Back to Back

[mrscopper]

Can anyone tell me how it works. We are in same stateroom, and know we have to disembark ship, but then what happens? Can we reboard again, do we have to have new boarding passes and passports. Anyone! Thanks in advance.

[rkacruiser]

Can anyone tell me how it works. We are in same stateroom, and know we have to disembark ship, but then what happens? Can we reboard again, do we have to have new boarding passes and passports. Anyone! Thanks in advance.

 

Knowing from which port you will be sailing would be helpful. It seems that different ports handles b2b guests differently. And, at times, even a particular port will have varying procedures.

[mllewis48]

Can anyone tell me how it works. We are in same stateroom, and know we have to disembark ship, but then what happens? Can we reboard again, do we have to have new boarding passes and passports. Anyone! Thanks in advance.

 

 

 

Port is helpful but usually you disembark in the terminal for b2b'ers until the ship "zeros out" then you can reboard ahead of others. Or sometimes you can remain onboard and muster in a common area, such as the show lounge, until "zeros out" and then you are released. The key is to make certain for Customs that everyone is accounted for!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Krazy Kruizers]

We have done it both ways -- had to get off the ship to go through immigration and when there were several hundred passengers doing back-to-back or Collector Cruises, the immigration people came onto the ship and we stayed in the Show Lounge until they cleared us.

There has been talk that MAYBE people won't have to do that in Ft Lauderdale anymore.

[take us away]

You will probably NOT need a new keycard (check the dates on the keycard when you board to make sure). Have never been through customs to just get off to zero the ship so no passport was needed. Last time in FLL we waited about 10 minutes in a separate area in the terminal and then re-boarded the ship.

[KirkNC]

Port is helpful but usually you disembark in the terminal for b2b'ers until the ship "zeros out" then you can reboard ahead of others. Or sometimes you can remain onboard and muster in a common area, such as the show lounge, until "zeros out" and then you are released. The key is to make certain for Customs that everyone is accounted for!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

That's the process for US ports but not foreign ports. In foreign ports you just treat it like another port day, you can stay on, get off, do what ever you like (at least that's been our experience).

[kazu]

That's the process for US ports but not foreign ports. In foreign ports you just treat it like another port day, you can stay on, get off, do what ever you like (at least that's been our experience).

 

That has been the case in many ports in Europe but in Tilbury, United Kingdom everyone on the ship had to disembark to go through Customs by x time (we had been to the Baltics, etc). We could re-board right after if we so chose, but we did have to get off for Customs.

[sail7seas]

Wher do you board? Where is your turn around day?

Edited November 21, 2016 by sail7seas

[CruiserBruce]

You may have to go through Immigration (passport check in other countries outside of the US) procedures, but never have gone through, or heard of anybody, going through Customs procedures, on a B2B, and we have done several.

[sail7seas]

You may have to go through Immigration (passport check in other countries outside of the US) procedures, but never have gone through, or heard of anybody, going through Customs procedures, on a B2B, and we have done several.

It waas quite silly but we ads to complete Customs Declarration on b-to-tb day in MOntreal. We did not have any luggage or things we brought off the ship when we got off to to go shopping, have lunch etc. O f course, we simply entered -0-. Whey did theyb otther? They knew we weren't bringing luggage 'into Canada. Edited November 22, 2016 by sail7seas

[Hlitner]

So, from your posts we are assuming you are talking about a HAL cruise at Port Everglades. So here is how it works. HAL will send a letter to your cabin (a few days before the end of the cruise) giving you options. If you want to simply get off the ship and spend time ashore you can do so pretty early. You would simply pass through immigration and then be free to go your way. When you return you would bypass the check-in desks and head straight to the gangway.

 

If you do not want to go ashore in the morning, HAL will notify you (in the letter) to meet at a certain place on the ship at a specific time (often around 9:30). At that point a staffer will escort your entire group off the ship, through immigration, and then into a holding area (inside the cruise terminal) where you must all wait until such time as the ship is cleared and "zeroed out" by immigration. This process can take 15 minutes, or it could take 2 hours! Once the ship has been cleared and zeroed out your group will be escorted back on the ship.

 

As to your cruise card, HAL is very good and will issue you a single cruise card for the entire cruise....so no problem there (when we do this on Celebrity we have to get new cruise cards for the 2nd cruise). The last time we did this on a HAL cruise (Westerdam) the entire process took about 1 hour from the time we left the ship until we were allowed to reboard.

 

Once you are allowed to reboard, it is similar to any other port day. If you later want to leave the ship you will simply use your cruise card..and off you go. When you return you just tell them you are in transit, bypass the newly boarding hoards, and walk up the gangway. On some cruises they actually give us a card that says "Transit" and other times there is no such card.

 

Hank

[KirkNC]

And if you have any credits from the casino be sure to cash them out at the end of the segment as they will not carry over ;).

[KirkNC]

That has been the case in many ports in Europe but in Tilbury, United Kingdom everyone on the ship had to disembark to go through Customs by x time (we had been to the Baltics, etc). We could re-board right after if we so chose, but we did have to get off for Customs.

 

So I guess it can vary depending on the country. We have done B2B with turn arounds in The Netherlands and multiple times in Spain and we did not have to do anything, no passport control, no immigration, no all getting off.

[mrscopper]

Sorry folks, guess I goofed not giving port. Thanks for all your responses. Tampa perhaps will be easy. Will check re dates on card when we initially check in. Happy Thanksgiving USA. We are doing the Christmas/New Year's cruise. Three star mariner's, but have never done a Back to Back before. Looking forward to seeing the Oosterdam all refurbished.

[DarkCrystal]

We just did a B2B with the turnaround at Fort Lauderdale, never had to get off the ship. We gathered in the showroom, were cleared by Customs and then allowed to go about our business. We were given a card with a number in case we wanted to get off the ship, which we turned in when we got back on. We showed the card to the people in the terminal so we could bybass the line. It was very easy.

[kazu]

You may have to go through Immigration (passport check in other countries outside of the US) procedures, but never have gone through, or heard of anybody, going through Customs procedures, on a B2B, and we have done several.

 

Sorry, it was immigration & Customs. We had to turn over declaration forms so that to me is Customs and of course, passports, etc. We weren't bringing anything into the country so it was a non issue for us and many others, but we still had to do it.

[kazu]

So I guess it can vary depending on the country. We have done B2B with turn arounds in The Netherlands and multiple times in Spain and we did not have to do anything, no passport control, no immigration, no all getting off.

 

Most times in Europe we have never had to either but we had been in non euro countries so I suspect that might have been the reason? Unsure, but it was a must in the U.K. We've never had to do it in the other European ports either.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Sorry folks, guess I goofed not giving port. Thanks for all your responses. Tampa perhaps will be easy. Will check re dates on card when we initially check in. Happy Thanksgiving USA. We are doing the Christmas/New Year's cruise. Three star mariner's, but have never done a Back to Back before. Looking forward to seeing the Oosterdam all refurbished.

 

 

We have done back-to-back (Collector Cruises) out of Tampa.

Had to get off the ship and show our passports to immigration. Waited in the terminal until the ship got down to "zero" count.