Question on B2B cruises

[TT]

This is our first b2b cruise so I am unsure of where we go when the rest are leaving the ship. Our rooms are next to each other so we will wait until that room is cleaned then move into that room...............or do we have to get off? I would assume someone comes to us that morning and signs us up from the front desk......Right???......wrong????? Help!!!!!

 

To those who have done b2b cruises , please tell me what happens.

 

Thanks to all that reply.

 

TT

[localady]

HAL handles B2B's easily.:D You will receive the documents from the front office usually the night before the disembarkation. I don't believe we even had to go to the front desk and they rolled our charges over to the second week. Our new cabin was still occupied so we packed our bags and left our hangables on the hangers, when we returned that afternoon it was all in our new room! It will be very easy as with cabins that are next to each other you will probably have the same steward, which makes the process even easier. :)

 

I hope you love your B2B, we really enjoyed ours on the Ryndam in Alaska this last summer.:cool:

[sail7seas]

You did not say where your ship embarks/disembarks. If it is FLL, you will have to clear Immigration (but not Customs). You will be instructed, by letter delivered to you the last night of your first cruise, at what time you will report inside the terminal building. Bring your passport/birth certificate/photo ID; show them to the Officer and you will be permitted to return immediately to the ship or stay ashore if you prefer.

 

It takes less than five minutes and you are then free to relax and enjoy yourself...or go play in FLL.

 

Your steward will help you move to your new cabin. Remember that he has to get all his cabins cleaned and ready for the newly embarking pax, so the more organized you have all of your things, the easier it will be for him.

[Cruiseoften]

Your steward will help you move to your new cabin. Remember that he has to get all his cabins cleaned and ready for the newly embarking pax, so the more organized you have all of your things, the easier it will be for him.

 

Dresser drawers are usually interchangeable - ask your steward about it - saves you packing time - don't forget your bathroom stuff! :o ;

[Esme]

On one cruise where we were doing a b2b, we also had to move and the cabin steward told us not to empty the drawers as they would just take the ones out of our cabin and switch them with the other cabin. He brought a trolley, like they use at hotels, hung everything from the closets on the trolley and away we went. All we had to pack was our stuff from the bathroom and anything on top of the dressing table. I can't remember if he moved the drawers from the night tables or not.

 

Shoes and loose things in the cupboards we put in our suitcases.

 

Check with your room steward and he will tell you what to do. It was an easy for us.

DO NOT forget all the stuff you put in the safe. :D

[Ziggy7]

When we did our b2b last Aug on the Zuiderdam in Ft. Lauderdale, we were given an immigration form the night before and told we had to fill it out, claiming nothing because we were not taking anything off the ship at that time. We stayed in our old cabin til our new cabin was ready (9:30 am) and our room steward came with another steward and helped move us to the new cabin, we didnt have to pack up much but I did pack more than I needed to just because it made me feel better :) At about 10:30 am we were called off the ship to go through immigration, security check, and back on the ship in 10 minutes time! We then went to the front dest where they gave us a new sea card for our new cabin. We did not have to settle our account til the end of the last week. Enjoy your b2b ! I know we did! We were able to try everything at least once and some things twice, buy doing a b2b.

[sail7seas]

:) Best of all is to book the same cabin for both segments. That is what we Always do. If the same cabin is not available when we are booking, we select two other sailing dates so that we do not have to move. LOve B-to-B's....They are Wonderful!

[wild_rose]

We've booked the same cabin for our b2b.

Guess we'll still have to wait to be called to go through immigration. . . . .

Does the fact that we're Canadian make any difference?

[Ziggy7]

We've booked the same cabin for our b2b.

Guess we'll still have to wait to be called to go through immigration. . . . .

Does the fact that we're Canadian make any difference?

Everyone, including the crew members must get off and go through immigration :) I dont think there is a difference where your from :)

[sail7seas]

Everyone has to clear Immigration when the ship returns to FLL. Canadian, U.S., Indonesian....everyone.

[irishmom]

We're on a B2B in November on the "O" with an altered Western intinerary. What if our last port before returning to FLL is Key West? I'm assuming we will have passed thru immigration at that time -- will we still have to get off briefly in FLL?

[sail7seas]

If the last port before returning to FLL is a U.S. port (as in Key West), you will not have to clear Immigration again. You will clear in Key West and will not have anything you need to do in FLL if you are on B-to-B. (The Officials CAN order another Immigration Inspection, but they don't usually do that. In all cases when our last port was U.S., we did not have to go again in FLL.)

[Ziggy7]

ooops I miss read and mis spoke :)

[sail7seas]

Ziggy....You are correct. Whether the ships has Immigration Inspection in FLL or KeyWest or San Juan or any U.S. port, everyone must present their identification.....Everyone.

 

The only thing difference in the last question is that if the ship is coming from a U.S. port (Key West) to a U.S. port (FLL)......Seeing as no one could have gotten off or on the ship as it did not stop after leaving Key West before arriving at FLL, almost always the officials do not require another Immigration inspection.

 

In cases where the last place the ship stopped was a foreign port, then Immigration takes place upon arrival in FLL.

[kryos]

:) Best of all is to book the same cabin for both segments. That is what we Always do. If the same cabin is not available when we are booking, we select two other sailing dates so that we do not have to move. LOve B-to-B's....They are Wonderful!

Now there's the ticket! :) I wouldn't be surprised if HAL didn't work something out so he could "swap" cabins with the other passengers for the first week, and stay in the same cabin throughout his cruise.

 

I had originally had a guarantee on the first half of the B2B and an assigned cabin for the second half (I booked it too late to get a guarantee). Though I still had an inside stateroom, HAL gave me a better category stateroom than what I booked for the guarantee, and then just said "what the hey" and gave it to me for the second half as well.

 

It's nice sitting up on deck and watching everyone leaving the ship ... and knowing that you've still got another week. :) Even nicer was the fact that there were only 650 pax on the ship for that second segment ... and the Zuiderdam holds over 2000! :)

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[Ziggy7]

Ziggy....You are correct. Whether the ships has Immigration Inspection in FLL or KeyWest or San Juan or any U.S. port, everyone must present their identification.....Everyone.

 

The only thing difference in the last question is that if the ship is coming from a U.S. port (Key West) to a U.S. port (FLL)......Seeing as no one could have gotten off or on the ship as it did not stop after leaving Key West before arriving at FLL, almost always the officials do not require another Immigration inspection.

 

In cases where the last place the ship stopped was a foreign port, then Immigration takes place upon arrival in FLL.

 

Ah ok, ours was different then, we were not comming from a us port :)

[Ziggy7]

:) Best of all is to book the same cabin for both segments. That is what we Always do. If the same cabin is not available when we are booking, we select two other sailing dates so that we do not have to move. LOve B-to-B's....They are Wonderful!

I agree, however DH's first cruise and he suprised me with the second week a few days before we left! At that point moving was worth it to have another week on board, HAL tried to make it possible to stay where we were but they were full and the pax who had our cabin the second week especially wanted that cabin for past memories purposes, who could blame them :)

[TT]

Thanks to everyone for the info. Sail7seas, If I was doing the booking ahead I would book the same room also but, this was a transfer from the 9/4 on the Zuiderdam. That was the week the ship sailed out Monday at 11:00pm. HAL transferred us to a choosen date which was 12/12 but it was on the Oosterdam. Then 2 weeks later or so looking for credits a rep said that they were happy that I did not cancel and said if we wanted to do a b2b that they would give us a big discount and an on board credit as a Thank You. They also promised to get us the same room but they had someone booked there and said they could move that person. Checking with DH if he could get more time off and if he wanted to go we called in to book. That's when they said they could not move that person. The only other room available was the one next door. So quess what we did. LOL It does seem like it will go smoothly. Next time we do a b2b I will book ahead the same room to make it easier.

 

Thanks again for all the information. This gives me an idea of how it will go.

 

TT

[sail7seas]

Sounds absolutely fabulous to me, TT.

 

I hope (know) you will have a wonderful time. Congrats on getting a good deal AND a Shipboard Credit. Enjoy.