Back-to-back on NCL, what's the process

[ctrlbrk]

Hi guys,

 

I've done B2B on RCCL before but this is my first time sailing NCL. I will be on the Jewel Nov 1 and Nov 8, and was wondering about their B2B procedures and process.

 

I am in the same stateroom on both legs of the trip.

 

On RCCL you simply leave all your belongings in the room and walk off with just your passport and seapass card. They assemble you in a wait room for about 30 minutes around noon if I remember, and you are the last group to walk off the ship and the first group to walk back on the ship. The entire process took maybe one hour from the time you arrive at the wait room, walk off ship, wait again at terminal, then walk back on ship.

 

There is also a special B2B lunch prepared at one of the specialty restaurants, and it was a nice perk.

 

Can anyone tell me the process with NCL? I assume much of the same but would like to know the details.

[orangegrove]

We did a b2b on the Epic in 2010 and what you described is pretty much the same procedure. (except no specialty lunch :() You will get a letter in your cabin about what will happen and the procedure you need to take. You will go through customs. We left our bags in the room. Very easy.

[ctrlbrk]

Thanks. I know with RCCL I needed to double check to make sure both reservations were "linked" as a back-to-back. There was a special "back-to-back" department to talk to for this.

 

With NCL I am not sure if this is needed or not. I just want to make sure it's a seamless experience and they realize I am coming back on the ship :)

[swedish weave]

Thanks. I know with RCCL I needed to double check to make sure both reservations were "linked" as a back-to-back. There was a special "back-to-back" department to talk to for this.

 

With NCL I am not sure if this is needed or not. I just want to make sure it's a seamless experience and they realize I am coming back on the ship :)

 

You should get a letter in your stateroom outlining the procedures. It is basically how it has been described here. They may ask you to go to the reception desk to get your new key card for the second leg before you go off the ship.

[cocoabeachcruiser]

You should get a letter in your stateroom outlining the procedures. It is basically how it has been described here. They may ask you to go to the reception desk to get your new key card for the second leg before you go off the ship.

 

 

 

Where are you getting that info? I have a B2B booked and was told different.

 

I have a 10 night and an 11 night booked but it is advertised as a 21 day cruise,yet each leg can be booked by itself. I am in the same cabin.

 

I have been unable to get a straight answer from NCL or the TA. I am told its one sailing but 2 cruises comprise it.:confused:

 

If I need to get off or change cards that would be a second cruise would it not?

 

Reason I ask is during the 1st cruise or should I say 1st 11 day sailing I would become Platinum thanks to double points for booking over 9 months in advance. I would like the perks on the second sailing.

[NMLady]

Where are you getting that info? I have a B2B booked and was told different.

 

I have a 10 night and an 11 night booked but it is advertised as a 21 day cruise,yet each leg can be booked by itself. I am in the same cabin.

 

I have been unable to get a straight answer from NCL or the TA. I am told its one sailing but 2 cruises comprise it.:confused:

 

If I need to get off or change cards that would be a second cruise would it not?

 

Reason I ask is during the 1st cruise or should I say 1st 11 day sailing I would become Platinum thanks to double points for booking over 9 months in advance. I would like the perks on the second sailing.

 

Been there, done that. Even though you booked it as a single cruise you are actually taking two cruises and WILL get your new new perks on the Second cruise. Here's how. Since it takes 24 hours for the cruise to be posted to your Latitudes account, wait until the 2nd day of your second cruise and then talk to the onboard NCL cruise consultant. He/she will update your account and then you go to Front Desk to get a new key card with your new status on it.

[swedish weave]

Where are you getting that info? I have a B2B booked and was told different.

 

I have a 10 night and an 11 night booked but it is advertised as a 21 day cruise,yet each leg can be booked by itself. I am in the same cabin.

 

I have been unable to get a straight answer from NCL or the TA. I am told its one sailing but 2 cruises comprise it.:confused:

 

If I need to get off or change cards that would be a second cruise would it not?

 

Reason I ask is during the 1st cruise or should I say 1st 11 day sailing I would become Platinum thanks to double points for booking over 9 months in advance. I would like the perks on the second sailing.

 

I posted from my own experience. Is that good enough ?

[julie3fan]

I think the process might be different depending on if the turn around port is a foreign or US port.

 

I would imagine you might want to explore the turn around port and wouldn't necessarily be getting back on ASAP, but if you wanted to reboard right away, you will be given clear instructions to follow...they want everybody to be happy with the process.

 

Enjoy your B2B. It's fun watching so many leave the ship knowing they are gone for good but that you still have another full cruise in front of you!

 

Julie

 

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Forums mobile app

[cocoabeachcruiser]

I posted from my own experience. Is that good enough ?

 

Yes its great. I want what you experienced. That would be the best thing for my situation. Thank you

[cocoabeachcruiser]

Been there, done that. Even though you booked it as a single cruise you are actually taking two cruises and WILL get your new new perks on the Second cruise. Here's how. Since it takes 24 hours for the cruise to be posted to your Latitudes account, wait until the 2nd day of your second cruise and then talk to the onboard NCL cruise consultant. He/she will update your account and then you go to Front Desk to get a new key card with your new status on it.

 

Thanks for that info. Makes great sense

[swedish weave]

Yes its great. I want what you experienced. That would be the best thing for my situation. Thank you

 

I see your b2b is on the Jade. It may be handled differently at foreign posts than mine was at Miami.

[garycarla]

I think the process might be different depending on if the turn around port is a foreign or US port. ...

 

 

And, based on where the ship has been on the first cruise.

 

Without that information, you answers could be totally wrong.

[ctrlbrk]

Mine is on Jewel in Houston.

 

Sent from my LG Optimus G Pro

[gooch47]

Toward the end of the week you have to go to the purser's desk to get a new card. On turnaround day you must leave the ship. I can't tell you how long you'll be off the ship, though. We always left and went to the French Quarter in NOLA.

[Demonyte]

Toward the end of the week you have to go to the purser's desk to get a new card.

 

This only applies when the legs are booked separately like in OP's case. When two different itineraries are booked as one combined cruise (case 21-nighter on Jade), the keycard reflects that and will have the real disembarkation date from the beginning.

[Doughboy139]

From my own experience here goes.......

 

I did a B2B a couple of years ago, Baltic cruise followed by a trans-atlantic cruise both on the Sun. Since this was a European port, Copenhagen, I did not have to leave the ship. I was free to roam around the ship and could even go to my Aft Balcony....If I wanted to get off the ship and walk around, I was given a sticker to wear that would let me reboard the ship anytime that I wanted even if the new passengers were still waiting to board.......all this information was sent to my stateroom 3 days before the end of the Baltic portion of the cruise...

 

I just completed a B2B cruise 12 day Southern Carribean, Tampa to Boston, followed by a 7 day Bermuda cruise out of Boston on the Dawn......U.S. customs require all passengers to disembark the ship even if you are doing a b2b. The ship has to have a 0 passenger count before they will let the ship start the embarkation process.......When the ship has been cleared by customs, the embarkation process can begin and the in transit passengers will board first........

 

I hope this answers any questions....

[rbrugler]

We have a B2B booked on the Epic this February. We want to see some of Miami on the middle Sunday. Should we disembark with the walk-offs, or does the time make a difference? And, I am thinking we should come back to the ship by 2 at the latest. Do we need all ID and edocs, or just our boarding card?

Edited May 21, 2014 by rbrugler

[All-ready2cruise]

We have a B2B booked on the Epic this February. We want to see some of Miami on the middle Sunday. Should we disembark with the walk-offs, or does the time make a difference? And, I am thinking we should come back to the ship by 2 at the latest. Do we need all ID and edocs, or just our boarding card?

 

It sounds so exciting doesn't it? and yet... so many questions.. good thing there's CC to answer those questions. We're on a B2B as well, but, not until next year so we have lots of time to seek out answers. It seems from what I've read that you can leave the ship for a day/a few hours, and you'll have a special tag to allow you back on the ship when you're ready... an hour or 4 hours. I do believe, again from what I've read, that you still need to be back onboard for muster call at approx. 3pm so 2 would be good. You will need all your id, I think, but only as far as you've received from Customer Services desk which you will have visited previous to the final day of part 1 of your cruise.

 

I hope I'm at least close since we have 1 coming up as well.

 

Cheers. Happy sailing. All the best,

Connie

[Demonyte]

We have a B2B booked on the Epic this February. We want to see some of Miami on the middle Sunday. Should we disembark with the walk-offs, or does the time make a difference? And, I am thinking we should come back to the ship by 2 at the latest. Do we need all ID and edocs, or just our boarding card?

 

Time doesn't make a difference, but it's best that you get off the ship before the last call for the actually disembarking passengers comes. You will still need to clear the customs in order to get out from the ship. As said before on this thread, towards the end of your first leg you should visit Guest Services for getting a keycard for your second leg, and when you come back from the city, IDs and new keycards are all you need (in US ports you always need an ID to get to the port/terminal area).

 

On our B2Bs in Miami (in 2009 on Jewel and in 2011 on Pearl) we didn't actually need to stay for the second muster drill but we needed to check in there to be crossed off from the list, procedures might have changed since (and we were on combined itineraries on both occasions, meaning that we only got one keycard with final disembarkation date from the beginning - so while the ship did two cruises, our docs said only one cruise that had Miami as a port of call).

[gooch47]

Since you need your passports to go through customs when you get off, you'll have your ID, but in NOLA at least, we didn't need to show them to get back on.

 

Again, at least in NOLA, we were given a custom's form to use that was stamped "In Transit" and tacky labels that said the same thing that we were supposed to wear when we re-boarded the ship.

 

The only disappointing thing we encountered was the guy at the purser's desk acted like we were the first people to ever do a b2b. He had to call his supervisor for help ... for two different b2b's. Same guy. The second time he still did something wrong and our new keys wouldn't work to open the cabin door.