Back to Back Cruises

[ContessaK]

We're planning b2b cruises in October 2013 (anyone else b2b in Oct?!) and wondered if there are perks to this option? Do you like to stay in the same room or is moving preferable? How does it work when you're back in port? Does your seating in MDR change? How much is it to wash a whole bag of laundry, because I'm not getting off the cruise and taking a taxi just to go do laundry, and having to reboard again! What else do I need to know?

 

I don't want to miss out on anything as this is a first cruise for hubby, 2nd for me.

[Merion_Mom]

We're planning b2b cruises in October 2013 (anyone else b2b in Oct?!) and wondered if there are perks to this option? Do you like to stay in the same room or is moving preferable? How does it work when you're back in port? Does your seating in MDR change? How much is it to wash a whole bag of laundry, because I'm not getting off the cruise and taking a taxi just to go do laundry, and having to reboard again! What else do I need to know?

 

I don't want to miss out on anything as this is a first cruise for hubby, 2nd for me.

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

A back to back cruise is a lot of fun, mainly for saying nyah nyah nyah to the people who have to leave after 7 days. :D

 

It is always preferable to stay in the same room, as long as you are happy with your room. If they offer an upgrade on the second leg, I wouldn't turn it down! If you do have to move, your cabin steward will do most of it for you.

 

You are unlikely to keep the same table in the dining room; if you have a strong preference, speak to the Maitre D' on day 5 or 6 of the first leg.

 

There will be a "laundry special" on day 4 or 5. It will be $25 for all that you can fit into a bag. The bag looks small, but you will be amazed at how much you can cram into it. You are only allowed underwear, t-shirts, shorts and pjs, wash & fold only. Others caution against putting in strong colors because of the danger of color bleed. Also, shrinkage is a possibility with delicates, so don't put any delicates in the bag.

 

You could use this on one or both legs.

 

As long as the ship knows that you are on consecutive cruises, everything will go smoothly. (you should drop by Guest Services some time early during the first cruise to be sure that you are on their consecutive list). You'll get a letter in your room giving you specific instructions. (different ships and different ports handle things differently). But it won't be difficult or complicated.

[Bobal]

I also have a question re B2B. What happens on changeover day with your cabin since when we board the doorways to the cabins are usually blocked off until the cabins are available at 1pm. Does this mean we have to get out of our room some time in the morning and can't go back until 1pm?

[heatherb1958]

Hi Anne, how are you?.

We have done a lot of B2Bs, you getter better value from your travel costs by doing a B2B;).

 

If you are going ashore on change over day it is not a problem , more often than not we stay on the ship.

If we are changing cabin I go to see the new room steward when I am on the current cruise to introduce myself. They are usually quite obliging and will make up your cabin first as soon as the previous occupants have left then I can move the valuables to the safe and hand luggage. Your previous room steward will move the stuff hung up in the wardrobe on a rail and your suitcases when they are free to do so.

 

Every ship is different in how they handle change over day and issue of new seapass cards but at some point you will ping off with your old card and sign on with your new usually by meeting at a set time on the morning of the next cruise with all the other B2B guests and of course if you are in tne USA immigration comes into play.

If you are a B2B guest and want to get to your cabin before 1pm we just tell the door person we are B2B, show your old seapass card. Some ships do a lunch for B2B guests.

Where are you thinking of doing one ?.

We have done them in Barcelona, Malaga, Southampton , San Juan and Fort lauderdale. We will be doing our first B2B out of New Orleans in November.

[Clarea]

I also have a question re B2B. What happens on changeover day with your cabin since when we board the doorways to the cabins are usually blocked off until the cabins are available at 1pm. Does this mean we have to get out of our room some time in the morning and can't go back until 1pm?

Most of the time they just tell us to open the fire doors ourselves.

[Bobal]

Most of the time they just tell us to open the fire doors ourselves.

 

Thanks Bob - you always have the answers - a real valued member of this board :) The first leg of the B2B is the Liberty TA next year which I believe you'll also be on.

[Clarea]

Thanks Bob - you always have the answers - a real valued member of this board :) The first leg of the B2B is the Liberty TA next year which I believe you'll also be on.

Yes, we're still planning on that one, though much can happen between now and then.:)

[cruisenfever]

I also have a question re B2B. What happens on changeover day with your cabin since when we board the doorways to the cabins are usually blocked off until the cabins are available at 1pm. Does this mean we have to get out of our room some time in the morning and can't go back until 1pm?

As Bob has said, you just open up the fire doors and walk to your cabin. Have done it on every b2b we've done.

 

However, you must do it when there are folks waiting for those doors to open and they see you open and walk in. The expression on their faces is worth the price of the b2b.:D

[Gabrielle R.]

What happens IF you are lucky enough to go from one loyalty level to the next on a B2B? Do you get the credit on the 2nd half, or do you stay 'stuck' at the current level and have to wait until you cruise again? Just wondering. :)

[cruisenfever]

What happens IF you are lucky enough to go from one loyalty level to the next on a B2B? Do you get the credit on the 2nd half, or do you stay 'stuck' at the current level and have to wait until you cruise again? Just wondering. :)

If this happens during the first cruise of your b2b, then I would speak to the Loyalty Ambassador before the end of the first cruise.

[Daghis]

At the beginning of your second leg, go to the Loyalty Ambassador onboard and they'll put a sticker on your SeaPass card to reflect your newly acquired status. They'll also give you the updated coupon book, assuming the ship is still using paper coupons at that point.

 

Edited... Or, better, what Patti suggested. :)

[ContessaK]

There will be a "laundry special" on day 4 or 5. It will be $25 for all that you can fit into a bag. The bag looks small, but you will be amazed at how much you can cram into it. You are only allowed underwear, t-shirts, shorts and pjs, wash & fold only.

 

So no jeans/pants or swim suits. I was trying to find a specific list somewhere so this helped. Thanks.

 

What happens IF you are lucky enough to go from one loyalty level to the next on a B2B? Do you get the credit on the 2nd half, or do you stay 'stuck' at the current level and have to wait until you cruise again? Just wondering.

 

By this you mean getting an upgrade? Do they just randomly offer these to people or to certain people or certain booked rooms or what? So if you got an upgrade there's no guarantee that you won't have to go back down to the lower room on the 2nd week? Or are they more accommodating on that or make me pay more?

[ticktoneer]

You can get regular single laundry items done as well. They're not expensive.

 

:-)

[petrakae]

We are also considering a Caribbean B2B on the Independence, and it will be the first time for us on RCL. Is there an unlimited laundry service on RCL? The cruise will be at the beginning of a six week holiday, so we would like to be able to send as much laundry down as we need. I know on HAL this service is available. Thank you in advance:)

[munizhcw]

They are usually quite obliging and will make up your cabin first as soon as the previous occupants have left

[Clarea]

We are also considering a Caribbean B2B on the Independence, and it will be the first time for us on RCL. Is there an unlimited laundry service on RCL? The cruise will be at the beginning of a six week holiday, so we would like to be able to send as much laundry down as we need. I know on HAL this service is available. Thank you in advance:)

No unlimited laundry service on Royal. They have the $25 bag as mentioned a few posts ago. Other than that, you would need to use the regular laundry service. Here is the price list:

 

http://media.royalcaribbean.com/content/en_US/pdf/LaundryPriceList.pdf

[tominabox1]

we did a B2B on Carnival Ecstacy last year, 9 days at sea. Same room both trips. on changeover day, we did laundry (self serve) but found that the hot water was shut off for some reason for most of the day (before boarding started). Eventually hot water came on and we got our wash done :) not sure how that works on RCI but I think the hot water thing was some maintenance task and not a usual occurrance.

 

Sometime late morning, we were escorted to the pier and back on the ship after everybody else was off and issued new sail & sign cards.

 

On our 2nd tour we found a nice plate of chocolate covered strawberries (free) on our bed at turn down in the evening, everything else was the same.

 

One neat thing you can get away with on a B2B is to buy liquor at the shops on the first trip, pick it up at the end of that cruise and take it back to your cabin, then drink it on the 2nd trip! May be a bit sneaky, but it worked for us!

[cruisenfever]

What happens IF you are lucky enough to go from one loyalty level to the next on a B2B? Do you get the credit on the 2nd half, or do you stay 'stuck' at the current level and have to wait until you cruise again? Just wondering.

By this you mean getting an upgrade? Do they just randomly offer these to people or to certain people or certain booked rooms or what? So if you got an upgrade there's no guarantee that you won't have to go back down to the lower room on the 2nd week? Or are they more accommodating on that or make me pay more?

Gabrielle R. was asking about C&A levels and being one level on the first cruise but then going up a level on the second. Her question had nothing to do with upgrades.

[Merion_Mom]

we did a B2B on Carnival Ecstacy last year, 9 days at sea. Same room both trips. on changeover day, we did laundry (self serve) but found that the hot water was shut off for some reason for most of the day (before boarding started). Eventually hot water came on and we got our wash done :) not sure how that works on RCI but I think the hot water thing was some maintenance task and not a usual occurrance.

 

Sometime late morning, we were escorted to the pier and back on the ship after everybody else was off and issued new sail & sign cards.

 

On our 2nd tour we found a nice plate of chocolate covered strawberries (free) on our bed at turn down in the evening, everything else was the same.

 

One neat thing you can get away with on a B2B is to buy liquor at the shops on the first trip, pick it up at the end of that cruise and take it back to your cabin, then drink it on the 2nd trip! May be a bit sneaky, but it worked for us!

 

That doesn't work on Royal Caribbean. They get a list of who is B2B and do not give you your purchased bottles at the end of cruise #1.

[gubby]

We have booked B2B a couple of times and were lucky enough to have the same cabin both legs. This time we booked a Med itinerary as a 24 day cruise with Princess, so I am not sure if this is considered a B2B. I was interested in the above comment about liquor and wondered if we could bring wine onboard in the second boarding port as in the first. The last time we cruised with Princess, ( 2011) they allowed wine in every port but I understand this may have changed.

[cruisenfever]

We have booked B2B a couple of times and were lucky enough to have the same cabin both legs. This time we booked a Med itinerary as a 24 day cruise with Princess, so I am not sure if this is considered a B2B. I was interested in the above comment about liquor and wondered if we could bring wine onboard in the second boarding port as in the first. The last time we cruised with Princess, ( 2011) they allowed wine in every port but I understand this may have changed.

I would ask this question on the Princess boards.:)

[Merion_Mom]

We have booked B2B a couple of times and were lucky enough to have the same cabin both legs. This time we booked a Med itinerary as a 24 day cruise with Princess, so I am not sure if this is considered a B2B. I was interested in the above comment about liquor and wondered if we could bring wine onboard in the second boarding port as in the first. The last time we cruised with Princess, ( 2011) they allowed wine in every port but I understand this may have changed.

 

I suggest that you ask this question on the Princess board. This is the Royal Caribbean board.

 

:)

[cruisegirl1]

So no jeans/pants or swim suits. I was trying to find a specific list somewhere so this helped. Thanks.

 

 

 

By this you mean getting an upgrade? Do they just randomly offer these to people or to certain people or certain booked rooms or what? So if you got an upgrade there's no guarantee that you won't have to go back down to the lower room on the 2nd week? Or are they more accommodating on that or make me pay more?

 

 

 

I suggest you do not send anything to “wash and fold” that you do not mind washed in hot water and dried on high! We send men’s’ swim trunks, but not a ladies swim suit. Nothing is ironed. We’ve had good luck in the way the clothes look and use this service on most all cruises, and definitely on B2B. While we’ve been satisfied, some have reported a wrinkled mess

 

Regarding the upgrade question, we’ve been upgraded on the first leg of a B2B but not the second. It was no problem for us to change back to the original category booked for the second cruise. We cruise often and book a variety of different accommodations depending on the cruise length, itinerary, pricing etc so we never have that “Can’t go back to a lesser cabin” issue that others report. As an example, we had a suite on our last two cruises, and have a OV booked for a quick 3 night.

 

Chances of an upgrade are very slim, but not impossible. If you are lucky and get an upgrade on the first part of the B2B chances that the same cabin is available for the second part will be low. There is no special pricing consideration allow you to stay on that cabin.

 

Enjoy,

M

[Meggysmum]

We didn't get the $25 bag on our cruise two weeks ago on Adventure. I was quite surprised as we have used it before. We did have quite a few issues with our cabin steward not leaving stuff he should so wondered if he just didn't leave it for us.

[cruisenfever]

We didn't get the $25 bag on our cruise two weeks ago on Adventure. I was quite surprised as we have used it before. We did have quite a few issues with our cabin steward not leaving stuff he should so wondered if he just didn't leave it for us.

Sounds like he didn't leave it. Next time, just ask.:)