B2B Disney Wonder

Hi everyone!

We will be experiencing our first back to back cruise on the Disney Wonder on 1/28 and 2/4. It'll be a 7 day and 4 cruise respectively with the turnover departing/boarding port being in San Juan. Does anyone who's every done a B2B cruise have any advice? Unfortunately we have to switch rooms. I'm going to keep checking to see if we can stay in the same room when it gets closer to sailing with the hopes there's a cancellation. But as far as packing and whatnot, does anyone have any advice? Would definitely welcome it. We are Platinum DCL cruisers so I just need advice that pertains to the special adventure of B2B sailings. Thanks!

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We have done several B2Bs including one on the Wonder. You will get a letter in your cabin on the second to last day with the specific instructions for your cruise--each time we have one one the instructions have been slightly different depending on the port and the number of guests doing B2B. In each US port, we did have to get off the ship. When changing rooms, pack up all your stuff and leave it INSIDE your cabin on the last morning. Make sure your host knows you are on a B2B and your luggage will appear outside your new room virtually as soon as you are allowed back on board--the hosts will handle it. If you are not changing rooms, no need to pack. Just be sure that you take your ID and check in documents with you when you leave the ship. You are asked to be off the ship by 9:15 or to meet an escort at 9:00 (we've had it both ways). You get off, go thru Customs, and depending on the port go either to a waiting area or at PC, right back to the entry area. You will be checked in as soon as they have "closed out" the previous cruise--this basically means that everyone is off and the accounts are cleared.

Reboarding again depends on the port. You'll be able to board first, but that can be anywhere from an hour to 5 minutes before they open boarding to others. If you get on early, at least one location is open for snacks, beverages, etc. You can swim as soon as the pools are cleaned and you will have access to your room as soon as you board. When we were in Europe with 125 cabins doing B2Bs, they had 2 food areas open--one for families and one adult only.

You can choose to leave the terminal for sightseeing, shopping, or whatever; In that case you will have to wait and reboard with everyone else.

On DCL, you have 2 totally separate cruises in terms of your onboard account, any OBC, etc. Everything will be closed out at the end of the first cruise and start again at the beginning of the second. Other lines handle this differently. We have usually been contacted by dining personnel toward the end of the first cruise asking whether we had any requests or needed any reservations for the second--did we have a preferred rotation, did we want the same or different servers for the second cruise, did we want Palo, etc.

You basically lose a half day with the turn over the way it happens in the US.

If you decide to toss in laundry on the last morning (good time because no one else is doing it) be sure to put a note on your machine(s) so the CMs don't think it is stuff that belongs in the Lost and Found. And remember that it needs to be in the dryer before 9:00 or your KTTW card won't work to start the dryer!

Thanks for the information. That was actually one of the questions I had, do we get to keep our servers. That would be nice. My ultimate goal is to stay in the same room. It would make it so much easier. I would hate to throw in dirty clothes with clean ones just to move rooms. Are there any special cocktail hours or events for B2B guests?

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Thanks for the information. That was actually one of the questions I had, do we get to keep our servers. That would be nice. My ultimate goal is to stay in the same room. It would make it so much easier. I would hate to throw in dirty clothes with clean ones just to move rooms. Are there any special cocktail hours or events for B2B guests?

 

 

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The only time we had anything special for B2Bs was on the European cruise where there were LOTS of us--on that one we got the concierge goodies in our room each afternoon, and we had a special meeting place on the last morning with food and beverages while we waited for the latecoming people to arrive so we could be escorted off as a group. We had a special Customs line and were right back on. On our first B2B out of Barcelona, we didn't even have to get off the ship--just go to GS to pick up our new KTTW cards. Second B2B out of Barcelona, we had to disembark. And I guess the munchies in Cove Cafe after boarding are "special" but not really. This is the only time the Cove Cafe is open to children and that ends when boarding starts.

Take a large plastic bag to put your dirty clothes in--you don't have to put them with your clean things. THey will move a bag for you the same as they will a suitcase. Do be sure your host knows you are B2B and where your new room is. He should already know, but never hurts to be sure.

If you don't get a call from dining, talk to your head server--he can arrange for you to keep your servers or to change...whichever you prefer. Most of the time, we got a phone call OR our head server approached me before the end of the first cruise.

We are doing Southern Caribbean flying out of Orlando and boarding in San Juan for a round trip cruise then reboarding in San Juan and going to Port Canaveral for the second half of the B2B, so no flight home is needed! [emoji322]

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We've also done B2B on Princess.....DCL is very different than Princess in this regard. The two big points are that on Princess you do get OBC, etc. for each leg, but you have one account for the entire trip. And you are excused from the second safety drill.

On DCL, you have 2 totally separate accounts and you must attend the second drill. The other differences may be more related to the port than to the cruise line.

We booked both of these on previous cruises so we have OBC for both cruises. If we have to switch rooms, it's probably best we goto both Muster Drills anyway. :)

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Totally agree--but if you stay in the same room, it is rather a pain. Still, everything is closed during the drill, so there is nothing to do but hang out in your room.

Do you enjoy B2B cruises or are they more of a pain than they're worth?

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Do you enjoy B2B cruises or are they more of a pain than they're worth?

Love them...and not a pain at all. We've usually done them when they are different cruises--a Trans-Atlantic paired with the first Med (or the last Med and return to US), or two 12 night Meds with different ports, Northern Europe + repo to Barcelona, etc. On Princess, it was 2 different Japanese cruises; only one port overlapped. On the Wonder it was a 4+3 because we couldn't get to the port for a Saturday departure 7 nighter. That was the only one that I rather wished could have been a 7 night instead, but we met an amazing person who was also doing B2B and who has continued to be a friend, so that was good.

Since we don't live near the port, it makes sense to do a longer cruise as we only have to pay the transportation once. Obviously it is nicer when you don't have to change cabins, but we've done it both ways. The pack up and move isn't too bad...just nicer to avoid.

I would love to do a B2B TA and Med cruise. That would be so much fun!

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I would love to do a B2B TA and Med cruise. That would be so much fun!

 

 

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Definitely on the "unforgettable" list!

I am so excited! I just happened to look on the DCL website to see if our first leg of the cruise's room was available for our second leg of our cruise's room and it was! Yay! It means we won't have to move rooms now! Woohoo!

I am so excited! I just happened to look on the DCL website to see if our first leg of the cruise's room was available for our second leg of our cruise's room and it was! Yay! It means we won't have to move rooms now! Woohoo!

So you contacted DCL or your travel agent immediately, right? That's totally great that you get to stay in the same room. No packing between cruises!

So you contacted DCL or your travel agent immediately' date=' right? That's totally great that you get to stay in the same room. No packing between cruises![/quote']

Yes! I called DCL immediately and they moved it over right away. I also got another confirmation email just to make sure. ;p

Yes! I called DCL immediately and they moved it over right away. I also got another confirmation email just to make sure. ;p

Purr-fect! Have a super trip!

It is really too bad that they don't have a way for the computer to track this for guests if you can't get the same cabin at the time of the original booking. I got a nice deal on Princess. For some reason they wanted our cabin on the first leg for another guest....I'd been trying for months to get the same cabin for both legs. I told them I'd move IF they could arrange the same cabin for both legs. They did it!

We did a similar itinerary B2B in 2016: the 7 night Southern Caribbean, followed by a 5 night cruise that returned to Miami. We had the same stateroom throughout the 12 nights. It actually did feel just like a 12 night cruise by the way! The Southern Caribbean itinerary was terrific, visiting many islands that you would not normally see on a DCL cruise. The crossover day in San Juan we did get off the ship and went to a restaurant we had not been able to get to pre-cruise. I don't recall whether we were required to leave the ship or not. I do know we did the safety drill again.

As I said, it did feel like a 12 night cruise and we like the concept of doing B2B. This was not our first time doing so. Many years ago we had done a B2B Western and Eastern on the Magic, and we are doing a B2B on the Magic again this summer (Baltic followed by Norwegian/Icelandic cruise). One for the best parts of the "12 night cruise" (7 + 5) on the Wonder was getting to know the crew so much better. This tends to happen on longer cruises as well, and is one of the unique aspects of a B2B experience.

If the rules are still the same, as Platinum guests you should get a complimentary meal at Palo for both of your B2B segments.

Enjoy your B2B cruises!

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Does anyone know what the passenger service act is? It's something that prevents people from doing back to back cruises in certain ports. Do my two cruises fall into this category? We didn't book the two at the same time so I don't know if Disney is aware we may qualify for this act. I hear the fine is pretty hefty at $300 per person.

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No worries. First of all, if it did apply to your cruises, DCL's computer would have blocked any B2B bookings.

Basically it says that you can't travel between 2 US ports without stopping in a foreign port. The time cruise ship passengers get hit is for example, if a cruise is going from LA to Seattle to reposition the ship and then do an Alaska season. You will be hitting foreign ports on both legs of your cruise, so no issues at all.

Awesome. I knew you would know, Moki. You are my cruising Yoda! [emoji847]

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Awesome. I knew you would know, Moki. You are my cruising Yoda! [emoji847]

 

 

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Gee, thanks! Cruise too much I do. And just so you know, in emergency situations, the government has the ability to waive the provisions of the act. Translated into English, if a hurricane causes the captain to do something other than what is planned and that "something" is a violation, the penalty will not be assessed--emergencies override laws.

Does anyone know what the passenger service act is? It's something that prevents people from doing back to back cruises in certain ports. Do my two cruises fall into this category? We didn't book the two at the same time so I don't know if Disney is aware we may qualify for this act. I hear the fine is pretty hefty at $300 per person.

 

 

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The Passenger Vessel Service Act states that no foreign-flagged ship may transport passengers from one US port to a different US port without a stop in a distant foreign port.

A distant foreign port is described as any port NOT in North America, Central America, the Bermuda Islands, orthe West Indies (including the Bahama Islands, but not including the Leeward Islands ofthe Netherlands Antilles, i.e., Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao)

However, Puerto Rico has a waiver. Cruises from San Juan to a different US Port are OK (even without a distant foreign port stop).

Generally, if a ship misses a port causing a violation of the act, the fine is still assessed against the cruise line. But, practically always, the cruise line will request a waiver and it's given.

Thanks, Shmoo!

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