Back to back cruise

[Reijo]

I have a B2B planned for September and wonder what the current procedure is between cruises.  Do you get off the ship, does a custom’s official come on board (which was done at one time), what time do you get off and back on, is breakfast only served in Windjammer, etc.

[time4u2go]

What port?

[Biker19]

8 minutes ago, Reijo said:

Do you get off the ship, does a custom’s official come on board (which was done at one time), what time do you get off and back on, is breakfast only served in Windjammer, etc

That varies by ship/port/date.

[Sunshine3601]

On my recent b2b on Anthem we stayed onboard and customs agents came onboard to the theater.  Easy peasy.

Free Covid test is done the morning of last full day.

Edited April 28, 2022 by Sunshine3601

[Reijo]

13 minutes ago, time4u2go said:

What port?

Out of Port Canaveral on Mariner in September

[wolfcathorse]

Out of PC on Indy January 2022 and we were escorted off, waited in the baggage area until the ship got a 0 count from CBP, then were escorted back on. We met in the Star Lounge at 9 am, were escorted off around 9:45, and were back on by 10:30

[OCSC Mike]

8 minutes ago, wolfcathorse said:

Out of PC on Indy January 2022 and we were escorted off, waited in the baggage area until the ship got a 0 count from CBP, then were escorted back on. We met in the Star Lounge at 9 am, were escorted off around 9:45, and were back on by 10:30

Thanks for sharing this. We may be doing our first B2B on Indy out of PC in July. I knew the gist of how it worked but nice to hear the exact specifics.

Edited April 28, 2022 by OCSC Mike

[davekathy]

6 hours ago, Reijo said:

I have a B2B planned for September and wonder what the current procedure is between cruises.  Do you get off the ship, does a custom’s official come on board (which was done at one time), what time do you get off and back on, is breakfast only served in Windjammer, etc.

You will receive a detailed TAD letter in your cabin a day or two prior to TAD advising you of the TAD process/procedures, where and when to meet and what you will need to bring with you for your specific cruise on TAD. You also will be notified when and where you need to meet on day 6 for your covid tests. 

[Reijo]

6 hours ago, wolfcathorse said:

Out of PC on Indy January 2022 and we were escorted off, waited in the baggage area until the ship got a 0 count from CBP, then were escorted back on. We met in the Star Lounge at 9 am, were escorted off around 9:45, and were back on by 10:30

Thanks for your response, it’s much appreciated.

[Reijo]

1 hour ago, davekathy said:

You will receive a detailed TAD letter in your cabin a day or two prior to TAD advising you of the TAD process/procedures, where and when to meet and what you will need to bring with you for your specific cruise on TAD. You also will be notified when and where you need to meet on day 6 for your covid tests. 

Thanks for your response.

[island lady]

20 hours ago, Reijo said:

Out of Port Canaveral on Mariner in September

 

They vary.   Once in PC we were kept waiting in line in the baggage claim area for 45 minutes, after the waiting in line prior to that in the hallway for 1/2 hour.  (supposedly fumigating the promenade). Then we were ushered back onto the ship.  Was tough for some that could not stand that long, with no place to sit. 

 

On our following cruise, we were ushered into the front section of the seating area inside the terminal.  That wait was an hour, but at least we had places to sit, and restrooms for those that needed.  

 

Now...who knows.  I am B2B on Harmony next month.  

 

On EX last month...it was easy peasy, as customs came on board into the forward lounge, and we simply walked past to show our passports, then were free to go.   

 

I wish Port Canaveral made it that simple.  

[OCSC Mike]

Thanks for sharing the less positive experiences... just as I'm considering my 1st ever B2B. 🙈

 

Hope it goes more smoothly for ya when I'll be joining on 5/29.

Edited April 29, 2022 by OCSC Mike

[island lady]

1 hour ago, OCSC Mike said:

Thanks for sharing the less positive experiences... just as I'm considering my 1st ever B2B. 🙈

 

Hope it goes more smoothly for ya when I'll be joining on 5/29.

 

 

I actually adore TAD....(Turn Around Day).   It means I don't have to get off the ship to go home and do laundry.  😄 

 

Whatever it is...it is....and still happy to be able to do another "go round" on the ship.  😉 

[Sunshine3601]

2 hours ago, island lady said:

 

They vary.   Once in PC we were kept waiting in line in the baggage claim area for 45 minutes, after the waiting in line prior to that in the hallway for 1/2 hour.  (supposedly fumigating the promenade). Then we were ushered back onto the ship.  Was tough for some that could not stand that long, with no place to sit. 

 

On our following cruise, we were ushered into the front section of the seating area inside the terminal.  That wait was an hour, but at least we had places to sit, and restrooms for those that needed.  

 

Now...who knows.  I am B2B on Harmony next month.  

 

On EX last month...it was easy peasy, as customs came on board into the forward lounge, and we simply walked past to show our passports, then were free to go.   

 

I wish Port Canaveral made it that simple.  

On our last b2b on Anthem customs was easy with agents coming onboard and viewing our passports in the theater but then we had to go from the theater to Boleros and sit there while they fumigated the ship.   

Give us coffee in the theater then coffee in Boleros plus the latte with extra espresso I had with my vouchers that morning,  I left to go the bathroom.   OMG, you would have thought I was stealing or hijacking the ship a woman Officer freaked out at me and told me  I was Not allowed to leave the bar.   I told her I must go to the bathroom, after saying this several times she let me go   

There was absolutely no one in the promenade area just one lonely girl cleaning the ladies room.   

[island lady]

Just now, Sunshine3601 said:

On our last b2b on Anthem customs was easy with agents coming onboard and viewing our passports in the theater but then we had to go from the theater to Boleros and sit there while they fumigated the ship.   

Give us coffee in the theater then coffee in Boleros plus the latte with extra espresso I had with my vouchers that morning,  I left to go the bathroom.   OMG, you would have thought I was stealing or hijacking the ship a woman Officer freaked out at me and told me  I was Not allowed to leave the bar.   I told her I must go to the bathroom, after saying this several times she let me go   

There was absolutely no one in the promenade area just one lonely girl cleaning the ladies room.   

 

Uh...huh....she would not have wanted to call in a "code brown".  😉 

[island lady]

duplicate

Edited April 29, 2022 by island lady

[Cigar King]

4 hours ago, island lady said:

They vary.   Once in PC we were kept waiting in line in the baggage claim area for 45 minutes, after the waiting in line prior to that in the hallway for 1/2 hour.  (supposedly fumigating the promenade). Then we were ushered back onto the ship.  Was tough for some that could not stand that long, with no place to sit. 

Was this on the Harmony in November/December?  We were on that cruise and my wife was just recovering from a broken foot.  Terrible.  I ended up finding her a wheelchair, because she was in a lot of pain waiting.  That's been the worst turn-around day we have experienced.

[djsinric]

Sad that our first b2b is in September on Harmony after reading these. I was really hoping for a great experience on that turn around day. They give me coffee, they better let me go to a bathroom!

[OCSC Mike]

4 minutes ago, djsinric said:

Sad that our first b2b is in September on Harmony after reading these. I was really hoping for a great experience on that turn around day. They give me coffee, they better let me go to a bathroom!

 

You'll be fine. Be happy you're on a B2B. I'd hope the few hours you spend on TAD likely won't have much of an impact on your overall cruise.

Edited July 30, 2022 by OCSC Mike

[djsinric]

It certainly will not. Always happy to be on a cruise and we try to always stay positive.

[davekathy]

37 minutes ago, djsinric said:

Sad that our first b2b is in September on Harmony after reading these. I was really hoping for a great experience on that turn around day. They give me coffee, they better let me go to a bathroom!

Did a B2B cruise on the Explorer, March. The TAD experience on that cruise was the same as others in the past. Nice lunch (limited menu) in the MDR, access to our cabin at anytime, limited access to the ship services and relaxing. Could have gotten an in transit pass but one and done with that.  Not sure what else the staff could have done to improve the day on the ship before general boarding started and all venues opened up.  The only difference is we had to do a covid test the day prior to TAD. No biggie with that. Negative is a positive. OK I coined that phrase from another poster, @island lady. 

[GEORGIEGIRL]

Quick question. You never mentioned if you are doing B2B in the same cabin or have to change cabins. That would be important to be prepared for as well if you have to change cabins.

[island lady]

We absolutely prefer to keep the same cabin...and usually won't book unless we can...but there are times when we could not avoid changing cabins when we added on a leg later.   And those few times...the cabins were very close to each other.   I actually helped our cabin attendant move our stuff when that happened.  Was not that big of a deal....but not something I like to do.  

[davekathy]

Another vote for staying in the same cabin when doing a B2B cruise. Once we set up camp we consider ourselves homesteaders for the entire cruises. 

[Surfguyxxx]

On 4/28/2022 at 2:29 PM, Sunshine3601 said:

On my recent b2b on Anthem we stayed onboard and customs agents came onboard to the theater.  Easy peasy.

Free Covid test is done the morning of last full day.

That's great.  I've always had to get off, walk around and get back on.  Recently it was a group of about 40 or so and it was not fun.