Disney Dream B2B- is it worth it?

[tlynk]

Is it crazy to do a B2B (3 and 4 night) cruise on the Disney Dream? It is almost the same price as 7 nights on the Fantasy. I like the idea of having 2 days at CC, 2 cruise credits and the option of 2 OBBs, but I'm wondering if it is a hassle when having to disembark and reboard? I would love input from those who have done a B2B in the past.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Is it crazy to do a B2B (3 and 4 night) cruise on the Disney Dream? It is almost the same price as 7 nights on the Fantasy. I like the idea of having 2 days at CC, 2 cruise credits and the option of 2 OBBs, but I'm wondering if it is a hassle when having to disembark and reboard? I would love input from those who have done a B2B in the past.

Well, I've done 2 B2Bs, but not on the Dream. We did a Dream cruise just prior to our Fantasy B2B.

Personally, I wouldn't do a 3/4 combo, if the cost is the same as a full 7 night cruise.

The turnaround day is really pretty much a waste, in my opinion. You have to get up early, eat breakfast, get off the ship, re-checkin and wait. You're off the ship anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours. Then you get back on and have all the first day "where is......." madness from the new cruisers, along with the muster drill and all. So you're really just cruising for 6 days.

BUT, that said, if 2 Castaway Cay days are a must do for you, or you need the option to book two future cruises at the same time, that's really your only option.

 

[tlynk]

Well, I've done 2 B2Bs, but not on the Dream. We did a Dream cruise just prior to our Fantasy B2B.

Personally, I wouldn't do a 3/4 combo, if the cost is the same as a full 7 night cruise.

The turnaround day is really pretty much a waste, in my opinion. You have to get up early, eat breakfast, get off the ship, re-checkin and wait. You're off the ship anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours. Then you get back on and have all the first day "where is......." madness from the new cruisers, along with the muster drill and all. So you're really just cruising for 6 days.

BUT, that said, if 2 Castaway Cay days are a must do for you, or you need the option to book two future cruises at the same time, that's really your only option.

Thank you for your reply! I really don't want a wasted day and I love sea days. DH and I will probably end up doing the 7N Fantasy instead. I was hoping to be Platinum by April 2018, but to shove in a B2B in order to accomplish this may not be wise. ;-)

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Thank you for your reply! I really don't want a wasted day and I love sea days. DH and I will probably end up doing the 7N Fantasy instead. I was hoping to be Platinum by April 2018, but to shove in a B2B in order to accomplish this may not be wise. ;-)

Well, you could always B2B a couple of Fantasy cruises. Or, do a short (5 night) B2B on one of the other ships, if that works.

When we did our Dream cruise it was just prior to our Fantasy B2B. Made the whole thing "feel" like a long cruise, with a 2 day overnight (between the Dream and Fantasy cruises) stop. Maybe you could do that. We spent a couple of days at WDW.

 

[n2mm]

We did a b2b last feb and doing it again next month. Ours is cheaper than a 7 night. The 7 nights are very high and are the Star Wars cruises. We were on the magic last year and wonder this year. We never felt our PC was a waste. We got off the ship at 9:30 and back on at 10:30. We had the entire adult pool to ourselves until folks started to arrive after noon.

 

[mkh531]

So when you do a b2b you have to go back into the port, right? Are B2Bers guaranteed boarding group 1 or are you let on even earlier than that?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

So when you do a b2b you have to go back into the port, right? Are B2Bers guaranteed boarding group 1 or are you let on even earlier than that?

If the turn around port is a US port, yes, you'll have to get off the ship. If it's any other port, you might or might not be required to debark.

Generally the check in for the B2B people starts just before opening the terminal to the new cruisers. In Port Canaveral you are given a green boarding pass (instead of the typical boarding number)

and then directed to the Concierge lounge to wait. B2B people are boarded before Concierge. Sometimes just before (a matter of minutes) other times, it's longer.

Our experience in Port Canaveral we had to be off the ship by 9:00am. Check in opened (for us) around 10:00. And we were boarded just prior to Concierge at 11:10.

 

[n2mm]

For us last year, we met in the lounge at 9:20 and was escorted off the ship through customs and directed back up the escalators to check in and get our new cards. Then we were sent to the concierge lounge and at 10:30 we were let back on. The cove cafe was available to us with sandwiches and beverages. We lounged at the adult pool. Our servers ask us if we wanted to stay with them on the second cruise and we agreed and they made all of the arrangements. It was very easy. Of course booking the same cabin is the important part so you don't have to pack/unpack.

 

[Stitch'sCousin]

We did a B2B on the Dream in August 2011 before the Fantasy came into service. It was the only way we could get 7 nights in the Bahamas/Caribbean at that time. We have since done 3 7-night Caribbean cruises on the Fantasy. We enjoyed all of the cruises, and to us, the turn-around day on the B2B was more like a sea day than anything else. There are definitely some benefits to a B2B including 2 days at Castaway Cay. In our case, Hurricane Irene prevented us from stopping in there on the second leg of the B2B. The other nice thing we found was that we didn't feel rushed to do everything on the first leg, since we knew we would be getting a 2nd chance on the second leg. When we did our 7 night cruises, we actually booked a lot of excursions so it felt like we were on the go more. We like DCL a lot, and are looking forward to doing our second B2B on the Dream this summer. Just editting to add that the advice from n2mm about booking the same room for both legs is very important so that you don't need to spend time at the end of the first leg packing up your luggage.

 

[nycdisneygal]

We enjoyed our DREAM B2B. I had wanted the Fantasy but the room type we wanted was sold out (about 10 months prior to cruise). While I was originally a little bummed, we realized we could skip things on the 2nd cruise that we did on the first, and enjoy other things! Even so there was still stuff on the ship we didnt get to!! And 2 days at castaway cay was heaven...

 

[kiford]

We liked our 3/4 B2B on the Dream. Whether it's worth it or whether you feel that the turnaround day is wasted is a personal opinion. Because the Dream goes to Nassau which we've been to a couple of times and felt no real need to see again, we intended it to be a relaxing, do-as-we-feel-at-the-minute vacation rather than the packed schedule we usually have. So on our turnaround day, we got off as late as possible (about 9:30 am - we had the later breakfast seating), checked back in and chatted to the clerk there for a while about the process that they go through to close out the previous cruise (very interesting conversation), were put into the concierge lounge in the terminal (I think that there were two other families only) and then boarded again at 10:30. We sat in the terminal with our books and read for a while then after boarding went to the Cove Cafe and had some coffee, chatted to the staff there for a bit (we spend a lot of time there so they knew us) and read until lunch. Had there not been a turnaround day, we would have probably spent some time by the pool or in the Cove Cafe reading and having coffee and then gone to lunch. So, in our view, not very different than what we would have done without having to reboard. The disembark/embark process took only a few minutes and the whole process maybe an hour so no biggie in our opinion.

We liked having repeat menus so that we got a chance to have seconds on things we liked or the opportunity to try something new. We liked having repeat shows because we don't typically go every night. Sometimes we like to spend the time in the pool when others are either at dinner or the show so it was nice to be able to see all of the shows but spread out a bit more. We count it as one of our best cruises. For you it will all depend on what you want and what you expect. We liked it and would do it again. One of the other benefits for us was the timing - it met with our scheduling better than the seven day cruise departure dates.

 

[CamColt]

I've done B2Bs twice, once on the Dream and once of the Wonder and I am a big fan of it. CC is the only port I really care about so getting there twice is a huge plus to me. Once we even went 3X since 1 cruise was a Double Dip. I don't mind repeating the shows so i can see the ones I want to see on 1 cruise and not feel like I have to see then on the second, to do other things. The same went for Palo. I didn't have to worry which meal I was missing since I would have gotten it once anyway.

I actually wanted to do it again this summer, but DS finds a disadvantage in it. He doesn't like the turnover of kids and since this is his last year in the teen club we went with 1, 7 night which he prefers.

 

[tlynk]

Thank you for all the useful information!! It is much appreciated!