B2B Cruise question

[willise]

We are booked on the Getaway for our anniversary and my wife said it would be nice to go for two weeks.

 

Are there any incentives for doing this, in terms of cruise fare? Or do you just book two separate cruises?

 

Thanks everyone!!

[Demonyte]

Just book two separate cruises - no price reductions etc available for B2Bs.

[willise]

Thanks!

 

I thought I read somewhere that if you book two separate reservations, you pay the full price. But if you book everything under the same reservation, there would be a discount.

 

Perhaps I was incorrect.

[Demonyte]

Thanks!

 

I thought I read somewhere that if you book two separate reservations, you pay the full price. But if you book everything under the same reservation, there would be a discount.

 

Perhaps I was incorrect.

 

Sometimes specific itineraries can be booked as a one longer cruise (but that is clearly marketed as one long cruise without any mention about two different legs) and in that case the pricing can be a bit different either up or down - or not.

 

On ships that do only one itinerary this usually doesn't happen - where this does happen is when the same ship does alternating itineraries, for example Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries (our B2Bs in 2009 and 2011 were both booked as 14-night cruises) - we did Eastern-Western again in 2013 but then we had to switch ships since only Epic did one and Pearl another.

[garycarla]

No discount for two cruises. Sometimes they do sell two cruises as one. Sometimes it is actually more expensive. If they do sell it as one cruise, you can see that online, with the pricing.

[Love my butler]

We are booked on the Getaway for our anniversary and my wife said it would be nice to go for two weeks.

 

Are there any incentives for doing this, in terms of cruise fare? Or do you just book two separate cruises?

 

Thanks everyone!!

 

Book two cruises. No incentives.

[FEckeT]

We booked as one 14 day cruise because at the time we got a good price, but not so great balcony cabin.

 

Several months later a friend of ours called to ask if we had any cruises booked because they wanted to join us. When they booked it was less money for them to book as 2 separate cruises, they got a better cabin than we did, but paid more even though our cabin is supposed to be a higher category.

 

Right now, the prices seem to be going down on their individual cruises but not on our 14 day cruise.

 

If it were me, I would price both ways and keep watching all 3 bookings (14 day and both 7 day sailings) prior to final payment.

 

Hope this helps.

 

:) :)

 

 

[mugtech]

The only advantage to booking b2b as one cruise is that if you get the same cabin for both, then you do not have to take your luggage off the ship and then bring it back on again, but you must get off and back on.

[Demonyte]

The only advantage to booking b2b as one cruise is that if you get the same cabin for both, then you do not have to take your luggage off the ship and then bring it back on again, but you must get off and back on.

 

Normally one doesn't need to do that anyway - just pack the bags and the room steward will move them to the new cabin.

Edited January 19, 2014 by Demonyte

[hpecorari]

If you are platinum and book it as two separate cruises you will get perks for two cruises. If you book it as one cruise you will only get those perks once during the 14 days.

 

Harriet

[minn55441]

Normally one doesn't need to do that anyway - just pack the bags and the room steward will move them to the new cabin.

 

For those of you that have been through this process, do you just disembark like everyone else and then hang out until they start boarding again?

 

I would guess you have to go through customs and then go through the entire screening process again, just like if you were arriving like everyone else. I have never done a B2B but have thought about it many times. I suppose it is only a couple of hours max that you are off the ship, but then again there are worse places to be stuck for a couple hours and you don't have to worry about luggage the second time around.

[Demonyte]

For those of you that have been through this process, do you just disembark like everyone else and then hang out until they start boarding again?

 

I would guess you have to go through customs and then go through the entire screening process again, just like if you were arriving like everyone else. I have never done a B2B but have thought about it many times. I suppose it is only a couple of hours max that you are off the ship, but then again there are worse places to be stuck for a couple hours and you don't have to worry about luggage the second time around.

 

It depends on the port and local regulations.

 

In European ports one usually doesn't even need to leave the ship unless thy want to spend the day on shore just like it was another port call.

 

In US ports all passengers need to exit the ship in order for it to be cleared for embarkation by officials, but unless one goes to shore to explore and comes back before sailaway, usually it's only about 30mins max and then B2B passengers can get back onboard from the terminal - this would be way before any of the new passengers can get onboard. That is how we have experienced our B2Bs in 2009 and 2011 in Miami and how most other B2B passengers have also described their experience. There have been also reports that somebody has had go through the check-in process again and wait for boarding just like new passengers but I haven't seen that or even heard about it too many times.

[trish99]

We did a B2B in November out of New Orleans. We were given stickers to wear that said in transit and did have to go through customs when we got off (whenever we chose). We decided to spend a little time in New Orleans, picking up a few items and having brunch. When we returned, we did have to go back through security, but were able to board before anyone else. It was great having the ship to ourselves for a couple of hours. :)

[minn55441]

thanks for the quick responses. Sounds like it is a painless option. Going through the boarding process is normally pretty quick and easy because we are looking forward to the trip ahead. However doing it for a second time could turn into a hassle, especially if the lines are long. It sounds like most locations allow you to bypass this potential delay.

[willise]

Thanks for all the help

 

We have an aft balcony on Getaway booked for April 2015, but the price for the week before is $600 more for the same cabin, so I think we will book a B6 for the preceding week.

[garycarla]

Thanks for all the help

 

We have an aft balcony on Getaway booked for April 2015, but the price for the week before is $600 more for the same cabin, so I think we will book a B6 for the preceding week.

 

Always nice to have a change of cabin/scenery.