B2B vs 1 week long cruise

So, I've been reading these boards for years. It seems that B2B cruises are very popular. Because of that, I placed that on my YOLO list. SO, from those of you who have cruised both a 7 day cruise and a 3 day/4 day B2B, which did you prefer and why? It seems to me that the day you are getting off, then back on the ship, is almost a wasted day? However that said, it would be so awesome to leave the ship and get to return!

For the situation you described, one of the advantages of a B2B is you get to attend two muster drills in one week.

Personally, I would not do a 3/4 day B2B instead of a 7 day cruise.

I haven't done a B2B yet, but am considering doing one next May. I have a 6 day cruise booked and am considering adding on a 5 day cruise after. However, in the case of the 4day and 3day I would definitely just stick with the 7day cruise unless there was something specific that made the 4day/3day better like a specific port or certain room you are wanting to try that you can't get on the 7day. I agree that the day getting on/off would be wasted in that case. I feel like most people who do B2B's are doing them because they want to cruise for more than 7 days which is hard to find in one cruise.

I wouldn't do short B2B's of 3 or 4 days if I could do a 7 day cruise. Esp. if the 3 and 4 day cruises repeat ports.

I also wouldn't do B2B's of 7 days if there was a 14 day sailing available.

I do like the alternate itineraries of a 7 day eastern and then a 7 day western. But as the OP said, turnover day is pretty much a non eventful day with Customs and muster drill thrown in.

I would not do a 3/4 instead of a 7 day. You will waste an entire day on that turnaround day and most likely the shows and menu will repeat. Not worth it, IMHO

I wouldn't do short B2B's of 3 or 4 days if I could do a 7 day cruise. Esp. if the 3 and 4 day cruises repeat ports.

 

I also wouldn't do B2B's of 7 days if there was a 14 day sailing available.

 

I do like the alternate itineraries of a 7 day eastern and then a 7 day western. But as the OP said, turnover day is pretty much a non eventful day with Customs and muster drill thrown in.

I've noticed that some of the other cruise lines list (on VTG) their sailings as 7 days and 14 days for a B2B, where the second half is a different itinerary. You have to watch for it, if you are looking for a "true" 14 day cruise.

Yeah I wouldn't do a 3/4 day back to back either. We always do 6/8 day or two 7 days.

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My husband and I did a 5 day followed by a 4 day. I had originally just booked the 5 day, but then found out that Trace Adkins was going to be doing a Carnival Live concert on the next cruise, so I booked that one too so we could attend. I didn’t mind the changeover day. Unfortunately it wasn’t well organized so Carnival wasted a lot of our time. But, it was nice being able to spend some leisure time around the ship while everyone else was busy with getting settled in. I believe I went to the spa and got a mani pedi that afternoon.

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We did a B2B on Celebrity Infinity, 11 night Pacific Coastal, followed by an 7 day Alaska Cruise. Boarded the ship in San Deigo, 11 days later we were able to get off the ship in Vancouver and explore the city from 8am to 4pm when we got back on the ship.

When we left the ship we had our new ship and sail cards all ready to get back on for the second leg. Very well organized, we actually walked off the ship with the crew that morning and used the crew entrance to get back on the ship that evening before sail-away.

Jimbo:)

B2B cruises are a great way to do a longer cruise and/or itinerary that is harder to find. With that said, don't let all of the bragging about doing two cruises in a row make you think there's nothing to it. Embarkation/debarkation days are the least enjoyable days of the cruise. I wouldn't want to do it twice within a week unless there's an itinerary you REALLY have to do.

The only real advantage of a 4/3 over a 7 day is the very small plus of accumulating 2 cruises toward the milestone benefits. I have done many B2B cruises but only 1 3/4. And that was on the last 2 cruises of the Sovereign of the Seas as a Royal Caribbean ship which was neat.

Thank you, thank you all for the excellent opinions and advice! I will schedule a 7 day instead of the 3/4 combo. It definitely makes sense what everyone is saying. I had just heard so much about B2B's and thought that was a way to do it. I really don't like embarkation/debarkation days and HATE muster drills, so thank you for the reminders! LOL!

We enjoy a longer B2B - like two7-day; we do all the things the second week that we couldn’t do the first week. And by the second week, you’ve made good contacts with your wait staff. We’ve never had a bad second week, even if it’s a repeated itinerary. Enjoy!

One thing that has not been mentioned is the size of the ship. The 3/4 day itineraries are normally on the older, smaller ships. Been there, done that. Only sail on the new, large state of the art ships with various bells and whistles.

The only B2B we've done is a seven day on the Celebrity Silhouette followed up by a six day on the Independence of the Seas, both out of FLL a few years ago.

I would not do a B2B with shorter cruises. I hate packing and unpacking. I don't care for shorter cruises.

We did a 4 day/5 day on the Valor last year and really liked it. We are doing two 7 days B2B in a few weeks on the Glory. I am anxious to see if 14 days total are too much. Like another poster said, the transition day is pretty much a sit around and wait for everyone to get off then go through customs and immigration and reboard. However, like previously said, it is nice not to have to go through the waiting for luggage and unpacking again. You can relax and enjoy the ship while everyone else is going doing that.

The only real advantage of a 4/3 over a 7 day is the very small plus of accumulating 2 cruises toward the milestone benefits. I have done many B2B cruises but only 1 3/4. And that was on the last 2 cruises of the Sovereign of the Seas as a Royal Caribbean ship which was neat.

Carnival doesn't count cruises anymore. They count days.

For all the reasons listed, I'd stick with the 7 day over a 3/4 B2B. Just as you were getting settled in on the first leg, it'd be time to pack, debark, embark, and settle in again.

Actually Carnival has two reward systems. One being the milestone which does count cruises, 25, 50, 75 and 100.

The other more common program you are correct is based on days. I think it is Blue, Red, Gold, Platinum and Diamond.

I will give a differing opinion here. I would absolutely do a 3/4 B2B cruise. In fact, I am lobbying for that now. Would I like to do a 7 day cruise? Absolutely I would. However, there are things that for us, stack up against that.

We live far away from any ports, and can really only get away from work in winter. With the traditional holiday expenses eating a hole in the wallet, it's nice for us to be able to plan a quick 4 day getaway that we can afford...and maybe add on to it if things look good down the road. I'd rather have an extra muster drill than an extra day at the office, but that's just me.

On top of that, we kind of like the Cheers program. As we're maturing, though, we're pretty well aware that we'd never use all 7 days of it. We like the idea of having two kinds of trip in one - a booze cruise and a virgin voyage with the occasional cocktail. It's budget-friendly for us.

Finally, the last item is variety of ports. I like the idea of hitting Nassau, Key West, and Cozumel in one fell swoop. The time I like best is time at sea, and that works out pretty well.

All in all, as with everything else, a B2B is what you make of it. If you have unlimited funds and unlimited time off...hell, do whatever because it doesn't matter! BUT, if things are fluid, and you might be able to sneak a little bit extra onto what you know you can do...look at that short term b2b as a way to get a little more time on the water.

Normally we do 7 day B2Bs, but one time we did a 5/4/5 B2B2B (Cuba itinerary). B2Bs gives us the most "bang for your buck" AFA airfare and have become our standard cruise now...

Carnival doesn't count cruises anymore. They count days.

The do for the milestone rewards.

https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1173/~/guest-recognition---milestone-rewards-program

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I would not do a B2B with 2 short cruises over one 7 night cruise. As you said yourself the one day in the middle is going to be wasted. You will have to briefly get off and back on the ship, attend another muster drill, and not all amenities will be open right away. Plus you might not be able to get the same rooms for both sailings so then you'd have to pack and unpack again. Stick with the 7 day.

I did a 3/4 B2B a few years ago when Carnival changed their loyalty program from 10 cruises to number of days, and I just managed to get my 10 cruises by making my week long cruise a B2B. I did pick 2 cruises with different itineraries, I think the ports ended up being Nassau, Freeport, and Cozumel.

There were a couple of good things about the B2B: it was really fun on the turnaround day, we got to sit and watch everyone leave, see all the employees on their in-between passengers time, and that was fun. We were only off the boat about 30 minutes, and for a lot of that day we had the ship to ourselves. Totally not a wasted day. It was fun. Also, since the short cruises are cheaper per day, the week was cheaper than any 7 day we could have taken.

The downsides were that the ports weren't that exciting (but we had lots of fun!) and the shows and menus repeated themselves.

I probably wouldn't do it again without another incentive like getting to platinum (I STILL don't have 75 days - but I'm still platinum!) but I'm glad I did it that once!

I will give a differing opinion here. I would absolutely do a 3/4 B2B cruise. In fact, I am lobbying for that now. Would I like to do a 7 day cruise? Absolutely I would. However, there are things that for us, stack up against that.

 

We live far away from any ports, and can really only get away from work in winter. With the traditional holiday expenses eating a hole in the wallet, it's nice for us to be able to plan a quick 4 day getaway that we can afford...and maybe add on to it if things look good down the road. I'd rather have an extra muster drill than an extra day at the office, but that's just me.

 

On top of that, we kind of like the Cheers program. As we're maturing, though, we're pretty well aware that we'd never use all 7 days of it. We like the idea of having two kinds of trip in one - a booze cruise and a virgin voyage with the occasional cocktail. It's budget-friendly for us.

 

Finally, the last item is variety of ports. I like the idea of hitting Nassau, Key West, and Cozumel in one fell swoop. The time I like best is time at sea, and that works out pretty well.

 

All in all, as with everything else, a B2B is what you make of it. If you have unlimited funds and unlimited time off...hell, do whatever because it doesn't matter! BUT, if things are fluid, and you might be able to sneak a little bit extra onto what you know you can do...look at that short term b2b as a way to get a little more time on the water.

Everything you said, is exactly what I was thinking. I am dealing with family issues right now that I hope will be resolved this time next year. But I keep wondering, what if they aren't? This cruise would be for my 60th, and I was thinking if I booked a 4 day and if things were calm, book another 3-4 day, then that would be better. I love 7 day cruises. I haven't been on one in years, because of the issues mentioned. I also thought if I booked 2 separate cruises, then maybe it would be easier for my GF's to go on at least one of them to celebrate my birthday. Then my dh could join me for the other one. But then, I also agree with the posters who discuss the positive reasons for booking a 7 day cruise over the B2B's. Either way I AM going on another cruise next year. Thank you for giving me all of your amazing suggestions and opinions! They are very much appreciated.

I love doing back to backs, but wouldn't be too quick to do a 3/4 vs a 7 day cruise.

DOWNSIDE:

Embarkation/debarkation day is busy. You have to do the muster. You still have to wait around for the ship to clear, then you are walked off of the ship through the process and then brought back on to the ship.

UPSIDE:

Once you're back on the ship, you have it to yourself for an hour or so.

If you stay in the same room, you certainly don't have to pack, and you have immediate access to your room.

You already know the staff. They will remember you and treat you like family.

You are welcomed back with a glass of champagne or a mimosa and they take a group picture of all of the b2b people.

If you had to travel to your home port, you only travel once.

We almost always do b2b because we travel from WNY. Plus, we go for lengthy winter vacations because the cost of a cruise (cheap room) is far cheaper than renting a place and it includes your room, food, coffee, entertainment, and you wake up in a different place every morning.

Whatever you choose, enjoy! It won't be the wrong decision.