Back to Back Cruising - pros and cons?!

[dmp223]

Hi all.. just curious to see what your opinions are (good or bad) of doing a back to back cruise?

 

We are considering a 4 night & 5 night on Navigator in December.. other than visiting one of the ports 2x (I actually like port days so that I can stay on the ship while others disembark) so that doesn't bother me..

 

What have been your back to back experiences?

 

Also, there is a very good chance that we may book a D1 on the first leg and a JS on the 2nd... what have been your experiences when switching cabins? Is it worth the hassle?

 

Thank you in advance for your thoughts! :)

[rummenroman]

Hi all.. just curious to see what your opinions are (good or bad) of doing a back to back cruise?

 

We are considering a 4 night & 5 night on Navigator in December.. other than visiting one of the ports 2x (I actually like port days so that I can stay on the ship while others disembark) so that doesn't bother me..

 

What have been your back to back experiences?

 

Also, there is a very good chance that we may book a D1 on the first leg and a JS on the 2nd... what have been your experiences when switching cabins? Is it worth the hassle?

 

Thank you in advance for your thoughts! :)

 

The best pro for me is flying once for a longer cruise. With the price of airfare from DIA to a port city it pays to do a longer cruise rather then several short cruises!

[amybeth4]

I did a Majesty b2b (4 nights then 3) because 1) I couldn't stand the thought of cruising less than 7 nights and 2) it helped with the sting of the airfare, flying President's Day Week from NY to FL ($$$). I don't QUITE get your question because I don't see how there are any negatives involved. If there were negatives, no one would DO it! :) :) Sure I revisited Coco Cay and Nassau but Coco Cay is great (although not so great in Feb) and on the first leg, I stayed on the ship when we were in Nassau.

 

There's no hassle when it comes to changing cabins (which I did do). You have to tell your steward in advance. Pack up your stuff except the stuff in the closet. Your steward will move all your bags as well as everything in the closet while still on hangers. He told me to be out of my cabin at 8, with my bags still inside. By 10am when I was roaming around alone and decided to check out my new cabin, my bags were already transferred.

 

Depending on whether or not your ship cleared customs before the day of disembarkation, you will or will not have to get off the ship (I didn't). If you have to leave, you'll be escorted off and back on so quickly it's ridiculous.

 

I was handed my new sea pass that morning and told I didn't have to leave. I was also the only B2Ber on that cruise so I LITERALLY had the ship to myself (besides the crew) for a good hour. Pretty cool.

 

Do it!

[dancing dragon]

I did the B2B Navigator cruises last Dec as well.... and changed rooms... as per AmyBeth4... you just have to have your bags packed inside your old room and the steward will have them waiting in the new room when you get back on the ship... (I had to leave--- was escorted off and then back on. we (there was 10 of us) were given our new sea pass cards when get got off...

 

The only CON was we had to wait a little extra longer because of a disembarking problem... and we got into port an hour late... but was off at 1100 and back on at 1120...

 

NOTE: having to get on and off is call of the Homeland Security Station Chief

 

when I got back on, I did go to my new room (pushed my way past the closed doors) and got my camera them roamed the ship and took pics sans people...

 

it was great to do b2b cruises.... by the time I did the second one lots of the other passengers thought I worked for RCCL, because everyone knew me...

 

if you'd like to see the Compass' from Dec 08 cruise e-mail me and I'll send you the link... aum.john@yahoo.com

 

enjoy... and happy cruising....

[dmp223]

 

if you'd like to see the Compass' from Dec 08 cruise e-mail me and I'll send you the link... aum.john@yahoo.com

 

enjoy... and happy cruising....

 

Thank you so much!! Email sent...

 

Thank you all for your thoughts.. it really is a no-brainer, isn't it?!? LOL!

 

~Dawn

[RevSmith]

I love b2b cruises and do them whenever I can afford them. One of the advantages is the fact that you get most of the first day of the cruise, and only miss about an hour at the most...the time it takes to go down to the meeting place, be escorted off the ship, get your sea pass card, and get back on the ship. Also there is about an hour and a half when you kinda have the ship to yourself...it's great for picture taking and swimming in the pool...or just enjoying the ship without the crowds...

The only draw back is that nothing is open before about 11:00...and on some ships the Windjammer does not open until 12:00, so make sure you have a good breakfast on the day of the second sailing, because you may not get to eat again until noon, and your body has been used to eating any time it felt hungry.

[pcur]

B2b cruises are the BEST!! There are several "flavors" which we've done:

 

1st cruise a repositioning, and 2nd the "new" regular itinerary. No repeat ports and repo's are usually cheaper.

 

1st cruise a transatlantic (like a repo, but waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay longer and also cheap), then the "new" itinerary.

 

1st cruise one cruise line, 2nd another. We did this in March/April this year, and had a great time: Celebrity followed by the Majesty.

 

1st and 2nd cruise similar or same ports: this is just as much fun.

 

We always get off the ship during the turnaround day. Get our new seapass and get going. It's another port, so go do something!!

[English_in_Spain]

We love back to back cruises. The only slight negative is that activities/shows and menus tend to be repeated.

 

I do not mind this. If I enjoyed it the first time I know to do it again. If I didn't enjoy it then I don't do it again.

 

Also, at dinner, sometimes DH chooses something and I think "I wish I had ordered that" you have a second shot at it second cruise.

 

We are doing our favourite B2B next year combining 2 Caribbean cruises so we get to visit a lot of islands. We are then tagging a TA on the end of that giving a B2B2B.

[bridog22]

If you book a B2B 4 day then a 3 day, do you still get credit for 2 cruises?

[hellosailer]

We are also doing a B2B on the Navigator at the end of October.

 

Recently did one on the Brilliance. On the Brilliance, on the changeover day, they gave us a very nice lunch in the Dining Room - didn't have the challenge of the hurly-burly in the Windjammer on the day of boarding for the second leg. However, on the Brilliance a while previously, when we did a B2B, we didn't receive the Dining Room lunch.

 

We go for the ship, not the ports. For us it is a floating resort!! The upside is that you already know many of the staff!!

[sddsddean]

If you book a B2B 4 day then a 3 day, do you still get credit for 2 cruises?

 

Yes. We did a b2b2b on the Nav last May (4day,5day,5day) and got 3 credits and as we did it in a JS, got extra point on each, so that was 6 credits for a 14 day cruise. In an 'ordinary' cabin we would only have got 2 for one 14 day cruise. This is in fact the reason we did this, to get up to Diamond quicker....and then we all know what RCI did! Agree with another poster, the menus and shows are the same, but I'm not too bothered about the menu (I'm not cooking or washing up!) and not seeing the shows on the 2nd and 3rd cruises means you can chat to more people. The best 'pro' though is watching everyone else get off with a very smug grin on your face!!

 

Simon

[ChipLondon]

Pro: You get a longer cruise

Con: You still have to get off after 2nd cruise

 

Switching cabin is easy, your steward will assist, and provide a clothes rail to move your wardrobe items to your new cabin.

[tech-lab]

Just wondering if anyone has done B2B in Europe? Is the procedure the same as it is in the US as far as disembarking, receiving new sea pass card for second week and getting back on?

 

Thanks

 

Ann

Godley TX

[sddsddean]

Just wondering if anyone has done B2B in Europe? Is the procedure the same as it is in the US as far as disembarking, receiving new sea pass card for second week and getting back on?

 

Thanks

 

Ann

Godley TX

 

Miles easier in Europe. As I understand it, in the US you have to get off so Homeland Security and Customs can 'do their thing'. On our 3 b2b's changing in Barcelona each time last year, we got our new seapass cards on the bed at evening turn down the night before, together with a letter saying we are quite welcome to stay on the ship, but if we did get off please don't come back until noon...and that was it!!

 

Simon

[kellya1]

Just done a b2b on AOS - I loved that we got to see more of the ship and participate in the activities without rushing to do everything (still never went ice skating, wall climbing, skating! lol)

 

Cons - I was sick of eating half way through the 2nd week! And the menu is the same as the previous week

 

Very port intensive - I was exhausted after the first week, and had to go through it all again the second week with 1 less sea day!

 

A nightmare switching cabins - our luggage was not moved, it was left in our old room despite us informing the steward. We had to go move it ourselves!

 

All in all, I wouldn't do 2 7 day cruises again

 

Enjoy!

 

Kelly

[sleepybert]

Did they have a different line at the port to get back on (if you got off on embarkation day) or did you have to wait to get back on in the normal line?

[dancing dragon]

If you book a B2B 4 day then a 3 day, do you still get credit for 2 cruises?

 

Each portion of the B2B cruise is treated as a separate cruise... so cruise credits for each.. and booked separately, so price may very.. you link them after they are booked..

[sddsddean]

Did they have a different line at the port to get back on (if you got off on embarkation day) or did you have to wait to get back on in the normal line?

 

In Barcelona, you just walked straight past all the check in queues and out the other end of the hall and up the escalator to the ship. Still had to put any bags through the 'scanner' on entry to the check in hall, but this only took 3 or 4 minutes.

 

Simon

[jhmoore143]

1st cruise a repositioning, and 2nd the "new" regular itinerary. No repeat ports and repo's are usually cheaper.

 

1st cruise a transatlantic (like a repo, but waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay longer and also cheap), then the "new" itinerary.

 

1st cruise one cruise line, 2nd another. We did this in March/April this year, and had a great time: Celebrity followed by the Majesty.

 

1st and 2nd cruise similar or same ports: this is just as much fun.

 

Wow, I never considered a Repo+ or Trans-Atlantic+ as b2b type cruises. Gives me something new to look at. . .and quite possibly something more to get me in trouble. . . :)

[karena1]

Have done one B2B and have another planned for 2011 on Serenade. Not sure I would do it if I could not stay in the same cabin. But because I always book our cruises WAY in advance, getting the same cabin for both weeks is not an issue. One of the reasons I do that. I don't want to have to pack and unpack on a B2B, I have to do that when we cruise the first week and land vacation the second. If I am going to do a B2B I want to not worry about packing again for the entire 2 weeks.

 

Other than that - I cannot see anything con about a B2B. Any time I can be on a cruise ship that many days - I am a happy girl!!

[cruisenfever]

We've done many b2b's (now known as consecutive cruises) our most recent was this past April on Radiance. Lucky for us we have always had the same cabin which is a plus in itself.

 

With the new consecutive cruise system, everything is transferred from one cruise to the next including your credit card information and your photo for your SeaPass.

 

You do not have to disembark the ship on turnaround day as you will receive your new SeaPass cards the day before the end of the first cruise along with a letter from Guest Relations. If there are many pax doing the same b2b as you are, there will be a meeting the day before the end of the first cruise giving you instructions on what to expect on turnaround day. There may also be a special lunch provided on turnaround day if there are enough people.

 

If you would like to disembark the ship on turnaround day, on some ships they will give you a card that says "in transit" which identifies you as a consecutive cruiser. Upon reboarding the ship, you would just show this card to the pier rep and you avoid all the check in lines.

 

One thing to remember is that each and every port and ship handles a consecutive cruiser differently............so what happens on one ship may very well not be the same on another. It would be nice if they could become consistent.

 

When booking a b2b you must book through the b2b desk so that your reservations are linked and that the ship knows ahead of time. You only have to print out the first SetSail Pass for the first cruise as you will not need the second one.

 

There is nothing better than doing a b2b..........and getting to enjoy turnaround day, even though you have to be up early if you want breakfast as you have to eat at the dining times for those disembarking the ship.

 

If you have a different cabin for each cruise, as others have said, all lose items must be put in your luggage. The clothes hanging in the closet will be moved by your cabin steward along with your packed luggage.

[Lola_lake]

We've done a number of b2b cruises and have always booked the same room - by doing that, we haven't ever had to unpack or repack anything. I do think we walked off the ship to pick up a new seapass card, but that was literally a few minutes time with no waiting - and we've always enjoyed having some time in port while doing the b2b.

 

By choosing cruises that keep changing ports, we also had changes in entertainment except one night (we've done 3 cruise b2b's)... the one that stayed the same was the staff entertainment night (there could have been others we chose to skip, but neither of us recalls it being an issue or often).

 

Doing the same ports could make for a ground hog day sort of experience, though!