MSC Seashore. What is considered a B2B sailing?

[tallnthensome]

I have a 14 day cruise booked on the Seashore out of Miami next year. It comes back to port Miami on day 8 and sets out again to the western caribbean . Is this considered a back to back sailing or just one 14 day sailing as I only have one booking number? 

[titangas]

While it is a back to back sailing, it seems the way MSC is selling the Seashore cruises right now you can book it both ways. So if you book the longer itinerary it would be 1 cruise reservation.

 

I have a 5 night cruise in the Seashore booked for December but they are selling my itinerary as part of a 12 night cruise starting week before.

[JAGR]

Either way you book it, you still have to exit the ship (briefly, for customs regulations), and then get back on board.  We booked our B2B as two separate bookings.  The price was the same, but you get more VC points with two individual 7-day sailings rather than one 14-day sailing.

[dexddd]

With MSC who knows.  Technically a b2b but MSC sells it both ways often.  We had similar trip in Europe where we tried to book it as two legs for some extra benefits and lower price than combined but MSC ended up booking it as one at the lower price.

[tallnthensome]

Right, It was a few hundred dollars cheaper to do the one booking than the two one week cruises. Was wondering if we did indeed need to get off the ship after the first leg. I'm even thinking way ahead about having to be covid tested after the first week but that's down the road. 

[SirWolf]

4 hours ago, JAGR said:

Either way you book it, you still have to exit the ship (briefly, for customs regulations), and then get back on board. 

We’ve never been on a cruise returning to the embarking port while following the itinerary.. but why do we have to go off the ship for customs regulations (going through customs with luggage) ? The cruise is not over..Why can’t we just stay on the ship like in a transit area ? waiting for the cruise to be continued.

We are booked on Seashore in December 2021 for 12-night itinerary.. 5 + 7 days.. booked as one cruise under one booking number.

Thanks.

[shipgeeks]

You do not take luggage, just your passport, when you go through Immigration (not Customs).  You will be walked through as a group, then you can leave and spend the day ashore, or go right back on the ship.

[SirWolf]

4 minutes ago, shipgeeks said:

You do not take luggage, just your passport, when you go through Immigration (not Customs).  You will be walked through as a group, then you can leave and spend the day ashore, or go right back on the ship.

Thank you for clarifying.

Is this a US specific procedure ?

We’ve been on Mediterranean cruises and stayed in some ports/countries just on the ship.. not leaving the ship for immigration.

[mscdivina2016]

41 minutes ago, SirWolf said:

We’ve never been on a cruise returning to the embarking port while following the itinerary.. but why do we have to go off the ship for customs regulations (going through customs with luggage) ? The cruise is not over..Why can’t we just stay on the ship like in a transit area ? waiting for the cruise to be continued.

We are booked on Seashore in December 2021 for 12-night itinerary.. 5 + 7 days.. booked as one cruise under one booking number.

Thanks.

When I had 1 booking number for 2 cruises I did not have to get off or do anything. Even my credit card scan in on day 1 was still valid. Same cruise card same everything. One bill at end of cruise.

 This was in February of 2020.

Steve

[sidari]

We sailed Divina on two B2B seven night sailings out of Miami and had two booking numbers, we left the ship after the first seven days and went into Miami and were given a slip of paper saying B2B which we had to show on returning to the ship.

On single booking numbers MSC have previously only given the VC benefits once despite there being two separate cruises.

[shipgeeks]

1 hour ago, SirWolf said:

Thank you for clarifying.

Is this a US specific procedure ?

We’ve been on Mediterranean cruises and stayed in some ports/countries just on the ship.. not leaving the ship for immigration.

Yes, I can only speak for Miami cruise procedures.

We booked 7+7 nts (back in 2020) because it was significantly cheaper than 14 nts, same dates.  Two booking numbers, a new card for the second week (took perhaps 10 seconds to get new one).

Interesting if they are now not requiring passengers on 14 nts to leave the ship.

[Essiesmom]

It’s not MSC but US immigration that requires the ship be zeroed down before any new guests can board.  If there is a large number doing the B2B, they sometimes arrange for it to be done onboard in a group.  EM

[CruisingFox27]

11 hours ago, SirWolf said:

Thank you for clarifying.

Is this a US specific procedure ?

We’ve been on Mediterranean cruises and stayed in some ports/countries just on the ship.. not leaving the ship for immigration.

 

Yes, it's a US Immigration requirement. Regardless of if you've a 14 night booking or two 7 night bookings you'll still need to leave and proceed through Immigration. You can either go off the ship for the day and do it on your return or in our case we met in a lounge, walked off and back in through the Immigration check point. It's a simple enough operation, although length of time depends on how quickly the disembarking passengers leave. The ship has to have a zero passenger count.

[8420PR]

Yes - it's only US cruises where back-to-back passengers need to disembark briefly in Miami.

 

For Med cruises and Caribbean Antilles (Fort de France route) you can normally stay on the ship, though maybe there are exceptions for the last cruise of the season?

[MarkusToe]

On our last cruise at seaview: if you had one booking number for the b2b you are not allowed to leave the ship.

If you have 2 booking numbers you have to leave the ship

[8420PR]

4 hours ago, MarkusToe said:

On our last cruise at seaview: if you had one booking number for the b2b you are not allowed to leave the ship.

If you have 2 booking numbers you have to leave the ship

That's interesting.  Is that the new COVID rules?   You can only leave the ship with an excursion during the cruise?

[MarkusToe]

Yep, that's the actual MSC rule

[JAGR]

17 hours ago, shipgeeks said:

You do not take luggage, just your passport, when you go through Immigration (not Customs).  You will be walked through as a group, then you can leave and spend the day ashore, or go right back on the ship.

You are right, thanks.  I said Customs, but meant what is now ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement.).