Back-to-Back

[jules815]

Planning stages of our first ever back-to-back cruise; probably on the Allure in September.

 

For those of you who have ever taken one, did you ever feel like it was too long? I can't imagine feeling that way; we're always so sad on day 6 when we have to put our luggage out in the hallway.

 

Sitting here at my desk, having cruise fantasies about what it will be like. :rolleyes:

[Clarea]

We've done a few 14 day B2B cruises, and have not yet felt that it was too long.

[PerferWarmWeather]

We did a B2B last month and it was great. Just booked our first B2B2B.

Edited March 10, 2014 by PerferWarmWeather

[jules815]

We did a B2B last month and it was great. Just booked our first B2B2B.

 

:eek: Same ship?! Which one??

 

That sounds awesome!

[mo&fran]

Most of our RCL cruises have been B2B or more. Longest one was 28 days. Around our house so far, there has been no such thing as too long.

Its best when you have the same stateroom for both legs, then you don't have to anything to the room on turnaround day.

If you don't , then you will have to pack everything except the closet , and your stateroom attendent will move it for you.

When we did Oasis, 2 weeks gave us mouch more time to explore this fantastic ship. We have not done Allure yet, but will do the same.

But is cool to know when the first leg is over, your vacation is not over.

[PerferWarmWeather]

:eek: Same ship?! Which one??

 

That sounds awesome!

 

Last month was Serenade. The next one is Independence.:D

[JaxieWaxie]

My favorite part of doing a B2B? The few hours between sailings where it's basically just you and the crew!

 

I did one on the Majesty and there was only one other guest doing it, so I walked around the ship taking all of the photos I wanted without having to worry about random strangers getting in the shot. Then I hung out by the pool and it felt like it was aaaaaaaall mine!

 

And then other people showed up and my bubble burst.

[talia-co]

we have done 2 B2B cruises on the Allure. We never felt it was too long. It is the perfect amount of days for us; hence, 2 more B2Bs this year!

[jules815]

I think this actually may be happening! The one thing my husband was being weird about was using two weeks of vacation back to back. He's been with the company for almost 21 years, has 6 weeks, and always loses a few weeks because he never takes it all. He just texted me that he asked his boss how he'd feel about him being gone for two consecutive weeks, and there's no problem with it. Might have to do third and fourth weeks instead of first and second. :eek::D:eek::D

[pcur]

We are doing a b2b2b soon: first two legs are the Radiance; last leg is HAL. This will be 50 days total, with a few days in between legs 2 and 3.

 

We can hardly wait!!!

 

We have done several b2b cruises with the last cruise before a Transatlantic, or the first cruise after the TA. Loved those, too.

 

We did a 28 day Princess cruise last year, and also loved that.

 

The longer cruises include a lot of sea days, so if one is not happy with that, it's better to do two port-intensive cruises b2b.

[sailingduo]

We did our 1st back to back in February on Independence. Our 1st thought was it may be too long for us. After the 1st week, we loved the idea of being able to stay on the ship. I have already booked our cruise for next February, and yes it will be another b2b. We live in the Midwest, it seems to make sense since we have to pay for airfare anyway - just to take advantage of being gone longer. And after this winter the longer we were out of MN the better!

[Lady Hudson]

I have done 52 consecutive days. Loved every minute of it! And I agree--that time when there are very few passengers onboard is special.

[joandian]

We have done two long BTB. 30 and 28 days and we loved every minute. We have another two cruises coming up soon but on 2 different ships. The second leaving the same day the TA arrives. Not a BTB but a total of 27 days.

[travelgoddess1]

We did a b4b in 2009 when Mariner relocated from Port Canaveral to Los Angeles. It was a total of 55 days, and we loved it. We do not do single cruises any more because of the high cost of air fare.

 

Our next b2b cruise is 29 days, sailing from Sydney to Vancouver, through Honolulu.

 

I think when you know you'll be gone a longer period of time, your brain automatically resets and adjusts to the extended cruise length. :)

Edited March 10, 2014 by travelgoddess1

[jules815]

We did our 1st back to back in February on Independence. Our 1st thought was it may be too long for us. After the 1st week, we loved the idea of being able to stay on the ship. I have already booked our cruise for next February, and yes it will be another b2b. We live in the Midwest, it seems to make sense since we have to pay for airfare anyway - just to take advantage of being gone longer. And after this winter the longer we were out of MN the better!

 

I hear ya! Chicago here, and another 4-8" tomorrow night into Wednesday. It was 50 today.

 

We really enjoy dinner in the dining room, but want to be able to take advantage of some of the other dining venues on Allure. With a back to back, we'll be able to do that, and still enjoy plenty of meals in the MDR as well.

[Desertbelle]

Our longest B2B was a total of 30 days and our next one will be 26 days. We love the longer cruises. So relaxing and enjoyable! For next year we are doing a B2B2B, 28 days! Yippee!!! :D

[davekathy]

Planning stages of our first ever back-to-back cruise; probably on the Allure in September.

 

For those of you who have ever taken one, did you ever feel like it was too long? I can't imagine feeling that way; we're always so sad on day 6 when we have to put our luggage out in the hallway.

 

Sitting here at my desk, having cruise fantasies about what it will be like. :rolleyes:

 

The next best thing to a 14 night Cruise is a B2B Cruise. Go for it!

[At Sea 4Ever]

Planning stages of our first ever back-to-back cruise; probably on the Allure in September.

 

 

 

For those of you who have ever taken one, did you ever feel like it was too long? I can't imagine feeling that way; we're always so sad on day 6 when we have to put our luggage out in the hallway.

 

 

 

Sitting here at my desk, having cruise fantasies about what it will be like. :rolleyes:

 

 

We did a B2B on the allure and after two weeks there was still things we didn't do. It feels so good to not have to put your luggage out that first week!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[travelgoddess1]

We did a B2B on the allure and after two weeks there was still things we didn't do. It feels so good to not have to put your luggage out that first week!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

 

On Allure and Oasis, you need 2weeks minimum to see everything. And even that might not be enough.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[Morecruisesplz]

Planning stages of our first ever back-to-back cruise; probably on the Allure in September.

 

For those of you who have ever taken one, did you ever feel like it was too long? I can't imagine feeling that way; we're always so sad on day 6 when we have to put our luggage out in the hallway.

 

Sitting here at my desk, having cruise fantasies about what it will be like. :rolleyes:

 

Did double b2b's in Jan/Feb for a total 4 weeks onboard. It seemed like we just getting settled in when we left Lauderdale and the Freedom to head to San Juan for 2 weeks on the Adventure. Then 2 weeks there just was not enough. You'll have a ball.

[gaylemh]

When you do a b2b, can you stay in your stateroom on turnaround day, or do you have to wait until 1:30 like everyone else to go back to your cabin? Can you sleep in? I'm thinking of doing a b2b on Explorer in September.

[Merion_Mom]

When you do a b2b, can you stay in your stateroom on turnaround day, or do you have to wait until 1:30 like everyone else to go back to your cabin? Can you sleep in? I'm thinking of doing a b2b on Explorer in September.

 

Gail, you can't just sleep in, although if you are not changing cabins, you can sleep later and tell your cabin attendant not to bother with your cabin on turnaround morning.

 

But you have to get up and go meet the B2B group and get your new SeaPass card and be led back into the terminal where you do a quick passport/customs/immigration check with the officers in the terminal.

 

When you get back on the ship ("usually" a quick and painless process), you can get back into your cabin, unlike those just boarding who have to wait until 1-ish.

 

But if you don't get up in time for breakfast (served until about 8:30), there won't be any food available until the Windjammer opens for lunch.

Edited March 11, 2014 by Merion_Mom

[silvermcs]

We have always had 7 day cruises with one 3 day. This past summer we had our first 14 day Med cruise. It will be hard to go back. So this summer we are booked for our first B2B on FOS. Thank you all for the good info. We have adjoining cabins and were able to book the same ones on both legs. Sounds like that was the right thing to do.

[Aussie Lee]

Our longest B2B was for 35 nights around Australia/New Zealand. Our upcoming cruise will be a B2B of 26 nights.

We love them. There is no cruise that is too long. :)

[Clarea]

We did a b4b in 2009 when Mariner relocated from Port Canaveral to Los Angeles. It was a total of 55 days, and we loved it. ...

That's the one we really wished we could have done. What a special cruise! Who knows if they will ever do that itinerary again. We were cruising on Monarch the next day, so were having dinner at Fishlips, and watched Mariner leave PC for the last time.