Why B2B instead of booking one longer cruise?

[DCLMP]

I didn't care for it I'd rather just do a 7-night cruise.

 

[insureman]

We did the Wish as a b2b in January just to try the new ship with more days. Waste of money because we hated the Wish. We did a b2b on the Wonder in the early 2000s because it was less expensive than a 7 day Magic. We were the only passengers on board doing that b2b and they walked us off and then right back on with no wait. This is pre social media so it wasn't a thing. It was also a time when you could get great deals for upgrades at the port.

 

[Marc D]

Reasons for doing a B2B for us :

- Experiencing a specific ship that only does shorter cruise. That's why we did a B2B on Dream a few years ago and will probably sail Wish in the future.
- More convenient dates or departure port than the competing 7-nights cruise.
- Two stops at CC and two fireworks shows
- Two opportunities to see the main shows
- Two free Palo meals

 

[OpieDoodle]

I can see the benefits for sure! Maybe in the future its something we would consider, especially with the family trips. My whole family (brothers and family, parents, etc all go, 15+ people depending on who goes) and I doubt they'll ever do anything more than a 3 night MAYBE a 4 night. Adding another cruise onto that sounds like a good idea!

 

[CamColt]

I can see the benefits for sure! Maybe in the future its something we would consider, especially with the family trips. My whole family (brothers and family, parents, etc all go, 15+ people depending on who goes) and I doubt they'll ever do anything more than a 3 night MAYBE a 4 night. Adding another cruise onto that sounds like a good idea!

Here's my confession, LOL! DS is getting married on a 3 night Dream next April. The cruise disembarks on a Monday and that happens to be my vacation week(I work in a school). DH and I may have booked the 4 night going out that Monday...just in case we want to make it longer. I'm not sure if anything will be happening after the wedding on land as they are not going on their honeymoon right away, but if everyone is heading home and DS and DIL are getting right back to work(they live in FL), then I'm staying on the cruise!

 

[kiford]

We did our B2B (Dream) because the schedule worked better for us and we wanted to spend time on the ship rather than the ports. We liked the idea of being able to do multiple Palo/Remy nights but still hit all three MDRs and see all of the shows without having to commit to it every night. Price wasn't even a factor for us.

 

[Clarkson U]

Never done a B2B but we would love to do one. I think economically it is probably cheaper to just do one longer cruise, but I think it would be cool to be able to get off last (or not at all) and get right back on an empty ship and take some pictures and explore areas that you might not otherwise see with so many people on board.

 

[Snowwhyt]

Several things helpful on a B2B
•Dates of travel where 7 day offers don’t meet needs of your schedule
•Some members or traveling party can’t get away full week while others can
•Start on one ship…finish on another
•Two or more visits to CC

 

[Mikelever]

Did it once on the Wish when we first sailed on it thinking doing 3 + 4 would give us 7 days to explore the new ship. Would not do it again. After the first 3 days on the Wish we had kind of seen enough but had 4 more days to go. Then two stops in Nassau in 6 days was also too much. And the turn around day wastes a lot of time. If you don't have the same stateroom you have to pack up everything and unpack again. You still have to get off in the morning and then spend a few hours just sitting in the terminal before re-boarding. And when you get back on board not everything is available like it would be on the 4th day of a 7 day cruise. Some people love it but we'd prefer a 7 day cruise any time.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

•Start on one ship…finish on another

If you do 2 cruises one after the other on different ships, it's typically called a Side to Side not Back to Back. At least on most cruise group forums/

 

[JM_97]

If you do 2 cruises one after the other on different ships, it's typically called a Side to Side not Back to Back. At least on most cruise group forums/

I've heard stories about people completing one trip in Miami/Port Canaveral and then booking it to Miami/Port Canaveral the same day.

 

[MK2thcleaner]

We did B2B on the Wonder last summer. 7/nt Alaska + 4/nt Pacific Coast. I didn't love it, and MIGHT only do B2B again if it included CC. I'm the type that enjoys activities like trivia and musical groups. It was just too repetitive for me. Same questions and jokes at trivia. Same songs at pre-dinner entertainment. Same meals. We did 15/nt Panama Canal and I never felt ready to leave, but on the 2nd day of our Pacific Coast I was wishing I was at DL already. I'm flexible as far as schedule and don't have a desire to rush to get on the Wish. I cruise for the itinerary. So I will wait until the right thing comes along. We are doing 8/nt Bermuda in September and looking forward to that.

 

[TestingH2O]

When the Fantasy was the newest ship, it was often less expensive to do a B2B on the Dream if you wanted 7 nights.

Some people also do them to get to status sooner.

We did a B2B on the Dream for Spring Break last year and enjoyed it. Knowing that all the major events would be offered twice was nice for scheduling. We’re doing another next summer on the Magic so we can do Lighthouse Point on the first one and Castaway on the second.

 

[AquaDame]

A fair number of folks do B2B(2B) on more unique itineraries like the ones in Europe as well. Its a looooong flight and easy to do say a transatlantic and the first itinerary once it arrives, or some combo once it is there.

It's kind of crazy how little repeating there is with the European itineraries in contrast:

July 8th, 2023 - 7-Night Mediterranean Cruise from Barcelona (Cannes, Livorno, Naples, Civitavecchia)
July 15th, 2023 - 7-Night Western Europe Repo Cruise from Barcelona to Southampton (Cádiz, Lisbon, Vigo, Le Havre)
July 22nd, 2023 - 10-Night Iceland, Norway, and France Cruise from Southampton to Copenhagen (Cherbourg, Reykjavik, Isafjordur, Akureyri, Alesund)
August 1st, 2023 - 7-Night Northern Europe Cruise from Copenhagen (Kiel, Nynashamn, Fredericia, Oslo)
August 8th, 2023 - 11-Night Northern Europe Repo Cruise from Copenhagen to Southampton (Kiel, Nynashamn, Fredericia, Skagen, Oslo, Amsterdam, Zeebrugge)
August 19th, 2023 - 7-Night Norwegian Fjords Cruise from Southampton (Amsterdam, Skjolden, Nordfjordeid, Sandnes)
August 26th, 2023 - 4-Night France Cruise from Southampton (La Rochelle)
August 30th, 2023 - 4-Night Spain Cruise from Southampton (Bilbao)

Almost two months with hardly any port of call repeat - Oslo & Amsterdam are visited twice in that time.

 

[JM_97]

A fair number of folks do B2B(2B) on more unique itineraries like the ones in Europe as well. Its a looooong flight and easy to do say a transatlantic and the first itinerary once it arrives, or some combo once it is there.

It's kind of crazy how little repeating there is with the European itineraries in contrast:

July 8th, 2023 - 7-Night Mediterranean Cruise from Barcelona (Cannes, Livorno, Naples, Civitavecchia)
July 15th, 2023 - 7-Night Western Europe Repo Cruise from Barcelona to Southampton (Cádiz, Lisbon, Vigo, Le Havre)
July 22nd, 2023 - 10-Night Iceland, Norway, and France Cruise from Southampton to Copenhagen (Cherbourg, Reykjavik, Isafjordur, Akureyri, Alesund)
August 1st, 2023 - 7-Night Northern Europe Cruise from Copenhagen (Kiel, Nynashamn, Fredericia, Oslo)
August 8th, 2023 - 11-Night Northern Europe Repo Cruise from Copenhagen to Southampton (Kiel, Nynashamn, Fredericia, Skagen, Oslo, Amsterdam, Zeebrugge)
August 19th, 2023 - 7-Night Norwegian Fjords Cruise from Southampton (Amsterdam, Skjolden, Nordfjordeid, Sandnes)
August 26th, 2023 - 4-Night France Cruise from Southampton (La Rochelle)
August 30th, 2023 - 4-Night Spain Cruise from Southampton (Bilbao)

Almost two months with hardly any port of call repeat - Oslo & Amsterdam are visited twice in that time.

I feel like it's easier to do that in Europe. There's a little bit more diversity in both the amount of ports and what they offer. As great as the Bahamas and Caribbean are, many of the stops are similar and Disney sticks to what they know usually.

 

[OpieDoodle]

Really interesting points for sure! Some I hadn't thought of so I'm really glad I asked! If the Treasure comes in doing the short cruises I may have to do a B2B or side by side even. I wouldn't mind sailing on one, get off then get on another ship entirely.....that could be really fun especially if its two ships I haven't been on

 

[rainbowredpanda]

I've seen so many people talking about B2B cruises and all the hype but I am really wanting to understand why do that over a longer cruise? I see so many people loving the B2B idea!

For example:
Wish in a Verandah and it was $6594 for the two cruises (3 night and 4 night) combined keeping the same type of room/location for both cruises
Fantasy 7 night same week is $4104 in the same type room

Ironically, I could actually take the 7 night Fantasy AND almost pay for the 3 night Wish for the same price as the B2B Wish cruises. (The 7 night is $4,104 and the 4 night is $3,739, so very close in price)

I like the idea of the B2B but what makes it worth it pricewise for those who have done it?

Sometimes it's cheaper than a longer cruise.

We enjoy the double dip at Castaway (depending on the cruise)

If we're doing back to back identical itineraries, we will stay on the ship during the ports the second time to enjoy the ship. Same with the shows, we will see them once and skip them the next time to spend time doing other things on the ship

We enjoy the turn around day. The ship is quite for awhile, we usually get a chance to take to some of the crew and officers.

We love the Sailing Away parties so you get them twice.

 

[Snowwhyt]

Sometimes it's cheaper than a longer cruise.

I would love to investigate that further. Do you have any details? Suggestions on what I should look for?

 

[holula]

I would love to investigate that further. Do you have any details? Suggestions on what I should look for?

My 4/3 b2b on the Wonder from San Diego last year was not only cheaper than a 7 night Fantasy, it was cheaper than 4 night Wish cruise.

The San Diego cruises aren’t as cheap this year though, likely as there are less of them.

 

[anjuan]

The only B2B that we've done was on the Wish in August because we knew that a three night would not be long enough. Also, we had friends that we met on our very first cruise join us on the second half of the B2B so we got to enjoy some time on our own and then show our friends around the ship.