Protocol for B2B cruises

[haynesra]

4 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

You will have a letter delivered to your room as well as a meeting to give full details.   The protocol is usually the same but sometime you are processed aboard other times (most common) in the Terminal.

 

The letter pretty much tells you everything you will need to know .

 

 

 

This does answer just about everything - had question on luggage when changing rooms - answered; credit card use - answered; and then credits/wifi minutes don't transfer (Darn!). Thanks for the info!!!

 

[Jim_Iain]

25 minutes ago, haynesra said:

This does answer just about everything - had question on luggage when changing rooms - answered; credit card use - answered; and then credits/wifi minutes don't transfer (Darn!). Thanks for the info!!!

 

 

At the B2B meetings -  you will be surprised by some of the questions that will be asked.  At some of the B2B meetings they have had raffles and given away free Specialty Dining,  wine and laundry bags.  

 

By the way.   With CC's you can change your credit card at anytime using the app even after the cruise begins.

[Northern Aurora]

50 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

......

 

Downside it was such a mess at the port with some waiting 2 hours for cabs that we didn't even get off the ship and didn't see Reykjavik. 

 

OK -- I have to ask.  You have described the situation on TAD in Reykjavik before.  We have done two land trips to Iceland and one cruise.  Why didn't you just take the little ferry over to Videy Island?  The ferry is about a six minute walk from the cruise terminal and the trip over to Videy is less than five minutes.  Beautiful walking trails and views across the bay to Reykjavik.

[SusieAV8R]

10 hours ago, Cellagirl said:

Thank you!  This will help a lot🎉🎉

It is VERY stress-free.  DH and I did our first B2B2B (in for a "shilling, in for a pound" ) and it all went so smoothly!  (And I am a worrier)

2 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

We hand an interesting B2B in Reykjavik.    It was a total mess for both departing and arriving passengers as they just didn't have the infrastructure of busses and taxi's to handle the passenger load. 

 

The night before we were told that Iceland authorities considered us in-transit since we had stops before and after in Iceland.    They gave us our new sea passes and asked for our old ones to scan us off the fist cruise.  We got them back later.  

 

We had to change rooms but our room attendant got our room ready while we were at breakfast and and we had full access of the ship until General Boarding began.  

 

Downside it was such a mess at the port with some waiting 2 hours for cabs that we didn't even get off the ship and didn't see Reykjavik. 

 

[Northern Aurora]

8 minutes ago, SusieAV8R said:

It is VERY stress-free.  DH and I did our first B2B2B (in for a "shilling, in for a pound" ) and it all went so smoothly!  (And I am a worrier)

 

 

 

I periodically sense that some folks, when doing their first B2B, over-think the process.  For example, at B2B meetings the question about whether B2B passengers place their luggage out the night when departing passengers do so really surprises me.  Why would Celebrity go through the work of removing luggage from the ship, X-raying it again and then move it back onto the ship on what is a very busy day?  Folks need to remember that there will be a number of B2B passengers and the ship crew/staff have done this before.

[SusieAV8R]

5 minutes ago, Northern Aurora said:

 

 

I periodically sense Right on, some folks, when doing their first B2B, over-think the process.  For example, at B2B meetings the question about whether B2B passengers place their luggage out the night when departing passengers do so really surprises me.  Why would Celebrity go through the work of removing luggage from the ship, X-raying it again and then move it back onto the ship on what is a very busy day?  Folks need to remember that there will be a number of B2B passengers and the ship crew/staff have done this before.

 

5 minutes ago, Northern Aurora said:

 

 

I periodically sense that some folks, when doing their first B2B, over-think the process.  For example, at B2B meetings the question about whether B2B passengers place their luggage out the night when departing passengers do so really surprises me.  Why would Celebrity go through the work of removing luggage from the ship, X-raying it again and then move it back onto the ship on what is a very busy day?  Folks need to remember that there will be a number of B2B passengers and the ship crew/staff have done this before.

You covered the salient points, Northern Aurora 🙂. 

[MamaFej]

3 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

We hand an interesting B2B in Reykjavik.    It was a total mess for both departing and arriving passengers as they just didn't have the infrastructure of busses and taxi's to handle the passenger load. 

 

The night before we were told that Iceland authorities considered us in-transit since we had stops before and after in Iceland.    They gave us our new sea passes and asked for our old ones to scan us off the fist cruise.  We got them back later.  

 

We had to change rooms but our room attendant got our room ready while we were at breakfast and and we had full access of the ship until General Boarding began.  

 

Downside it was such a mess at the port with some waiting 2 hours for cabs that we didn't even get off the ship and didn't see Reykjavik. 

A bit off topic: I do think that part of the Reykjavik problem is the timing. That weekend is a huge holiday in Iceland. My understanding is that nearly 1/3 of the population of the country comes to Reykjavik. That puts undue stress on the hotel, restaurant, and cab systems. Fortunately, we had a transfer to the port as part of our 6 day self-drive tour. 

 

We had planned to drop off our bags, get our sea passes, then go to Flying Over Iceland. Yeah... no. It was a zoo out there!

 

Celebrity picked the same weekend for the Reykjavik turn around this year, too. We are doing the cruise again, as our friends who had been unable to board with us because they tested positive upon arriving the night before are doing it, along with a group of family and friends, and they really wanted us to come along. We allowed them to twist our arms. Gonna drive to the few areas we haven't gotten to on our previous trips. 

 

Back on topic: we did not have to disembark for our Ravenna, Italy, nor our Boston turn around days last year. We chose to on one of those days.

 

[cruisestitch]

2 hours ago, Northern Aurora said:

 

 

I periodically sense that some folks, when doing their first B2B, over-think the process.  For example, at B2B meetings the question about whether B2B passengers place their luggage out the night when departing passengers do so really surprises me.  Why would Celebrity go through the work of removing luggage from the ship, X-raying it again and then move it back onto the ship on what is a very busy day?  Folks need to remember that there will be a number of B2B passengers and the ship crew/staff have done this before.

But often that is exactly what happens in Australia. If the first cruise in a back to back sequence is all within Australia, no problem. But if the first cruise took you out of the country, it is highly likely that you need to pack your stuff, take it to shore, go through customs, and then drag it all back to the ship.  Seems to be an Australia thing.

Edited February 18, 2023 by cruisestitch

[MamaFej]

1 hour ago, cruisestitch said:

But often that is exactly what happens in Australia. If the first cruise in a back to back sequence is all within Australia, no problem. But if the first cruise took you out of the country, it is highly likely that you need to pack your stuff, take it to shore, go through customs, and then drag it all back to the ship.  Seems to be an Australia thing.

Thanks for this information. We have 5 cruises out of Sydney coming up very soon. The first 3 are B2B2B, but only the 3rd leaves Australia, so I guess we are clear. We do have to change cabins between cruises 1&2. Cruises 3 and 5 are three days apart, so we have to pack up anyway. 

[Northern Aurora]

2 hours ago, cruisestitch said:

But often that is exactly what happens in Australia. If the first cruise in a back to back sequence is all within Australia, no problem. But if the first cruise took you out of the country, it is highly likely that you need to pack your stuff, take it to shore, go through customs, and then drag it all back to the ship.  Seems to be an Australia thing.

 

K:  We've done B2B turnaround days in Sydney several times.  These were done pre-pandemic and we were actually on the Solstice on what would have been a B2B2B2B series in March, 2020.    We flew out of Sydney the day Australian Border Force closed the border.  

 

Our turnaround days in Sydney were on the now departed Century and also on the Solstice (several times).  We have done legs which were out of Australia to such areas of the South Pacific, Bali and also New Zealand.

 

We never have had to pack out bags, put them out the night before disembarkation with the majority of the disembarking passengers, and then re-board as if it was embarkation day.  So when did this exactly happen to you?   Inquiring minds want to know.  Pray tell.

[Jim_Iain]

16 hours ago, Northern Aurora said:

 

OK -- I have to ask.  You have described the situation on TAD in Reykjavik before.  We have done two land trips to Iceland and one cruise.  Why didn't you just take the little ferry over to Videy Island?  The ferry is about a six minute walk from the cruise terminal and the trip over to Videy is less than five minutes.  Beautiful walking trails and views across the bay to Reykjavik.

I guess we could have done that if we used our Transit Pass and left the ship early.   While we did get our SeaPass for the new cruise we couldn't use them until the Zeroed out the ship.   The didn't zero out until about 10:00 and if I recall we had to be back aboard at 2:00 PM     You may recall Iain is not a morning person. 

 

We originally booked a Foody Tour but with the early departure would have to cut short and grab a cab back to the port and we were hearing no cabs were available.  

 

 

[Jim_Iain]

14 hours ago, MamaFej said:

A bit off topic: I do think that part of the Reykjavik problem is the timing. That weekend is a huge holiday in Iceland. My understanding is that nearly 1/3 of the population of the country comes to Reykjavik. That puts undue stress on the hotel, restaurant, and cab systems. Fortunately, we had a transfer to the port as part of our 6 day self-drive tour. 

 

We had planned to drop off our bags, get our sea passes, then go to Flying Over Iceland. Yeah... no. It was a zoo out there!

 

Celebrity picked the same weekend for the Reykjavik turn around this year, too. We are doing the cruise again, as our friends who had been unable to board with us because they tested positive upon arriving the night before are doing it, along with a group of family and friends, and they really wanted us to come along. We allowed them to twist our arms. Gonna drive to the few areas we haven't gotten to on our previous trips. 

 

Back on topic: we did not have to disembark for our Ravenna, Italy, nor our Boston turn around days last year. We chose to on one of those days.

 

 

Interesting.   Since we were not originating or departing Reykjavik I didn't know that.   All I could see were the huge lines of people waiting for transportation.   Once they started boarding we heard horror stories from the Retreat Host and passengers. 

[Jim_Iain]

10 hours ago, Northern Aurora said:

 

K:  We've done B2B turnaround days in Sydney several times.  These were done pre-pandemic and we were actually on the Solstice on what would have been a B2B2B2B series in March, 2020.    We flew out of Sydney the day Australian Border Force closed the border.  

 

Our turnaround days in Sydney were on the now departed Century and also on the Solstice (several times).  We have done legs which were out of Australia to such areas of the South Pacific, Bali and also New Zealand.

 

We never have had to pack out bags, put them out the night before disembarkation with the majority of the disembarking passengers, and then re-board as if it was embarkation day.  So when did this exactly happen to you?   Inquiring minds want to know.  Pray tell.

 

I agree since I will be doing a B2B in Sydney in December.    We have the same room and sure wouldn't look forward to packing up everything only to have to unpack.  

 

If I recall Gerry's earlier post, they do have an unusual protocol and B2B's have to wait in terminal or tour instead of being immediately returned to the ship prior to general boarding.

[Peteymil]

On 2/17/2023 at 5:49 AM, Cellagirl said:

How does  it work for ending one cruise and starting the other?  We have the same cabin. This is our first B2B

Thanks

You didn't mention the ports. 
we only did one back to back (Rome) and never had to get off the ship. 
 

In contrast we just did Auckland to Sydney and the B2B passengers had to pack up, put their suitcases out the night before like everybody else, and leave the ship in the morning. Nobody was allowed back on until after 10:30 AM. This was due to an Australian law.