Back 2 Back cruises

[knitpurl]

Other than it being a fabulous trip, are there any pros ( or cons) to a back 2 back cruise ?

Do you have to repack between cruises? Do you have to exit the ship and reboard? How does it work?

Thanks

[Wildcatllamas]

Hi Rita,

We just booked a B2B on the 5th of February to go along with our one on the 9th. From other threads that I have read if you are in the same stateroom you can leave all of your things and just let your steward know. If you are changing rooms you can arrange with your steward to have your luggage moved over for you. You have to depart due to custom regulations but then can reboard as soon as allowed. Sounded pretty easy to me. :D

Barb

[Smoke Fan]

Do your best to get the same cabin. That makes things much easier. We booked our first b2b on Solstice and were unable to get same cabin. However, I kept checking and when I saw that what we needed opened up, I called my TA immediately who called Celebrity and made the necessary change. Now, no moving day for us.:D

Patty

[DeepWaterMariner]

The only down side we found in a B2B on the same ship is having the same menus and entertainment repeated.

[Fblack]

We did two European b2b's in the last 10 months. We never had to clear customs or do anything special . We did have to change cabins once. So they moved us around 10:00AM to our new cabin. Our keys and new on-board account was not ready until about 1:00PM. On Celebrity we received an In Transit card to use to go on and off the ship.

[Denny01]

We are taking our first B2B next year on Solstice: E.Med 20 Nov and TA 30 Nov. We signed up for the TA and invited some good friends who then signed up for the E. Med before the TA. I thought it might be too much time (still working!), but after thinking about it for a SHORT time, we jumped on it.

 

We have the same stateroom so that makes it nice and easy. The big pro for us is we pay for a one-way flight to Rome, get on the 10N then 13N and there we are in Fl Lauderdale - we drive home to the Fla Panhandle. Saves a good deal of money.

 

If you think about it that way, we get two cruises, cutting down on the flight costs. Also, since the TA leaves on Monday, I knew we would spend Fri-Mon in Rome - the cost of Hotel/food/getting around is cut back since we will now fly in to day before the 10N, and off we go! That is the twisted logic we used to take the 10N - would already use 3-4 days in Rome and the extra cost.

 

I don't think the same menu will matter since we are pretty flexible and adventurous on eating so I'd try what I didn't eat on a prior night. As for entertainment, we love the lounges and music so we will vary it on our own, and may even repeat for the main shows.

 

Every cruise we went on, we hated to leave - we took a 14N TA and were envious of those who were B2B on a N European cruise.

 

Exploring the Solstice should take us at least 3weeks!

 

Denny

[CelebrityMan]

Hi,

 

For the OP, one pro aspect can be that the itineraries aren't the same.

 

As you can see with Denny01's post, theirs isn't. And even if you're doing two 7-day itineraries, a little creative planning will often get you two different itineraries.

 

We are doing a same-stateroom B2B on Celebrity Solstice in January, and REALLY looking forward to it!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

CM

[NorthernLite]

We're booked for our first B2B on Azamara's Journey next November/December. The good parts are one flight to Rome then Miami to home, 2 hour flight. There are great ports we've always wanted to see like Malta and Tunis. Tons of sea days for the DH on the TA leg. Bad parts? Leaving my puppy at the resort/farm for 26 days. She'll be 3-1/2 years old but is a golden/lab mix so is a "velcro dog". This is the DHs retirement cruise but even he is thinking we might want to make it two cruises separated by at least a couple months.

[knitpurl]

DENNY 01

We just booked the same back 2 back..so far don't have the same cabin ,,but will work on fixing that..This will be our first and we used exactly the same logic as you to justify,,we will fly from NY to Rome and then a short drive to Delray Beach ..

we won't care about menu or entertainment either...

[JNCRUISEBUMS]

We are doing our first b2b and we are SO Excited. We have the same room for both, and we're going Nov/Dec on the Constellation to the Southern and Western Caribbean! Wish it were tomorrow!:cool:

[jwds]

Hi Rita,

You have to depart due to custom regulations but then can reboard as soon as allowed. Sounded pretty easy to me. :D

Barb

 

It seems that this depends on where the "turn around" is. In May we were B2B on Century. In Amsterdam we did NOT have to leave the ship. We could come and go as we pleased, except if we left the ship in the morning we could not reboard until after 11:00 AM. We did have the same cabin for both cruises so did not have to move.

[Denny01]

Rita/Joel

 

Come on over to the Celebrity Roll Call for 20 and 30 Nov Cruises! Both are building up with good info.

 

We have opt'ed for the Celebrity one-way airfare but will start checking on own-cost flights this Nov once discount sites allow flight selections in Nov 09.

 

The only bummer I see for B2B's is laundry! Looks like we will take full advantage of any laundry discounts made available. My wife said she wishes there were self-serve laundry, but I'm glad therre isn't. Celebrity ususally has a discount fill-your-bag for I think $20 a few days before the end of a cruise. We'll see.

 

Can't think of any other B2B Con's that could come up for anyone who has the time/funds. Someone mentioned menu's, but I believe all Celebrity ships have similar menu's so unless you change lines, you'd see similar meals if you take cruises that have set times between each cruise. As to entertainment, they seem to move various entertainers on and off the ship at different ports. I know the main shows won't change, but the single person acts should.

 

Denny/Karen

[jwattle]

We're doing the Cruise Critic B2B on Solstice in March, same cabin, and can't think of any cons. When you've got a ship like taht with so many restaurants, the menu thing wouldn't seem to come into play:p . We're just happy anytime we're on a cruise anyway, but the B2B'ers have always seemed SOOO relaxed when everyone else is embarking....

[eskie]

We are doing our first b2b at Christmas on the Solstice and I am looking forward to it. We usually like to do longer cruises, but since this wasn't an option with the Solstice, we were glad to see that the itinerary changes with only a slight overlap. The only con I could possibly think of would be: if you had an issues with your waiter (but this could be rectified by changing your table for the second sailing) and with your room attendant (not sure how this could be worked out).

[Windy56]

We are doing our first b2b at Christmas on the Solstice and I am looking forward to it. We usually like to do longer cruises, but since this wasn't an option with the Solstice, we were glad to see that the itinerary changes with only a slight overlap. The only con I could possibly think of would be: if you had an issues with your waiter (but this could be rectified by changing your table for the second sailing) and with your room attendant (not sure how this could be worked out).

 

Hi Eskie! Cathy here, formally of the Solstice roll call. Barry and I changed to the eleven night Christmas/New Years cruise on the Constellation. Couldn't do without that thalassotherapy pool and was intrigued by the itinerary. It was so nice chatting with you on the roll call. Hope you have a great cruise. I know you will!:)

[Windy56]

On the subject of B2B, I have always been envious of those who are doing it on any of my cruises. I don't see too many disadvantages. How many times have I enjoyed several meals on my cruise, knowing that the chances of having them again would be slim to none. You could ask the waiter to prpeare a meal again, but them you lose out on what is being offered that night. On a B2B, you get to try all your favourite dishes again. The same thing applies to the entertainment. I have often been sorry that a show has ended because I enjoyed it that much. You would get to see it again and could avoid the shows that weren't really up your alley and choose to do something else without that frantic first week "I gotta see every show" attitude. I always feel that I was missing out on lounge action on a cruise because I never wanted to miss a show or act in the theatre. However, I think the best part would be at the end of the first week, knowing that you have another full week to rest and relax, watching everyone disembark, knowing that you can stay on the ship. The more I cruise, the more I hate to get off the ship and longer cruises are really becoming much more appealing.

[grannybee]

We have just got off a B2B in Alaska on the Millenium. We had an aft cabin then went to 6144 which was great. On the first debarkation day we packed everything exept what was hanging in wardrobe. Went for breakfast and went to cabin at 8.30am to find our clothes had been transfered to new cabin and all hanging up. We left the ship with in transit coupon, looked around Seward and reboarded at 11.30 am. Onpacked the rest of suitcases and enjoyed the rest of the day on board. It was GREAT.

 

As for the same destinations and food,we did and ate different things and enjoyed a more relaxing cruise. Would recommend it.

 

The good thing about moving cabins was we had far better stateroom attendants.

[muffin]

Don't dispair if you do not get the same room for two trips. We did a Med for 11 days on X followed immediately by a Western Med/TA for 25 days total. We were to change rooms after 11 days. That morning we packed up and left our stuff for the stewatd to move. We went to see our "new digs". The steward in the hall said the poeple in thtat room were staying on for the TA too and we could not be moving to that room. We showed him the documents we had received clearly stating we would have that room for the second leg. He called his supervisor and she came immediately. Before we could say anything much at all, she had consulted with her papers in her hands and said she had a great room ready for us... a lovely upgrade which we enjoyed immensely. Couldn't have been handled better. We definitely go the best of this situation.

[eskie]

Hi Eskie! Cathy here, formally of the Solstice roll call. Barry and I changed to the eleven night Christmas/New Years cruise on the Constellation. Couldn't do without that thalassotherapy pool and was intrigued by the itinerary. It was so nice chatting with you on the roll call. Hope you have a great cruise. I know you will!:)

 

Hey Cathy! Sorry to hear that you and Barry cancelled our cruise :( But I am sure you two will enjoy your thalassotherapy experience. Could you let me know all about your cruise and the ship when you get back please? I am strongly considering it next year. I am not sure if the itinerary is the same, but let me know what you think. Also what you think about the suites. And maybe we will run into each other on a future cruise...you never know! Take care!

[Windy56]

Hey Cathy! Sorry to hear that you and Barry cancelled our cruise :( But I am sure you two will enjoy your thalassotherapy experience. Could you let me know all about your cruise and the ship when you get back please? I am strongly considering it next year. I am not sure if the itinerary is the same, but let me know what you think. Also what you think about the suites. And maybe we will run into each other on a future cruise...you never know! Take care!

 

Will do! We aren't in a suite for this cruise. It will be the first time I stay in an inside cabin. Barry is more worried about it than I am! I am really looking forward to the ship, though. If I happen to get a chance to look at a suite during the cruise, I'll make some mental notes. Love to bump into you in a future sailing, Eskie. You take care, too!:)

[wheels afloat]

Just booked our first B2B, Nov '09, Connie RT/Miami 13 day, Panama Canal to San Diego, 14 days. Never been at sea longer than 14 days so just the thought sounds unreal, but great!! Anniversary, return to 2 of our best cruises and a M-class ship. Anyone do projects or write stuff during the many sea days?