Back-to-back cruises questions (merged)

[KMN927]

Ok thanks for all the advice......Also 1 more ?........Do i have to pay two separate rates for each trip or will they combine them into one rate?? Thansk for everyhting.......Kathy

[Alexis]

Ok thanks for all the advice......Also 1 more ?........Do i have to pay two separate rates for each trip or will they combine them into one rate?? Thansk for everyhting.......Kathy

 

Your both cruises will be considered separate and your booking numbers will be different. If your two cruises are a different price, (as mine were) you will get the two different amounts on each receipt from RCCL. Each week is done separate and you will actually get two sets of documents when the time comes.

Every time I would call and pay more off of my balance, I would tell them to take so much off each one.

[PH8]

This is another great B2B posting by Cruise Critic GMoney

 

+ Keep the following in mind: 1) Your 2nd cruise Sea Pass will not have your digitial picture attached to it. You will get stopped when they discover this the first time you disembark, and they will take your picture right then and there. 2) Your credit card info is not automatically attached to your 2nd cruise Sea Pass, so check with Guest Relations to make sure everything is set up correctly before your card is denied.

____________________________________

 

So when I get off the ship(first port,2nd cruise),I will get stopped?? Isnt that kinda embarassing?? Cant you get your picture taken before that??

[piercetc4]

great thread- great info- thanks to you all- this b2b idea is contagious- looking into doing this next yr- must get my "sales" pitch ready to talk my dh into it....lol :)

[Greselda]

We will be doing what they are calling a B2B in January, 2008 out of FL, however, it sounds like it might not be a true B2B because we will be changing ships.

 

We will start out with an 8 day southern carib on the Miracle and then disembark on that Saturday, stay in a hotel for Saturday night (to do laundry);) and get right back on the Liberty for another 8 day eastern carib.

 

So I guess officially it would not be considered a true B2B, but we wanted to try a different ship for the second leg of the journey, and as our home is in SW Colorado, it is quite a distance to travel to the east coast.

 

Has anyone else done this kind of a "B2B' before? We would love to hear of your experiences!

 

Thanks...

 

Richard and Janine :)

[BillOh]

Make sure you tell the Cruise Director, the Loyalty Ambassador and anyone else you meet on the staff that you are doing a B2B. You might be surprised at how you'll be treated.

 

I've heard that before from a couple of poeple. On our only cruise I never even spoke with the Cruise Director, I figured there was no way he had time for individual attention with 3000 passengers. Now if it was Julie McCoy, I might have made a point to. Am I missing something not meeting them? Perhaps when I get to Diamond, or do one of these B2Bs.

[CAT GIRL]

I just got off my first b2b on the Enchantment. As far as the turnaround

process it was very painless. We were able to sleep in later than we

would have but we missed breakfast. They stop serving at 8:30 and then

there's no food until 12:00 in the Windjammer. So, don't sleep too late

or you'll miss it like we did. We were told to gather at the pursers desk

at 10:30. We had the same cabin so we just hung around there or in

the common areas while everyone else was debarking. At 10:30 we met

with the 14 other people that were staying on and had to present our

passports to the desk where they took a photocopy of it. Why? I don't

know. Anyway, we were led off the ship and could still see the

people getting their luggage and going through customs. After the last

passenger was done we were put through customs which was took all

of about a minute. We were handed our new seapass card and lead

back on the ship. There was no new picture taking or credit card

set up and they already had it in their system. We went up

immediately to the pool and had it to ourselves for about an hour until

the new passengers got on. That part was way cool.

Now, as far as my impression of a b2b goes my feelings are mixed.

The 2nd leg felt totally different than the first leg. The first leg I was

out there, meeting tons of people, exploring the ship, going to dinner,

etc. The 2nd leg I kind of hibernated in the room more. The demographics

of the 2nd leg was totally different than the first leg. (which had nothing

to do with my experience) I commented that to the Loyalty Ambassador

and she said that every cruise has a different feel to it. Also, on the

2nd leg I ate mainly in the Windjammer for dinner and really got cozy

in my room with movies, naps, and an excellant book. I guess I was

too tired to be social with a new group of people. That was just my

personal experience. Would I do it again? Yes, we saved on airfare

and raked in 4 cruise credits ( 2 cruises in a suite). How could any

cruise be bad?

[HappyRev]

DW and I are thinking of booking 2 trips back-2-back on the same ship.

 

Do we need to get off the ship and check back in?

 

Do we need to book the same cabin on both legs of the trip, or can we book different cabins? Is there advantage to booking the same cabin for both trips?

 

Your help and expertise will be greatly appreciated. Thanx in advance...

[superjerryw]

If you do back to back cruises you will be escorted off the ship by a member of the crew and walked through Customs and then be brought back on the ship. You will get new ID cards for the second week and will need to have your photo taken again. You will not need to go through the entire checkin process.

 

You can change cabins. The disadvantage of changing cabins is having to pack everything up and move it to the new cabin. Keep in mind that the menu in the dining room will be the same the second week as will the production shows in the theatre.

[CAT GIRL]

Go back a few days on this board. There's quite a bit of activity

concerning b2b cruises. I would try to get the same cabin for both

legs of the trip. That way the morning of turnaround you can just

relax rather than worrying about moving.

[Murphy]

The exact procedure changes from ship to ship and more so port to port. We did not have to have our pictures taken again for the second week, it was automatically moved to our new card. I just read that on the B2B on a Hawaii followed by a Panama canal trip that they actually had to disembark including luggage in Ensenada and take the bus up to San Diego to reboard the second week due to the Jones Act! That was the first time I had ever heard of anyone having to take their luggage off for the second week of a B2B. I think Alexis has the best thread of B2B issues/considerations. I'm sure she will post the link when she finds this thread! :)

 

Regarding benefits, you will probably be invited to a special lunch on the day of the turnaround and you will know the staff the second week! Sometimes you get little perks week 2, like choc strawberries in your cabin one night. Be sure to tell your cabin steward you are staying for the next week and if you like your dining waiter you can talk to the Maitre'd about staying at that waiters table. Enjoy!

[HappyRev]

Murphy,

 

Thank you. I will be waiting for the link.

[J&G]

So glad I found this thread. We just booked our first B2B earlier this week (Jewel Dec 23/07 and Dec 29/07 - we couldn't find a cruise we liked that covered Christmas, our 25th Anniversary & New Years). We do have the same stateroom (9070) so that's great - but I've been trying to talk DH into switching to a JS instead. Hey a girl can ask right?

 

Thanks for all the info.

 

Gail

[DiLu]

I just cruised on Enchantment last week and they had a question and answer session with the cruise director and some of the other staff. Someone specifically asked about B2B cruises. On Enchantment they have 4 and 5 day cruises and they said that the entertainment like the comedian and magician and juggler, they change every two weeks. So if you are on there at the right time you could take a 4 night cruise and then the five night and have all new entertainment. They also said that their own production shows would repeat one show but the other two would be different for people staying on for the next cruise. So, you really could have a whole new experience. How fun.

[BillOh]

The 2nd leg felt totally different than the first leg. The first leg I was

out there, meeting tons of people, exploring the ship, going to dinner,

etc. The 2nd leg I kind of hibernated in the room more. The demographics

of the 2nd leg was totally different than the first leg. (which had nothing

to do with my experience) I commented that to the Loyalty Ambassador

and she said that every cruise has a different feel to it. Also, on the

2nd leg I ate mainly in the Windjammer for dinner and really got cozy

in my room with movies, naps, and an excellant book. I guess I was

too tired to be social with a new group of people. That was just my

personal experience. Would I do it again? Yes, we saved on airfare

and raked in 4 cruise credits ( 2 cruises in a suite). How could any

cruise be bad?

 

Great reading, sounds like two different equally fun vacations in one.

[PH8]

Another question.....when do you turn in your setsail pass for the 2nd cruise???

[SUZCRUZ]

I just got off my first b2b on the Enchantment. As far as the turnaround

process it was very painless. We were able to sleep in later than we

would have but we missed breakfast. They stop serving at 8:30 and then

there's no food until 12:00 in the Windjammer. So, don't sleep too late

or you'll miss it like we did. We were told to gather at the pursers desk

at 10:30. We had the same cabin so we just hung around there or in

the common areas while everyone else was debarking. At 10:30 we met

with the 14 other people that were staying on and had to present our

passports to the desk where they took a photocopy of it. Why? I don't

know. Anyway, we were led off the ship and could still see the

people getting their luggage and going through customs. After the last

passenger was done we were put through customs which was took all

of about a minute. We were handed our new seapass card and lead

back on the ship. There was no new picture taking or credit card

set up and they already had it in their system. We went up

immediately to the pool and had it to ourselves for about an hour until

the new passengers got on. That part was way cool.

Now, as far as my impression of a b2b goes my feelings are mixed.

The 2nd leg felt totally different than the first leg. The first leg I was

out there, meeting tons of people, exploring the ship, going to dinner,

etc. The 2nd leg I kind of hibernated in the room more. The demographics

of the 2nd leg was totally different than the first leg. (which had nothing

to do with my experience) I commented that to the Loyalty Ambassador

and she said that every cruise has a different feel to it. Also, on the

2nd leg I ate mainly in the Windjammer for dinner and really got cozy

in my room with movies, naps, and an excellant book. I guess I was

too tired to be social with a new group of people. That was just my

personal experience. Would I do it again? Yes, we saved on airfare

and raked in 4 cruise credits ( 2 cruises in a suite). How could any

cruise be bad?

 

Ditto!

We just got off the Navigator today, and went through much of what you wrote.(Reguarding the relaxed mode) The only difference was, we had another couple that are our cruising Pals, with us on the first part of the b2b. This was the first time we've skipped the dining room, but we did much of what you did. Lots of down time on the second leg. It was fun ordering room service, Chops, Johnny Rockets, and one night we got to dine at the Captains table. What a thrill!

We didn't have to hand in our Set Sail Pass. Everything was transferred.

Gotta say, there's no place like home!

[CruznTom]

Since I first posted on this thread (#9) a deal came out for the week after our second leg. Now we have a B2B2B on Mariner. :eek:

[ssatterly]

Tell me why and how many have and are their any perks to it.

[diamond girl 000]

Yes, Yes, Yes!! I'd do it again in a heartbeat! We were also on an alternating itinerary so we only had a bit of overlap (and in ports that we love). If you have the chance, do it. You actually have time to wind down and truly relax. When we got back my TA asked if we'd do it again. I told her absolutely - but 3 weeks next time!

[ssatterly]

lol...my B2B will end up being a 9 night cruise

[diamond girl 000]

If offered to me tonight I'd be happy with a B2B cruise to nowhere!

[ssatterly]

lol...we will have 4 sea days 2 stops to Cozumel and 1 stop in belize

[diamond girl 000]

When and what ship? We are on Explorer in Jan '07 and will be going to both of these ports. I couldn't have 4 sea days w/DH. He gets stir crazy and is driving me nuts by the end of the first sea day!

[ssatterly]

I have one booked on the Navigator for Dec 13th 2007 and Dec 17th 2007 for a 9 nighter......

 

A 4 nighter plus the 2nd leg is a 5 nighter...

Same cabin