Positives and Negatives of Back to Back cruising on DCL?

[squirk]

I had no idea doing a 3+4 B2B could save so much money vs. a single 7-day. Kicking myself for not doing this all along. I would have saved at least $5k and also hit Platinum by now.....

 

[CamColt]

This thread has gotten me thinking of possibly B2Bs again in 2017. I have personally found B2Bs more money. I had them booked for 2014 but DCL cancelled the 4 night to make it a DVC cruise so I ended up switching to a 7 night the same week. I saved a few hundred dollars and moved up a category if I remember right, (plus got a $200.00 OBC as opposed to $100.00 for the OBB perk) so I was under the impression the 7 night was less expensive in general. I am going to have to look into this again when 2017 comes out as CC is the only port we really care about.

 

[Starwind]

I am assuming B2Bs have a duplication of things like port fees and such, but overall, is it a wash in terms of price? A 3-day + 4-day B2B on the Dream costs the same as a 7-day on the Fantasy?

We did our 3rd and 4th cruises in December 2015 in part as a way to get to Gold more quickly.

We had an OBB discount and credit to apply to whatever we chose, as we had booked a dummy cruise during our 2nd cruise, which affected the final actual pricing somewhat.

The following is the pricing I did to compare 3n/4n Dream with 7n fantasy at about the same time. These are for Cat 8A, 2 adults; in the end we went with Cat 8B. Prices below do NOT include insurance or discounts.

DREAM - B2B
3-Night Bahamian Cruise on Disney Dream Itinerary A, PC, Nassau, CC, PC
Sails December 11, 2015
Category 08A
$1,217.16

4-Night Bahamian Cruise on Disney Dream - Itinerary C, PC, CC, Nassau, Sea, PC
Sails December 14, 2015
Category 08A
$1,617.16

TOTAL = 2834.32

Disney Fantasy - 7 nights
7-Night Western Caribbean Cruise on Disney Fantasy - Itinerary A, PC, Sea, Cozumel, Grand Caymen, Sea, Sea, CC, PC
Sails December 12, 2015
Category 08A
$3,143.38

OR

7-Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise on Disney Fantasy - Itinerary A,PC, Sea, Sea, St Maarten, St thomas/St John, Sea, CC, PC
Sails December 5, 2015
Category 08A
$2,913.98


So, before insurance and any discounts, the B2B for our dates was cheaper. Also, we were on board for the PremEar of the new Star Wars movie. For that on the fantasy would have meant the more expensive Fantasy cruise.

Now, the dates do shift things like pre and post hotel costs - hotels may be more or less expensive for one cruise or the other and that could wipe out any savings or increase the cost a fair bit.

For example, coming back on the 17th and spending a night at AoA -- the room was about $100 more than it would have been if we had stayed there before the cruise (or after the 7n departing earlier in December) instead, but we wanted to be at WL for two nights before the cruise, plus WL went up more than AoA did for the post-stay days.

We really enjoyed the B2B and are considering doing a B2B for our next cruise -- except we are thinking of two 7n B2B

We planned out our days and activities in advance. So , for example, we went to one show during the first cruise and two (different ones) during the second, allowing us evenings to do what we wanted/other activities. We didn't bother with the sail away or pirate parties the second cruise, though we did fireworks on both.

Our servers stayed the same for both cruises (we were asked and could have changed them if we wanted, but we really liked our servers). they got to know us and our preferences very well, which was especially helpful since we have multiple food allergies.

SW

 

[squirk]

Thanks for the breakdown. Much appreciated.

My wife did point out to me that the one big downside to a Dream B2B is that your only stops are Nassau and CC. We love CC, but Nassau does nothing for us.

 

[Starwind]

Thanks for the breakdown. Much appreciated.

My wife did point out to me that the one big downside to a Dream B2B is that your only stops are Nassau and CC. We love CC, but Nassau does nothing for us.

our solution:

We did CC both times, with different activities -- one of them we shared a cabana with others; the second we did the morning kayaking adventure, had lunch on CC and then headed back to the ship for the rest of the day.

Nassau: we did the Blue Lagoon beach day for one stop heading back to the ship in the early afternoon; the second we got off ship long enough to walk to Starbucks (to buy a Bahamas "you are here" mug to add to my collection) and back. In the future, we would just stay on board entirely at Nassau.

SW

 

[squirk]

our solution:

We did CC both times, with different activities -- one of them we shared a cabana with others; the second we did the morning kayaking adventure, had lunch on CC and then headed back to the ship for the rest of the day.

Nassau: we did the Blue Lagoon beach day for one stop heading back to the ship in the early afternoon; the second we got off ship long enough to walk to Starbucks (to buy a Bahamas "you are here" mug to add to my collection) and back. In the future, we would just stay on board entirely at Nassau.

SW

Great ideas, but my wife's point was that we miss out on much more interesting stops like Tortola, St. Thomas/St. John, St. Martin, etc.

 

[cmhguy]

We loved our B2B on the Dream and will be doing it again. We cruise for the ship and love Castaway Cay. A B2B gives us more of what we want vs a 7 night.

A few items I haven't seen on this thread yet nor did I think about or read prior to our B2B:

What to do about the comment cards....we only filled it out on our last leg...we had the same room and table.... I felt like maybe we should have filled them out for both as they were dated and had our room # on them. Our wait staff acted differently the second round and a comment or 2 made me think we should have done it both times. Nothing major, but I'll do it twice around this time...as we only had glowing things to say anyway. Specifically, I wonder if staff are dinged in some way for no card being returned. I'm wondering if that answer is yes.

DO we leave tips at the end of each leg or upon our final last night? I did the later and will do the same again. As long as we have the same room and servers. Per above, comments were about the survey and not about tips.

I missed the friends we made on the first leg on the second half. Yes it's an opportunity to meet new people, but it gave us an odd feeling to be suddenly surrounded by all new faces. The crew were fantastic and really went out of their way to make us feel at home. Many of them knew we were b2b'ers, so I wondered if the crew were given names and pics of the b2b passengers....it sure felt that way...in a good way.

I felt like the 3 night was a more party atmosphere. Not sure if it was just our sailing or not. The 3 night had far more large groups celebrating all kinds of things....the bars felt busier.... More people stayed on the ship in Nassau it seamed. I'm sure that can vary. But that was our experience.

Lastly, I love the shampoo. They threw away the half full tube and left new ones. I will hide it on turn around day this time, so I can keep my shampoo.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

We loved our B2B on the Dream and will be doing it again. We cruise for the ship and love Castaway Cay. A B2B gives us more of what we want vs a 7 night.

A few items I haven't seen on this thread yet nor did I think about or read prior to our B2B:

What to do about the comment cards....we only filled it out on our last leg...we had the same room and table.... I felt like maybe we should have filled them out for both as they were dated and had our room # on them. Our wait staff acted differently the second round and a comment or 2 made me think we should have done it both times. Nothing major, but I'll do it twice around this time...as we only had glowing things to say anyway. Specifically, I wonder if staff are dinged in some way for no card being returned. I'm wondering if that answer is yes.

DO we leave tips at the end of each leg or upon our final last night? I did the later and will do the same again. As long as we have the same room and servers. Per above, comments were about the survey and not about tips.

I missed the friends we made on the first leg on the second half. Yes it's an opportunity to meet new people, but it gave us an odd feeling to be suddenly surrounded by all new faces. The crew were fantastic and really went out of their way to make us feel at home. Many of them knew we were b2b'ers, so I wondered if the crew were given names and pics of the b2b passengers....it sure felt that way...in a good way.

I felt like the 3 night was a more party atmosphere. Not sure if it was just our sailing or not. The 3 night had far more large groups celebrating all kinds of things....the bars felt busier.... More people stayed on the ship in Nassau it seamed. I'm sure that can vary. But that was our experience.

You should fill out a comment card for each leg. The crew/staff can change from one cruise to another, and making a comment about something that happened on the first leg, after the second, could cause some confusion. The staff isn't dinged if you don't turn the card in.

Tip at the end of each leg. As I mentioned, it's quite likely that your room host, or server(s) could change. Even if it seems that your room host and servers are staying onboard, they may be moved.

 

[Abatts]

Has anyone done a B2B and NOT booked the same stateroom/category? Also, could you switch insurance to cover both or do you have to buy insurance separately for both legs?

 

[bafleyanne]

We have done several b2b cruise and love them. Most of ours have been in Miami on the Wonder in the same cabin. After breakfast we met in the lounge, a crew member took us off the ship, we waited for them to clear the ship then were allowed back on. It is the same every time. I didn't feel like it was a lost day. More like a down morning! I would start my laundry in morning, (no waiting for machines!) and finish when we got back on board. We were allowed back to our cabins and did not have to wait. They asked us to hang out at the adult pool and kept food out in the Cove lounge. DS thought that was pretty cool!

Only down side was drill twice.

Thanks for this comment! I didn't even think of starting laundry before disembarking and finishing after I got back on. Somehow I was thinking that you wouldn't be allowed to do that.

 

[scgustafson]

Thanks for this comment! I didn't even think of starting laundry before disembarking and finishing after I got back on. Somehow I was thinking that you wouldn't be allowed to do that.

Since the laundry charges are tied to your KTTW and onboard account, you should not be able to do laundry like that as your account for the first cruise is closed out early in the morning of your departure. I would have thought that the machines are not active to accept KTTWs for doing laundry the morning of departure.

 

[KingRichard]

You also risk it being sent to lost and found.

 

[U2FanHfx]

We did it when the Fantasy wasn't in existence and we wanted a week on the Dream class. Personally, I felt you lose VERY little time as they basically shuffle you off late in the morning and then back on about an hour later. You also get to hang out in the concierge lounge. Well when we went.

We also switched rooms and our bags were waiting in our room when we got back onboard!

 

[Flossbolna]

I think no one mentioned this yet, but you could also treat the change over day just as a port day and explore. In Port Canaveral that might not be so exciting (unless you go to Kennedy Space Center), but for other cruises, I would think it might be exciting to just go and spend the day in Vancouver, Barcelona, Copenhagen, Denver, even Miami.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Has anyone done a B2B and NOT booked the same stateroom/category? Also, could you switch insurance to cover both or do you have to buy insurance separately for both legs?

We were in different rooms on our last B2B. The insurance we purchased (third party, not through DCL) was purchased for a time frame with what costs were non-refundable. We purchased the whole B2B at the same time. We did do a B2B once that we had already purchased our insurance before adding the second cruise. We just needed to call up the insurance company and add the additional coverage (extra cost).

Thanks for this comment! I didn't even think of starting laundry before disembarking and finishing after I got back on. Somehow I was thinking that you wouldn't be allowed to do that.

Generally, the laundry rooms are locked during the turnover. At least they were on our last B2B.

We did it when the Fantasy wasn't in existence and we wanted a week on the Dream class. Personally, I felt you lose VERY little time as they basically shuffle you off late in the morning and then back on about an hour later. You also get to hang out in the concierge lounge. Well when we went.

We also switched rooms and our bags were waiting in our room when we got back onboard!

Our B2B, we were told be off the ship by 9:00. And we were not allowed to get back on until just before Concierge (at 11:10). We were off the ship for a couple of hours.

I think no one mentioned this yet, but you could also treat the change over day just as a port day and explore. In Port Canaveral that might not be so exciting (unless you go to Kennedy Space Center), but for other cruises, I would think it might be exciting to just go and spend the day in Vancouver, Barcelona, Copenhagen, Denver, even Miami.

If you leave the terminal during the turn around day, you must check in and reboard with the "new" guests. You get no priority.

 

[n2mm]

We just finished our b2b two days ago. It went perfectly and as organized. We received a letter telling us what we needed to do. It was exactly like the letter. We were to meet in phantom at 9:15am. Around 9:30am a CM came in and lead us off the ship and through customs, then back up the escalator to the checkin counter. Went in the lounge and around 10:30am all of us holding a B2B green boarding card were let back on. We hung out at the adult pool and had the pool to our selves until around noon. Here's a tip, if you park in the Gargage you only pay for one of the cruises. We arrived for the 3 night and the machine showed $60. We asked the attendant how we were suppose to pay for the B2B and he said as long as we don't move our car, we only have to pay the price shown when you arrive, so we only paid 1/2 of what we thought we would have to pay. I was surprised no one listed this tip. BTW this was on the Disney Magic. We booked the same room.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

I'm positive you'll see the needle in the scale go up lol

 

[4mousefans]

We loved doing a b2b cruise on the Wonder a few weeks ago...seven night from SanJuan with a 5 night repositioning cruise to Miami. We found the turnaround day to be so easy and efficient...I second what others have said about the experience on the Wonder...it was awesome! We stopped at 8 different ports and Castaway Cay...never got bored. We loved not feeling the pressure to see or do everything because we had the extra time. And it was super awesome on the night before the first cruise ended to not have to rush to pack!