“Um, Professor? What’s a b2b?” Well it’s not an astromech droid or his humanoid robot sidekick, but that was my first guess too. Forgive my initialism and please, let’s not mention it on my course evaluation. B2b stands for back-to-back and means booking consecutive cruises on the same ship. “Okay, but why would one want to book a b2b cruise?”
Or, even better, a b2b2b2b2b cruise.
If you’re smart and prefer to use up all your vacation time each year on cruising, but don’t live near a cruise port, you could save money by taking one longer cruise, only requiring one set of flights, as opposed to several shorter cruises. But what if there isn’t a longer cruise available that works with your unique preferences and constraints? Consider a b2b!
Interested in visiting both the eastern Caribbean and the western Caribbean, but you can’t find a cruise that goes to both? You can probably find a ship that travels to one right after the other, and can build your own itinerary by booking a b2b. The ocean’s the limit!
The median cost for assisted living in Washington State, where I currently reside when I’m not causing a dessert shortage in the MDR, is $4625 per month. I regularly book inside cruise cabins for $100 or less per night. If you do the math, a b2b2b2b2b2b2b2b2b2b2b2…RIP, seems like a fairly cost effective way to spend your retirement years.
Allow me to apologize if, upon disembarking the Celebrity Millennium in Seward, you heard someone shouting from an upper deck: “have fun at work on Monday, suckers!” I got caught up in the excitement of the moment and temporarily lost my manners.
I mean don’t expect diamonds and pearls, you’re still just Prof. Cruise, an unknown, white-bread cruise blogger from suburban Utah, but you might get invited to a special gathering or receive a free mimosa or something for being a consecutive cruiser.
Sometimes one-way cruises are less expensive. For example, you can get a great deal on cruises going from Vancouver to Seward. But that same ship may turn right around and head back to Vancouver on the next sailing. By booking a b2b, you can turn a one-way into a round-trip. Which is exactly what I did for my last cruise!
While you complain about chair hogs, you’ve secretly always wanted to be one. But it seems whenever you arrive at that perfect extra wide padded lounger or comfy clamshell, even after setting your alarm for 3:30a.m. and risking divorce, “what the hell honey, it’s the middle of the night!,” it’s always occupied by some jerk (or some jerk’s sunscreen bottle and John Grisham novel staking claim) who got there first. But with the competition sullen and in an Uber headed toward the airport, this time it can be your industrial-sized SPF 3,000 and E. L. James boxed trilogy settled in for a full week of poolside drink service and resentful fellow cruisers: “is she ever going to surrender that couch covered in plush pillows in the shade?”
And you won’t even have to pay extra to board earlier, lose an arm to an already full elevator, or survive a stampede to be the first to deface the cakes.
My highest aspiration in life is to enter into polyandry with my current husband and a cruise ship captain. But this has proven unattainable so far. Not because I’m picky – any captain with no immediate plan for retirement will do. Or for lack of trying. But my interactions with the captain have generally been limited to quick photo ops where my proposals mid-flash,”will you marry me?,” have resulted in a photo wall in my apartment populated with dozens of wide-eyed, slack-jawed captains trapped under the arm of a lusty Prof. Cruise right before she was hauled away by security. Feel my pain, ladies?
But a b2b or b2b2b2b2b2b offers the opportunity for a more subtle approach:
Me: “Come here often?”
Captain: “I’m the Captain, I’m on here for the next three months.”
Me: “Me too! Wow, we have so much in common!”
If you’re anything like me and super bummed to see the hairy leg and belly flop contests scheduled for the same time because you’re a serious contender for both (those are my actual legs pictured below), book a b2b. You’ll be happy for the opportunity to hurl yourself into the pool like a breaching whale with maximum splash potential due to the 10 added pounds from the first leg of your b2b after, the week before, drawing gasps, shielded eyes, and comments like, “that sheep needs some serious shearing!”
And you don’t have to do it in one night, like Mr. Cruise. (True confession – those were actually all my desserts.)
You: “I’m gold.”
Them: “wow, how many cruises did that take you?”
You: “one!”
I sailed once with a woman from Vancouver who was beginning the second leg of her b2b as I boarded in Los Angeles. She’d been on a long transpacific sailing from Australia, but instead of getting off in Los Angeles and flying home to Vancouver, she stayed on for a second leg from Los Angeles for Vancouver and reported that it was actually cheaper to get home to Vancouver that way! If you live near a cruise port, look for b2b combinations that either start at home or deliver you back home, saving on flights and allowing for more cruise days.
While you may love long cruises and fantasize about shirking all adult responsibilities in favor of a life at sea (Prof. Cruise), perhaps one of your travel companions is weird enough to like their job (Mr. Cruise). Or maybe you “work” as a full-time cruise blogger (Prof. Cruise), but your spouse has to do actual real work so you can afford to cruise (Mr. Cruise). Or maybe you can only stand to share tight quarters with your partner for a limited number of days (Mr. Cruise) before her (Prof. Cruise) gym clothes – after seven consecutive days of excessive sweating – become so toxic, they actually burn through the retractable shower clothesline where she hangs them to air dry between wearings.
Well you shouldn’t let any of that stop you from wracking up days at sea – I sure haven’t! Book a b2b and wave goodbye to your Mr. Cruise after the first leg as you do sheet angels on the cabin bed you’ll now have all to yourself: “bye Mr. Cruise!”
Maybe you’re one of those parents who opine on social media about how the school year is too long, giving you too little time with your kids over the summer. Well I, for one, am not. Now don’t get me wrong, I love my little dude to pieces and treasure all the summer adventures we’ve been on together, but allow me to borrow these famous words popularized by Thomas Haynes Bayly in his 1850 work Isle of Beauty to describe our relationship: “absence makes the heart grow fonder.”
This past summer, for the first time ever, I would be stay-at-home parenting “H” full-time and I was terrified that, come September, I’d be in a padded room and he’d be half way to his grandparents house in NY, traveling on foot with two months worth of facial hair and a bindle slung over his shoulder.
So I started enrolling him in summer camps. But abandoning his training wheels at Bike Camp only made running away easier and just when I thought he couldn’t get any more dramatic, Drama Camp proved me wrong. Plus summer camps are really expensive. So while you may cruise for the ports or the ship, this summer I cruised for the kids club, and it turned out a b2b was the least expensive option to give me the most free summer childcare.
“H” loved two weeks of Camp at Sea on Celebrity, I got some much needed “me time” each day that allowed me to be a more patient and present parent when H and I were together, and we saved significant money on summer childcare.
While I’ve offered 15, I believe compelling, reasons to book a b2b or b2b2b2b2b cruise, there are some possible drawbacks you should consider as well.
First, it’s likely that the dining menus and buffet selections will repeat for the second leg of your b2b unless the itinerary for your second leg is vastly different from the first (longer, shorter, different route). While this was the case for us, we didn’t mind as it allowed us to eat dinner in the buffet some nights and the dining room others without feeling like we were missing anything.
The same applies for the entertainment and activity lineup. On our b2b the schedule for the second leg was virtually identical to the first leg. But again, we didn’t mind, celebrating every time we caught ourselves saying “I wish we had time to do both” only to realize that we would have time to do both!
Depending on the line, repetition may also be true for the kids club activities, which is more problematic. We loved Celebrity as they change up the Camp at Sea schedule every cruise in an attempt to tailor it to the particular likes and interests of each new group of kids, but other lines may just repeat the same schedule of activities over and over, leading to boredom and reluctance to attend – a nightmare scenario as far as I’m concerned (#momoftheyear).
A repeating port itinerary is another consideration. If you’re looking for a round-trip b2b, you may end up at the same ports twice like we did. We elected to stay onboard at some of the repeating ports and enjoyed practically having the whole ship, including the hot tubs, to ourselves.
To give you an idea of the logistics of a b2b cruise, here’s a play-by-play of our b2b sailing from Vancouver to Seward and then from Seward back to Vancouver on the Celebrity Millennium in late summer of 2019. But keep in mind that I’m no Vin Scully and these procedures may vary some depending on your particular cruise line and itinerary.
We booked our b2b through one of our preferred online travel agencies. They assured us that while we were booked in two different cabins and that one person wouldn’t be joining us on the second leg, the two bookings were “linked,” indicating to the cruise line that it was a b2b. Be sure to confirm this with your travel agent or cruise line when booking your own b2b.
We didn’t see or hear anything about our b2b until two days before the end of the first leg when we received the following letter in our stateroom:
I was greeted at the information talk with a free mimosa and the following two handouts outlining procedures and answering frequently asked questions:
I was also given “transit passes” for myself and “H.”
The procedures and two options for b2b passengers (either getting off the ship in the morning or staying on the ship) were discussed and we were given the opportunity to ask questions. There was also a representative from the shore excursions department with information about two special shore excursions available in Seward exclusively for b2b cruisers.
On the last morning of our first leg as the other passengers were preparing to disembark, we slept in and lounged around in our stateroom until the required exit time of 8am, in no rush to stuff in a final breakfast before bursting into tears and descending into a months long depression upon having to go home. Instead, we packed a backpack with items we’d need until our new cabin was ready at 1:30pm, ate a leisurely breakfast after the crowds were gone, and watched the last passengers disembarking (“neener, neener, neener!”) and the crew turning around the ship.
Then an announcement was made around 9:30am for b2b cruisers who’d elected to stay onboard, “that’s us!,” to meet in the lounge so the ship could be cleared and in order to receive our new ship cards.
As we entered the lounge, we turned over our old cards (they would be available to pick up later from Guest Services if we’d wanted them as a souvenir) and were given our new cards.
We were also asked to wear these fashionable stickers to identify us as b2b’ers onboard and to save our voices from having to yell “TOURIST HERE” in Seward.
We waited 20 minutes or so until all passengers were accounted for and the crew received word that the ship had been cleared. Then we dinged in our new ship cards, “ding!,” and were dismissed to begin the second leg of our vacation. It’s possible that I broke out into an overenthusiastic happy dance, cycling through the Roger Rabbit and the Running Man before my finishing move: a full 2 minutes and 30 seconds of Voguing (What? I was a teen of the 90’s). And while Celebrity made a very positive first impression on me (this was my first ever cruise on Celebrity), I fear I didn’t make such a positive first (or technically second, I guess) impression on her, if the side-eyes from my fellow b2b’ers were any indication.
At this point “H” and I elected to get off the ship to spend the afternoon exploring around and hiking the Two Lakes Trail in Seward.
Once we returned to the cruise pier, general boarding had begun and we were able to bypass all lines (I felt like Taylor Swift at an exclusive NYC nightclub – except everyone waiting behind the rope line was over 50 and wearing three layers of comfortable travel clothing) and get directly on the ship with our new cards. Upon entering our second cabin that afternoon, all our things were there waiting for us, having been moved over by our previous room steward.
In addition to a code we received for 30 free minutes of internet access (to allow us to fill out the survey from our first leg, but it could be used for anything), we also received an invitation for a special sail away event on the helipad in Icy Strait Point. The cruise director also mentioned us b2b cruisers in his first morning announcement. #almostfamous
Answer: That depends on the particular ship and port. In speaking with many fellow b2b cruisers, some were required to briefly debark as the ship was cleared while others were able to stay on. On my b2b sailing, passengers were allowed to stay on the ship, assembled in a common lounge area while the ship was cleared.
Answer: Yes. But you’ll need to make sure you or your travel agent book the same room for each leg. If you book a “sail away” rate or “guarantee” cabin category where the cruise line selects your cabin for you, you may or may not be in the same cabin for both legs (we booked two guarantee cabins on our Millennium sailing and ended up in different cabins).
Answer: You will need to pack everything into your suitcases (except for hanging clothes – most lines will move hanging clothing items for you in addition to your suitcases) the night before debarkation of the first leg of your b2b. However, do NOT put your luggage outside your stateroom door the night before disembarkation as other guests will be instructed to do. Instead, leave all your suitcases and hanging clothes in your cabin. Your cabin steward will have your new cabin information and will move all your luggage over to the new room on the first day of your second leg. I left an extra ($20) tip for my room steward to thank her for the effort required to do this, but it’s not required.
Answer: Yes! And usually you will have received them on the first leg too. But in my case, I was a brand new Celebrity cruiser on my first leg, so I didn’t receive any loyalty benefits. But on the second leg I did. Double check early on with Guest Services (or the loyalty desk) if you have any questions about this.
Answer: No. As each sailing is considered separate, you’ll need to fully close and settle your onboard account at the conclusion of your first leg. Any refundable credit will be refunded to you, but any unused non-refundable onboard credit will be lost. It cannot be transferred over to your second sailing. This is also true for any unused internet minutes you’ve purchased. Same for drink packages, spa access, etc. You’ll need to purchase these separately for both legs of your sailing if you want them for the full length of your b2b.
Answer: Yes. Even if you’re in the same stateroom with the same muster station. But it’s a small price to pay!
Let’s conclude with a riddle:
What’s better than a cruise?
Answer: a b2b cruise! Or even better, a b2b2b2b2b2b2…… cruise!
Book yours today! And consider picking up this t-shirt, available in multiple colors for men and women on Amazon here:
And with that…
Class Dismissed.
Homework (10 points): Check out my Alaska port posts here. And don’t forget to subscribe to the blog to receive new Cruising 101 content direct to your e-mail (scroll up to the top right if on a computer or keep scrolling down if on a mobile device) and follow Prof. Cruise on social media:
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