Back to back...pros and cons?

[Starwind]

Our first cruise was a 4 night on the Dream. By the end we realized that is just too short for us, so we nbooked a 7 night on the Fantasy. We loved that cruise !

Our next 2 cruises were a B2B on the Dream: 3 night then 4 night. We had the same stateroom and stateroom host; we kept the same servers.

Our reasoning:

We knew we wanted 7 nights, but other than Castaway Cay were not picky about ports. A B2B got us closer to Gold. A B2B would give two stops at CC (yeah!) but also two at Nassau (no so yeah). The price difference between a 7 night or the B2B was minimal (and I don't remember which was more).

We really enjoyed the B2B. On the ffirst part we treated Nassau as a sea day and relaxed except for a quick trip to Starbucks to buy a mug.

We enjoyed it so much that we are seriously considering doing a 7 nights on the Fantasy B2B in December 2017 as opposed to cruising a 7 night in 2016 and a 7 night in 2017:
- only one airfare set (airfare is about CAD$2000 return for the two of us, only only having one return flight makes a big difference);
- only one set of hotels + meals before and after the cruise (WDW: if we do the B2B we will do Poly + Hyatt before and WL after; if we go to the parks it will only be for MVMCP)
- only one set of DCL transfers

Downside of course it having to wait until 2017. And, we won't be eligible for pre-trip Gold benefits (e.g. early excursion booking) for the second leg since we won't have actually sailed 5 trips until we go around the pole and on the second leg.

SW

 

[RedSox68]

Not trying to hijack the OPs thread, but I'm curious for those of you who have sailed B2B, did that give you the first chance to upgrade to concierge at the port for your second sailing, or do they not open the counter to upgrade until they open the doors and allow the masses to pile in? Getting the first shot at an upgrade would definitely be a perk for us too!

We didn't even look into because we didn't want to change rooms -- having gotten the same room for both sailings -- plus we really liked our room (one of the secret verandahs).

Thanks for the info about the difference of b2b in a US port. My family was nice enough to get dressed up and get off the ship so we could get our embarkation picture for the second sailing -- those are my favorite souvenirs! It was also fun standing up on deck and watching all the people arriving.

 

[Justacruiser]

Ok, so my thought is do the B2B but on the Magic out of Miami and you get 10 days! Price is pretty much the same by the time you use the OBB for the first cruise. and you get different ports. I would recommend the 2/12 and 2/17 cruise and use the discount for the 2/17 cruise. I only cruise verandah and I checked and they have 7A's on deck 5 with the same room numbers. The price for 2 after the OBB is 2468.16 for the 2/17 and the 2/12 price is 2438.82 = $4897.98 and you get your small OBC. Plus you get Key West, Grand Cayman, Nassau and CC 2 times.

 

[Justacruiser]

Not trying to hijack the OPs thread, but I'm curious for those of you who have sailed B2B, did that give you the first chance to upgrade to concierge at the port for your second sailing, or do they not open the counter to upgrade until they open the doors and allow the masses to pile in? Getting the first shot at an upgrade would definitely be a perk for us too!

I would think you would have first dibs, but not 100% sure. You would have to have your room packed and ready to move in the hopes you would get upgraded. And if you weren't, would have to unpack again. You could probably find out at guest services prior to the final day to see if they have openings.

 

[ktb2002]

Not trying to hijack the OPs thread, but I'm curious for those of you who have sailed B2B, did that give you the first chance to upgrade to concierge at the port for your second sailing, or do they not open the counter to upgrade until they open the doors and allow the masses to pile in? Getting the first shot at an upgrade would definitely be a perk for us too!

When I did a B2B on the Dream we checked in before they opened the terminal and I was easily the first person to the supervisor desk to snag the only concierge room. We had upgraded on the first leg, and I knew there was a possibility that our room was available on the next sailing.

 

[Jennifer777]

When I did a B2B on the Dream we checked in before they opened the terminal and I was easily the first person to the supervisor desk to snag the only concierge room. We had upgraded on the first leg, and I knew there was a possibility that our room was available on the next sailing.

Thank you! This was very helpful!

 

[melissajx3]

We did B2B 4/3 night on the magic last month and loved it. We're planning on a 5/4 night B2B next March. That being said, if there was a 7 night for the same price that worked time wise, I would pick that over a 4/3 night B2B.

 

[jiminyC_fan]

We've done two B2B's. First one was the Dream Maiden Voyage. The second one was last July where we did two double dip Castaway Cay cruises on the Dream. Out of 10 days on the Dream, 4 of them were on CC. Can't beat that in our eyes.

 

[tidefan]

I'll give the dissenting view. I don't think that we'd do another B2B unless A) we had the same room, and B) the itineraries were very different. Having done a number of cruises, I'd echo what a previous poster said about the "vibe" of the cruise. We find that 7-night cruises have a so much more relaxed atmosphere. The 3 and 4 nights feel so rushed. Also, we felt as though the turnaround day was more or less a lost day. The other thing that was tough was that we only had 1 sea day out of the 7 and on a seven night you can have up to 3, and we really enjoy the sea days.

All that said... How can you go wrong with either?

 

[CM Dad]

If you have a CPAP machine and have requested distilled water:

Pro: You end up with a gallon of water in you stateroom for each leg of the cruise. Way more that you would need on your cruises I guess you could take that second unopened gallon home with you. The amount of money you save from having to buy your next gallon would make the whole cruise worthwhile ;-)


Con: If you got an extension cord from Guest Services on the first cruise for the CPAP machine, you need to turn it in ad the end of the first and borrow another after re-boarding (to avoid being charged for a non-returned cord)

 

[NYCMommy]

Ok, so my thought is do the B2B but on the Magic out of Miami and you get 10 days! Price is pretty much the same by the time you use the OBB for the first cruise. and you get different ports. I would recommend the 2/12 and 2/17 cruise and use the discount for the 2/17 cruise. I only cruise verandah and I checked and they have 7A's on deck 5 with the same room numbers. The price for 2 after the OBB is 2468.16 for the 2/17 and the 2/12 price is 2438.82 = $4897.98 and you get your small OBC. Plus you get Key West, Grand Cayman, Nassau and CC 2 times.

Now that would be the perfect B2B!m sadly, we can only go presidents week due to school vacation - so that would not work. 10 days.....ideal!

 

[BCV23]

Ok, so my thought is do the B2B but on the Magic out of Miami and you get 10 days! Price is pretty much the same by the time you use the OBB for the first cruise. and you get different ports. I would recommend the 2/12 and 2/17 cruise and use the discount for the 2/17 cruise. I only cruise verandah and I checked and they have 7A's on deck 5 with the same room numbers. The price for 2 after the OBB is 2468.16 for the 2/17 and the 2/12 price is 2438.82 = $4897.98 and you get your small OBC. Plus you get Key West, Grand Cayman, Nassau and CC 2 times.

Completely agree. We did a 5 night/4 night on the Magic in 2013 and a 4/5 on the Wonder this year. Sail away is so beautiful in Miami IMO. We are booked on the 5/5 next year.

 

[magicmommy]

We are waiting to board our 4 night. We got no letter in our stateroom with information about the back to back process. Thanks to the disboards folks we know what to do. I'm a bit disappointed in Disney.

 

[RedSox68]

I'll give the dissenting view. I don't think that we'd do another B2B unless A) we had the same room, and B) the itineraries were very different.....

Exactly. We had the same room for both sailings and it made a world of difference. I saw stateroom hosts wheeling clothing racks and luggage racks as they moved people from one room to another for the next cruise. Plus our itineraries were different as one was the Med and the other the Transatlantic.

 

[shoes99]

We just booked an accessible cabin on the Magic out of Miami, both 5 night, same accessible cabin,
one is a Bahamian cruise, and the other is a Western Carib short cruise. We sail 1/29 and 2/6/2017.
We have sailed B2B out of PC on the Dream but wanted something different for us. DH has mobility
issues and sometimes he just stays on the ship. Fare was not bad, and I already grabbed airfare
from Newark for $197 RT which is quite good. Off set is the hotels in Miami or Miami airport or quite high
pre-cruise. We fly in early since we live in the NorthEast..