Back-to-Back Cruises - Downsides?

[kywildcatfanone]

11 hours ago, blloydtbird said:

I assume this is what is referred to as a "back-to-back" cruise.  Are there any downsides a beginning cruiser should be aware of?  Would half of the passengers likely disembark with new folks joining?  We really enjoyed getting to know quite a few folks onboard during our two weeks at sea.  

We did our first back to back a few weeks ago, December 14-21 and 21-28 on the Sky.  It was very nice to be able to stay on the ship and enjoy the morning without rushing off, and of course to be back on before the masses.  I would guess there were about 200 guests that were "in transit" that week.  Not sure what the norm is, but I would guess it's almost always less than 10% of the passengers that remain on from one week to the next.

[npcl]

13 hours ago, Essiesmom said:

Usually most of the guests will get off after the first week.  I would be surprised if there were 100 staying on, although it can happen.  EM

have been on cruises out of Fort Lauderdale where over 1000 were staying on for next cruise. Large numbers are not uncommon with the two cruises also being sold as one longer one.

[pris993]

few years back we booked two cruises one on Princess for 7 days, got off stayed one night in Ft Lauderdale, then boarded the second cruise on Celebrity.    This was our version of a back to back... liked better than staying on same ship for obvious reasons:  different ports; different entertainment on board; different experience and gave us a opportunity to compare the two cruises back to back... we are elite on both.    Princess won out but it was a great experience would do the same thing again if I wanted a 14 day experience in the Carribean... two cruises on two different lines.  

Only down side, you have to pack and upack twice

[sbrayr]

I don't know if this has been mentioned. If you get onboard credit of say $300 with your cruise, you may get more $$ with a b2b than with one long cruise.

[pilot]

Agree with previous posts about same shows and menus on a B2B.

 

The last few years we have done one of the large RCCL ships then moved over to the Regal Princess.  Yes, it's a minor pain to pack up our stuff, get in a cab, and change ships...but it is an entirely different cruise.

 

This year we really mixed it up!!  Getting on Celebrity Edge on the 19th, then Holland America Nieuw Statendam on the 26th, then to one of our favorites, Regal Princess on Feb 2.

 

Have the excitement of 3 separate vacations.

 

 

[Micahs Grandad]

Would rather go on a different ship the second week for new shows and different guest entertainers. Very often the ones who are on at the end of a cruise will stay on the the second week.

[Micahs Grandad]

Would rather go on a different ship the second week for new shows and different guest entertainers. Very often the ones who are on at the end of a cruise will stay on the the second week.

[blloydtbird]

Thanks for all of the excellent feedback!  

 

A few items for me to further clarify:  The cruse is being sold as a 14 day cruise that essentially has two itineraries within, 14-Day Caribbean East/West Adventurer.  The first set of east ports are quite different from those in the west, so while back-to-back in terms of the ship itself, all of the ports are different other than the return to Port Everglades.  Not sure if this matters in terms of the number of folks staying versus leaving, and the repeat of onboard activities.

What I enjoyed most about our recent cruise was 14 days running into wonderful people we met.  Given the feedback here thus far, most folks will only be on for 7 days on either end of the cruise.

 

One last note, what are the early thoughts on what the Enchanted will offer?  Worth doing this cruise just to sample her?  I did really enjoy the Caribbean princess.

 

Cheers!

[Aus Traveller]

14 minutes ago, blloydtbird said:

Thanks for all of the excellent feedback!  

 

A few items for me to further clarify:  The cruse is being sold as a 14 day cruise that essentially has two itineraries within, 14-Day Caribbean East/West Adventurer.  The first set of east ports are quite different from those in the west, so while back-to-back in terms of the ship itself, all of the ports are different other than the return to Port Everglades.  Not sure if this matters in terms of the number of folks staying versus leaving, and the repeat of onboard activities.

What I enjoyed most about our recent cruise was 14 days running into wonderful people we met.  Given the feedback here thus far, most folks will only be on for 7 days on either end of the cruise.

 

One last note, what are the early thoughts on what the Enchanted will offer?  Worth doing this cruise just to sample her?  I did really enjoy the Caribbean princess.

 

Cheers!

With the cruise you mention, there would be a lot of people doing the whole 14 days. As someone else posted, they had around 1,000 people who did just that.

 

However, you can still expect some repeated shows, activities and menues in the dining room.

[skynight]

12 hours ago, blloydtbird said:

Thanks for all of the excellent feedback!  

 

A few items for me to further clarify:  The cruse is being sold as a 14 day cruise that essentially has two itineraries within, 14-Day Caribbean East/West Adventurer.  The first set of east ports are quite different from those in the west, so while back-to-back in terms of the ship itself, all of the ports are different other than the return to Port Everglades.  Not sure if this matters in terms of the number of folks staying versus leaving, and the repeat of onboard activities.

What I enjoyed most about our recent cruise was 14 days running into wonderful people we met.  Given the feedback here thus far, most folks will only be on for 7 days on either end of the cruise.

 

One last note, what are the early thoughts on what the Enchanted will offer?  Worth doing this cruise just to sample her?  I did really enjoy the Caribbean princess.

 

Cheers!

From experience I would expect somewhere between 200 to 500 passengers will remain on for the second week. B2B's are popular. We love them. You get to know the crew and cruise director staff. You get to relax more and select things you want to do, not trying to fit everything into a single week. This season we will be on 3 x 10day cruises b2b2b. Yes, stuff repeats, but it really does not matter.

The staff generally alternates on board activities. Examples, different trivias, different theme nights. The ship always has some events every voyage, examples Captain's Circle gathering, deck party, Captain's welcome event, yes/no game, marriage game. There are enough other activities and dining 'adventures' that you can spread them out over two weeks, examples, chef's table one cruise, Crown Grill the other.

Every week during the season hundreds will stay on board for the next cruise. When you disembark some will remain for the next voyage. It goes on  this way all season. Some passengers will book 3, 4, 5, 6 weeks in a row.

The Enchanted design has corrected many of the initial design omissions on the earlier Royal Class ships. Crooner's eliminated on the Sky & Majestic will reappear on the Enchanted. Club 6 on the Royal has been redesigned into a jazz club with better seating. Princess Live has been greatly improved with better seating and access. The Vista Lounge will now be an actual lounge more like Club Fusion on the Caribbean. The buffet area on the Enchanted will be 3 times the size with much greater selections from what you found on the Caribbean. There should be all new theater production shows. The Enchanted is a much different design than the Caribbean. Compare the deck plans. If you wish to have a cabin with a sofa, book a deluxe balcony cabin or above. Standard balcony cabins and interior cabins do not have sofas. If Princess follows their current pattern they also will not have an extra chair for seating. Good values are the obstructed view balcony cabins.

Note: Princess is currently running the Best Ever Sale until January 31st.  Includes Premium Beverage Package, gratuities and unlimited, wi-fi and maybe some OBC and refundable deposits. Over the years this seems like one of their better offers.

[Schonert]

One other downside is that some on board credits more than double between a 7 and 14 day cruise.

 

The military, And shares Are $100 for a week, and $250 for 2 weeks.

 

There are some trips that cabins are blocked for a 2 week cruise, but the same cabin can be booked for each leg of a b2b.  We were forced to book at B2B for Alaska even though the 2 week version was avail as we wanted a particular deck.  

[Ombud]

On 1/5/2020 at 5:34 AM, jimdee3636 said:

One more thing to do on the turnaround day: laundry. Don't laugh. After the first seven days you'll have plenty of it, particularly in a hot climate. The self-serve laundry rooms are usually empty on turnaround days but can be a zoo at other times. By doing a week's worth of laundry onboard you can pack a lot less.

If I give them laundry on the 1st day of the 2nd cruise how long will it take to get it back? 

[Aus Traveller]

9 minutes ago, Ombud said:

If I give them laundry on the 1st day of the 2nd cruise how long will it take to get it back? 

Because not a lot of people would be putting laundry in on the first day, you could be lucky with two days, or even just one day to receive your laundry.

[Hlitner]

On 1/5/2020 at 12:33 AM, OzKiwiJJ said:

And repetition of menus in the MDRs.

Yes, it has happened on several of our back to backs.  In some cases a few of the menu items were scrambled to different nights, but you will generally see the same exact items over the course of a back to back  And it is the same with the Production Shows and even some Guest Entertainers.

 

Hank

[Tatka]

For Christmas 2016/New Year 2017 we had Celebrity Silhouette and Royal Princess back-to-back
This year we did Royal Caribbean Explorer of the Seas for Christmas and Crown Princess for New Year (disembarked today)

This way we got to experience celebrations on different lines, various entertainment. It was fine.

If you don’t want different lines you can probably do two Princess ships. This way you insure various entertainment.

My only advice is not to do constant comparison of experiences.

[casofilia]

If in an inside cabin, as we usually are, NOT having a night in a hotel to have a DEEEEEEEEP WAAAAARM SOOOOOOOOAK in a LAAAAAAAAGE   BATH.

[cheezenip]

On 1/5/2020 at 2:15 PM, pilot said:

This year we really mixed it up!!  Getting on Celebrity Edge on the 19th, then Holland America Nieuw Statendam on the 26th, then to one of our favorites, Regal Princess on Feb 2.

What are your thoughts on the pros/cons of Statendam and Edge and how they compare to Regal..I've done HAL's N. Statendam and PCL's Regal but not the Edge. I have my own opinions betw/ Statendam and Regal but I would be curious of yours since you did all 3!!

 

Edited January 7, 2020 by cheezenip

[memoak]

What downside ?  2cruises are always better than 1

[generichandle]

The ideal, IMHO, B-B cruise is your 1st Alaska. Vancouver to Anchorage - Anchorage to Vancouver. You can usually find diferent itineraries each direction, though there are plenty of ideas for excursions at each stop. 

 

And you can purchase airfare far cheaper by round trip to YVR, or RT to Seattle and take the train, which is a nice trip of it's own. 

Alaska is 'God's Own Country' [also IMHO] and best to see as much as possible, as climate change is hurting more dramatically there. 

[Thrak]

On 1/5/2020 at 4:14 PM, blloydtbird said:

One last note, what are the early thoughts on what the Enchanted will offer?  Worth doing this cruise just to sample her?  I did really enjoy the Caribbean princess.

 

 

While we have never sailed on Enchanted Princess you will definitely find it a very different type of experience. The ship will be nothing like Caribbean Princess. We did a 14 day Circle Caribbean on Caribbean Princess (a true 14 day without the return to FLL in the middle) and enjoyed the ship but we have never sailed on one of the newer, larger ships. Check the deck plans online and you will see the ships are nothing like the older ships such as CB (Caribbean Princess).

[blloydtbird]

Thanks all!  We have booked the BSE for the December 19, 2020 East/West Caribbean Cruise on the Enchanted.  A bit more pricey as compared to our booking for December 2020, still early enough perhaps for fares to improve.  Either way, we are going.

 

Cheers and thanks again. 

[fredflint]

One thing to look at is where else you can go.  East and  Western Caribbean are OK  but the really great ports in my opinion are the Southern Caribbean cruises they ten to be 10-14 day cruises since they have a lot longer to travel .

This is a 14 day cruise would be a lot more interesting than a B2B East West Cruise.

 

https://www.princess.com/cruise-search/details?voyageCode=B009

 

it is port intensive with 5 days at sea

 

[blloydtbird]

2 minutes ago, fredflint said:

One thing to look at is where else you can go.  East and  Western Caribbean are OK  but the really great ports in my opinion are the Southern Caribbean cruises they ten to be 10-14 day cruises since they have a lot longer to travel .

This is a 14 day cruise would be a lot more interesting than a B2B East West Cruise.

 

https://www.princess.com/cruise-search/details?voyageCode=B009

 

it is port intensive with 5 days at sea

 

Fully agree with you! We just got back from this very same cruise, 14 day holiday on the Caribbean princess. We left On 12/20, returned on 1/3. Enjoyed it so much, we wanted to book another for the 2020 holiday season, looking to see a few more ports. 

[New Cruiser Girl 2]

On 1/4/2020 at 11:34 PM, blloydtbird said:

Hi folks - Thanks to the wonderful discussions on this board, my wife and I just returned from our first cruise and had a blast.  We were on the Caribbean Princess over the holidays and returned on 1/3.  We had such a great time, we are looking at cruises for the 2020 holiday period.

 

I've come across a few different options on a few different ships.  One option that has drawn my attention is the Enchanted Princess, leaving out of Port Everglades on 12/19.  In reviewing the itinerary, the ship returns to Port Everglades only to depart the same day.  I assume this is what is referred to as a "back-to-back" cruise.  Are there any downsides a beginning cruiser should be aware of?  Would half of the passengers likely disembark with new folks joining?  We really enjoyed getting to know quite a few folks onboard during our two weeks at sea.  

 

Ports of Call: Fort Lauderdale | At Sea | Grand Cayman | Roatan | Belize City | Cozumel | At Sea | Fort Lauderdale | Princess Cays | At Sea | St Thomas | St Maarten | At Sea | At Sea | Fort Lauderdale

 

Thanks!

One year we did a b2b( 2 different itineraries though) at Everglades and it was a big bummer that Port Port Authority made us get off the ship , go sit in this big room for about two hours before being let back on.  Ive heard that this done randomly with ships in port . Sometimes  you get to stay on but go to the Theatre to be checked in with Port Authority . In our case the dice was not in our favour !  The upside was that we did not have to attend the Safety briefing on the second sailing . 

[fredflint]

16 hours ago, blloydtbird said:

Fully agree with you! We just got back from this very same cruise, 14 day holiday on the Caribbean princess. We left On 12/20, returned on 1/3. Enjoyed it so much, we wanted to book another for the 2020 holiday season, looking to see a few more ports. 

Glad you enjoyed the cruise I really do enjoy most of the ports in a southern cruise and ABCs and Barbados are favorites.