HAL Itineraries

[m8zenblue]

Question:

We have only sailed on Celebrity but are interested in cruising with HAL in 2023.

We have noticed a lot of HAL cruises start and end in Fort Lauderdale on 2 legs of B2B.

So do more passengers board when they return to Fort Lauderdale the first time or is it closed just to folks already on board ?

When you return to Fort Lauderdale the first time do you have to disembark and go through customs ?

[vicd1969]

So do more passengers board when they return to Fort Lauderdale the first time or is it closed just to folks already on board ? -Yes, so there will be turnover of more than half of the passengers

 

When you return to Fort Lauderdale the first time do you have to disembark and go through customs ?

Others will chime in on whether or not you have to leave the ship, but I am pretty you won't need to go through customs.

 

If you're used to sailing Celebrity in the Caribbean, not sure why you would want to do a B2B of 2 x 7-day trips on HAL. HAL's 7 day Caribbean sailings aren't as competitive as Celebrity. The HAL 10 or 11 day itineraries may offer more bang for your buck than a 14-day B2B. Where HAL shines are its Alaska and Europe itineraries. 

[3rdGenCunarder]

18 minutes ago, m8zenblue said:

Question:

We have only sailed on Celebrity but are interested in cruising with HAL in 2023.

We have noticed a lot of HAL cruises start and end in Fort Lauderdale on 2 legs of B2B.

So do more passengers board when they return to Fort Lauderdale the first time or is it closed just to folks already on board ?

When you return to Fort Lauderdale the first time do you have to disembark and go through customs ?

 

The B2B are usually also sold as individual 7-day cruises, so at the end of the first week, some people will disembark and others will embark at the start of their week. 

 

US rules require a "zero count," which means all passengers must get off so that there are no passengers on board. Then in-transit passengers can get back on without the full check-in/embarkation process. I have read that sometimes the in-transit passengers are "processed" in the theater or another large space and held, rather than made to get off the ship, until the zero count is done. But any time I've been in this situation, I had to get off the ship.

Edited December 23, 2022 by 3rdGenCunarder

[robotpony]

4 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

I have read that sometimes the in-transit passengers are "processed" in the theater or another large space and held, rather than made to get off the ship, until the zero count is done. But any time I've been in this situation, I had to get off the ship.

 

On our last back-to-back in the Caribbean we had the choice of waiting in the Main Stage or disembarking until a given time (11:30AM I think). We had an excursion (Everglades boat tour) so we disembarked, returning just around 2PM. On our return we had cards to show throughout the port building, allowing us to skip the lines (though we did have to do the face scan at customs). Re-embarking took at most 20 minutes.

 

This was our first B2B, and it was a bit weird to meet a whole new set of people. The entire rhythm of the ship was different between those two groups!

[HAL Sailer]

1 hour ago, robotpony said:

This was our first B2B, and it was a bit weird to meet a whole new set of people. The entire rhythm of the ship was different between those two groups!

 

Agreed! On Day 8 of your B2B, just as you have completely settled into the rhythm of your cruise, a lot of new people will join the ship starting their Day 1. And, even if experienced cruisers, their Day 1 will be as hectic as yours was a week ago. Then it will take a few days for them to settle in and for the rhythm you had been enjoying to return.

 

We much prefer a 10-day, an 11-day, or a straight 14-day cruise over two 7-day cruises B2B.

[Wakepatrol]

We got a great deal on a back to back years ago . In my opinion the day you return to Fort Lauderdale is a wasted day. If you signed up for the spa it’s closed for

most of the day, sometimes the pools are drained out. We live in Florida so going on a side trip when we got back to the dock wasn’t an option. We’ve seen all the places they offer excursions to. We prefer straight 10-14 day cruises

[robotpony]

59 minutes ago, HAL Sailer said:

We much prefer a 10-day, an 11-day, or a straight 14-day cruise over two 7-day cruises B2B.

 

Great tip! Our next trip is a 18 day Hawaii cruise that I'm pretty sure isn't a B2B.

 

The upside of the B2B was that we met some new people and got to visit Half Moon Cay twice. Fort Lauderdale was fine, but a bear of a port to get in and out of even on an excursion.

[iflyrc5]

We just did the turn around in Port Everglades 3 weeks in a row in November.  All of the guests staying on are call "in transit".  You will get a letter a couple days before turnaround for a time and location where to meet (usually BBKing or Main stage depending on number of guests).  After all the guests that are not staying on the ship get off then you will be led to the terminal were you will go through the CBP check.  (On one of our turn arounds in November there was one family where a woman was so drunk that she could hardly walk and they decided they would take their time getting off which delayed the in transit screening for at least 45 minutes).  For our turnarounds the CBP folks used the facial recognition system that was scanned when you first boarded but you need to bring your passport in case the system does not work.  After all the in transit people are scanned then you can re-board the ship.  Total time can be anywhere from 30 to 90 minutes depending on how the guests follow the directions given by the ship.

[albingirl]

10 hours ago, iflyrc5 said:

We just did the turn around in Port Everglades 3 weeks in a row in November.  All of the guests staying on are call "in transit".  You will get a letter a couple days before turnaround for a time and location where to meet (usually BBKing or Main stage depending on number of guests).  After all the guests that are not staying on the ship get off then you will be led to the terminal were you will go through the CBP check.  (On one of our turn arounds in November there was one family where a woman was so drunk that she could hardly walk and they decided they would take their time getting off which delayed the in transit screening for at least 45 minutes).  For our turnarounds the CBP folks used the facial recognition system that was scanned when you first boarded but you need to bring your passport in case the system does not work.  After all the in transit people are scanned then you can re-board the ship.  Total time can be anywhere from 30 to 90 minutes depending on how the guests follow the directions given by the ship.

And not everyone follows directions.  We've sat, waiting, for people to show up, late, to the location they are supposed to join others.  It can feel like forever.  I don't know why they do this?  Enjoying a late breakfast?  It's inconenient and a time waster for everyone waiting for them to arrive.  Pet peeve, sorry.