and dry cleaning onboard. I know I would prefer to use the same clothes. I'm assuming you'll have a car rental and not having access to your own when you disembark. ???

 

I won't put anything but cotton undies, cotton exercise shirts/shorts, and cotton socks in the "wash n fold". They put that bag through extremely hot water and rough treatment.  Can discolor the clothes as well.  

 

I hand wash items I don't want destroyed.  Have quite a system for it now.  😉  For longer than 2 weeks, I will also have to use the dry cleaning on the ship.  

[island lady]

5 hours ago, brillohead said:

On one of my fall cruises, someone was getting off a Carnival ship and getting on our ship.  He stopped at a laundromat in between the cruises!  LOL

I do all my B2B and S2S cruises on Royal and now that I'm D+ I get one free bag of wash-n-fold laundry each week. 

I hand-wash my tops, let drip in the shower, then lay them flat on a towel (I used my towel after my pre-dinner shower) and roll them up, then walk on the rolled towel to drive out the moisture.  This gets them quite dry without having to wring them, which causes wrinkles and stretches the fabric.  Then I hang them from the ceiling on hangers with heavy-duty magnetic hooks, and they are dry in the morning. 

I have learned to warn my room attendant about this, so they don't walk into the room and think there are people in the room, hanging from the ceiling!  LOL

 

I do the same.  I carry laundry soap and a collapsible rubber wash tub with me (works better to soak them).   Looks like trailer park city in the cabin for that overnight.  😄 

[Sunshine3601]

4 minutes ago, island lady said:

 

I do the same.  I carry laundry soap and a collapsible rubber wash tub with me (works better to soak them).   Looks like trailer park city in the cabin for that overnight.  😄 

Same here, except I don't bring wash tub but great idea.   I bring a small bottle of woolite and wash swimsuits, bras, blouses, rashguard tops Eric's wears and send out laundry bag with underwear, tshirts, pjs, shorts, etc but all same color range.   

Do not put whites in the bag with darks!

[brillohead]

1 minute ago, island lady said:

I do the same.  I carry laundry soap and a collapsible rubber wash tub with me (works better to soak them).   Looks like trailer park city in the cabin for that overnight.  😄 

I just use the body wash / shampoo in the shower.   Soap is soap.  And now that I'm cruising for a month or more at a time, I don't want to pack/carry anything more than I already am.

I do wish the sinks were a bit bigger, but I make it work.  I soak the item in the sink, then rinse in the shower.