Back to back question

[scumbers]

Hi all

 

Looking at freedom of the seas for feb 2015. We want a 14 night on freedom of seas so will be doing a 7 night back to back.

 

When we get back to port canavaral after the first 7 days what is your experience like to get back on ship for next 7 days

 

Do we have to wait most of day and is it a stress free day. I assume we don't go through customs until end of the second 7 days cruise?

 

Thanks for help

 

Look forward to hearing your experiences

[JCCRYPTO]

You do have to go through customs on the first leg.

You will be told to meet...usually in the Diamond lounge...and everyone on the B2B will be there. When the ship is nearly cleared, you will be led off the ship and through customs. If there are no hitches you will be led back aboard the ship.

Forgot to mention that before you leave the ship, you will be given you new room keys.

Haave a great cruise!!!!!!!

[Clarea]

You are usually back on the ship by about 10:15am and have an hour or so before they start letting the new cruisers on. If you are staying in the same stateroom, then you will have access to your stateroom during the changeover period.

[scumbers]

Hi thanks for your help everyone

 

Good to know it should be painless

 

Once u get back on board can u then go off and do your own thing? E.g explore the port or something

[CVU]

Hi thanks for your help everyone

 

Good to know it should be painless

 

Once u get back on board can u then go off and do your own thing? E.g explore the port or something

 

Yes, ask the Desk about going off with the disembarking passengers. If you have your new Sea Pass Card already, you can usually go ashore and come back later on. You do not need to embark with the B2B group. That has been our understanding on many many B2Bs.

[Clarea]

Hi thanks for your help everyone

 

Good to know it should be painless

 

Once u get back on board can u then go off and do your own thing? E.g explore the port or something

If you do opt to get off and skip getting right back on with the other B2B folks, you will not be able to get back on the ship until regular boarding has started.

[cruisenfever]

If you do opt to get off and skip getting right back on with the other B2B folks, you will not be able to get back on the ship until regular boarding has started.

Bob, our experience has been that the "in-transit" card that you are given when doing a b2b, will allow you to board even if regular boarding has not started as you completely bypass the check-in lines.

Edited December 8, 2013 by cruisenfever

[Clarea]

Bob, our experience has been that the "in-transit" card that you are given when doing a b2b, will allow you to board even if regular boarding has not started as you completely bypass the check-in lines.

Good point Patti, thanks for catching that. This is probably another one of those things that depends on the ship and port. We were given the "in-transit" card at San Juan, but not at Port Canaveral or Ft. Lauderdale.

[cruisenfever]

Good point Patti, thanks for catching that. This is probably another one of those things that depends on the ship and port. We were given the "in-transit" card at San Juan, but not at Port Canaveral or Ft. Lauderdale.

When we did our b2b on Freedom last December/January, we did have the in-transit cards for PC. You really need a taxi from the port into PC/Merritt Island if you want to see anything.

[swsf99a]

Another question on back to back....for those who have done it....more enjoyable for a back to back on the same ship .....or go one week on one cruise ship then off and get back on a different cruise ship for the second week (Same port) ???

[DEEDIA]

On our last B/B in Venice September, when we disembarked we where given new Sea Pass cards, if you are in the same room keep your old card for the cabin safe. We had to take our Pass Port off and just show it to re embark, so walk off, walk on. All day to explore Venice. Perfect.

[Eng23]

Another question on back to back....for those who have done it....more enjoyable for a back to back on the same ship .....or go one week on one cruise ship then off and get back on a different cruise ship for the second week (Same port) ???

This would not be a back to back. This is considered a consecutive cruise as you are leaving one ship going to another. You would have to go through the full check in process in the new terminal for your second cruise.

As far as which is more enjoyable that is a personal preference.

[Clarea]

Another question on back to back....for those who have done it....more enjoyable for a back to back on the same ship .....or go one week on one cruise ship then off and get back on a different cruise ship for the second week (Same port) ???

I'd much rather stay on the same ship where I don't have to pack and unpack all over again.

[audome78]

Another question on back to back....for those who have done it....more enjoyable for a back to back on the same ship .....or go one week on one cruise ship then off and get back on a different cruise ship for the second week (Same port) ???

 

Our B2B experiences have all been on ships with alternating itineraries. So each week is different. For us, that's the criteria

 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4

[J&KCruiser]

Another question on back to back....for those who have done it....more enjoyable for a back to back on the same ship .....or go one week on one cruise ship then off and get back on a different cruise ship for the second week (Same port) ???

 

We for one vote for the Change the Ship B2B's. Otherwise to many things are the same. Best if the second/third/forth ship is different cruise line. That way the meals are different as well as the CD's stories and jokes.

 

You will need to select a major departure port with options such as Ft Lauderdale & Miami.

 

We have be switching ships for the past 3-4 years in Jan. Doing 3 ships this Jan/Feb.

 

Also get ideas for laundry (self is available on some lines. First day on board is a great day to wash some clothes before everybody needs to do some)

 

Enjoy

 

John & Karen

[CVU]

We have stayed B2B++ and also got off and onto another ship. Depends on the ship you are going to or leaving and if you want to take part of your day with disembarking and embarking. We prefer not to.

So, if it is the same itinerary B2B++ we are just fine with it in the winter months, where it is Warmer than at home.:D

[cruisenfever]

This would not be a back to back. This is considered a consecutive cruise as you are leaving one ship going to another. You would have to go through the full check in process in the new terminal for your second cruise.

As far as which is more enjoyable that is a personal preference.

Believe it or not, no matter if you are doing 2, 3 or 4 weeks on the same ship or disembarking one ship and checking in on another ship on the same day, they are all considered consecutive cruises (aka B2B) according to RCI even though, when changing ships you would have to go through the check-in process all over again. :D

[Hoopster95]

I just went through a negative experience at the Miami Port that is supposedly (according to RCL) to be the same throughout all US ports....

 

#1 and only requirement by RCL and customs: to have a "zero count" before allowing B2B passengers to continue using the amenities on the ship.

 

Bottom line, they requested us B2B to meet in the Centrum. We waited at least an hour past our allotted time for any real news and were then told to head down the gangway. When we got down to customs, where we were supposed to go through and right back on, the officer there was very angry that they let us off the ship because they did not have "zero count"... that is all people who were supposed to be off the ship were not yet! In fact they were missing 12 people! Two of them ended up being B2B cruisers who just sat in the Solarium until they were found, another 6 were contractors who decided to leave early off the ship but somehow didn't sign out properly (so customs didn't know whether they were off or not), another 4 were gentlemen who I had noticed the day/night before drunk as skunks so they were likely hiding or asleep in their rooms, or??? Anyways, we stood in a concrete dim hallway basically detained by a couple of officers and instructed not to leave until everything was determined to be ok.... which was 2 another hours later! Note that even if we had just sat in the Centrum, they would have not allowed us to move from that area until zero count was achieved but at least we'd be comfortable.

 

So the moral is, if even one person is missing and customs does not have "zero count" you will not get off the ship.

 

Another moral... concierge told us had we had an excursion, we could've got off easily with everyone else 2 hours previously to enjoy our day and come back later bypassing the check-in counter as we already had our new seapass cards. In fact, did just that the next B2B and we just walked right into the terminal, went thru security super fast and were directed up to the gangway no problem :) Lesson learned for me... don't stay on the ship when doing a B2B :p

[Lady Chew]

I asked this question on another thread about b2bs and never got an answer ... we are planning to stay on the ship during the day. Will we have access to our cabin the whole time, or do we need to keep any meds/etc that we will need during the morning & early afternoon with us?

[Clarea]

I asked this question on another thread about b2bs and never got an answer ... we are planning to stay on the ship during the day. Will we have access to our cabin the whole time, or do we need to keep any meds/etc that we will need during the morning & early afternoon with us?

If you are in the same stateroom as the preceeding cruise, then you should have access to your stateroom the entire time.

[Hoopster95]

I asked this question on another thread about b2bs and never got an answer ... we are planning to stay on the ship during the day. Will we have access to our cabin the whole time, or do we need to keep any meds/etc that we will need during the morning & early afternoon with us?

 

I'm quite certain you will be held in whatever the chosen waiting area is, as they have to reach that "zero count" so that they know with absolute certainty who's gone off the ship and who hasn't. This is USA homeland security, not RCL. You won't be allowed to roam the ship or back to your cabin until the magic zero count is reached. A bunch of us went over this over and over again with the customs officers and RCL officer while we were held up.

 

You should call te C&A desk to confirm, and better yet speak with Concierge/Diamond/whomever in order to notify them of your medical needs on turnaround day

[JamesEM]

DW and I did a B2B last month, we departed the ship after breakfast and caught a taxi to a hotel to meet some friends. FYI, a taxi to the Embassy Suites was $12.00, the minim taxi fare is $10.00 for those who may want to just go to the front gate or the water taxi stand, there are crew buses (which are actually 15 passenger white vans) which cost $3.00 that takes you up and down the 17th St., also there are sidewalks if you want leave the ship to get some exercise.