B2B or 31 Day Cruise?

[mevs904]

We’ll be seeing our TA tomorrow to book a South American Coral Cruise for March 2021(thank you Sip ‘n Sail!).  Aside from comparing  the math on the cruise fares are there other considerations that we should be aware of before deciding whether to book the cruise as 2 back to backs or one 31 day cruise?  Factors to consider are that we have a FCD to use, we are shareholders, and we will be Platinum at the time of this cruise.

     I’ve seen similar queries about situations like this before, but never thought that we would ever be considering it for ourselves.  Would appreciate any tips that the folks on this board might be willing to share.  Thanks!

[Astro Flyer]

2 hours ago, mevs904 said:

We’ll be seeing our TA tomorrow to book a South American Coral Cruise for March 2021(thank you Sip ‘n Sail!).  Aside from comparing  the math on the cruise fares are there other considerations that we should be aware of before deciding whether to book the cruise as 2 back to backs or one 31 day cruise?  Factors to consider are that we have a FCD to use, we are shareholders, and we will be Platinum at the time of this cruise.

     I’ve seen similar queries about situations like this before, but never thought that we would ever be considering it for ourselves.  Would appreciate any tips that the folks on this board might be willing to share.  Thanks!

When we sailed Buenos Aires to LA booking as B2B cruises (14 & 17 days) was our best option.

 

As you wrote based on cruise fares, credits & benefits the best way to book can vary for each passenger.  We receive military, shareholder, FCD & loyalty credits which resulted in our lowest net price by booking as B2B cruises.

 

But it's impossible for me to know whether booking as B2B or 31 days will provide your best net price. 

[paul929207]

Just check the perks for each method of booking. We have sound that some times there is a discount for booking as one cruise. Other times, the extra OBC makes a b2b better.

[mevs904]

Thanks, Astro Flyer.  Your response was very helpful as it pretty much confirms the benefits that we we need to factor when crunching the numbers.  We’re also wondering if there is any difference in the logistics in Buenos Aires between the two voyages.  We will certainly try to maintain the same stateroom so we don’t have to pack and move.

[mevs904]

5 minutes ago, paul929207 said:

Just check the perks for each method of booking. We have sound that some times there is a discount for booking as one cruise. Other times, the extra OBC makes a b2b better.

 

Yes, thank you.  We were pleasantly pleased at the difference in shareholder’s OBC for two vs. one longer voyage.

[Essiesmom]

You also need to consider the free internet minutes you get as platinum.  You would get them for each segment if you booked as B2B.  EM

[skynight]

In the past we have found more flexibility and less net cost in booking  b2b's as separate cruises. We have also found that we generally receive additional OBC and the net cost fares minus OBC is less when booked as two. We select a cabin that we will remain in for both cruises and have our booking marked no upgrade. We don't like to move if we can avoid it. You have to do the math. Your on board experience and your cruise count will be the same no matter how it is booked, two cruise credits (full suite 4), 31 days.

Your FCDs will provide you with OBC:

Single Cruise: $125/pp inside or outside, $150/pp balcony or higher

Two cruises added together: $200/pp inside or outside, $250/pp balcony.

Shareholder: One cruise $250, two cruises $500.

Bottom line OBC if booked as one, $500 or $550 depending on cabin

Bottom line OBC if booked as two, $900 or $1,000 depending on cabin

If you are former military you may qualify for the Princess military benefit. The benefit is per qualified person up to two per cabin. For this voyage it is $250/qualified person if booked as one cruise or $500/qualified person if booked as two.

From the above numbers you should be able to figure out which is best. 

[Micahs Grandad]

2 hours ago, Essiesmom said:

You also need to consider the free internet minutes you get as platinum.  You would get them for each segment if you booked as B2B.  EM

We have booked as one and still gotten internet minutes for each segment.

[roxievegas]

we are considering a B2B or one 27 night long cruise.  If we two it in to segments, we would book inside cabin for the first 15 days and balcony for the next 12 days.  Doing this would save us $1200 total.  Cruise not until next year, so still working with numbers and making decision.

[mevs904]

We’re not sure how the Medallion Package will figure into free internet minutes, but it should be beneficial.

     The responses from everyone have been very helpful.  At this point we’re sorry that we didn’t sign up for two FCDs instead of one on our last cruise.  Also, forgot to mention that we will book a balcony for both segments, we’re hooked on being next to the sea.  That’s one reason why we’re so happy that these cruises will be on the Coral.  Love her promenade deck!

[Thrak]

If you get the Princess insurance also look at the difference between two cruises and a single cruise. Likely not a determining factor but something to look at. As for the FCD - always have more than you think you will need.

[Astro Flyer]

7 hours ago, mevs904 said:

Thanks, Astro Flyer.  Your response was very helpful as it pretty much confirms the benefits that we we need to factor when crunching the numbers.  We’re also wondering if there is any difference in the logistics in Buenos Aires between the two voyages.  We will certainly try to maintain the same stateroom so we don’t have to pack and move.

 

You’re welcome and don’t recall anything different when boarding in BA as the first of B2B cruises.  One difference was they keep everyone’s passport & give you a receipt for it.  I always have a copy of my passport with me when outside of the USA.  Our passports were returned later in the cruise.

 

3 hours ago, mevs904 said:

We’re not sure how the Medallion Package will figure into free internet minutes, but it should be beneficial.

     The responses from everyone have been very helpful.  At this point we’re sorry that we didn’t sign up for two FCDs instead of one on our last cruise.  Also, forgot to mention that we will book a balcony for both segments, we’re hooked on being next to the sea.  That’s one reason why we’re so happy that these cruises will be on the Coral.  Love her promenade deck!

 

I see that the Coral is scheduled to be MedallionClass (10/16/20) and for my recent B2B 7-day cruises they considered it as a single 14 day cruise for our free internet minutes.  Instead of 300 minutes (2x150) we received 250 minutes because it was deemed as a 14 day cruise.  However have read that upon request the Internet Cafe would add the missing minutes.  Whichever way you decide to book your cruise you’ll receive 500 minutes which would be usable during your entire cruise.  For my November cruise I can pre-purchase an unlimited plan for $130 (28 days) but based on my recent experience where it was 25% less during the first 24 hours of the cruise will wait to decide upon boarding & can use OBC to pay for it.

 

Once we made the mistake of not having enough FCDs & we lost a combined $300 of OBC so both of us have serval available. 

Edited June 14, 2019 by Astro Flyer

[Steelers36]

6 hours ago, mevs904 said:

We’re not sure how the Medallion Package will figure into free internet minutes, but it should be beneficial.

     The responses from everyone have been very helpful.  At this point we’re sorry that we didn’t sign up for two FCDs instead of one on our last cruise.  Also, forgot to mention that we will book a balcony for both segments, we’re hooked on being next to the sea.  That’s one reason why we’re so happy that these cruises will be on the Coral.  Love her promenade deck!

The new unlimited internet (Medallion or Connect) is offered at 25% off the going rate for "regular" cruisers.  This is the Elite/Platinum benefit.  IMO it is way better than the old minutes offering - unless you are a very light user of internet.

 

The best deal is to book internet right after boarding.  your benefit is replaced by a discounted plan rate if you choose that option.

[Astro Flyer]

38 minutes ago, steelers36 said:

The new unlimited internet (Medallion or Connect) is offered at 25% off the going rate for "regular" cruisers.  This is the Elite/Platinum benefit.  IMO it is way better than the old minutes offering - unless you are a very light user of internet.

 

The best deal is to book internet right after boarding.  your benefit is replaced by a discounted plan rate if you choose that option.

Here are screenshots from my recent cruise which depicts what you posted & are examples of the options within the first 24 hours of a cruise.  In advance it was $120 and in lieu of our free minutes the unlimited plan was discounted by 25% to $90 for 2 weeks.

 

Most of our November 28-day cruise is port intensive followed by a TA so 500 minutes will likely be enough time.  Our cell phone provider includes free data & texts in ports so that’s another factor.  If we keep our free minutes we know that as stated an unlimited plan can be purchased later but at the regular price...no discounts.

Edited June 14, 2019 by Astro Flyer

[mevs904]

Thanks again, Astro Flyer!  Your screenshots made the options very clear.  Not sure yet which will be best for us.  We’ll have to adjust our thinking to what our usage will be for 31 days on a ship.  We are generally not heavy users.

[Astro Flyer]

15 minutes ago, mevs904 said:

Thanks again, Astro Flyer!  Your screenshots made the options very clear.  Not sure yet which will be best for us.  We’ll have to adjust our thinking to what our usage will be for 31 days on a ship.  We are generally not heavy users.

You’re welcome...as the saying goes a picture is worth a thousand words. 😉

 

For our 2014 boarding at Buenos Aires the process was slow but the ship didn’t depart until the next day.  After check-in at the rather small terminal we were transported to the ship by bus.

[mevs904]

10 hours ago, Astro Flyer said:

You’re welcome...as the saying goes a picture is worth a thousand words. 😉

 

For our 2014 boarding at Buenos Aires the process was slow but the ship didn’t depart until the next day.  After check-in at the rather small terminal we were transported to the ship by bus.

 

We will first board at Santiago, Chili and Buenos Aires will be our intermission between the two cruises.  Glad to see that the ship will spend an extra day there so we can see some sights.  After that we sail to Brazil and end up in FLL.  As east coast folks we think this will work well for us.  Right now our thoughts are that we will drive to FLL.  Put the car in long term parking and then fly from Miami to Santiago.  I guess we have plenty of time to explore our options.  For us the planning is part of the adventure!

[cruisingram1]

On 6/14/2019 at 2:09 PM, steelers36 said:

The new unlimited internet (Medallion or Connect) is offered at 25% off the going rate for "regular" cruisers.  This is the Elite/Platinum benefit.  IMO it is way better than the old minutes offering - unless you are a very light user of internet.

 

The best deal is to book internet right after boarding.  your benefit is replaced by a discounted plan rate if you choose that option.

We are finally Platinum after watching all our sailing companions enjoy free internet minutes each time. Our turn now! The cruise is 7 days and the ship (Royal) has Medallionet so I see I can purchase unlimited internet for $59.99 if I prepay. Came here to see how the free minutes factor into this purchase. If I buy onboard, will there be a 25% discount? Princess website says the internet deal is only good pre-cruise. I don't want to miss the $59 rate, but I'm good to wait til onboard if there is a discount on this rate. RCL will discount unlimited if you have any type of status. I was hoping Princess does the same. Someone posted info on a 14 day cruise, but I'd like to know about 7 day cruise.

[Steelers36]

7 hours ago, cruisingram1 said:

We are finally Platinum after watching all our sailing companions enjoy free internet minutes each time. Our turn now! The cruise is 7 days and the ship (Royal) has Medallionet so I see I can purchase unlimited internet for $59.99 if I prepay. Came here to see how the free minutes factor into this purchase. If I buy onboard, will there be a 25% discount? Princess website says the internet deal is only good pre-cruise. I don't want to miss the $59 rate, but I'm good to wait til onboard if there is a discount on this rate. RCL will discount unlimited if you have any type of status. I was hoping Princess does the same. Someone posted info on a 14 day cruise, but I'd like to know about 7 day cruise.

Yes, you get 25% off pre-cruise or on board.  Sign up day 1 when you board for the best deal.  It will probably beat the Personalizer price - won't be worse.

 

[susancruzs]

Enjoy your cruise, I sailed from BA to LA on the Emerald March 2018.  It was an awesome cruise.

 

Do your homework, choose what is best for you, no set yea or nay with B2B or a Grand Adventure.  I recently cancelled 2 cruises because a combined voyage wasn't available when I booked.  When they announced a combined cruise, the price, OBC was a better deal.  I was able to book a sideways inside cabin, better location than what I had on the B2B''s.  

 

Sailing as a single, I really have to pay attention.  This is where Cruise Critic came in because reading the posts about my Baltic cruise I found out a Grand Adventure was available.

[cruisingram1]

13 hours ago, steelers36 said:

Yes, you get 25% off pre-cruise or on board.  Sign up day 1 when you board for the best deal.  It will probably beat the Personalizer price - won't be worse.

 

 

Someone posted this screen shot for their two week cruise and said the pre-cruise price for unlimited was $120 but because she is platinum she was offered a 25% discount after she boarded. That seems fair enough.

 

Does anyone have a screen shot for a 7 day cruise? If it's now $59.99 pre-cruise, I'm thinking a 7 day cruise should be $45. I am concerned that I will get on board and lose the $59.99 amount. I can't find any information about this discount on princess website.

[Steelers36]

30 minutes ago, cruisingram1 said:

 

Someone posted this screen shot for their two week cruise and said the pre-cruise price for unlimited was $120 but because she is platinum she was offered a 25% discount after she boarded. That seems fair enough.

 

Does anyone have a screen shot for a 7 day cruise? If it's now $59.99 pre-cruise, I'm thinking a 7 day cruise should be $45. I am concerned that I will get on board and lose the $59.99 amount. I can't find any information about this discount on princess website.

When you book pre-cruise you are also getting 25% discount.  Don't worry about waiting until on board - especially if you want to cover the cost with OBC.  You will likely find a slightly better price as well.  Just make sure to get it setup shortly after boarding...before internet cafe hours end in case of any issues.

[cruisingram1]

5 minutes ago, steelers36 said:

When you book pre-cruise you are also getting 25% discount.  Don't worry about waiting until on board - especially if you want to cover the cost with OBC.  You will likely find a slightly better price as well.  Just make sure to get it setup shortly after boarding...before internet cafe hours end in case of any issues.

 

Last cruise I was not Platinum. I was still able to purchase unlimited internet for a week  for $59.99. So I assumed that the 25% would be off that amount. All I can find online is from a princess youtube video which states it's $7.50 a day which is $52.50 for a week. It's not a bad deal, but 25% off $60 is $45. You'd think it would be easy enough to spell out the specifics without having to dig through pages of information. My pre cruise planner has the $59.99 option with no place to check that you qualify for the discount.

[Astro Flyer]

Those screenshots were from my late April cruise on the Royal and prior to the cruise anyone could pre-purchase an unlimited plan for $60 for 7 days which was promoted as a 25% savings off the regular price.

 

Being a MedallionClass B2B 7-day cruises when boarding the ship they considered it as a 14-day cruise for internet plans & we had the option to receive a further 25% discount:  $120 in advance was discounted to $90 during the first 24 hours of our cruise.  That further discount was in exchange for our free platinum/elite minutes.

 

While I don’t know if the onboard 25% discount applies to anyone, I think it was given only to passengers who are eligible for the free minutes.  Unfortunately that’s just another example of Princess not fully disclosing their policies which results in uncertainty for their passengers.

Edited June 16, 2019 by Astro Flyer

[Steelers36]

9 minutes ago, Astro Flyer said:

Those screenshots were from my late April cruise on the Royal and prior to the cruise anyone could pre-purchase an unlimited plan for $60 for 7 days which was promoted as a 25% savings off the regular price.

 

Being a MedallionClass B2B 7-day cruises when boarding the ship they considered it as a 14-day cruise for internet plans & we had the option to receive a further 25% discount:  $120 in advance was discounted to $90 during the first 24 hours of our cruise.  That further discount was in exchange for our free platinum/elite minutes.

 

While I don’t know if the onboard 25% discount applies to anyone, I think it was given only to passengers who are eligible for the free minutes.  Unfortunately that’s just another example of Princess not fully disclosing their policies which results in uncertainty for their passengers.

Yes, the 25% discount is for Elite/Platinum in lieu of free minutes.  It was precisely this way on Regal in May/ June.  It would be helpful if Princess will update the Platinum benefits info on the website.

Edited June 16, 2019 by steelers36