Getting off the ship on a Back To Back Cruise

My husband and I will be going on a back to back cruise in April/May 2017 on Celebrity Silhouette. On our last back to back cruise on Celebrity Reflection we got off the ship for a few hours in Civitavecchia but had a terrible time getting back on: long lines, poor signage to get you in the correct line and other groups being shuffled ahead of us once we were in the right line. Has anyone gotten off their ship for a few hours and gotten back on easily? We will be in Amsterdam and are a little afraid of trying to visit the city that day because of the experience last time.

My husband and I will be going on a back to back cruise in April/May 2017 on Celebrity Silhouette. On our last back to back cruise on Celebrity Reflection we got off the ship for a few hours in Civitavecchia but had a terrible time getting back on: long lines, poor signage to get you in the correct line and other groups being shuffled ahead of us once we were in the right line. Has anyone gotten off their ship for a few hours and gotten back on easily? We will be in Amsterdam and are a little afraid of trying to visit the city that day because of the experience last time.

On a B2B don't you HAVE to get off so they can zero out the ship before embarking the next one?

^ Well yes but I think she means they got off the ship and went somewhere for a while, then came back to long, disorganized lines.

OP, every ship and line is different and when you are on board, they will tell you how to do it, but we got a little card which said "In Transit". This was meant to bypass any lines and let us back on without having to wait in the lines that embarking passengers were in.

You might try posting this on the specific Celebrity board so experienced consecutive cruisers can tell you more of what to expect. :) Here is that link:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=28

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Get off the ship and make a full day of it. Returning 2 hours before departure will allow you to miss all the lines, and all the people dragging their luggage through the ship.. being told to leave the ship to get a zero count is mostly a American port thing.. happy cruising

There are several variables here. First is the ship. Are they efficient at this. Second is the local authorities? Do they know what they are doing? Are there enough of them. In Europe, we have always breezed off and out for the day.

My experience on the Eurodam docked in Amsterdam between a Baltic Cruise and the Viking Passage Cruise: we in-transit guests were given an in-transit pass on the day before arriving in Amsterdam. Take your passport, I believe, we were advised along with the in-transit pass. Upon returning to the cruise terminal, showing the in-transit pass allowed us to go through security once again without delay and embark the Eurodam. I do not recall anyone asking to see our passports.

Different ports have different requirements. For whatever reason, Port Everglades require a "zeroing down" of the ship which results in a long walk to stand in a long line within the terminal after walking past an Immigration Officer who briefly--and I mean briefly--looks at your open passport. One stands there in that line until the last straggler of the b2b guests finally chooses to appear and the ship is approved for those of us who have been waiting to re-embark. It is a silly inconvience and enhances security not one bit in my mind.

Thanks to all the cruisers who responded to my question. On our ship we did not have to "zero down." We did get instructions on how to get back on quickly, but the quick part didn't happen. I will take all the suggestions under advisement. We certainly would like to get off the ship in Amsterdam. I appreciate every answer.

Thanks to all the cruisers who responded to my question. On our ship we did not have to "zero down." We did get instructions on how to get back on quickly, but the quick part didn't happen. I will take all the suggestions under advisement. We certainly would like to get off the ship in Amsterdam. I appreciate every answer.

Do you mean you did not have to leave the ship, clear customs, and re-board? Just curious how the ship cleared customs if you did not have to disembark at the end of the first leg for that process.

You may see your cruises as a B2B, but the cruise line sees your booking as two separate cruises and each one needs to clear customs.

We have had no problems on b2b cruises, but each one can be different. You will be given information prior to the day when the 1st cruise goes into the second cruise. Be sure that you understand all of the directions and there should be no problem. Love b2b. :)

Do you mean you did not have to leave the ship, clear customs, and re-board? Just curious how the ship cleared customs if you did not have to disembark at the end of the first leg for that process.

 

You may see your cruises as a B2B, but the cruise line sees your booking as two separate cruises and each one needs to clear customs.

it will depend on where the ship was sailing

If all in the EU then no customs to clear

it will depend on where the ship was sailing

If all in the EU then no customs to clear

Oh, OK - thanks for the input.

On a B2B don't you HAVE to get off so they can zero out the ship before embarking the next one?

Only the US has the "zero down" requirement.

In Europe you do not have to leave the ship at all if you are staying aboard for the next cruise. Been there, done that.

I did it twice, and both times on a Holland America cruise.

They give you a pass that enables you to circumvent the line when you come back and want to board the ship. That said, in both cases we came back late in the day when there were no longer lines to get on. So, it was moot.

But the point is they do allow you to avoid the lines with people boarding for the first time.

Enjoy. It is a great feeling when you see people getting off and going home and you know your vacation is only half over.