How does NCL handle B2B?

[KKB]

I did Celebrity last summer.

Steward moved my suitcase & hanging clothes to new room.

B2B waited together, escorted off & right back on to be 1 st onboard.

Same on NCL?

(hoping to snag Vibe pass)

[purplecow15]

We got off B2B in Athens last week . We kept same room so we were just escorted to passport check in terminal and walked right back on.

[njhorseman]

22 minutes ago, KKB said:

I did Celebrity last summer.

Steward moved my suitcase & hanging clothes to new room.

B2B waited together, escorted off & right back on to be 1 st onboard.

Same on NCL?

(hoping to snag Vibe pass)

It's generally done as you describe but can vary by port . In the US B2B passengers have to be cleared by CBP, which usually entails having to disembark and re board after the ship has been cleared although in some ports CBP might clear you in a lounge on board if the particular cruise terminal doesn't have adequate facilities. Outside the US you may not have to disembark.

[mscdivina2016]

1 minute ago, njhorseman said:

It's generally done as you describe but can vary by port . In the US B2B passengers have to be cleared by CBP, which usually entails having to disembark and re board after the ship has been cleared.

Not 100% true.  Depends on if you have 1 booking number.

I have had 4 cruises under 1 booking number and have never had to get off.

When I have had 2 booking numbers, yes.

[njhorseman]

14 minutes ago, mscdivina2016 said:

Not 100% true.  Depends on if you have 1 booking number.

I have had 4 cruises under 1 booking number and have never had to get off.

When I have had 2 booking numbers, yes.

What were the turn around ports where you didn't have to disembark, what cruise line were you on and how recent were those cruises? Also were these point to point to point to point...port A to port B to port C to port D ? Did the cruise(s) make port in the US after the final foreign port but not as the final port in the cruise ...in other words US to foreign to US to US ?

Edited June 18, 2022 by njhorseman

[eurodolphin]

Last month I was on the Dawn from Trieste to Barcelona and stayed on (B2B) for the next cruise from Barcelona to Trieste, so a European cruise (and I am Belgian). I had 2 different booking numbers (booked the second cruise on board during the first one and my husband joined me on the second one). 2 days before the end of the first cruise I got a letter in my cabine saying that in Barcelona I did not have to get of the ship or was not required to present myselve to guest services or anything. Just picked up new keycard.  We were able to stay in the same cabin so that was also hassle-free.

For us this turnover day was very relaxed, we could go in and out of our cabin at all times  (even when cabins weren't ready yet for all new arrivals).

I was the only B2B guests which meant that between 10 and 11 am I was the only guest on board which was pretty awesome 😉

[Harratine]

21 minutes ago, eurodolphin said:

Last month I was on the Dawn from Trieste to Barcelona and stayed on (B2B) for the next cruise from Barcelona to Trieste, so a European cruise (and I am Belgian). I had 2 different booking numbers (booked the second cruise on board during the first one and my husband joined me on the second one). 2 days before the end of the first cruise I got a letter in my cabine saying that in Barcelona I did not have to get of the ship or was not required to present myselve to guest services or anything. Just picked up new keycard.  We were able to stay in the same cabin so that was also hassle-free.

For us this turnover day was very relaxed, we could go in and out of our cabin at all times  (even when cabins weren't ready yet for all new arrivals).

I was the only B2B guests which meant that between 10 and 11 am I was the only guest on board which was pretty awesome 😉

We are a b2b from Barcelona next month and are hooping to have a similar experience.  Really looking forward to not moving to a new room or running through check in again if we can avoid it.  Where was your new card picked up from?  

[eurodolphin]

4 minutes ago, Harratine said:

We are a b2b from Barcelona next month and are hooping to have a similar experience.  Really looking forward to not moving to a new room or running through check in again if we can avoid it.  Where was your new card picked up from?  

Small correction: we cruised on the Star not the Dawn 🙃 We have an upcoming one on the Dawn.

The letter said I could pick up the new card from Guest services at any time between receiving the letter in the cabin and the last day of the cruise. So I went to get it as soon as I got the letter becaus I knew that the next dat would be busy at guest services. From the moment I picked it up I could use it and the old card also still worked until the last day of the cruise.

[Harratine]

The new card worked too?  Very interesting as I upgraded the family to premium plus drink plan on week 2.  I will see if it works on the last day of the first week and report back on that in the premium plus thread

[eurodolphin]

4 minutes ago, Harratine said:

The new card worked too?  Very interesting as I upgraded the family to premium plus drink plan on week 2.  I will see if it works on the last day of the first week and report back on that in the premium plus thread

Yes I ordered a drink that was not in my package 10 minutes after I got the new card without any problems. I did however have the exact same drink package on both cruises.

[joshgates]

The ones I've done there's always been a letter sent out on day 5(ish) with where/when to meet, to bring your passport, and to pick up your new card from guest services in the morning.  So far I haven't had to disembark, they just had one of those podiums they use for entry/exit setup next to the theater and they'd scan us out and back in.

 

For the Vibe pass, just go to guest services a couple days early and let them know you'd like one, when you pick up your card on changeover morning they'll have the charge slip ready to sign and you'll get a pass right then.

[MichiganBound]

I've done three B2B cruises on NCL.  Each experience was different.

 

1. B2B in Houston in 2016.  Two different bookings.  Two different staterooms.  All B2B guests had to exit the ship and clear immigration and then re-board.  Very well-organized all around.  I don't think we were off the ship for more than 45 minutes.  Room stewards moved my bags from the old room to the new room.  My room was ready when I reboarded the ship. Easy peasy.

 

2. B2B in Civitavecchia in 2018. Two different bookings.  Two different staterooms.  B2B guests were allowed to exit the ship if they wanted or stay on-board.  I opted to stay on-board.  I did have to leave my first stateroom by 8:00am and then wait in public areas of the ship for about three hours.  Room stewards moved my bags from the old room to the new room.  All well-organized.  Easy peasy.

 

3. B2B in Singapore in January 2020.  Two different bookings.  Two different staterooms.  All B2B guests had to exit the ship, clear immigration, and then re-board.  Very poorly organized on the ship and on the ground at the port.  No-one seemed to know what was going on.   Cruise terminal was very hot and there was no access to cold drinks...except for Haven passengers.  One woman was begging to be let back on-board the ship and into some air conditioning.  She thought she was going to pass-out.  They would not accommodate her request.   Very bad experience overall.  The process went on for hours!

[mscdivina2016]

23 hours ago, njhorseman said:

What were the turn around ports where you didn't have to disembark, what cruise line were you on and how recent were those cruises? Also were these point to point to point to point...port A to port B to port C to port D ? Did the cruise(s) make port in the US after the final foreign port but not as the final port in the cruise ...in other words US to foreign to US to US ?

The key is how it's sold.  

If you have 1 booking number you are on 1 voyage , and do not have to present to anyone.

On the past 6 months I did an MSC b2b US to US to US and had 1 booking number. I did not need to get off 

3 months ago in Philipsburg St Martin. B2B 1 booking number we did need to just walk off and turn right around and get on.

 

[njhorseman]

10 minutes ago, mscdivina2016 said:

The key is how it's sold.  

If you have 1 booking number you are on 1 voyage , and do not have to present to anyone.

On the past 6 months I did an MSC b2b US to US to US and had 1 booking number. I did not need to get off 

3 months ago in Philipsburg St Martin. B2B 1 booking number we did need to just walk off and turn right around and get on.

 

 

You may not have to get off but you still have to be cleared by USCBP when you returned to the US from a foreign port on the b2b . If you weren't cleared by USCBP either on the ship or in the terminal someone either screwed up or perhaps CBP decided it would just accept the manifest as presented due to staffing considerations. 

 

Read  my initial post carefully. I never said you always had to disembark. I said "It's generally done as you describe but can vary by port . In the US B2B passengers have to be cleared by CBP, which usually entails having to disembark and re board after the ship has been cleared although in some ports CBP might clear you in a lounge on board if the particular cruise terminal doesn't have adequate facilities"

 

Note the words "generally" and "might".

 

If having a single booking number were the controlling factor as you claimed in your first post than what is your explanation of why on one cruise with a single booking number you didn't need to get off but on the other you did? Does that not tell you a single booking number was not the reason one way or the other?

[df5250]

I had the same question as OP. I’m sailing on the Pearl, Boston to Bermuda with a stop in Bar Harbor Maine. I have two booking numbers and I am in two different Aft Facing Penthouse Suites.  I know NCL will complete a Covid test for me between the two weeks but I wasn’t sure whether or not I have to get off the ship and whether or not I had to take my luggage with me.  I believe we’ll go through customs in bar harbor before returning to Boston. Any one do a b2b on Boston to Bermuda yet this season?

[njhorseman]

7 hours ago, df5250 said:

I had the same question as OP. I’m sailing on the Pearl, Boston to Bermuda with a stop in Bar Harbor Maine. I have two booking numbers and I am in two different Aft Facing Penthouse Suites.  I know NCL will complete a Covid test for me between the two weeks but I wasn’t sure whether or not I have to get off the ship and whether or not I had to take my luggage with me.  I believe we’ll go through customs in bar harbor before returning to Boston. Any one do a b2b on Boston to Bermuda yet this season?

Haven't been on that b2b but you will go through immigration, not customs, in Bar Harbor.

Your cabin steward will move your luggage from one suite to the other . You don't take luggage off the ship on turnaround day.

Because you clear immigration in Bar Harbor before Boston I expect you will not be required to disembark in Boston. Under similar circumstances on other cruises we have not had to disembark in the turnaround port.

[ace2542]

On 6/18/2022 at 6:22 PM, purplecow15 said:

We got off B2B in Athens last week . We kept same room so we were just escorted to passport check in terminal and walked right back on.

Where you able to access your cabin straight away? Or did you have to wait till after they opened up at 2pm.

[df5250]

14 hours ago, njhorseman said:

Haven't been on that b2b but you will go through immigration, not customs, in Bar Harbor.

Your cabin steward will move your luggage from one suite to the other . You don't take luggage off the ship on turnaround day.

Because you clear immigration in Bar Harbor before Boston I expect you will not be required to disembark in Boston. Under similar circumstances on other cruises we have not had to disembark in the turnaround port.

Thank you for the correction to immigrations… I knew it was one or the other.  Fingers crossed that I can stay on the ship! Thanks for the quick response!!

[purplecow15]

On 6/20/2022 at 7:11 AM, ace2542 said:

Where you able to access your cabin straight away? Or did you have to wait till after they opened up at 2pm.

We were able to access cabin right away. They actually gave us a new key card night before second cruise. 

[Pat.D]

For anyone who has done a recent B2B in a US port, how does NCL handle C19 testing for the second leg of the cruise?  I've read conflicting info on FB groups with some saying NCL no longer tests for the second leg and others saying it's still being done onboard the last full day.

 

Thanks!