Booking back to back cruises

[douginct]

We are considering booking back to back cruises (Alaska) so that we would have 14 nights rather than 7 and be able to simply fly round trip to/from Vancouver. Looked at the excursions and there are certainly enough choices that we can do different ones in each direction.  I would appreciate a bit of information on how this works - I assume that we try to get the same cabin for both directions to prevent a move.  Does it require 2 separate deposits? Any other thoughts or advice about such a booking?

Thanks. 

[bitob]

Do you have a ta?  Your ta will work it all out for you and get you the b2b discount. 

[travlr21]

Back in 2017 we made 2 deposits for a B2B, and we had the same cabin for both legs. It would be much easier for you if you are able to get the same cabin so that you do not have to move. I understand the crew will make the move as easy a process as possible, but even easier if you can stay put. The price you might see online will be adjusted because both cruises include airfare. I am not sure about any other B2B discount. We have considered the same type of trip since we can easily drive to Vancouver. Some day ....

[douginct]

15 minutes ago, bitob said:

Do you have a ta?  Your ta will work it all out for you and get you the b2b discount. 

Yes, thanks. We were browsing the latest "big" Regent book that came in the mail recently thinking about possible future cruises and came up with this idea. But if we decide to book, we would definitely go through our travel agent.

[bitob]

3 hours ago, douginct said:

Yes, thanks. We were browsing the latest "big" Regent book that came in the mail recently thinking about possible future cruises and came up with this idea. But if we decide to book, we would definitely go through our travel agent.

Your ta will handle it all. Getting same cabin. Get discounts. I do b2bs all the time. Just got off voyager. Very easy for ta to handle

[cwn]

But if you can’t get the same suite on the BtoB you want…. Go for the two different suites. We did this on the Splendor this Dec. Your Stewardess and housekeeping will make this painless and no work for you while you go ashore even. The only thing we took care of ourselves was the safe items.

[mdunne48]

You can expect an invoice with these categories if you do a B2B:

 

Early Booking (52,498.00)

Bonus Discount (4,500.00)

Seven Seas Society Savings (750.00)

Onboard Savings (675.00)

Air Allowance (2,350.00)

Hotel Credit (200.00)

Combination Cruise Savings (1,350.00)

[SWFLAOK]

If we're going to fly, we like to take a long cruise, so we often do B2Bs. Our cruise TA takes care of booking this for us, and we have always had just one price, one cabin, and one deposit for the entire trip. I know that the cruise line will move you if you have a different cabin, but I would still find that to be a "lost day" on my cruise. I would rather move everything myself than have the crew do that since I'll need to stay out of their way in both cabins so we'll be "homeless" on board. And that day, I'll need to carry my safe items with us, which isn't very convenient.And I won't know for sure where all of my "things" are in the new cabin.  I also don't necessarily like someone touching all of my things. I'd feel a need to pack many of them for the move. But maybe that's just me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[cwn]

1 hour ago, SWFLAOK said:

If we're going to fly, we like to take a long cruise, so we often do B2Bs. Our cruise TA takes care of booking this for us, and we have always had just one price, one cabin, and one deposit for the entire trip. I know that the cruise line will move you if you have a different cabin, but I would still find that to be a "lost day" on my cruise. I would rather move everything myself than have the crew do that since I'll need to stay out of their way in both cabins so we'll be "homeless" on board. And that day, I'll need to carry my safe items with us, which isn't very convenient.And I won't know for sure where all of my "things" are in the new cabin.  I also don't necessarily like someone touching all of my things. I'd feel a need to pack many of them for the move. But maybe that's just me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Must be just you…..we put the odds and ends sitting out like iPad, computer and various cords and papers in a small carry on bag and put it on the bed. Left everything else in the draws and on hangers. They came with a cart moved the full drawers in-tack and put the hangers on hanging rack. This was about 9:30, we all walked down to 7 from 8 and they put everything back in place. And took away empty drawers Took maybe 20-30 minutes. They had given us a key the day before good for the dates of the second cruise in case we wanted to leave the ship early before the move, we could get back on  by passing the checkin lines. But the move happened so seamlessly we were done before we were ready to leave the ship. So we stopped by reception and picked up our new key as we left.

 

The staff handle our clothes and things  more doing our laundry and cleaning the room. In our new room everything was exactly in the same place just the mirror image as we moved from an odd number to an even number. It was hardly a “lost day” nor were we “homeless” at any point during the 30 min the staff were moving us. Absolutely painless!

 

Ideally staying in the same room is best, but if you want a specific set of cruises and are maybe late booking don’t worry go about your day and treat it like any other day when your room is cleaned. The move didn’t take that long and it is first thing after the disembarking passengers leave 

Edited January 31, 2023 by cwn

[2012_Alaska_bound]

18 hours ago, douginct said:

We are considering booking back to back cruises (Alaska) so that we would have 14 nights rather than 7 and be able to simply fly round trip to/from Vancouver.

 

May of 2024 has a 14 night cruise, Vancouver to Vancouver, which does not repeat ports. It is a great option.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

57 minutes ago, 2012_Alaska_bound said:

 

May of 2024 has a 14 night cruise, Vancouver to Vancouver, which does not repeat ports. It is a great option.

And May is a good month for Alaska. Wish they had more of these Van-Van itineraries.

[douginct]

4 hours ago, 2012_Alaska_bound said:

 

May of 2024 has a 14 night cruise, Vancouver to Vancouver, which does not repeat ports. It is a great option.

Unfortunately May won't work for us. We are looking at late August or September.  Surprised they don't offer more Vancouver to Vancouver.

[dcsam]

I’ve considered the Vancouver back to  Vancouver trip.  We can drive to Vancouver.  Anybody know what the approximate air credit would be?

[travlr21]

2 hours ago, dcsam said:

approximate air credit

 

The May 15, 2024 Vancouver / Alaska round trip cruise on the Explorer shows that it is up to CA $750 per person if you arrange your own flights and transfers.

Edited January 31, 2023 by travlr21
sb 2024

[2012_Alaska_bound]

The air credit amount is listed at the end of the pricing chart. $600 USD

[TWA bluesy]

On 1/30/2023 at 3:36 PM, cwn said:

But if you can’t get the same suite on the BtoB you want…. Go for the two different suites. We did this on the Splendor this Dec. Your Stewardess and housekeeping will make this painless and no work for you while you go ashore even. The only thing we took care of ourselves was the safe items.

I agree.  We did a B2B in Australia a couple of years ago and the cabin people moved everything to the 2nd room while we were touring Sydney.

[IrishBear]

On 1/30/2023 at 3:36 PM, cwn said:

But if you can’t get the same suite on the BtoB you want…. Go for the two different suites. We did this on the Splendor this Dec. Your Stewardess and housekeeping will make this painless and no work for you while you go ashore even. The only thing we took care of ourselves was the safe items.

We are considering BtoB but can't get the same suite.  Was it really that easy?  Did they pack and unpack for you?  How did this work?

 

[IrishBear]

On 2/3/2023 at 4:19 PM, TWA bluesy said:

I agree.  We did a B2B in Australia a couple of years ago and the cabin people moved everything to the 2nd room while we were touring Sydney.

Did you have to pack and they moved your suitcases and then you had to unpack again?  Or did they move things and place them in the corresponding drawers and closets for you?  We are in a deluxe balcony, not a Penthouse with a butler.

 

[HotRoot]

They move the actual drawers and place them in the same location.  They take the clothes out of the closet and put them in the same place.  The empty drawers from your new cabin go back to your old cabin.

[cwn]

1 hour ago, HotRoot said:

They move the actual drawers and place them in the same location.  They take the clothes out of the closet and put them in the same place.  The empty drawers from your new cabin go back to your old cabin.

It is just that easy and only takes a few minutes less than 30 in our case. The only thing we packed was the odds and ends … computer and  papers. We stuffed that in a small carry on the staff out that in the cart. Do in again in a heart beat ti get a cruise combo that I wanted.

[IrishBear]

15 hours ago, cwn said:

It is just that easy and only takes a few minutes less than 30 in our case. The only thing we packed was the odds and ends … computer and  papers. We stuffed that in a small carry on the staff out that in the cart. Do in again in a heart beat ti get a cruise combo that I wanted.

Just to confirm were you in a cabin that had a butler?

[IrishBear]

15 hours ago, cwn said:

It is just that easy and only takes a few minutes less than 30 in our case. The only thing we packed was the odds and ends … computer and  papers. We stuffed that in a small carry on the staff out that in the cart. Do in again in a heart beat ti get a cruise combo that I wanted.

 

18 hours ago, HotRoot said:

They move the actual drawers and place them in the same location.  They take the clothes out of the closet and put them in the same place.  The empty drawers from your new cabin go back to your old cabin.

Just to confirm were you in a cabin that had a butler?

[RELS]

1 hour ago, IrishBear said:

Just to confirm were you in a cabin that had a butler?

 

We moved suites on the Splendor in December. We were NOT in a butler suite. Here is my writeup of what happened for us. It worked great. They do this all the time and it's really a smooth transition:

 

Here's also how we dealt with getting new keycards:

 

 

Edited February 9, 2023 by RELS

[cwn]

1 hour ago, IrishBear said:

Just to confirm were you in a cabin that had a butler?

No, we were in a H the lowest level and moved to another H different deck.

[IrishBear]

10 minutes ago, cwn said:

No, we were in a H the lowest level and moved to another H different deck.

Thank you!