Is there an advantage of booking a back to back vs one longer cruise when you have both options?

[kywildcatfanone]

Looking at future cruises and I see two 10 day cruises, and a 20 day cruise that are the same cruises, just one is offered individually and one is together.

Is there a benefit to booking one way or the other with Princess?  I have shareholder credit, and typically get OBC, so to me it might make sense to book as two cruises. 

I've only done this once, and that was when I booked one 7 day cruise, then a month later we decided to stay on for one more week and I was able to book them separately.  Just curious if others have done this. 

[chrysalis]

done it lots of times.....and one of the keys is the availability of cabins...some are set aside for 10 dayers, and others for 20 dayers.

[Yehootu]

You would get $100 per 7 day cruise from stock or $250 for the 20day cruise. We are booked on a 14day cruise which is also for sale as 2 7days. It was cheaper to book the 14 vs the 2 7's.

[voljeep]

by booking as 2 10's , you may be able to get a refare if one segment decreases in price.

[dog]

Captain Circle- 2 cruises gets you to elite faster.

[kywildcatfanone]

Thanks for the replies.  Looks like it's cheaper by like $100 to book separately on the website, waiting for my TA to give me her pricing and options.

 

 

[kb4683]

We are doing an 18 + 16 beginning next week that was also sold as 34.  The base fare wasn’t that much different and we will get an extra $250 shareholder, an extra $250 military, and extra for using FCD’s for each cruise in OBC.  At the time we booked, we were able to get the same cabin for both legs; subsequently, got a good upsell offer for the second leg so will be moving on turnaround day.

Edited May 20, 2022 by kb4683

[kb4683]

1 hour ago, dog said:

Captain Circle- 2 cruises gets you to elite faster.

A few years ago we did a 14 night that was also sold as two 7 nights.  When we got home read here on CC that you can get credit for two if also sold as one.  Called Captain’s Circle and indeed did get credit for two cruises.  Got us to the now defunct Loyalty OBC.

[skynight]

1 hour ago, dog said:

Captain Circle- 2 cruises gets you to elite faster.

Not correct. No matter one booking number or two each 10 day voyage counts as one Captain's Circle credit. 

[skynight]

More flexibility booking with two booking numbers.

For the 10 day cruises more cabins set aside, thus more selections for each 10 day.

When booking b2bs as separate cruises research carefully if you wish to stay in the same cabin to see what cabins are available for both segments. Then provide your T.A. with a list of cabins you will accept and have both bookings marked no upgrade.

No matter how booked you will receive one invoice on final disembarkation day.

We have sailed 2, 3 and 4 cruises as b2bs. We always have booked as separate cruises for the flexibility even if there is a small difference in the OBC.

[dog]

6 minutes ago, skynight said:

Not correct. No matter one booking number or two each 10 day voyage counts as one Captain's Circle credit. 

Ok,

I am only sure what happened with my situation.

 

[LACruiser88]

It's all about the $$$ math.  For us most of the time it has been cheaper to book the longer voyage as one.  Post-Covid, we have found it more economical to book as separate voyages.

[cityguy300]

1 hour ago, skynight said:

Not correct. No matter one booking number or two each 10 day voyage counts as one Captain's Circle credit. 

 

2 hours ago, kb4683 said:

A few years ago we did a 14 night that was also sold as two 7 nights.  When we got home read here on CC that you can get credit for two if also sold as one.  Called Captain’s Circle and indeed did get credit for two cruises.  Got us to the now defunct Loyalty OBC.

 

My question on this is, do they (reliably) give you double credit for B2Bs automatically, or do you still have to chase it down after the cruise?

 

My first Princess cruise was in summer 2008.  Booked a solo, got 1 credit.  Booked another solo in early 2009, shortly after they changed the policy to 2 credits; it was a B2B, but I only got 2 credits, not 4.  This seemed normal to me until I read, maybe a couple of years later, that even with just one booking number, people got credited for each leg.  

 

Since then I've booked two actual back-to-back cruises once, but not done another 14-day-from-two-7-days until now.  Two questions: will I see 4 credits automatically... and will my Elite mini-bar be refilled on turnaround day? 😄

 

[dog]

1 hour ago, cityguy300 said:

 

 

My question on this is, do they (reliably) give you double credit for B2Bs automatically, or do you still have to chase it down after the cruise?

 

My first Princess cruise was in summer 2008.  Booked a solo, got 1 credit.  Booked another solo in early 2009, shortly after they changed the policy to 2 credits; it was a B2B, but I only got 2 credits, not 4.  This seemed normal to me until I read, maybe a couple of years later, that even with just one booking number, people got credited for each leg.  

 

Since then I've booked two actual back-to-back cruises once, but not done another 14-day-from-two-7-days until now.  Two questions: will I see 4 credits automatically... and will my Elite mini-bar be refilled on turnaround day? 😄

 

You need to ask Captain’s Circle rep.

As information on here is not the same for everyone, as you can see.

 

[Astro Flyer]

1 hour ago, cityguy300 said:

 

 

My question on this is, do they (reliably) give you double credit for B2Bs automatically, or do you still have to chase it down after the cruise?

 

My first Princess cruise was in summer 2008.  Booked a solo, got 1 credit.  Booked another solo in early 2009, shortly after they changed the policy to 2 credits; it was a B2B, but I only got 2 credits, not 4.  This seemed normal to me until I read, maybe a couple of years later, that even with just one booking number, people got credited for each leg.  

 

Since then I've booked two actual back-to-back cruises once, but not done another 14-day-from-two-7-days until now.  Two questions: will I see 4 credits automatically... and will my Elite mini-bar be refilled on turnaround day? 😄

 

For many years now have automatically received a cruise credit for each segment of a longer booking that could be booked as shorter cruises. As a solo you’ll get 2 credits for each 7 day cruise whether booked as B2B or as a single 14 day cruise. Four credits which since you’re already are at the elite level means nothing since Loyalty credit was eliminated.
 

If you go to your Captain’s Circle Cruise History you will see the number of cruise credits for all cruises including future cruises. I had a 28 day cruise that could also be booked as 7-7-14 days and received 3 credits.

 

You will receive an elite minibar for each segment of your cruise even when booked as 14 days. I call room service near the end of the first cruise to have them deliver my preferred setup for the second cruise which eliminates another swap.

 

Edited May 20, 2022 by Astro Flyer

[dog]

In 2012 I stayed in a Vista suite on Dawn Princess and got 1 credit for each cruise: Sydney to Queensland to Sydney & Sydney to New Zealand to Sydney.

 

Should I have received 2 credits per cruise

in a Vista suite?

 

this is the ship we received no extras on that are listed for suites

[beg3yrs]

delete

Edited May 20, 2022 by beg3yrs
delete

[beg3yrs]

3 hours ago, dog said:

Ok,

I am only sure what happened with my situation.

 

Many moons ago that was a problem. You had to call the CC people to get both credits.

[cityguy300]

40 minutes ago, Astro Flyer said:

For many years now have automatically received a cruise credit for each segment of a longer booking that could be booked as shorter cruises. As a solo you’ll get 2 credits for each 7 day cruise whether booked as B2B or as a single 14 day cruise. Four credits which since you’re already are at the elite level means nothing since Loyalty credit was eliminated.
 

If you go to your Captain’s Circle Cruise History you will see the number of cruise credits for all cruises including future cruises. I had a 28 day cruise that could also be booked as 7-7-14 days and received 3 credits.

 

You will receive an elite minibar for each segment of your cruise even when booked as 14 days. I call room service near the end of the first cruise to have them deliver my preferred setup for the second cruise which eliminates another swap.

 

 

Is that Future Cruise credit under Cruise History new, because I've never noticed it before!  I'm trying to think now if I ever looked at that page after booking but before cruising (I definitely checked after each cruise).

 

Regarding your other comment ("...means nothing since loyalty credit was eliminated"), I'm not sure I know what you mean.  Do you just mean that since I was already Elite there were no new perks to look forward to (and now a few eliminated since last time, unfortunately)?  Or the $25 on your 21st cruise, which unfortunately for me (if it was eliminated) would have been this cruise, since I have 19 credits now.

[skynight]

2 hours ago, cityguy300 said:

 

 

My question on this is, do they (reliably) give you double credit for B2Bs automatically, or do you still have to chase it down after the cruise?

 

My first Princess cruise was in summer 2008.  Booked a solo, got 1 credit.  Booked another solo in early 2009, shortly after they changed the policy to 2 credits; it was a B2B, but I only got 2 credits, not 4.  This seemed normal to me until I read, maybe a couple of years later, that even with just one booking number, people got credited for each leg.  

 

Since then I've booked two actual back-to-back cruises once, but not done another 14-day-from-two-7-days until now.  Two questions: will I see 4 credits automatically... and will my Elite mini-bar be refilled on turnaround day? 😄

 

 

42 minutes ago, dog said:

You need to ask Captain’s Circle rep.

As information on here is not the same for everyone, as you can see.

 

Policy is one captain's circle credit for each leg of a voyage.* Two 7 day voyages booked a single 14 day voyage or as two separate voyages will equal the same amount of credits, 1 for each leg. If you book as a solo you should receive the 4 credits automatically. If not you will have to follow up as you are entitled to them. It always worked for us, but today Princess is broken.

* double credits for solo in a cabin or in a full suite. Triple for solo in a full suite.

Yes, mini bar is refilled on turnaround day.

 

[skynight]

Just now, cityguy300 said:

 

Is that Future Cruise credit under Cruise History new, because I've never noticed it before!  I'm trying to think now if I ever looked at that page after booking but before cruising (I definitely checked after each cruise).

 

Regarding your other comment ("...means nothing since loyalty credit was eliminated"), I'm not sure I know what you mean.  Do you just mean that since I was already Elite there were no new perks to look forward to (and now a few eliminated since last time, unfortunately)?  Or the $25 on your 21st cruise, which unfortunately for me (if it was eliminated) would have been this cruise, since I have 19 credits now.

Means nothing today, but who knows in the future. Best to keep the records accurate.

[beg3yrs]

Another advantage to booking separately is EZair. You can now adjust both your inbound and outbound flights separately. As one booking if you have a change you must change both.

[Astro Flyer]

1 hour ago, cityguy300 said:

 

Is that Future Cruise credit under Cruise History new, because I've never noticed it before!  I'm trying to think now if I ever looked at that page after booking but before cruising (I definitely checked after each cruise).

 

Regarding your other comment ("...means nothing since loyalty credit was eliminated"), I'm not sure I know what you mean.  Do you just mean that since I was already Elite there were no new perks to look forward to (and now a few eliminated since last time, unfortunately)?  Or the $25 on your 21st cruise, which unfortunately for me (if it was eliminated) would have been this cruise, since I have 19 credits now.

I have seen the Cruise Credits in the History list for many years but don’t recall when it began.

 

Currently there are no new elite perks to look forward to receiving. Before restarting cruises Loyalty OBC began at $25 for 21 cruise credits going up to $100 at 50 cruise credits. However the Loyalty OBC was eliminated so the number of cruise credits now has no value unless the OBC is reinstated or another perk based on cruise credits happens but think that both are highly unlikely to happen.

 

Edited May 20, 2022 by Astro Flyer

[sirclean]

Just piping in to say that I have a back to back Alaska trip booked for 2023 and it shows as 2 credits in my future cruise credit.

 

In the past, when I was booked back to back, I also got restocked on my Bar Set Up. 

 

I dont remember about the shareholder benefit (whether I got $250 once, or $100 twice).   It has been a few years since then.

 

One benefit would be, as mentioned above, staying in the same cabin, and a different selection of rooms as they block off some rooms for the double cruise.

Be sure to compare the price, as that would be the primary/most important difference.  Otherwise, little difference.

 

(Oh, you wont have to do the drill for the second half of the trip).

 

Edited May 20, 2022 by sirclean
left off a sentence

[cityguy300]

36 minutes ago, Astro Flyer said:

I have seen the Cruise Credits in the History list for many years but don’t recall when it began.

 

Currently there are no new elite perks to look forward to receiving. Before restarting cruises Loyalty OBC began at $25 for 21 cruise credits going up to $100 at 50 cruise credits. However the Loyalty OBC was eliminated so the number of cruise credits now has no value unless the OBC is reinstated or another perk based on cruise credits happens but think that both are highly unlikely to happen.

 

I didn't mean the past cruise credits earned, but future ones to be earned.  I've never seen that before; it would have taken some of the suspense out of checking my account, post cruise, in the past.  Right now it tells me I will earn 4 credits after my upcoming cruise, which answers my initial question.

 

The lost $25 is a bummer because this was going to be my first cruise to earn that OBC just for being "loyal".  And no, I doubt they'll reinstate it anytime soon.  I'd rather Carnival Corp reinstate its dividend first!  I think I got 1-2 payouts before they cut it.  At least I'll finally get shareholder benefits this sailing.