Back to back cruises

[maltoose181]

On our last cruise we met some people who were doing a back-to-back cruise. There were over 40 of them. I have some questions:

1. What do you do on the turnaround day- do you have to leave the ship?

2. What are some of the best back-to-back cruises on Princess?

Thanks!

[Shogun]

Hi There,

 

If in a US port you need to get of ship do customs you can then turn around and go straight back on ship or go ashore your choice.

 

Cruises I like are East /West Carib, or Med, Or like the one I just did Quebec to the Carib.

 

yours Shogun

[newfirsttimer]

I did the B2B out of San Juan on CB last November. The intinerary was great, covered most of the southern and eastern caribbean islands. On turnaround day they will have you wait with the other folks continuing on, walk you off the ship, you get a new card and then can rejoin the ship. Since we were in San Juan, we went into town and toured around before getting back on the ship. Best of all you get to hit St. Thomas twice, once for the shopping and once for the beach. This was a great 14 days.

[paul929207]

We did two b2b's this year.

 

The first was the Pacific Princess from Fort Lauderdale to Manaus, Brazil and back. It was14 days each way. The only "problem" was that all the ports were dulplicate.

 

The second was two 18 day transatlantic cruises on the Tahitian Princess from NYC to Dover and back. Only one port (Qaqarqok) was duplicated.

 

We booked both trips early enough to get the same cabin on each pair of cruises.

[WeBeGone]

We think the best b2b are the ones with 2 different itineraries and that are far away (thus saving some airfare).

 

We've done 2:

The best was on the Tahitian Princess, b2b, Marquases and Cook Islands. Each cruise was 10 days so we thought that we got the most bang for our buck doing 20 days at one time. We changed balcony cabins on turn around day then took a half day tour. The cabin steward moved us so changing cabins was easy.

 

The other was a Med cruise b2b with a fall TA back to Ft. Lauderdale. We had the same mini for these 28 days and it was heaven.

[luvlake]

We did a B2B this summer to Alaska on the Sapphire. We were fortunate enough to have the same cabin both weeks. Our trip was from Anchorage to Vancouver and back.

 

The night before we reached Vancouver we received a packet with information about your new card and transit info. We decided to leave the ship early in the morning to see the town. We scanned our card, told Princess employees in the terminal that we were "in transit" and we were out the door in no time. Upon returning we did the same thing, told employees we were "in transit" and were back on board within a short time.

 

We did hit same ports each week but we did different excursions each week. All of our excursions were out of town.

 

This was definately a fabulous cruise for us. We were with 21 friends and family first week and 6 on second week. Would do this trip again and again. The scenery for 2 weeks was the highlight!:)

[Grannycb]

We did the b2b on Island Princess last May. It was the nicest Princess cruise we've taken. We left from Vancouver and did the turn around at Whittier. During the day in Whittier we went on a boat excursion. Wonderful! There are so many interesting things to do in Alaska that having two days at each port worked out very well. I'd do that trip again in a heartbeat!

[Toto2Kansas]

Our best B2B cruise was the one we were on recently. Hawaii to Tahiti (11 days-but this will be increasing to 12 days the next time it is offered) and then 10 days around the Tahitian Islands. Only a couple of repeated ports this way, and also only one longgggggg miserable flight home. ;)

 

No fuss on turnaround day, you receive your cruise card the evening prior and just use it to reboard after noon on turnaround day. No having to get off the ship and go through any type of customs in Tahiti.

 

It was so wonderful, we booked it again for 2011. ;)

[Psee]

We like the short B2B cruises best since we can take advantage of the multiple past cruise credits and less expensive suites. We've done 2 B2B's on the short 3 or 4 day cruises and have been able to enjoy a full suite for much less than a normal 7 day cruise. The double past cruise credits (quadruple for full suites now) is a big plus for us. :)

[caribill]

Although you do not have to get off of the ship (other than possibly for imigration), you may wish to do so and explore the town or nearby sights. Often Princess will have shore excursions available just for the B2B passengers on turnaround day.

[paul929207]

Although you do not have to get off of the ship (other than possibly for imigration), you may wish to do so and explore the town or nearby sights. Often Princess will have shore excursions available just for the B2B passengers on turnaround day.

We treat the turnaround day as another port day. Sometimes we have taken a tour (Princess or private), others we have walked into town to see the sights and others we have just stayed on the ship.

[dfields1814]

We took a B2B on the Grand. The first legs was a transatlantic from Fort Lauderdale to Southampton stopping in Scotland, Ireland, France and Cornwall. Then we took the second leg to Europe stopping in Spain, France, Italy, Monte Carlo, Gibralter and Corsica. Each leg was about 15 days for a total of about 30 days. It was great. If you have the time I would highly recommend these cruises.

 

On the turn around day in Southampton, we could either stay on board or disembark. If I remember correctly there were no shore excursions for continuing passengers. The shore excursions were only for disembarking passengers.

 

Don't forget on a B2B you don't have to attend the second muster drill!!

[Pam in CA]

I'm doing my first B2B next year to extend a 7-day Christmas cruise to 11 days. We go to Santa Barbara and Ensenada then back to San Pedro; turn around and do the Mexican Riviera. I know the weather won't be the best but I don't care. Seven days is just too short for a cruise. :) I suppose we could go home (45 minutes away) for a couple of hours on turnaround but that doesn't seem worth it.

[jowahe]

I've done 2 btb cruises. First was a couple of years ago on the Diamond -- 7 days from Vancouver to Los Angeles followed by a 7 day Mexican Riviera also ending in L.A. I had the same cabin on both legs, so it was easy. We had to get off the ship for immigration/customs, but were allowed back aboard almost immediately. There would have been plenty of time to take a local tour, but watching the harbor traffic and the shipping business was very interesting in itself.

 

This year, I took another 7 day Pacific Coastal cruise from Vancouver to L.A. followed by a 14 day cruise to Hawaii and return. This was on the Golden and I also had the same cabin on both legs. When I first booked, I was given different cabins on each leg, but my travel agent soon corrected that with Princess. Again, the turn around day was the same. Off the ship for immigration/customs, then right back on with the rest of the day free for whatever.

[chasetf]

On our last cruise we met some people who were doing a back-to-back cruise. There were over 40 of them. I have some questions:

1. What do you do on the turnaround day- do you have to leave the ship?

If turning around in a US port you have to go through immigration. Customs (with luggage) only happens when you depart on the second leg. The times we have done a US port (all Princess) they have you gather (usually the casino) and led us in a group off the ship and back on with our new cruise cards. The one we did in Tahiti we just needed to register our new card. We then had the rest of the day free. Great time to get a deck lounge.

2. What are some of the best back-to-back cruises on Princess?

I would recommend doing something that has alternating itineraries (like eastern and western Caribbean). Another great one would be a repo with a RT before or after. Something with the same itinerary could be boring unless you just want to go to the beach in Caribbean for instance.

Thanks!

See comments.

 

B2Bs are great way to extend if you have time and you save on the airfare. You get to cover more ground (if different itineraries).

 

One interesting thing happened on our Tahiti B2B. The ship's entertainers ended their tour on our first leg. So it was different seeing the same shows the next week performed by different singers and dancers.

[m steve]

no need to pack anything unless you change cabins.

Also you will get your duty free on the last day so you can drink it on second leg. Sometimes when you book it as a B2B (one cruise) there is a savings. I am not sure I would want to do the exact same cruise twice. East/west Caribbean is a possible or Alaska/Panama Canal another. Also 2 in Europe.

[paul929207]

no need to pack anything unless you change cabins.

Also you will get your duty free on the last day so you can drink it on second leg. Sometimes when you book it as a B2B (one cruise) there is a savings. I am not sure I would want to do the exact same cruise twice. East/west Caribbean is a possible or Alaska/Panama Canal another. Also 2 in Europe.

You get the booze at the end of the first leg if you have booked the b2b as two crusies.

[maltoose181]

Thanks for all the replies. Different ports sounds like the way to go. Again thanks.

[PescadoAmarillo]

Our upcoming Ruby cruises will be our 12th B2B cruises...we obviously like them a lot. As others have mentioned, we like them best with different itineraries (or, in the case of the Caribbean B2B cruises we've done, we repeat St. Thomas and Princess Cays but the other ports are different on the two cruises). We also like to book them well in advance so we're in the same cabin for both cruises (although we've done them where we've had to change cabins too). We're already booked for B2B2B on the Emerald for 2011.

 

My favorite B2B cruises were on Celebrity, from Valparaiso, Chile to Buenos Aires, Argentina, and then the next cruise went up to Rio for Carnaval. 28 nights of perfection. My second favorite were on RC, San Juan to San Diego through the Panama Canal, and then out to and around the Hawaii islands. That was 23 nights total, and we spent an extra week in Hawaii before we flew home. The Princess B2Bs we've done have been in the Caribbean, and we love them too. We just added a third, week long cruise on the Crown to our Ruby B2B cruises...the price was right, and since we'll already be in Fort Lauderdale, we'll have no airfare.

 

We will no longer fly for a cruise of less than 14 nights, so B2B cruises are a logical choice for us. If I lived in Florida, my cruise bill would be horrendous.

[Bucky3]

We no longer fly for any cruise, so I'm really watching for reports of any/all LONG cruises that leave from any US/Canadian port and return. We just returned 11/22 from two 30-day b/b cruises SF to Syd and Syd to LA on Star Princess. Our favorite cruise has always been the one we are on at the time, but these 60 days are now at the very top of the list. We've booked it again for next year on Sapphire. Ports will be almost the same, but there is so much to do in each it will not be a problem. We loved all the ports included in Hawaii, Tahiti, Samoa, Fiji, New Zealand (including the Fjords). Wish our turnaround day in Sydney had been at least an overnight, but we managed to get in the city sights and harbor cruise and make a list for next time! There was no problem getting off the ship early for our Princess AM tour of the city.

 

Just wish we could get to the Med by ship from the US and back without it costing an arm and a leg, but haven't found a way to do that one!!

[cruiserbryce]

our back to back on Carnival was so much fun. All we had to do was get off and turn around and get right back on. It was fun to be one of the first few on board....interesting to see the ship that empty. We would really love to do it again on an alternating Carib itinerary

[DrJohn]

We did 4 b2bs on the Grand starting from Southampton Sept 5 this year -- one 14 day and 3 12 day. First was Europe and Med to Rome, second was Med and Greek Isles to Venice, third was Venice and Greek Isles (some new ports) to Rome, and fourth was Rome to Rome including Greek Isles Istanbul and Egypt. It was great! Itineraries were different enough to be enjoyable, got a chance to do different tours in the same port (in Naples we did the Amalfi Coast, Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Capri since we were there 3 times), and multiple chances to see Greek Isles where sometimes weather forces a pass. All that with one round trip airfare. Great way to start retirement...

[spunkie4]

We received our room assignment last night. Unfortunately, we will have to move for the second cruise. Our TA tried this morning to have us moved to a lower-category balcony, freeing up the higher level for someone, but was unsuccessful.

 

What can we expect as far as moving our clothes, time-frame to do this, etc.

 

We are really disappointed in Princess. We booked these cruises in June, and as many know, the cruise booked very slowly. This is our 5/6 cruise this year with Princess, so I guess they don't look out for their repeat customers!

 

Thanks for any input re the "moving day" experience.

 

Shirley

[luvlake]

We were able to keep our room on our B2B but you will read on these boards over and over again that changing rooms is not a problem. You may have to pack up a few things but your room steward will help you move from one cabin to the other. I would not let this ruin your expectations of the trip. Let it be a small inconvenience.:)

[PescadoAmarillo]

Thanks for any input re the "moving day" experience.

Shirley, we've had to move on about 4 or 5 of our B2B cruises. Here's how we handle it:

-During the first cruise, we mention to our cabin steward that we are staying on the ship, albeit in a different cabin, and we will be late vacating our cabin.

-During the first cruise, usually on a sea day morning, we seek out the likely cabin steward of the cabin we'll be moving too. Chances are, it's the same cabin steward servicing that cabin during the current cruise, but not always.

-The morning of turnaround day, we ask our cabin steward for a cart. Sometimes we get one, sometimes we don't. We have never, ever, not once, received help or even the offer of help beyond that. Maybe we just look able-bodied; I'm not sure. However, the cabin stewards are so busy that morning that we don't press the issue.

-We move ourselves in three or four trips with the cart. We don't pack our suitcases...we simply move stacks of clothing or hanging clothes on their hangers (and we bring some back from the new cabin to take their place). We'll put our bathroom stuff in plastic shopping bags.

-We put our things away in the new cabin with each trip. It seems easier to us to not be overwhelmed with our new cabin looking like a tornado hit.

The whole thing takes about 30 minutes or so. We're usually done in time to go through Immigration (if required) with the rest of the B2Bers.