Back to Back cruises

[Lovedisney24]

We are planning to do a back to back cruise - 5 Bahama an 5 Caribbean. What do you like or dislike about back to back? We've never done it so figured we give it a try at least once. Thanks for any info!

 

[belac]

Like

• you get back on first for the second leg
• like that if you have the same stateroom no need to pack that morning
• if you saw shows the first leg you have that 1+ hour to do something else
• You want to do something but have to miss something else you can do it the next time.
• you get to book Palo/remy 2 times
• you actually relax the second time
• the crew are very familiar with you
• 2 stops at CC
• if you have laundry to do you have the laundry basically to yourself that first day

Dislike

• you have to actually get off the ship and then get back on in between the 2 cruises. A bit of wasted time (1-2 hours)
• two muster drills
• you actually have to disembark the second time

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Like

• you get back on first for the second leg
• like that if you have the same stateroom no need to pack that morning
• you can choose to go or not to go to see the shows again
• you get to book Palo/remy 2 times
• you actually relax the second time
• the crew are very familiar with you
• 2 stops at CC
• if you have laundry to do you have the laundry basically to yourself that first day

Dislike

• you have to actually get off the ship and then get back on in between the 2 cruises. A bit of wasted time (1-2 hours)
• two muster drills
• you actually have to disembark the second time

Pretty much covers it.

 

[Quellman]

more Pros:
Able to book multiple place holders.
Quicker level up for castaway club.
People across the ship may recognize you, allowing for some additional magic. Our dining room team really went out of our way to make us special.
Your head server will come by and see if you want the same dining team, and if you want a separate table for the second cruise.
Trivia questions are probably the same, so you'll be awesome the second time around!


more Cons:
I'm not a big fan of the repeated dining menus. Sure there are a lot of choices, but I felt I was on repeat for dining.
The chaos of the first night repeats itself as people figure out the ship for the first time.




Normally you would have the same ports on a back to back, so that can sometimes be a con, but you have 2 different itineraries, so I would say that is a pro.

 

[belac]

more Pros:
more Cons:
I'm not a big fan of the repeated dining menus. Sure there are a lot of choices, but I felt I was on repeat for dining.

See everyone is different, because I see that as a pro. I know you can order all sorts of stuff and have seen people order 2 mains at dinner, but for me that is way too much food so I use the same menus as a chance to try something else.

Yes Trivia questions are somewhat the same, although the CM recognized us and said he had to mix it up, so sit in the background the first go around

 

[RedSox68]

When we did it in 2007, we were allowed to stay onboard as everyone exited -- all our paperwork was done for us the night before. It seems they don't allow that anymore (we were doing the 10-day with the 14-day WBTA), unless it was because it was a foreign port and we were returning to and leaving from the same port

But we absolutely loved being onboard when the ship was empty; going to the disembarkation breakfast without luggage and no sadness about having to leave or rushing. Loved having the adult pool to ourselves for three hours; loved going back to our room for a nap before boarding began! And we were lucky because they were two different cruise types, the menus changed for the WBTA and we had lots of new selections. We also ordered more room service and pizza on the trip home as we did burn out on too much rich food LOL.

I'd love to do another.

Have a great time.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

When we did it in 2007, we were allowed to stay onboard as everyone exited -- all our paperwork was done for us the night before. It seems they don't allow that anymore (we were doing the 10-day with the 14-day WBTA), unless it was because it was a foreign port and we were returning to and leaving from the same port

But we absolutely loved being onboard when the ship was empty; going to the disembarkation breakfast without luggage and no sadness about having to leave or rushing. Loved having the adult pool to ourselves for three hours; loved going back to our room for a nap before boarding began! And we were lucky because they were two different cruise types, the menus changed for the WBTA and we had lots of new selections. We also ordered more room service and pizza on the trip home as we did burn out on too much rich food LOL.

I'd love to do another.

Have a great time.

Yes, if the turnaround day is a US port, the ship must "zero out". That means everyone off the ship. If the turnaround day is any other port, you may or may not be required to leave the ship. Our B2B Med/WBTA in 2010, we (all the B2B people) were required to meet in Rockin' Bar D and then were escorted off the ship, through check in, and back onboard. I think they did that because there were so many of use and having us re-check in at Guest Services (which I've read is usually the procedure for the European cruises) would take too much time. In the terminal they had about 4 check in desks open.

Our B2B Fantasy cruises we were required to be off the ship by 9:00. And did not reboard until 11:10 (just before the Concierge guests). So not a lot of time of "just us" onboard.

 

[RedSox68]

Yes, if the turnaround day is a US port, the ship must "zero out". That means everyone off the ship. If the turnaround day is any other port, you may or may not be required to leave the ship. Our B2B Med/WBTA in 2010, we (all the B2B people) were required to meet in Rockin' Bar D and then were escorted off the ship, through check in, and back onboard. I think they did that because there were so many of use and having us re-check in at Guest Services (which I've read is usually the procedure for the European cruises) would take too much time. In the terminal they had about 4 check in desks open.

Our B2B Fantasy cruises we were required to be off the ship by 9:00. And did not reboard until 11:10 (just before the Concierge guests). So not a lot of time of "just us" onboard.

Were you allowed to leave your luggage in your stateroom for the Fantasy cruise?

We did end up getting off the ship in the Barcelona port so we could get another embarkation picture for that part of the trip -- it's my favorite souvenir and we had had t-shirts made.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Were you allowed to leave your luggage in your stateroom for the Fantasy cruise?

We did end up getting off the ship in the Barcelona port so we could get another embarkation picture for that part of the trip -- it's my favorite souvenir and we had had t-shirts made.

No, we were changing rooms. We had to be packed up by 8:00 that morning and our room host was waiting for the bags to get them to the next room.

 

[RedSox68]

No, we were changing rooms. We had to be packed up by 8:00 that morning and our room host was waiting for the bags to get them to the next room.

Oh, well that was good that at least you didn't have to lug them off the ship. While onboard we did see a lot of clothing racks and luggage being run up and down hallways as they changed people's room locations. We were fortunate and got to keep the same room.

 

[cgolf]

more Pros:
The chaos of the first night repeats itself as people figure out the ship for the first time.

This kind of cracks me up now anytime we go on a ship. We can relate though, the one time we went on the Dream, we felt lost until the last day. At least that prepped us for the Fantasy

Next year we will be on a new ship on a new line and I am sure we will be a fish out of water lol.

 

[valee]

We're on the upcoming WBTA, and thinking of doing a B2B next year. Is the OBB 10% discount limited to a single future cruise, or can we get it for both cruises if we book while we're onboard? The OBB form states the offer is limited to two rooms on a single cruise.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

We're on the upcoming WBTA, and thinking of doing a B2B next year. Is the OBB 10% discount limited to a single future cruise, or can we get it for both cruises if we book while we're onboard? The OBB form states the offer is limited to two rooms on a single cruise.

You can only get the OBB perks for up to two rooms on any ONE future cruise. You can book two cruises while onboard, but only one of them will get the OBB perks.

 

[valee]

Thanks - looks like I'll need to try to book the less expensive cruise before my September cruise, and then take the OBC on the more expensive one. At least Costco rebate will help offset the cost.

 

[cgolf]

I do want to add that our B2B cruise was one of our most relaxing cruises to date. Partly because we have been on the Magic and DCL so often we were able to pick and choose what we did each day, along with doing the B2B trip. We managed to catch a couple of movies and only watched tangled skipping the other shows. A newer DCL cruiser could use the B2B to still try and pack everything in, but spread it across the 2 trips making each a little less hectic.

 

[RedSox68]

The chaos of the first night repeats itself as people figure out the ship for the first time.

This is what we so enjoyed on the morning of debarkation at the end of that first cruise. We ate a relaxing breakfast and then walked to deck four of the atrium and watching everyone scrambling to get off the boat. At Noon we hung out the upper deck and watched the parking lot chaos with people arriving. [Of course, 15 days later that would be us, but we didn't want to think about it LOL]

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

For us it was cheaper than a week on the Fantasy.