B2B Review

[dreamer17555]

So I have always wanted to do a B2B... I was excited to have more time on the ship without feeling like I was missing something if I wanted to say skip Golden Mickey's on one sailing I could see it on the other... I was excited to be the first onboard an almost empty ship... And everyone seems to love them so they must be great right?

In January I was able to do a B2B with my two almost adult kids a 5 night to Cozumel and Castaway followed by a 4 night to Nassau and Lookout. We did have to move rooms but even if we stayed in the same room? I doubt I will do another B2B. It felt like such a wasted day on turn around day. We meet at 9:30 at Evolution but it took awhile and we were held at customs for longer than I anticipated. We were back on by 11:20 AM but with nothing open besides coffee until noon we did not have much to do. It did not help that we were sailing during that cold snap and so swimming was out of the question. With in person muster drill also in the mix the whole day felt like a bit of a letdown.

Things I did learn- The trivia questions do not stay the same from cruise to cruise which was nice because we have had the same set of questions and answers twice on the same cruise before. It is nice to be able to skip and show or a meal but I did not consider how much I would not want to repeat menus and see Crush again so soon. I think if the weather had been warmer we would have taken more time to ride the aquaduck at night and swim but sadly it was not to be on our sailing.

We did what I am calling an "Almost B2B" in September where we left the Fantasy and had a day between sailings (which we spent at the space center and it was awesome) and then boarded the Wish for 4 nights and I really enjoyed that- Different shows (mostly, Aladdin is on both), different menus, entertainment, pools, waterslide, etc. While I am still not a huge Wish fan in the future we will likely opt for something similar where we attempt to schedule cruises as almost b2b but on different classes of ships. Still cuts down on the amount of traveling to and from Florida without that wasted turnover day.

 

[MartinoHeat]

Did a B2B in October on the fantasy. Were back on by about 10.30am. Was a nice day at changeover so was good to get loads of time at the pool. My daughter went on the aquaduck about 6/7 times while everyone else was boarding. Also go a little lucky as it was a 4 night followed by a 6 night. Which meant we 'only' had a repeat of three of the menus.

Was as you say nice to spread out the shows over more time. We also had two trips to Castaway and Lookout so didn't feel like we needed to rush everything. I'd definitely do it again (partly because if I'm doing florida its a long way to go from Scotland).

That said I am looking at Summer 2026 to do something similar to what you've said between the wish, destiny and treasure.

 

[Gdes1]

So I have always wanted to do a B2B... I was excited to have more time on the ship without feeling like I was missing something if I wanted to say skip Golden Mickey's on one sailing I could see it on the other... I was excited to be the first onboard an almost empty ship... And everyone seems to love them so they must be great right?

In January I was able to do a B2B with my two almost adult kids a 5 night to Cozumel and Castaway followed by a 4 night to Nassau and Lookout. We did have to move rooms but even if we stayed in the same room? I doubt I will do another B2B. It felt like such a wasted day on turn around day. We meet at 9:30 at Evolution but it took awhile and we were held at customs for longer than I anticipated. We were back on by 11:20 AM but with nothing open besides coffee until noon we did not have much to do. It did not help that we were sailing during that cold snap and so swimming was out of the question. With in person muster drill also in the mix the whole day felt like a bit of a letdown.

Things I did learn- The trivia questions do not stay the same from cruise to cruise which was nice because we have had the same set of questions and answers twice on the same cruise before. It is nice to be able to skip and show or a meal but I did not consider how much I would not want to repeat menus and see Crush again so soon. I think if the weather had been warmer we would have taken more time to ride the aquaduck at night and swim but sadly it was not to be on our sailing.

We did what I am calling an "Almost B2B" in September where we left the Fantasy and had a day between sailings (which we spent at the space center and it was awesome) and then boarded the Wish for 4 nights and I really enjoyed that- Different shows (mostly, Aladdin is on both), different menus, entertainment, pools, waterslide, etc. While I am still not a huge Wish fan in the future we will likely opt for something similar where we attempt to schedule cruises as almost b2b but on different classes of ships. Still cuts down on the amount of traveling to and from Florida without that wasted turnover day.

I'm sorry to hear that it was a let down. This is all good info though. My I ask what you mean by "almost adult"? Meaning, did your kids miss high school for this? I ask because we basically only cruise or do Disney anything when school is in, but my oldest is in 9th now (youngest is 7th) and they missed 4 days last month and I thought they caught up just fine and very quickly, but I'm always curious about this.

 

[dreamer17555]

I will say we were held up a bit longer at customs (the entire B2B group). The rumor we heard was they were trying to get to zero count (so a guest was still onboard somewhere).

 

[Becx N Gav]

Thanks for this! We're doing a B2B (4 night then 3 night as I couldn't get a 7 night that fit with our schedule) in August out of Southampton. I am anticipating it will not be like a normal day on the ship. It's something I've wanted to do and it's my first time on the Fantasy so I feel it will give us longer on board.
But this is good to bare in mind and I will tell my son that it will be a bit of waiting around. At least in port he will get reception on his phone so that will keep him busy for a bit! I think it might be fun watching people board and then not having loads of bags until the room is ready! But at least I will get to try it!
The plan for 2027 is two cruises close to each other, one on the Wish as I've never sailed her then the other on the Treasure or Destiny? I think that's the next new one?

 

[dreamer17555]

I'm sorry to hear that it was a let down. This is all good info though. My I ask what you mean by "almost adult"? Meaning, did your kids miss high school for this? I ask because we basically only cruise or do Disney anything when school is in, but my oldest is in 9th now (youngest is 7th) and they missed 4 days last month and I thought they caught up just fine and very quickly, but I'm always curious about this.

I was with my 17 DS and my college DD23 (graduating in May after spending a year doing DCP mid college). The cruises fit perfectly for my DD school schedule and my DS does virtual self paced online schooling (like homeschooling but with teachers because I should not be attempting to teach calculus to anyone). He worked all through what would typically be Christmas break and only had to do a few assignments while on the ship. My DD23 was very busy with grad school applications and was zooming in for some meetings with her honors mentor, working on her research project, and zoomed in for her job as an assistant in the graduate program.

If my son was in person, would we have done 9 days at sea? nope. If my DD already wasn't versed in juggling 3 part time jobs and a full course load she likely would have not been able to feel confident to spend 9 days cruising either.

The Sept sailings were just myself and son. Again with him starting school back in mid July to be able to miss some in Sept.