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Coffeeluvr05

By Coffeeluvr05,
in Princess Cruises

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Coffeeluvr05

Coffeeluvr05

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I've never done a back to back and would like to know from those who have, do you have to get off the ship in between cruises?  Like with luggage and all like you are disembarking?  Would we have to even vacate our stateroom if we were in the same stateroom on both voyages?  I would love to know what the process looks like.  By the way, if it matters, this would be a cruise from SF to Vancouver and then Vancouver to Seattle.  

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DallasGuy75219

DallasGuy75219

Posted
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13 minutes ago, Coffeeluvr05 said:

I've never done a back to back and would like to know from those who have, do you have to get off the ship in between cruises?  Like with luggage and all like you are disembarking?  Would we have to even vacate our stateroom if we were in the same stateroom on both voyages?  I would love to know what the process looks like.  By the way, if it matters, this would be a cruise from SF to Vancouver and then Vancouver to Seattle.  

95% of the time you have to get off the ship and clear customs.  You can get right back on the ship if you wish, so you're essentially the last pax off for leg 1 and the first pax on for leg 2.  Occasionally CBP (or the equivalent) will come on the ship to process you or even more rarely Guest Services will just make a copy of your passport to show CBP for the B2B passengers.

 

You don't have to take your luggage with you in any case.  If you are keeping the same cabin for leg 2 you can leave everything in your cabin.

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LawDog61 "Live from...." Rare

LawDog61

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I just posted a question on the medallion sticky thread asking about the medallion for the second cruise.  I look forward to hearing what folks respond to this thread.  We doing LA to  Vancouver, than Alaska on Mejastic.

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BettyCruiser

BettyCruiser

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Your proposed B2B violates the PVSA and wouldn't be allowed.

 

IF booked on a legal B2B in the same room you do not have to pack and repack, if booked in a different room you just move your stuff but don't have to take your stuff off the ship. One medallion would function for both legs. 

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Coffeeluvr05

Coffeeluvr05

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14 minutes ago, BettyCruiser said:

Your proposed B2B violates the PVSA and wouldn't be allowed.

 

IF booked on a legal B2B in the same room you do not have to pack and repack, if booked in a different room you just move your stuff but don't have to take your stuff off the ship. One medallion would function for both legs. 

Oh, what would be the violation?  I've never done a B2B so I just saw two short itineraries and thought we could combine them.  Didn't think that anyone could tell me no.

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wheezedr

wheezedr

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From the wording in your original post it appears that you have not booked or tried to book your b2b. You will not be able to book that itinerary as you are essentially trying to do SF to Seattle and that violates the PVSA.

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DallasGuy75219

DallasGuy75219

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Just now, Coffeeluvr05 said:

Oh, what would be the violation?  I've never done a B2B so I just saw two short itineraries and thought we could combine them.  Didn't think that anyone could tell me no.

You're boarding a foreign-flagged ship in one US port and debarking the same ship in another US port without visiting a distant foreign port.  CBP doesn't care they're sold as separate cruises.  They only look at where you first boarded the ship and where you debarked

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Coffeeluvr05

Coffeeluvr05

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15 minutes ago, wheezedr said:

From the wording in your original post it appears that you have not booked or tried to book your b2b. You will not be able to book that itinerary as you are essentially trying to do SF to Seattle and that violates the PVSA.

No, the first leg is SF to Vancouver and then the second leg is Vancouver to Seattle.  Is that still a violation?

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Ombud

Ombud

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23 minutes ago, DallasGuy75219 said:
25 minutes ago, Coffeeluvr05 said:

No, the first leg is SF to Vancouver and then the second leg is Vancouver to Seattle.  Is that still a violation?

Yes.  CBP considers that cruise from SF to Seattle

Just to clarify: because this is not a closed loop cruise it needs a distant foreign port which Vancouver isn’t. So that's where the violation occurs. 

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wheezedr

wheezedr

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28 minutes ago, Coffeeluvr05 said:

No, the first leg is SF to Vancouver and then the second leg is Vancouver to Seattle.  Is that still a violation?

DallasGuy explained it very succinctly.  You may see it as 2 separate cruises but CBP only see it as an attempt by a foriegn flagged carrier to carry you from one US port  to another without a distant foreign stop and says no.
 My DW and I once cruised over a 3day weekend from Seattle to SF on Princess . The trick was that we were booked on one ship from Seattle to Vancouver. That cruise ended there.  We got off that ship and handed our luggage over to the second ship for the Vancouver to SF trip. Note that was not a back to back but two distinct sailings  Ah the beauty of west cost repositioning cruises as the Alaska cruise season opens and closes

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wheezedr

wheezedr

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53 minutes ago, wallyj said:

Hi @wheezedr, your situation is called a S2S, a side to side. opposed to a B2B.

Thanks , I knew that.  I was trying to show the OP that there are ways to do some of these little cruises but you have to still abide by the rules of the CBP.  Princess always has a collection of short repositioning cruises along the west coast as they have to get those Seattle based Alaska ships up or down to SF and LA for the opening or closing of the season. Since they cannot run them directly from Seattle  they run the shorties to Vancouver and then a separate cruise from Vancouver  south is totally legal.  

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startedwithamouse "Live from...." Rare

startedwithamouse

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6 hours ago, Coffeeluvr05 said:

I've never done a back to back and would like to know from those who have, do you have to get off the ship in between cruises?  Like with luggage and all like you are disembarking?  Would we have to even vacate our stateroom if we were in the same stateroom on both voyages?  I would love to know what the process looks like.  By the way, if it matters, this would be a cruise from SF to Vancouver and then Vancouver to Seattle.  

Don't think you'd be allowed to book those B2B cruises, as you would be in violation of the PVSA.

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DallasGuy75219

DallasGuy75219

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1 hour ago, startedwithamouse said:

Don't think you'd be allowed to book those B2B cruises, as you would be in violation of the PVSA.

Some people get away with initially booking itineraries that violate the PVSA but the cruise lines will catch on at some point and make them cancel at least one leg.

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trbarton "Live from...." Rare

trbarton

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9 hours ago, LawDog61 said:

I just posted a question on the medallion sticky thread asking about the medallion for the second cruise.  I look forward to hearing what folks respond to this thread.  We doing LA to  Vancouver, than Alaska on Mejastic.

Nothing changes with the Medallion on B2B cruises. Your Medallion will show the dates from the start of your 1st cruise to the dates of your last cruise. 
 

Tom😀

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caribill

caribill

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11 hours ago, LouCoop said:

I have different question concerning B2B. We have one booked with same cabin all the way. If we receive invite to upgrade will this be for whole cruise or just 1 leg? 

If with a single booking number, it would be for the whole cruise.

 

If with two booking numbers, there would be a separate invite for each segment. Even if you have a successful bid for each segment, it would not necessarily be to the same cabin.

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