Trish Berry
Robert Louis Flowing Top (medium), Amazon Palazzo Pants (medium), Walmart Modified Flip Flops (9)
A back-to-back (B2B or BTB) cruise is when you schedule one cruise and stay on the ship for the next cruise the ship is leaving on.
Two separate cruises, one ship.
You do get off at the originating port to be checked through Customs before going on the second cruise to go through Customs and then are walked back to the ship.
Royal Caribbean Cruise Line does it very efficiently.
- You print your luggage tickets off at home for both cruises so you can switch out your luggage tags
- You will receive written information on your bed the night before your first cruise ends and the second is to begin
- The information sheet tells you where to meet on the ship along with the other B2B cruisers
We were instructed to meet in the Main Dining Room.
There were very few people, less than 100, who were doing a back-to-back cruise on the Utopia. The Utopia holds 7,600 passengers but you never feel crowded because the ship is so large. We sat in the dining room, waiting for instructions. We talked amongst ourselves about the fun we had already had on the ship and the multiple places that were our favorites.
We were escorted off the ship (Utopia) by a leader. It was fast. No delays.
The above shows us walking through the empty port to get to the Customs entry.
The above shows the empty port terminal where we were taken. No hassles, no lines. This terminal is usually filled with people waiting to board their cruise ship.
Above shows us going through the Customs line. A quick shot of our face and we were headed back to the ship.
The above photo shows us walking back to the ship after we have been cleared by Customs.
Back-to-back cruisers are issued new sea pass cards that have a blue dot on them that indicates you are a B2B cruisers. If you are staying in the same room, as we were, you could return to your stateroom. We did not have to pack our luggage, just left things as they were in the stateroom. But if you have been assigned a new stateroom and will be moving to another room, you pack your luggage like you are going home. The room attendant will see that it is taken to your new room so you do not have to drag it around with you. Because we were staying in the same room, we could go freely to our room without waiting until the usual 1:00. Those who switched rooms would not have access to their new statement room until 1:00. We went to our room and took a nap.
The above photo shows the empty dining room where we were escorted to partake of a special lunch for B2B cruisers once we returned to the ship.
The above is a photo of the menu for the special back-to-back cruisers. I had scallops, Ron had a salad. We both had spaghetti. Neither of us had dessert. We were not thrilled with this menu so we headed to the Windjammer to see what they had.
WELL, what did we find at the Windjammer but lobster tails, shrimp, clams and mussels. And any kind of fish you could want.
We did not eat this fabulous food because we had already eaten from the special menu for the B2B cruisers. Our mistake.
Shrimp salad, more lobster tails, clams, mussels.
Lesson learned. The next time we go for a back-to-back cruise, we will head to the Windjammer if we are on the Utopia of the Seas. I know lobster tails are not served in the Windjammer for lunch on the first day on other Royal Caribbean Cruise ships.
We were treated extremely well by our escort. There was never any confusion. We followed directions, followed the line.
It is an easy process to do a back-to-back cruise.
Have fun!! Safe travels!! Hope to see you soon!
Hugs!!