Back to Back Cruise

[True Devonian]

We would appreciate advice from anyone who has recently done a back to back cruise as we have booked for next month and was wondering what we can expect on change over day (we have the same cabin for both cruises). Also, will the launderettes be open and will we have to have a covid test before the start of the second cruise.

[davecttr]

I think in your circumstance you will just get a new cruise card for the second cruise

[Guest ccpm]

Just a new cruise card. May have to settle bill for cruise one at end been asked to do twice but not other three times (cash payer). Didn't need to do a second muster last time but did before. So it seems open to change however they keep you informed via letter to cabin.  

[True Devonian]

7 hours ago, ccpm said:

Just a new cruise card. May have to settle bill for cruise one at end been asked to do twice but not other three times (cash payer). Didn't need to do a second muster last time but did before. So it seems open to change however they keep you informed via letter to cabin.  

Thank you, that is useful to know. Did you have to have a covid test after the first cruise?

[Ljdoc]

We did a b2b in July on Iona. We were part of the original test cruise with no pre departure test and had no test before 2nd cruise. With current testing requirements I would guess you wouldn’t need to test before 2nd cruise.  
 

On the day of changeover it was an unusual experience. In the morning there are a lot of people sitting around at the end of their holiday waiting to get off the ship and the mood is very flat then the ship is virtually empty. All the rooms in the corridor are empty with doors open.  Around 10.30am things come alive again and the buffet starts to be set up then the mood lifts and for most the first day of their holiday begins so there is a great atmosphere on board again. We also got an invite to lunch designed for suite guests. 
 

The laundry is open and we went to it to freshen up a few things in the day too. We used the laundry one other time and always found there was no problem getting a machine. Also you can buy a washing pod/sheet from the shop to do laundry so no need to bring any washing powder. 

I would advise you to let your cabin attendant know you are on a b2b as they only have details of the current week and woke us up quite early to ask when we were leaving!!

 

Also, plan to go to reception around 10.30am when no one is on ship as you need to pick up new cruise cards as your account is settled and your cards no longer work. If you plan to leave room and go back again you will need your new cards. We also had a gold circle on our second cruise card to signify we were on a b2b but not really sure the reason why. 
 

We also got off the ship in Southampton to get a few essentials and on the return we came through the staff access under the escalators and avoided all the queues and were back on the ship in 5 minutes from the terminal. 

[True Devonian]

On 10/15/2022 at 7:20 PM, Ljdoc said:

We did a b2b in July on Iona. We were part of the original test cruise with no pre departure test and had no test before 2nd cruise. With current testing requirements I would guess you wouldn’t need to test before 2nd cruise.  
 

On the day of changeover it was an unusual experience. In the morning there are a lot of people sitting around at the end of their holiday waiting to get off the ship and the mood is very flat then the ship is virtually empty. All the rooms in the corridor are empty with doors open.  Around 10.30am things come alive again and the buffet starts to be set up then the mood lifts and for most the first day of their holiday begins so there is a great atmosphere on board again. We also got an invite to lunch designed for suite guests. 
 

The laundry is open and we went to it to freshen up a few things in the day too. We used the laundry one other time and always found there was no problem getting a machine. Also you can buy a washing pod/sheet from the shop to do laundry so no need to bring any washing powder. 

I would advise you to let your cabin attendant know you are on a b2b as they only have details of the current week and woke us up quite early to ask when we were leaving!!

 

Also, plan to go to reception around 10.30am when no one is on ship as you need to pick up new cruise cards as your account is settled and your cards no longer work. If you plan to leave room and go back again you will need your new cards. We also had a gold circle on our second cruise card to signify we were on a b2b but not really sure the reason why. 
 

We also got off the ship in Southampton to get a few essentials and on the return we came through the staff access under the escalators and avoided all the queues and were back on the ship in 5 minutes from the terminal. 

Thank you Ljdoc, that information is very useful. We will certainly let our cabin steward know so we can have a more relaxing start to the day.

[CRUISENSNOOZE]

Hi, We are on a b2b this weekend. We have free parking for both cruises. Does anyone know if this is a problem. I thought I might leave a note on the seat to say we are on 2 cruises, to stop them bringing the car back to us.

 

Chris

[Ljdoc]

I’d definitely recommend contacting them asap to clarify as effectively you have booked two separate cruises that happen to be back to back. When we were on our first cruise the room attendant didn’t know we were on next cruise until they received paperwork on the morning of the second cruise so could be the same with parking. I have never done parking so not certain and would imagine there is some way of linking the bookings. 

[tring]

On 10/15/2022 at 6:02 PM, True Devonian said:

Thank you, that is useful to know. Did you have to have a covid test after the first cruise?

 

We left Azura on Saturday after a back to back. We did not need to do a test before the second cruise, nor another muster drill.  We did change cabin to one a few doors down, but had the same muster station. 

 

The launderette was open on change over days.  To be fair though, on Azura, what is a change over day for some is just another cruise day for others as cruises overlap (we effectively had two change over days as our second cruise was for more than a week).  I see no reason why the launderette will be closed on other ships though.  The launderettes were open until 10pm every night as well and we found it useful to use one later in the day when they got much quieter.  We wanted to go ashore on those longer port days in Valletta, so did not want to use a launderette then.

 

The one difference was that room service was not available on any change over day, so we still had to go to one of the restaurants on those days, rather than have a leisurely breakfast on the balcony.

 

Information was a little short as well, since we did not get a daily sheet for the change over day, until the next morning, (when we moved into the second cabin), but restaurant staff were happy to tell us about the restaurant opening hours that day.  Also speciality restaurants were not bookable pre cruise for Azura and that meant we could not book any of those for the second cruise before our first cruise ended either, which was quite annoying.

 

Hope this helps.

 

[Ardennais]

29 minutes ago, tring said:

 

We left Azura on Saturday after a back to back. We did not need to do a test before the second cruise, nor another muster drill.  We did change cabin to one a few doors down, but had the same muster station. 

 

The launderette was open on change over days.  To be fair though, on Azura, what is a change over day for some is just another cruise day for others as cruises overlap (we effectively had two change over days as our second cruise was for more than a week).  I see no reason why the launderette will be closed on other ships though.  The launderettes were open until 10pm every night as well and we found it useful to use one later in the day when they got much quieter.  We wanted to go ashore on those longer port days in Valletta, so did not want to use a launderette then.

 

The one difference was that room service was not available on any change over day, so we still had to go to one of the restaurants on those days, rather than have a leisurely breakfast on the balcony.

 

Information was a little short as well, since we did not get a daily sheet for the change over day, until the next morning, (when we moved into the second cabin), but restaurant staff were happy to tell us about the restaurant opening hours that day.  Also speciality restaurants were not bookable pre cruise for Azura and that meant we could not book any of those for the second cruise before our first cruise ended either, which was quite annoying.

 

Hope this helps.

 

You mention the leisurely breakfast on the balcony which is one of my cruise highlights! Were you able to order hot drinks?  

[tring]

11 minutes ago, Ardennais said:

You mention the leisurely breakfast on the balcony which is one of my cruise highlights! Were you able to order hot drinks?  

 

No, but we had hot drink making facilities if course, so did not find that a problem.  We usually asked for extra milk with our breakfasts (written down side of request card) and always got at least a large jug, or even a one litre milk carton a few times.  We often took cups of milk to the cabin from the self service as well, leaving it in the fridge, so no shortage of milk, which we have always found the big problem. I regularly took pieces of fruit to the cabin from the self service as well since could only get grapefruit segments or fruit salad, which is mainly a small amount of melon with breakfast.

 

Only a light breakfast is available in the cabin,  (cereal, limited choice of fruit, juice or smoothy as well as croissants or muffins), but that was fine for us.

 

Edited October 26, 2022 by tring

[tring]

On 10/10/2022 at 6:05 PM, True Devonian said:

We would appreciate advice from anyone who has recently done a back to back cruise as we have booked for next month and was wondering what we can expect on change over day (we have the same cabin for both cruises). Also, will the launderettes be open and will we have to have a covid test before the start of the second cruise.

 

I forgot to mention onboard spend cannot be carried over to the second cruise in a B2B and we have always had our bill finalised for our first cruise before the change over day, as happend this time.

 

[Devon Lady]

We came off a back to back cruise on Iona just over two weeks ago.

 

We received a letter on the Wednesday in our cabin before the Saturday change over detailing what we needed to do. (Collecting new cruise card from 8.00 am, reminder to finish first cruise bill etc  as financially classed as 2 cruises, etc). We were changing cabins, so we had that information. A lot easier for those who were not! However, we could keep our original cabin until the new one was ready (it was available to us from 8.45, so no hanging around).

 

Yes the laundry was open, but all places to eat or drink closed after breakfast until noon.

 

We actually left the ship and went into Southampton. Your new card has a gold sticker so you could return on board via the crew entrance and avoid all the new passengers!

 

We contacted cps and told them, but we did leave a message on the dashboard. As the cruises are different numbers, our keys were actually locked in the safe at the cps pick up shed. So don’t panic if they can’t find your keys, just mention that you are are a back to back passenger. It was soon sorted and only delayed us by 5 minutes tops.

 

There was no covid testing requirements between cruises for us. But obviously things can change.
 

Hope you have a fabulous time. It was our first back to back and it won’t be our last.
 

 

[mcase131]

22 hours ago, tring said:

 

No, but we had hot drink making facilities if course, so did not find that a problem.  We usually asked for extra milk with our breakfasts (written down side of request card) and always got at least a large jug, or even a one litre milk carton a few times.  We often took cups of milk to the cabin from the self service as well, leaving it in the fridge, so no shortage of milk, which we have always found the big problem. I regularly took pieces of fruit to the cabin from the self service as well since could only get grapefruit segments or fruit salad, which is mainly a small amount of melon with breakfast.

 

Only a light breakfast is available in the cabin,  (cereal, limited choice of fruit, juice or smoothy as well as croissants or muffins), but that was fine for us.

 

 

14 hours ago, Devon Lady said:

We came off a back to back cruise on Iona just over two weeks ago.

 

We received a letter on the Wednesday in our cabin before the Saturday change over detailing what we needed to do. (Collecting new cruise card from 8.00 am, reminder to finish first cruise bill etc  as financially classed as 2 cruises, etc). We were changing cabins, so we had that information. A lot easier for those who were not! However, we could keep our original cabin until the new one was ready (it was available to us from 8.45, so no hanging around).

 

Yes the laundry was open, but all places to eat or drink closed after breakfast until noon.

 

We actually left the ship and went into Southampton. Your new card has a gold sticker so you could return on board via the crew entrance and avoid all the new passengers!

 

We contacted cps and told them, but we did leave a message on the dashboard. As the cruises are different numbers, our keys were actually locked in the safe at the cps pick up shed. So don’t panic if they can’t find your keys, just mention that you are are a back to back passenger. It was soon sorted and only delayed us by 5 minutes tops.

 

There was no covid testing requirements between cruises for us. But obviously things can change.
 

Hope you have a fabulous time. It was our first back to back and it won’t be our last.
 

 

Hello, 

I am very confused.  We will be on the Iona Back to Back in January.  I have been reading that people are booking a covid test before they board.  I understood that you can use your own testing kit and then fill out whatever forms that are required.  We are fully vaccinated.  Could you clarify what you did.

Thank you

[mcase131]

Hello, 

I am very confused.  We will be on the Iona Back to Back in January.  I have been reading that people are booking a covid test before they board.  I understood that you can use your own testing kit and then fill out whatever forms that are required.  We are fully vaccinated.  Could you clarify what you did.

Thank you

[Otter18]

On 10/10/2022 at 6:05 PM, True Devonian said:

We would appreciate advice from anyone who has recently done a back to back cruise as we have booked for next month and was wondering what we can expect on change over day (we have the same cabin for both cruises). Also, will the launderettes be open and will we have to have a covid test before the start of the second cruise.

Some cruises require ' an observed LFT' within 2 days of embarkation. If your second cruise requires this, you can book a test (for a fee) at the medical centre on the ship. If you fail, you will be required to leave the ship. If your second cruise does not require ' an observed LFT', only an advisory LFT before embarkation then you are free to continue on your B2B once you have exchanged your cruise card at reception.

[terrierjohn]

10 hours ago, mcase131 said:

Hello, 

I am very confused.  We will be on the Iona Back to Back in January.  I have been reading that people are booking a covid test before they board.  I understood that you can use your own testing kit and then fill out whatever forms that are required.  We are fully vaccinated.  Could you clarify what you did.

Thank you

Southampton european sailings do not require any sort of covid test now, although P&O would like you to do your own LFT test, NHS or chemist bought ones, just to check you are negative, but it is not mandatory and they did not ask us if we had done a test on our recent Iona cruise.

Hope that put your mind at rest.

[mcase131]

2 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

Southampton european sailings do not require any sort of covid test now, although P&O would like you to do your own LFT test, NHS or chemist bought ones, just to check you are negative, but it is not mandatory and they did not ask us if we had done a test on our recent Iona cruise.

Hope that put your mind at rest.

Thank you so much.  We are Canadians and this will be our first cruise with P & O.