B2B vs 1 week long cruise

[pacruise804]

I will give a differing opinion here. I would absolutely do a 3/4 B2B cruise. In fact, I am lobbying for that now. Would I like to do a 7 day cruise? Absolutely I would. However, there are things that for us, stack up against that.

 

We live far away from any ports, and can really only get away from work in winter. With the traditional holiday expenses eating a hole in the wallet, it's nice for us to be able to plan a quick 4 day getaway that we can afford...and maybe add on to it if things look good down the road. I'd rather have an extra muster drill than an extra day at the office, but that's just me.

 

On top of that, we kind of like the Cheers program. As we're maturing, though, we're pretty well aware that we'd never use all 7 days of it. We like the idea of having two kinds of trip in one - a booze cruise and a virgin voyage with the occasional cocktail. It's budget-friendly for us.

 

Finally, the last item is variety of ports. I like the idea of hitting Nassau, Key West, and Cozumel in one fell swoop. The time I like best is time at sea, and that works out pretty well.

 

All in all, as with everything else, a B2B is what you make of it. If you have unlimited funds and unlimited time off...hell, do whatever because it doesn't matter! BUT, if things are fluid, and you might be able to sneak a little bit extra onto what you know you can do...look at that short term b2b as a way to get a little more time on the water.

 

Great dissenting view. I never thought about a short B2B, but it could be interesting especially for the Cheers.

 

I love doing back to backs, but wouldn't be too quick to do a 3/4 vs a 7 day cruise.

 

DOWNSIDE:

 

Embarkation/debarkation day is busy. You have to do the muster. You still have to wait around for the ship to clear, then you are walked off of the ship through the process and then brought back on to the ship.

 

UPSIDE:

 

Once you're back on the ship, you have it to yourself for an hour or so.

 

If you stay in the same room, you certainly don't have to pack, and you have immediate access to your room.

 

You already know the staff. They will remember you and treat you like family.

 

You are welcomed back with a glass of champagne or a mimosa and they take a group picture of all of the b2b people.

 

If you had to travel to your home port, you only travel once.

 

We almost always do b2b because we travel from WNY. Plus, we go for lengthy winter vacations because the cost of a cruise (cheap room) is far cheaper than renting a place and it includes your room, food, coffee, entertainment, and you wake up in a different place every morning.

 

Whatever you choose, enjoy! It won't be the wrong decision.

 

Love the bolded part:D Good points.

[sail2sea]

It doesn't work like that nowadays but years ago I did many a 3-day 4-day 3-day b2b2b to reach diamond.

 

To be honest most 7 day cruises have the same boring ports anyway after you have done a few. If you want less visted ports you have to go longer than a week.

[karlmonday]

Don't do what I did on my B2B, I knew I was staying on the ship for the next cruise and zoned out that I needed to cash out my casino winnings on my card. It took about 3 months for that to be mailed to me.

[Towel Critter]

I wouldn't do a 3/4 B2b multiple times, but there are reasons for doing one occasionally, at least for us. We did this within the last year and the reason was we couldn't find the same ports of call on a seven night cruise at the same price as the 3/4 B2B we did. We enjoyed it very much and the turnaround day, other than having to do a second muster drill, was easy, especially since we had the same cabin booked for both cruises. Long story short, a B2B is a slightly different cruising experience and one, at least for us, worth doing once or twice. That said, if one can find the itinerary and price desired on a single seven night cruise, that is probably the way to go, since it is simpler to do.

[vicky3vicky]

I went on a B2B last January! I LOVED it, for a number of reasons. You, and a couple other B2Bers have the ship pretty much to yourself for a couple of hours, which is awesome. Carnival left champagne and a gift basket in our room which was a very nice surprize. After we were led off of the ship to walk through customs, and back to the ship, there were cocktails waiting for us in the atrium, and we received a free group picture.

I also love that there is so little pressure for yourself on what to do. I mean, if you miss a show you want to see, you can watch it on the second half of your cruise. And, if you love a show and want to watch it again, you can! This will also give you lobster twice! I fell in love with the fried oysters on my first week, and so when they had them again the next week, I ordered 7 platefuls as my entree [though they are appetizers]

These are just a few reasons that I love B2Bs. My next cruise is a 14 day journeys cruise on the Breeze. This will be my first journeys cruise and I am super excited for it.

[Lottacruises]

Now i want to do both a 7 day and two short back to backs...

[Ak4n3]

Now i want to do both a 7 day and two short back to backs...

 

I'd like to try out the short b2b, too. Although I would be stuck with the Long Beach itineraries because my family doesn't flyout to cruise. It'll be a nice experience.

 

Also, the PP who mentioned to do a booze cruise and a virgin cruise is intriguing. My hubby and I would like to try the cheers first and then recover after. LOL. It'll be a nice way to try out Cheers.