B2B - Told they have never heard of it

[mynxr]

This is our a first cruise and we decided after booking the Feb 13, 2016 on Reflection to change it to a B2B cruise starting on the 6th. So we called our travel agent (IHG) and were told they have never heard of a B2B nor have they ever heard of cruisers getting any type of discount for doing a B2B. They went ahead and booked us on the Feb 6th cruise and changed our cabin so we don't have to move which was nice. I'm just confused. Is there any kind of benefit for doing a B2B other than not having to pack and change cabins? We are driving so there isn't an airfare benefit.

 

TIA!

 

Kathleen

[WestLakeGirl]

Not generally, no. Once in a blue moon they take a pittance off the price, usually they give you a lunch on the transition day, but that's about it

[cruisestitch]

I think I would consider getting a more experienced travel agent.

 

They were right, however, about not looking for a discount. I got $50 once but that was for two 14 night cruises. And that was about three years ago.

[FireEater]

B2B are done a lot. It is rare if anyone would get a discount though. Not unheard of, but just very rare.

 

Your IHG travel agent does not deal much with cruises it sounds. He/She should come on here to read some posts or stick to booking IHG hotels only.

[LabGuy64]

That was my thought as well......and did the TA offer you any OBC? 2 cruises could amount to a fair amount of money depending on that type cabin you booked

 

 

 

I think I would consider getting a more experienced travel agent.

 

They were right, however, about not looking for a discount. I got $50 once but that was for two 14 night cruises. And that was about three years ago.

[rcixfan5]

Since you are driving, yeah there will be little cost benefit. For those of us that have to fly to the port and stay a night pre cruise the cost savings can be quite a bit. We average around 20% of our cost per cruise being the airfare, doing B2B cuts that in half per cruise.

 

I think most people that do B2B are doing it because they love cruising, not really any specific cost benefit per se. And if you get the same stateroom woohoo no packing....

 

 

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[wendychloecruiser]

Please investigate your options fully by calling a few different travel agents. Yours sounds clueless. A inexperienced TA will cost you money, potentially a lot of money. There was a time when there was a discount for doing a back to back cruise but now YOU have to do your own homework in order to determine who wants your business most. There are some TAs out there are very generous with offers for OBC and other perks that will be doubled with a b2b.

[dthomaso]

We have done B2Bs when sailing the Caribbean. When a ship does the Western 7 day itinerary and follows up with an Eastern 7 day itinerary, a B2B becomes one long 14 day cruise. There is no one booking for a B2B. These are two SEPERATE bookings which you can do at the same time with your TA who can try (not always possible) to get you the same cabin for both cruises.

[spearmint]

A good time to do a back-to-back is when there are incentives or perks involved, because they will apply to both cruises. On our first one, there was a $100 OBC for each cruise plus $100 for a back-to-back from the Travel Agency. If it is the cruise company, the same will occur as the company considers each as a separate cruise.

 

If we cannot find a longer cruise to suit us, then we always look for at least a 7-day back-to back possibility.

 

It is nice to stay in your cabin, but if that is not possible, it is not much trouble to change staterooms. Your room attendant will assist you, by taking clothes on their hangers from the closets to the new room. All you have to do, is literally chuck all your other stuff in suitcases haphazardly and roll it to the new room and place it back where you had it in the previous room....takes about 5 minutes. (Then the biggest thing you must do is to choose where you want to go to relax while everyone else is waiting or boarding.) Last year, we literally moved next door. Another time, we moved down the corridor about 10 cabins. Your TA (or yourself if you look at deck plans) should be able to find a cabin(s) possibility for you.

 

Bill

Edited March 15, 2015 by spearmint

[fla742]

Please investigate your options fully by calling a few different travel agents. Yours sounds clueless. A inexperienced TA will cost you money, potentially a lot of money. There was a time when there was a discount for doing a back to back cruise but now YOU have to do your own homework in order to determine who wants your business most. There are some TAs out there are very generous with offers for OBC and other perks that will be doubled with a b2b.

D

Azamara used to offer a $300 discount when booking a b2b Don't know if they still do.

Edited March 15, 2015 by fla742
further info

[Phxazzcruisers]

D

Azamara used to offer a $300 discount when booking a b2b Don't know if they still do.

 

Azamara still offers a discount on each leg of a B2B. Unfortunately Celebrity does not.

[shipknotshore]

I would call around to a few other T/A's to see what their incentives are. We just returned from a B2B and our T/A gave us $100.00 OBC, Dinner for 2 in a specialty restaurant on board, and a free spa treatment...for each leg of the cruise. So if your T/A doesn't have any perks, I'd sure be looking around.

 

Like the above posters have said, the cruise lines generally don't offer any kinds of discounts, as they treat them as separate cruises.

 

Have fun on your cruise....that's the most important thing!!

[M&Dcruisers]

A few weeks ago I booked a B2B in January 2016 out of San Juan. Each cruise is for 7 nights. Without even asking, Celebrity gave me a $50.00 discount on each cruise. It's not much, but every little bit helps.

[sandancer]

Last year we did 4 cruises B2B, 6 weeks in total - no discount or OBC but then we booked in the UK.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

As others have said, I would look to replace your clueless travel agent, who clearly knows nothing about cruising if he/she has never heard of a B2B cruise.

 

I've never received a benefit from booking B2B on Celebrity and I've even done a B2B2B. The benefit was staying on the same ship for all 3 cruises and 3 different itineraries.

[donaldsc]

If your TA has never heard of B2B cruises, fire them immediately. They are useless idiots.

 

DON

[Lady Chew]

Holland America Line (HAL) sometimes links two consecutive cruises together as a "Collector's Cruise" and will offer a slight discount if you book it. You book it as one cruise ... one reservation, one cabin.

 

However, HAL has to decide to link the cruises ... you can't decide to make up your own b2b out of consecutive cruises ... and there is no discount ...

[davekathy]

OP...I agree with others that have advised you to get another TA. Who knows you may be missing out on other perks.

[Redtravel]

I booked a pair cruises while I was on the Eclipse. On board agent said there was no b2b discount. My TA online gave me a discount. It wasn't much. It just seems reasonable. Afterall, the turn around day is limited. The full functions of the ship are not available. Shop around. There are discounts that some TAs offer.good luck.

[az_tchr]

Again - You need to ask. Celebrity gave us a $100 discount of both ends of a 25 day B2B. The cruises are indeed 2 seperate bookings that were linked together for the billing. It took a couple of calls from the TA to get a discount from Celebrity and we finally conferenced in with the rep from Captain's club. Maybe that made a difference.

 

My guess is there is no standard B2B discount. If a customer AND a good TA (my agent books a huge number of cruises with Celebrity) ask politiely and do a bit of a winge then Celebrity comes forth with a few dollars. A $200 discount on a bit over a $6000 cruising cost is not much extra.

[S&G1968]

I would think about a new travel agent... These are done more often than you think and most lines extend a small OBC or a small discount on B2B trips. Your TA should be able to negotiate this for you.

 

~Steve

[Algebralovr]

Our most recent was a B2B, and next February is as well. We did not receive a discount for the B2B, but we got nice perks for each leg, including the 123 All-inclusive for both legs at a great price.

 

Initially, they show as separate cruises everywhere. On our final payment receipt, they showed both as a B2B.

 

On board, we received a couple of perks for the second leg, including 20 minutes Internet, lunch at the Bistro on 5 on turnaround day, and a bag of laundry each during week 2.

[mrshersh]

This is our a first cruise and we decided after booking the Feb 13, 2016 on Reflection to change it to a B2B cruise starting on the 6th. So we called our travel agent (IHG) and were told they have never heard of a B2B nor have they ever heard of cruisers getting any type of discount for doing a B2B. They went ahead and booked us on the Feb 6th cruise and changed our cabin so we don't have to move which was nice. I'm just confused. Is there any kind of benefit for doing a B2B other than not having to pack and change cabins? We are driving so there isn't an airfare benefit.

 

TIA!

 

Kathleen

 

We will be on the same cruise on 2/13/16 and then again on 2/20/16. We booked on our cruise this year 3/1/15 and was given: Tips, classic bev package and OBC for both legs.. B2B's are popular and I'm very surprised your TA didn't know about them. As long as you are in the same room.. that's really the only benefit of not having to pack up and move... See you on the Cruise!!

Susan

[MicCanberra]

If the TA has never heard of a B2B, you need a new agent.

If the TA has herd of B2Bs but never heard of a discount for it, then ask them to be the first to offer it.:D

 

Rarely has there been any discounts for any B2Bs that we have done, but the agents would normally throw some sort of OBC or gift in for us.

[Wickets]

Azamara does offer discount for B2B, I was surprised that celebrity does not.