Back to Back on Epic

[English Rose]

I have just booked a back-to-back cruise starting on 16 October. I have never done this before. Do we have to disembark the ship at any point? We have 2 sea days at the end of the first week and one to start the new week so we will be on the ship for 4 days in a row which isn't ideal. Can we get off the ship in Miami and return as though we were just in port? If so, is it easy to get a taxi or maybe I should organise a driver to take us to the shops etc. How would we embark the ship again? Any advice much appreciated.

[Cruisin'cockney]

I have just booked a back-to-back cruise starting on 16 October. I have never done this before. Do we have to disembark the ship at any point? We have 2 sea days at the end of the first week and one to start the new week so we will be on the ship for 4 days in a row which isn't ideal. Can we get off the ship in Miami and return as though we were just in port? If so, is it easy to get a taxi or maybe I should organise a driver to take us to the shops etc. How would we embark the ship again? Any advice much appreciated.

 

Rose, I am also doing a b2b in September myself. As I understand it, you should disembark in Miami on the middle Saturday with your 'photo ID etc and can mooch around in Miami for a few hours and reboard an hour or so before sailing in order to escape the new passenger crush. There should be plenty of taxis around the port area but they will be looking to take you a little further than the nearest shops - I would suggest one of the big outlet malls would be a better bet. If you are in the same cabin for both weeks you can leave your luggage in-situ.

 

The 2nd week should be great as we will be familiar with the layout, activities etc whilst the rest are still finding their feet. Especially as it is a new ship. Also, all the one-off activities can be easily repeated i.e. 2 lots of BMG, 2 Cirques etc. :cool: Enjoy.

[DebJef]

We too are b2b on 18th December, to span the Christmas / holiday period (and have never done this before). I enquired in a previous post about getting off the ship, but ofcourse it'll be Christmas Day on our turnaround day, so not much open to go look at. The days at sea seem to be a good thing for us - more time to enjoy what the ship has to offer, so we saw that as a positive.

 

Is it a UK thing to want to do 14 nights? I know my cruise was advertised (on a UK cruise website) not as b2b but as a 14 night cruise, and the only people I have come across doing this are Brits. I hope more people will reply saying they are doing the same.

[English Rose]

Thank you both for your replies. Much appreciated.

 

Yes, I feel very appreciative that I can have a great week's cruise and then have a chance to do it all again the next week! I can't wait. Debjef - your cruising in December is what we would normally do on RCCL and are always cruising at Xmas and New Year (not back to back but stay in Florida until after New Year). This would be our ideal but with my 18 year old son training to be a pilot he will only have a few days leave at Xmas and I have to be at home for him. Half term in October is the next best thing and my 17 year old daughter certainly doesn't mind being taken out of 6th form for a week (although I am feeling very guilty about it).

 

You are correct that I booked this as a 14 day cruise and it does seem to be a UK thing. With flights sometimes being more expensive than the cruise we need to get our money's worth! Got a great deal from Virgin cruises - normally do my own thing but this was cheaper than I could do it and so far so good with them. Hope you both have a wonderful cruise. Would love to hear how September goes when you return CruisinCockney!

[MM42]

Is it a UK thing to want to do 14 nights?

 

I'm Canadian and I'll do a 14 night on the Epic.

[OhioJeff]

I'm Canadian and I'll do a 14 night on the Epic.

Yep, the 14 day cruises are open to anyone and are on the ncl website.

[CaptData]

I\m doing 14 days too. Yes, if you want to walk off bring your passport, and another copy of the boarding pass (Just in case). Get the tag for early walk off grab a cab to where you want to go beach, hotel, or shopping. Get back by 2:30 (90 mins prior). Enjoy.

[garycarla]

You of course will have to go through immigration, especially since you are not a US Citizen.

 

By the way, this issue applies to all NCL ships, not just the Epic. Asking on the main board will get more responses from those that have sailed and out of Miami, etc.

[MM42]

You of course will have to go through immigration, especially since you are not a US Citizen.

 

Everybody that does a back-to back cruise has to go through immigration, US Citizen or not.

[oLEEander]

We did a b2b a few years ago out of Miami. We were issued sign and sail key cards that were dated for the entire b2b span because we had a single booking #. Others on the ship had 2 booking numbers and had to go through the re-boarding process to get new sign and sail cards. I'm not sure if this required them to actually get in line with the other new arriving passengers, or if they got a "go to the head of the line" pass. We all were required to attend a meeting about customs and how we all "had to leave the ship", if only to a provided lounge area for a few minutes when we returned to port mid-cruise. We had planned to go to south beach while we were back in port so we just left the next morning sometime during the normal disembarking time span. I really can't remember if we handed in our declaration statement as we left or if we had a custom's pass, but what ever we did was what we'd been told to do the day before. We didn't stay in port as long as we thought so when we got back to the ship the new passengers were lined up out the door to get on board. We just flashed our key cards at various security spots along the way had our backpacks run through the scanners and directly re-boarded the ship. Taxis were plentiful when we left the ship so you really don't need make prior arrangements for a driver. The ship will also have Miami excursions available if you wish to go that route.