To b2b or not to b2b

[matymil]

Ive always wanted to take a back to back cruise but never done it. Our next cruise isnt until 9/16/23 on the Horizon out of Miami. We are going to the ABC islands. Both the cruise before and after are going to Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman and Cozumel, all places that we've never been. My wife and i will be traveling with a 4yr old. Hes already been on two cruises and loved it but ive read that Western Caribbean route isnt the best for young kids? Anyone whos been on b2b's have any advice regarding the ship, the ports or doing a b2b with a kid?

[mondello]

5 hours ago, matymil said:

Ive always wanted to take a back to back cruise but never done it. Our next cruise isnt until 9/16/23 on the Horizon out of Miami. We are going to the ABC islands. Both the cruise before and after are going to Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman and Cozumel, all places that we've never been. My wife and i will be traveling with a 4yr old. Hes already been on two cruises and loved it but ive read that Western Caribbean route isnt the best for young kids? Anyone whos been on b2b's have any advice regarding the ship, the ports or doing a b2b with a kid?

I’d go for it. One of your last chances before the boy starts school. ABC beaches will be awesome; same with Seven Mile Beach in Grand Cayman. I cruise for beach days, don’t even bother fighting the crowds in the pools onboard. Cozumel is loaded with beach clubs, reasonably priced all-inclusive or pay-as-you-go.

 

B2B is easier if you have the same cabin. We got a fruit basket, champagne and a group picture. I actually jumped in a Uber and went to buy extra wine and soda. Had a “In Transit” pass to get back onboard, skip the line. 
 

9/16 is still the tail end of hurricane season. I’d be looking at the first 2 weeks of Dec. on Celebration just to have 2 weeks to try all the food venues. Prices are great. You’ll be fine on Horizon and the ABC itinerary is the bomb diggity.

[redsox1584]

I have not done a b2b but would love to. I was on the Horizon last year and loved the ship. I would be happy to spend 2 weeks on it.

[kdr69]

We did a Western and Eastern Caribbean B2B on the Dream.  Was so nice to not have to get off the ship with everyone else at the end of the first leg. Also gives you more time to try everything out on the ship. Definitely make sure you have the same cabin.  

[Ohio Bucki]

I've done several B2B cruises, they are great. But once you do a B2B that will be all you will want to do in the future, IMHO.

 

I have another B2B that starts in two weeks!!

Edited October 15, 2022 by Ohio Bucki

[bluesman0711]

B2B’s are the best! Definitely get the same cabin. 
 

We knew at the end of our first cruise, 5 days was not enough. We are somewhat ready to leave after 14 days.
 

We also love cruising to the ABC islands and will get to stop in Bonaire for the first time this year, covid prevented us from cruising there in 2019.

[mondello]

The other reason I like a B2B is with the time and expense of getting to the ship, just seems better to do two.

[PA Dutchman]

We have done 6 BtoB over the years, we have the Mardi Gras in Jan and the Celebration in June we figure if we have to fly to Fla do 2. The only thing is get the same cabin for both. The other is Carnival made us get off the ship and say hello to customs and they could care less , they told us if we are not done with the cruise they don't need to see us, but Carnival still plays the game. 14 days makes you feel like you were on a cruise. We have a 14 day Journey cruise in 15 days on the Legend. 

 

[kona_wahine]

That was the exact b2b we did, 8 day and 6 day. It was FABULOUS! Go for it. 

[Guest BasicSailor]

14 hours ago, kdr69 said:

We did a Western and Eastern Caribbean B2B on the Dream.  Was so nice to not have to get off the ship with everyone else at the end of the first leg. Also gives you more time to try everything out on the ship. Definitely make sure you have the same cabin.  

So, you bypassed customs?🤐

[Mic101680]

21 hours ago, BasicSailor said:

So, you bypassed customs?🤐

 I actually just talked to a Carnival rep today about this because I booked my first B2B cruises for January. Carnival will escort you off through customs and then back on board because they are technically multiple trips, but depending on the customs officers, they typically won't bother with you until you are done with the last leg of the last of your B2B cruises because they consider it a single trip. 

 

That said, on my last cruise a few weeks ago, they didn't even look at my passport as they were using a facial recognition thing when we got off the ship. Walked right into the parking garage from the ship! They appeared to be doing random stops of those with passports, but were more thorough with those using an ID and birth certificate 🤷‍♀️

[Mic101680]

22 hours ago, BasicSailor said:

So, you bypassed customs?🤐

 I actually just talked to a Carnival rep today about this because I booked my first B2B cruises for January. Carnival will escort you off through customs and then back on board because they are technically multiple trips, but depending on the customs officers, they typically won't bother with you until you are done with the last leg of the last of your B2B cruises because they consider it a single trip. 

 

That said, on my last cruise a few weeks ago, they didn't even look at my passport as they were using a facial recognition thing when we got off the ship. Walked right into the parking garage from the ship! They appeared to be doing random stops of those with passports, but were more thorough with those using an ID and birth certificate 🤷‍♀️

[nottypixz]

22 hours ago, BasicSailor said:

So, you bypassed customs?🤐

When we were on a B2B on the Miracle, Carnival escorted us first to Sam's PIano bar to get our "boarding" pics and new Sail and Sign cards, then escorted us to the Mad Hatter's lounge where customs was there and checked our passports .... easy peasy and never got off ship!  Awesome experience ... dunno if all ports do this.

[icft]

We currently avoid B2B these days because of covid.

 

Covid is not that big a deal these days. We have taken six cruises since reopening with several of them last year. But on our September cruise we both came down with covid for the first time within a day or two of getting off the ship. Essentially we had a high fever for a day then felt tired for a couple of days and that was it. But lots of folks are coming back from cruises with covid and we would not want a hunk of our last leg of the B2B to be a drag or spent in quarantine.

 

If you catch it on the ship chances are you won't show symptoms until the very end of the first week or shortly thereafter. So one week is fine, but you risk a rotten second leg on a B2B.

[CruizinSusan70]

On 10/15/2022 at 2:18 PM, PA Dutchman said:

The other is Carnival made us get off the ship and say hello to customs and they could care less , they told us if we are not done with the cruise they don't need to see us, but Carnival still plays the game.

Was on a B2B in January on the Celebrity Apex.  Was on a B2B in February on the Mardi Gras.  Was on a B2B in April on the Discovery Princess.   Was on a B2B in June on the Oasis OTS.   Was on another B2B on the MG over Labor Day.

Guess what all four different cruise lines had in common?   We had to get off the ship and have each cruise line swipe our cards.  We then had to wait until each ship was zeroed out before embarkation for the next week could start.  We were obviously the first people back on board after facial recognition.  Did not interact at all with customs on any of the five different B2B's until the back half was completed and we were on our way to the airport (or our car in Bayonne).  So there was no game played by Carnival and Carnival did nothing different or out of the ordinary compared to the other lines.

[CruizinSusan70]

On 10/15/2022 at 12:49 AM, matymil said:

9/16/23 on the Horizon out of Miami. We are going to the ABC islands. Both the cruise before and after are going to Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman and Cozumel, all places that we've never been. My wife and i will be traveling with a 4yr old. Hes already been on two cruises and loved it but ive read that Western Caribbean route isnt the best for young kids?

If you would prefer to do the Southern Itinerary that the Horizon is doing combined with the Eastern, visiting Amber Cove, San Juan and St. Maarten, then the B2B on the Celebration on 9/9/23, followed by a 7 day on 9/17/23 would be an option.  The Celebration does the exact same 8 day itinerary you have reserved the following week out of Miami on the Horizon and the eastern is a 7 day instead of the 6 day you're thinking about.  The 6 day on the Celebration is on 9/3 and goes to the west.   Both are Miami embarkation ports.

[matymil]

On 10/15/2022 at 8:03 AM, kdr69 said:

We did a Western and Eastern Caribbean B2B on the Dream.  Was so nice to not have to get off the ship with everyone else at the end of the first leg. Also gives you more time to try everything out on the ship. Definitely make sure you have the same cabin.  

Thank you for the tip. We like the oceanview with the toddler. If we pull the trigger, we'll try for the same room

[matymil]

On 10/15/2022 at 6:20 AM, mondello said:

I’d go for it. One of your last chances before the boy starts school. ABC beaches will be awesome; same with Seven Mile Beach in Grand Cayman. I cruise for beach days, don’t even bother fighting the crowds in the pools onboard. Cozumel is loaded with beach clubs, reasonably priced all-inclusive or pay-as-you-go.

 

B2B is easier if you have the same cabin. We got a fruit basket, champagne and a group picture. I actually jumped in a Uber and went to buy extra wine and soda. Had a “In Transit” pass to get back onboard, skip the line. 
 

9/16 is still the tail end of hurricane season. I’d be looking at the first 2 weeks of Dec. on Celebration just to have 2 weeks to try all the food venues. Prices are great. You’ll be fine on Horizon and the ABC itinerary is the bomb diggity.

I didnt even think about going to get more wine in-between, what a great idea. We've been to the A/C parts of the ABC and we loved them both.

[matymil]

On 10/15/2022 at 12:28 PM, mondello said:

The other reason I like a B2B is with the time and expense of getting to the ship, just seems better to do two.

Thats what i told my wife LOL!

 

[matymil]

On 10/15/2022 at 2:18 PM, PA Dutchman said:

We have done 6 BtoB over the years, we have the Mardi Gras in Jan and the Celebration in June we figure if we have to fly to Fla do 2. The only thing is get the same cabin for both. The other is Carnival made us get off the ship and say hello to customs and they could care less , they told us if we are not done with the cruise they don't need to see us, but Carnival still plays the game. 14 days makes you feel like you were on a cruise. We have a 14 day Journey cruise in 15 days on the Legend. 

 

Multiple people have said to get the same cabin. Im assuming if we get the same cabin we dont have to pack up in-between sailings?

[knagl]

5 hours ago, matymil said:

I didnt even think about going to get more wine in-between, what a great idea. 

 

If you do a B2B you are permitted to bring your wine allotment for both cruises on at the beginning -- you are not required to make a wine run on the turnaround day.

 

5 hours ago, matymil said:

Multiple people have said to get the same cabin. Im assuming if we get the same cabin we dont have to pack up in-between sailings?

 

Correct, and that's the reason people are suggesting that.

[Pyxie]

Regarding your concern on the Western Caribbean route, I've never heard that and I can't imagine why it wouldn't be a good route with kids. My kids have done it multiple times and we always enjoy it. I'd totally go for it if you can swing it.

[grandmacani]

Never done b2b with a little one but once you’ve done it you’ll be spoiled. We’ve done 10 day Mediterranean with a 14 day transatlantic. Twice. Now 6 or 7 days aren’t enough. We’ve got a B2B2B, 20 days, in November. Lucky for us we can be away for any length of time. Once you do it you’ll be planning the next ones.

[matymil]

6 hours ago, Pyxie said:

Regarding your concern on the Western Caribbean route, I've never heard that and I can't imagine why it wouldn't be a good route with kids. My kids have done it multiple times and we always enjoy it. I'd totally go for it if you can swing it.

It was only really Ocho Rios that i had heard bad things about. Basically that its the Nassau of the Western Caribbean. Basically if you go on an excursion, youre fine just dont go wandering off by yourself. 

[matymil]

2 hours ago, grandmacani said:

Never done b2b with a little one but once you’ve done it you’ll be spoiled. We’ve done 10 day Mediterranean with a 14 day transatlantic. Twice. Now 6 or 7 days aren’t enough. We’ve got a B2B2B, 20 days, in November. Lucky for us we can be away for any length of time. Once you do it you’ll be planning the next ones.

I did a 12 day and honestly didnt like it but its become obvious that it had more to do with leaving out of NYC and the fact that it was an inaugural cruise.