Question about back to back cruise

[relo]

Hi,

 

We just decided that we are going on our very first cruise. To do it right the first time we are going to do an back to back cruise on the Equinox. On both cruises we have the same stateroom.

 

The question I have is if on the last day of the first cruise can we leave everything in the stateroom or do we have to pack everything in and take the suitcases of the ship. And do we have to check in again or isn't that necessary.

 

 

We arrive in the port at 8am (end of the first cruise) and leave (start second cruise) 8pm. We are planning to visit the city during the day so taking the suitcases of the ship will make our plans difficult.

 

Thanks in advance for offering any help.

 

Remko

[Denny01]

Boy, you are starting off with a bang. You'll love it. But to answer some of your questions, we'd need to know what the port you are cruising from. That impacts how you handle the transfer.

 

As to the SR, since you are staying in the same SR you don't have to pack up. Except for getting a new ship onboard ID/charge card and going through customs/security (maybe), you treat this like another port call.

 

If you this is a US port, then you'll get off the ship and go through security and get back on. Probably after your tour/city visit. If in Europe, you don't have to leave the ship at all unless you want to go on a tour or on your own. Like another port there. The ship will set up a special departure for you and the other B2B people. Should go very smoothly.

 

We do our first B2B out of Rome - E Med out/in of Rome and then a Transatlantic to Ft Lauerdale.

 

Denny

 

So let us know and we can pass you more specifics.

[relo]

Thank you for your quick reply. The first cruise is Venice - Athen, the second is Athene - Barcelona.

 

We couldn't decide which one we liked more, so we tought, why not both.

 

Remkp

[Denny01]

Someone who has done a B2B out of Athens can chime in, but for EU Europe, you normally don't have to go through any extended security or custom check. Pulling into Athens will be like calling on another port. You can head off on your tours and come back with no hassle. You'll get new Boarding/Key Card for the next cruise and that may be the night before, or early that AM. I bet there are more then a few B2B'ers with you.

 

Go on over to your Roll Call for both cruises and check in. You can also sign up for the Cruisecritic Celebrity connections party. The Roll Call is a forum for specific cruises. Use the 'Celebrity Roll Call' at the top of this forum to click on. then go to Equinox and then find your two cruises. I bet they are very active.

 

What a great duo you've set up. A great mix of ports.

 

We booked the Solstice 30 Nov 09 E TransAtlatnic cruise Rome to Ft Lauderale, and talked friends into joining us. They booked the 20 Nov E Med Rome to Greek Islands to Rome and talked us into that one! I'm still working, so I hope I still have a job when I get back!

 

Denny

[hajekfam]

Someone who has done a B2B out of Athens can chime in, but for EU Europe, you normally don't have to go through any extended security or custom check.

 

It will depend on what your port stop before Athens is. As long as you are stopping at EU countries, you should be okay and not have to go through customs or immigration. However, we did a Venice to Barcelona cruise and did have to go through immigration (rather than doing it personally, the ship collected all passengers' passports the day before we arrived in Athens and the ships security people then brought them to be inspected and stamped and the passports were returned to us the next day) as our port before Athens was a non-EU port (Dubrovnik, Croatia).

[ellbon]

i would think he would get an In transit card too. that way you seem to get thru all the lines very fast if they are running around town.

[Scottish Cruiser]

It should be no problem. You will get a new card the night before. You use the old one to leave teh ship and the new one to reboard. You will get a transt form to show when you reboard which allows you to bypass all the formalities of check-in. There are two things you will need to do - one, have your photo taken again - two, register your credit card at teh front desk later that day or early the next.

 

Join the roll call for both cruises and register for the Cruise Critic welcome for both. If there are over 25 registered, they will have a Cruise Critic "Meet and Greet" when you can meet the other Cruise Critic members on teh roll call and some of the crew. You can ask there about the formalities. You can also ask the concierge who will have a desk near the front desk.

 

On the second cruise you will proobably be invited to a B2B reception with others who are doing it too. Again you will meet some of the officers.

 

Have a great time. Back to backs are a great way to go, and the Med has wonderful ports of call.

[relo]

Thank you for all your replies. One thing less to be worried about. Our ports are Venice, Dubrovnic, Corfu, Istanbul, Kusadasi, Mykonos, Santorini and Athene (first cruise). The second is Athene, Naples, Florence, Ibiza, Valencia, Mallorca and finishing in Barcelona. So we won't have a problem with immigration in Athene.

 

One thing I forget to mention is that both cruises are charters, but I don't expect that will make much difference on how these things are handled. I certainly expect a few more back to back cruisers.

 

Remko

[MikeyD30]

We are also doing a B2B cruise in the Southern Caribbean on the Summit in March. We will be in the same stateroom, but will we have to leave the ship and reboard to get our new sea passes or can you just get them from the Customer Services desk?

 

Thanks

[Lsimon]

We are also doing a B2B cruise in the Southern Caribbean on the Summit in March. We will be in the same stateroom, but will we have to leave the ship and reboard to get our new sea passes or can you just get them from the Customer Services desk?

 

Thanks

 

I think the details of how you get your new pass varies slightly from cruise to cruise and even ship to ship. On ours, Ft. Lauderdale turn around, those staying on board met in a conference room towards the end of the OP's (Other passengers) disembarkation. We were given our new passes there then escorted through customs and back onto the ship. Those leaving for the day were given an "in-transit" pass to re-board the ship and told to go to guest relations desk when re-boarding to get their new pass.

 

We were in the same stateroom and didn't have to pack a thing. I believe that friends who had to change were told to pack everything but their hanging items and the stateroom attendants moved things for them.

[ellbon]

I have done several B2B's in FLL and SJ. in SJ you have to be off the ship about an hour. IN FLL it has been with in 10 or 15 minutes i am back on.

 

Also i tell my room attendant the first day. i want him to know i am staying so no locked fridge-only celelbrity does that. But i find i get better service that way too.

[MikeyD30]

Thanks for the info