Constellation Med B2B questions

We are considering 2 possibly 3 B2B in May 19 on Constellation. I cant find much info on the process for turnaround days. Venice and Rome would be the turn around ports. Can anyone provide info on what occurs on these days. I assume we are able to treat it as a port day and we would receive new pass cards in the morning and then get out and about?

Booking early so anticipated having the same cabin throughout.

Also thoughts on 29 days cruisung the Med, is it too ambitious will we be burnt out from too many ports? Healthy mid 50s couple longest previous cruise 14 days which we loved.

Curiously Celebrity do not seem to offer any disount or perks for booking B2B which surprised me.

Any info appreciated.

We did a b2b on the Connie two years ago. Our turnaround day was Civitavecchia (Rome). Since it's not very practical to visit Rome given the time involved, we merely left the ship for about 3 hours and wandered around Civitavecchia. We only had one sea day on the first cruise, so it was a welcome relaxing day.

You'll have a meeting a day or two before turnaround and be given very specific instructions. You'll also receive a letter that outlines the process. We were indeed given our new seapasses along with an "In Transit" card which allowed us to reboard without any line.

In Civitavecchia there was a shuttle provided from the ship to the port entrance, which is in town, and the same for the return (no cost).

In Venice, you should be able to use the People Mover from the port entrance to Piazzale Roma and from there, use a vaporetta to St Mark's or wherever else you'd like to go. Our first cruise started in Venice and we spent a few days there before embarkation and then overnighted on the ship . . . so we used the People Mover multiple times.

This is a magical trip! Enjoy!!

We are considering 2 possibly 3 B2B in May 19 on Constellation. I cant find much info on the process for turnaround days. Venice and Rome would be the turn around ports. Can anyone provide info on what occurs on these days. I assume we are able to treat it as a port day and we would receive new pass cards in the morning and then get out and about?

 

Booking early so anticipated having the same cabin throughout.

 

Also thoughts on 29 days cruisung the Med, is it too ambitious will we be burnt out from too many ports? Healthy mid 50s couple longest previous cruise 14 days which we loved.

Curiously Celebrity do not seem to offer any disount or perks for booking B2B which surprised me.

Any info appreciated.

Have no experience on the B2B turnaround in Venice and Rome, but in Hong Kong, the B2B was an exchange of our old ship card for our new one in the morning - then off to tour. They also gave us an official note to show, when we returned later in the day, in order to bypass the embarkation lines.

Regarding port burnout - if you are asking the question, then the answer is probably yes! We enjoyed an Asian 28-day B2B, but had 12 days at sea. To prevent burnout, you might choose to schedule to stay on-board at a couple of ports or at least limit your off-ship time there to only a couple of hours. One of our best days on our Asian B2B was when we skipped a port and had the ship mostly to ourselves!

There is a small discount for booking consecutive cruises ---$50 to $100 range -- but it may not show automatically, it might be something you need to ask for.

Yes, there is a small discount for B2B but you must ask for it. And, you can ask even if you are already booked. I once spent 33 days on a B2B2B in the Mediterranean. It can be tiring, so you need to pace yourself as others have said.

It is possible to travel to Rome from Cititavecchia. We once scheduled a private tour and it was very doable in one day. However, you need to limit what you try to do it Rome. The drive is about 1.5 to 2 hours each way.

I have found that there are different procedures for the turn around day in Europe, but they all involve getting a new sea pass card and then being free to leave the ship for the day.

In 2018 I am doing the May 17 and May 28 cruises on the Connie. Really looking forward to it.

Carolyn

We did a b2b that was 24 days this past July. The meeting is usually the day before and it lasted about 30 minutes. There were only about 28 people in the meeting so as I nice gesture we were all invited to a sail away on the bow of the ship. We received our new cards in the meeting and were told to exit with the old cards and return with the new ones. We visited Amsterdam that afternoon and made it back to the ship a few hours before the sail away. Doing another b2b in August of 2018 out of Rome.

We did a b2b on the Connie two years ago. Our turnaround day was Civitavecchia (Rome). Since it's not very practical to visit Rome given the time involved, we merely left the ship for about 3 hours and wandered around Civitavecchia. We only had one sea day on the first cruise, so it was a welcome relaxing day.

 

You'll have a meeting a day or two before turnaround and be given very specific instructions. You'll also receive a letter that outlines the process. We were indeed given our new seapasses along with an "In Transit" card which allowed us to reboard without any line.

 

In Civitavecchia there was a shuttle provided from the ship to the port entrance, which is in town, and the same for the return (no cost).

 

In Venice, you should be able to use the People Mover from the port entrance to Piazzale Roma and from there, use a vaporetta to St Mark's or wherever else you'd like to go. Our first cruise started in Venice and we spent a few days there before embarkation and then overnighted on the ship . . . so we used the People Mover multiple times.

 

This is a magical trip! Enjoy!!

It is also a very interesting walk from Piazzale Roma through to St Marks square. The route is clearly marked with signage. One walks through narrow streets and across little bridges. Keep an eye out for the signs Rialto as well and one will end up crossing the Rialto bridge en route to St Marks. We walked to St Marks but caught the HOHO ferry back to the cruise terminal

It is also a very interesting walk from Piazzale Roma through to St Marks square. The route is clearly marked with signage. One walks through narrow streets and across little bridges. Keep an eye out for the signs Rialto as well and one will end up crossing the Rialto bridge en route to St Marks. We walked to St Marks but caught the HOHO ferry back to the cruise terminal

We also loved this walk!

Re avoiding burnout in the Med....We have done several Med cruises and landtours and the best way we have found to avoid ‘burn out’ is to keep variety in your sightseeing.

Obviously you will want to do some city tours but then book a boat trip on one of the Greek islands...At another stop look on trip advisor for recommendations for a restaurant or bar with a view and simply sit, enjoy and soak in the atmosphere!

The temptation to see all the highlights of every destination needs to be tempered with some reality. Much as we enjoyed visiting Pompey, touring the Acropolis and feeling the history of Knossos we also have fabulous memories of Lasagne and ice cold lager in Plaka, tapas on the roof terrace of a little back street bar in Rhodes and a boat trip in Crete that served some very bizarre local cocktails!

Sincere best wishes for what will be, I am sure, a really fabulous cruise!

A massive thank you to all of you have responded on this thread, so many of my B2B questions answered. What a great resource this forum is.

I have spoken directly with Celebrity as has a travel agent I have requested quotes through and both said no discount for B2B. I am in Australia, perhaps this is the difference, perhaps not, I will continue to ask the question, so thank you to those who confirmed there should be some, if only small, discount.

We intend to spend a few pre or post cruise days in Rome, so thanks to those who provided info on the area around the port, I had already considered using the Rome turnaround day as somewhat of stay on board or not stray too far day to recharge.

The info on Venice is also much appreciated and gives me some ideas.

Chemmo "The temptation to see all the highlights of every destination needs to be tempered with some reality. Much as we enjoyed visiting Pompey, touring the Acropolis and feeling the history of Knossos we also have fabulous memories of Lasagne and ice cold lager in Plaka, tapas on the roof terrace of a little back street bar in Rhodes and a boat trip in Crete that served some very bizarre local cocktails!" This is the sort of trip I would like to achieve also with a good mix of full on and chilled out.

Thanks again all!!

Ranks: I am late to this discussion, but as someone who almost does B2B, B2B2B or even once a B2B2B2B series I just wanted to comment that you will receive a succinct instruction letter regarding the turnaround day procedure before the actual turnaround day. If you use the Cruise Critic search function you also should be able to find detailed descriptions of the process, but just remember that how the turnaround day is handled depends on the port, the number of turnaround passengers, and, in my opinion, the preferences of the documentation officer. So you may be issued your new seapass card (which you will receive even though you are staying in the same stateroom) on board or from the pier coordinator if you decide to exit the ship.

But no matter how the day is handled you will receive a "Transit Card" (which is what a prior poster called a special note) which allows you to avoid the long lines for those embarking. Also be aware that unused Internet minutes or non-refundable OBC are not credited to the next cruise as Celebrity views the individual legs as separate cruises from an accounting perspective.

Also, if you decide to remain on board and you are not invited to a B2B lunch then ask at Guest Relations if you can attend the Concierge Class embarkation lunch. Also be aware that if there are a sufficient number of B2B passengers Shore Excurions may offer a special shore excursion. Also, from your roll call you may find that there are a number of B2B passengers so a private shore excursion could also be organized.

Ranks: I am late to this discussion, but as someone who almost does B2B, B2B2B or even once a B2B2B2B series I just wanted to comment that you will receive a succinct instruction letter regarding the turnaround day procedure before the actual turnaround day. If you use the Cruise Critic search function you also should be able to find detailed descriptions of the process, but just remember that how the turnaround day is handled depends on the port, the number of turnaround passengers, and, in my opinion, the preferences of the documentation officer. So you may be issued your new seapass card (which you will receive even though you are staying in the same stateroom) on board or from the pier coordinator if you decide to exit the ship.

 

But no matter how the day is handled you will receive a "Transit Card" (which is what a prior poster called a special note) which allows you to avoid the long lines for those embarking. Also be aware that unused Internet minutes or non-refundable OBC are not credited to the next cruise as Celebrity views the individual legs as separate cruises from an accounting perspective.

 

Also, if you decide to remain on board and you are not invited to a B2B lunch then ask at Guest Relations if you can attend the Concierge Class embarkation lunch. Also be aware that if there are a sufficient number of B2B passengers Shore Excurions may offer a special shore excursion. Also, from your roll call you may find that there are a number of B2B passengers so a private shore excursion could also be organized.

Thanks, lots of good info!

We have now booked B2B Venice to Venice to Rome, so Venice will be our turnaround day and Rome our end port.

Then we are jumping on the Edge, Rome to Barcelona 6 days later. This will break up the cruising and give us some time in Rome.

Thanks again everyone.

Both Rome and Venice deserve/need more than a day so keep that in mind when planning. If you are doing a turn around in Cititavecchia consider just doing a tour of the countryside around there. We did it a year ago when we had a late afternoon flight and Rome Cabs provided a driver and an wonderful morning for us.

Both Rome and Venice deserve/need more than a day so keep that in mind when planning. If you are doing a turn around in Cititavecchia consider just doing a tour of the countryside around there. We did it a year ago when we had a late afternoon flight and Rome Cabs provided a driver and an wonderful morning for us.

Thanks Mr Click. We had deifinatly considered the need to spend more time in both places, will arrive in Venice for 1 or 2 pre cruise nights and as per my last post, now doing a B2B with a turnaround in Venice and will now debark in Rome and have 6 nights to fill in before our 3rd cruise departs, so plenty of time for Rome.

Great idea to book a six day gap in Rome!

Just an idea, but on a couple of recent cruises where we had stays longer than a night or two we looked at self catering apartments....

We just enjoyed the freedom of breakfasting lightly at the time we wanted, some evenings just crashing out on our veranda with simply made meals and wine from the local supermarket....We enjoyed the real contrast to the life on board. It also made catching up on laundry really easy too as we looked for apartments with washer dryers!

When we have done this we have either gone for a city centre location or on a short direct simple commute to where we intended to spend most of our time...Using google street view we could ensure we knew where local shops, restaurants, bus stops etc were (never have trusted phrases like ‘just a short walk from...’)! We have never done this in Rome but the site we use is showing 50 apartments....

Cost wise, there is great variety depending on what facilities are important to you, we have certainly found it no dearer than most mid range hotels, worth looking at. Just a final point if you do choose to search some self catering apartments and villas on the site we use some apartments and villas can be limited to 7+ nights. For the sake of paying for a night you may not need not worth ruling out options. Also if you book the first night as your last night on the ship you will not have to wait for a pm check in time, the apartment will be ready as you arrive.

Just a thought.....

Great idea to book a six day gap in Rome!

 

We have never done this in Rome but the site we use is showing 50 apartments....

 

 

Hi Chemmo,

 

We are planning a repositiioning cruise from Singapore - Rome. Then planing a stay in Rome for about 8 days would be interested if you could share site you use showing 50 apartments. Our address is jean_warren at westnet dot com dot au

 

After our stay in Rome planning 4N in St Petersburg and 4N in Moscow before flying home to Australia. Well thats the plan.....lol :)

 

Jean

Great idea to book a six day gap in Rome!

 

We have never done this in Rome but the site we use is showing 50 apartments....

 

 

Hi Chemmo,

 

We are planning a repositiioning cruise from Singapore - Rome. Then planing a stay in Rome for about 8 days would be interested if you could share site you use showing 50 apartments. Our address is jean_warren at westnet dot com dot au

 

After our stay in Rome planning 4N in St Petersburg and 4N in Moscow before flying home to Australia. Well thats the plan.....lol :)

 

Jean

 

I know there are rules on naming travel agencies etc....I don’t think the site we use comes under that category....it is a site that mainly allows home owners to let out their holiday properties, it is called ‘Homeaway.com’.

 

I know there are rules on naming travel agencies etc....I don’t think the site we use comes under that category....it is a site that mainly allows home owners to let out their holiday properties, it is called ‘Homeaway.com’.

Thanks. Yes I know about HomeAway and Airbnb have only used Airbnb before.

 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Forums mobile app

Thanks. Yes I know about HomeAway and Airbnb have only used Airbnb before.

 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Forums mobile app

 

Good luck!

 

Use the filter bar to enter in number of people and other things you see as necessities....(for Rome I simply clicked 2 guests, 1 bedroom). When we have wanted a bigger apartment or villa we have started our search by entering 4 guests initially (even if only two of us) to stop it filtering out bigger properties. In cities your choices can be more limited if a pool is a priority.

 

Good luck!

 

Use the filter bar to enter in number of people and other things you see as necessities....(for Rome I simply clicked 2 guests, 1 bedroom). When we have wanted a bigger apartment or villa we have started our search by entering 4 guests initially (even if only two of us) to stop it filtering out bigger properties. In cities your choices can be more limited if a pool is a priority.

Thanks will try that. Have you had any probs using HomeAway cancellation etc?

 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Forums mobile app

Thanks will try that. Have you had any probs using HomeAway cancellation etc?

 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Forums mobile app

 

No, no issues so far. we have used them a few times now. Up until now we have booked specific properties and have had direct contact with the home owners. Properties have matched the descriptions and have been spotless. Next year we have a booking with them through more of an agency (not one specific apartment just an apartment in a block, we are unsure if it will work as well).

 

They do offer some protection (read the terms and conditions). You need to check your holiday insurance and see how you are covered. We have never needed to cancel so can’t comment on that.

Good advice. I haven't needed to cancel either but when paying upfront always like to make sure. Thanks

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Forums mobile app