Back to back cruise

[MrsBergs]

I have been reading about the back to back cruises. What are the advantages of this? Does it save you money? How would you book this? Just starting to look into this for a 2020 cruise

Thanks

 

[CamColt]

We just got back from our 3rd B2Bs.

To book them you just book 2 regular separate reservations. Be sure to have noted on them you are doing B2Bs. It is best to get the same room so you don't have to move between cruises.

As for saving money it depends. I priced out a 7 night the same week as our recent B2Bs and the total came out about 100.00 less for B2Bs so the savings was really negligible. Sometimes 1 option will come out more and sometimes the other will.

The advantages depend on what you are looking for. Our biggest deciding factor is getting to go to CC twice as that is really the only port we care about. Some people like to have repeating shows and menus while other don't. One person's pro may be someone else's con. Some people feel the turnover day is a waste of a day, however I timed it and we only spent 1 hour and 4 minutes in the terminal waiting to reboard. And we spent probably 20 minutes at the lifeboat drill. Other than that wasted time, the day was ours. Also being Platinum we get 1 complimentary Palo experience on each cruise so we got to do brunch and dinner, 1 on each cruise, without a cover charge.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Some people like to have repeating shows

I have to wonder if those same people like the double repeating shows DCL is doing now?

 

[CamColt]

I have to wonder if those same people like the double repeating shows DCL is doing now?

In general I'm all for more of a variety of shows. With that said, since I don't have enough time to get ready after sail away for a 6:00 show, having the repeating show on our recent cruise was the only way I got to see B&TB, which was something I really wanted to see. Even given that we had B&TB 4 times on our 7 nights I was happy about that because it freed up more time on 3 of those nights.

 

[NZMUM]

We do back to back on the Fantasy. So no it doesn't save money on the cruise. As CamColt said they are 2 seperate reservations. Having the same room is great as you don't have to pack up for the 2nd leg.
The advantages to us are that it costs a lot of money to fly and we fly a long way (international flights). So for us it does cost a lot less than doing 2 cruises in one year at different times.
We also get to spread out what we do each week. It is a lot more relaxing. Plus 2 stops at Castaway Cay can't be bad.

 

[NZMUM]

I have to wonder if those same people like the double repeating shows DCL is doing now?

i don't mind seeing the shows once a week on the Fantasy - I like Aladdin so will see that twice on a b2b. Wishes I will go to twice if really pushed to by my DD, Believe I try not to see at all (so only once).
Repeating shows doesn't appeal to me though. I do like variety and enjoy some of the entertainment shows - magicians etc.
I guess I will find out in January if we like the repeating shows - it will depend what else they do at the same time. It might free up our evenings.

 

[dcassetta]

I have been reading about the back to back cruises. What are the advantages of this? Does it save you money? How would you book this? Just starting to look into this for a 2020 cruise

Thanks

Whether it saves money or not depends on the cruise is your choosing the time of year. We're doing a back to back on the Magic in January, nine days total which was less than the Fantasy seven day cruise offered at the same time. If you're sailing out of Port Canaveral on to back to back on the Dream, it's essentially the same itinerary with the four day having an extra Sea day. The Magic's itineraries out of Miami do vary, so we're getting CC twice, plus Key West and Grand Cayman.

Depending on where your sailing, the turn around day can give you an opportunity to explore the port city. It can also give you a chance to just relax and maybe do some laundry.

One of my favorite experiences occurred in a previous back to back. We were back on the ship within an hour or so and invited to go to Cove Café. We had free coffees and breakfast pastries. They were also a number of the ships officers there we got to have some nice conversations. They were only about 12 or 15 back to back passengers, so it felt like a really nice personal experience.

 

[tigerchic89]

we did a 4/3 because it was cheaper than the 7night the same week. I would not do it that way again because I prefer the 7+ day cruises so much more. but I would book 2 7 days b2b... with the big advantage for me being only 1 travel trip down to the port

 

[Shanti]

The biggest bonus is going to Castaway Cay twice. The other significant bonus is that you will get 2 cruise credits to your Castaway Club account rather than 1, which helps if you're trying to reach gold or platinum status.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

we did a 4/3 because it was cheaper than the 7night the same week. I would not do it that way again because I prefer the 7+ day cruises so much more. but I would book 2 7 days b2b... with the big advantage for me being only 1 travel trip down to the port

We typically prefer longer cruises (10+ nights). So, when we wanted to include the Dream & Fantasy in our "already cruised" group, we booked a 4 night Dream cruise, followed by two 7 night Fantasy (B2B) cruises. We had a 2 day gap between the Dream and the Fantasy Cruises, so we went to WDW. Made the whole thing "feel" like a really long cruise, and the only port that was repeated was Castaway Cay (3X!)

 

[CM Dad]

My wife and I are already Platinum, so doing a B2B doesn't help is in that regard. We are doing a B2B on the Magic the end of the month. Mostly because these are itineraries that we haven't done before. We originally booked the first Bermuda cruise out of NYC when those dates were first released. Later on, we added the Quebec City to NYC repositioning cruise immediately before the Bermuda cruise. We were unable to get the same stateroom for both cruises, so we'll have to pack up the last night of the first cruise (but not have to put the luggage in the hall by 10PM). As a bonus, one of our daughters and her family will be joining us in the Bermuda cruise.

 

[GPaLarry]

We did a Med./WBTA B2B a couple of years ago. It saved us money on the flight home (Oregon) from Barcelona...B2B made it NYC. Would do it again it was such fun...just the two of us, no kids/gkids. There are special things DCL does on transatlantic cruises that they don't do on shorter trips.

 

[bookluvingbabe]

We did a 4 night/3 night B2B on the Wonder in March because it worked with DS's spring break and it bumped us to Gold right before we booked excursions and things in Alaska. Also, DS asked me to "surprise" him with the first cruise, handing me the laptop with the specific stateroom he wanted. I realized if we did an inside stateroom, it was pretty much the same price and that would be a mind-bending surprise for him.

We did the shows on the first cruise and relaxed more on the second cruise.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Back in late Sept/early Oct 2014 we did our first b2b sailings. We did 2 Wonder sailings, both were double dips at Castaway. The week before the b2b sailings started I took my annual Dream 4-night with my friends. So, in the span of 2 weeks I went to Castaway 5x. Honestly, towards the end of it all I was completely over being outside in the heat. I was just done. LOL! We’ve also done a 14-night WBPC and, honestly, I’d take the long voyage over the b2b sailings....but that’s mostly because the vibe of the long cruises is so different and there’s so many things done on those that you don’t see on 3/4/7 night cruises.

 

[AussieDisneyfans]

My daughter and I recently did B2B on the Wonder (3nt Baja and 5nt California Coast) we travel from Australia, so for us, like NZMUM, it made sense to do them B2B.

 

[Gbj2b]

We recently looked at a B2B, however, it was cheaper for us to go on a 7 night. The only other benefit would have been Castaway Cay 2x.

 

[kiford]

We did our B2B on the Dream a few years ago. We did it because: (a) we wanted to experience the Dream (we usually sail the Magic) and wanted to really spend the time aboard the ship so we didn't mind going twice to the Bahamas (we've been before) as we hardly left the ship and didn't feel like we missed anything; and (b) the schedule worked better for us that year. We liked it and would definitely consider doing it again.

 

[cadien]

Outside of CC-specific, it can be a good way to create an itinerary that doesn't already exist. Like taking a Pacific Coast cruise from L.A. immediately followed by an Alaska cruise. Or a TA to get to/from a European cruise. Especially handy if you don't fly. And have unlimited free time.

A tangent but I really don't understand why Disney doesn't overnight at CC. It's common for cruise ships to overnight in popular ports so people get more time there.

 

[Luv2Diz]

We have our first B2B booked to experience two very different itineraries. Figured as long as we are going to the expense to fly overseas, we might as well see the areas that we have always wanted to visit. Our first cruise is to Denmark/Norway followed by a cruise to the British Isles.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

A tangent but I really don't understand why Disney doesn't overnight at CC. It's common for cruise ships to overnight in popular ports so people get more time there.

Word is the bugs there at night are really bad.