B2B Dream vs a week on Fantasy

[Spork24]

What are some of the reasons someone would do a b2b on the dream vs a 7 night on the fantasy. I’m considering a week long next year and am starting to consider a b2b Dream.

Pros: 2 days at CC

Cons: have to get off the ship for a bit between cruises.
2 days in Nassau
Packing if you can’t get the same room

What else am I missing?

 

[TinkBell10]

What are some of the reasons someone would do a b2b on the dream vs a 7 night on the fantasy. I’m considering a week long next year and am starting to consider a b2b Dream.

Pros: 2 days at CC

Cons: have to get off the ship for a bit between cruises.
2 days in Nassau
Packing if you can’t get the same room

What else am I missing?

With a B2B, you will have the same dining menus and shows repeated...with a 7-night, you have a better variety of both. Also a 7-night, IMO, is more relaxed and less hustle and bustle. Another con of B2B is you basically lose a day with the turnover day in port between the 2 cruises.

 

[jane01jp]

More B2B cons:

2 muster drills
2 days the fitness center is closed for part of the day (and encumbered by the raffle for another part of the day)
2 days in which there are fewer movies
2 times the introductory patter of the cruise director
2 times the closing patter of the cruise director
2 times the boarding announcements

 

[Spork24]

More B2B cons:

2 muster drills
2 days the fitness center is closed for part of the day (and encumbered by the raffle for another part of the day)
2 days in which there are fewer movies
2 times the introductory patter of the cruise director
2 times the closing patter of the cruise director
2 times the boarding announcements

Thats alot of Cons. I appreciate your input.

 

[xQuizx]

A Pro would be getting you to the next level sooner, but that was a lot of Cons.

 

[tigerchic89]

pros: 2x the cruises toward platinum. On the 3 day, we were able to reserve our 1st cabana ever on cc. The last night of our 1st leg was super fun... we were some of the only people closing the bars down and overall happy because we weren't going home the next day

We did a b2b 4/3 instead of a 7. Hindsight we like the 7 day much better... the atmosphere, the menus, the ports. our b2b was about half the price as the 7day, which is why we booked it. The turn around day was very cool to experience once, but it really was a wasted day. I wouldn't do it again unless our dates were set on that week and the 3/4 was super cheap compared to the 7

 

[mousefan73]

What are some of the reasons someone would do a b2b on the dream vs a 7 night on the fantasy. I’m considering a week long next year and am starting to consider a b2b Dream.

Pros: 2 days at CC

Cons: have to get off the ship for a bit between cruises.
2 days in Nassau
Packing if you can’t get the same room

What else am I missing?

Read also the price can be lower.

 

[Trera]

Thats alot of Cons. I appreciate your input.

We like B2B for the following reasons:

1. for us the pricing is cheaper. The Fantasy for us is always the most expensive per night cruise ship for the Caribbean and Bahamas.
2. if you miss a show or movie on the three night, then you can watch it on the second cruise. Makes us feel more relaxed as we know we can catch stuff later
3. if you want to try some different things on the menus, you can try them on the next cruise.
4. 2 days on Castaway Cay which we love to spend time on as a family. Especially if you get a cabana one or both days.
5. If for some strange reason, they cant doc at CC one day...........then you can still get another chance on the second cruise.
6. We like the time back on the ship on turn around day when there is no one else on board and you can take photos or just enjoy the quiet.
7. Our DD gets two visits to the princess meet and greet that she enjoys so much. (or any of the other characters)
8. Sometimes depending on the itinerary, we get Palo brunch twice.
9. As someone said, you get 2 cruises counted toward your status.
10. Parking is cheaper as you only pay for the parking for cruise one at the port.
11. We have our room "deep cleaned" on the first CC day instead of turnaround day, that way we can get back into our room as soon as we are on the boat if we want to instead of waiting until 1:30
12. you get the first chance at cabin upgrades as you are the first ones back in the check in area.
13. Get an early go at the slides and pool on turn around day before everyone gets on the boat.
14. If its during Halloween, then you get to trick or treat twice around the ship
15. If its Christmas, you get to build two ginger bread houses if you want to.
16. Just overall, we are very relaxed because we always know we have the second cruise.................when others are rushed around because they only have a few days.

 

[lcvb]

We just did our second BTB a few weeks ago.
Pros for us were:
Cheaper than a 7 day
Counts as 2 cruises instead of just 1
Didn’t like our room on the first leg and were able to upgrade for 2nd leg
Could choose to skip show and see it the next leg or vice versa. Beauty and Beast was cancelled because of sick performers and so many people were disappointed because that meant they wouldn’t get to see it. For us we knew we had another chance.
2 days at Castaway Cay. On our recent sailing; our first leg had perfect weather, the second it was windy and raining. On another sailing me had to miss it altogether so 2 stops increases your odds of having a good day there.
2 late night pirate buffets; we love the crepes
Cons:
Getting off and going thru customs was a pain
The turnover day is a bit of a waste
The food gets repetitive

If you’ve never done a BTB I would say go for it. We’ve done it twice on the Dream and for that reason I doubt we would again but then again if the price is cheaper I wouldn’t rule it out!

 

[dcassetta]

Lots of good points here. I would add that it might fit better into your schedule to go Friday to Friday instead of Saturday to Saturday. At some times of the year, you might also be able to do a BTB out of Canaveral on the Wonder.

 

[Trera]

Lots of good points here. I would add that it might fit better into your schedule to go Friday to Friday instead of Saturday to Saturday. At some times of the year, you might also be able to do a BTB out of Canaveral on the Wonder.

yes. Canaveral on the Wonder would be Thursday to Thursday.

You could also opt to to the Dream Monday to Monday.

 

[Shanti]

What are some of the reasons someone would do a b2b on the dream vs a 7 night on the fantasy. I’m considering a week long next year and am starting to consider a b2b Dream.

Pros: 2 days at CC

Cons: have to get off the ship for a bit between cruises.
2 days in Nassau
Packing if you can’t get the same room

What else am I missing?

I would definitely go with the B2B. We sailed an Eastern on the Fantasy about a year ago and weren't positively impressed with the Caribbean islands. If you're not yet Platinum, it's also a nice bonus to get another cruise on your Castaway Club membership.

2 days at Castaway Cay can't be beat. I actually think the repetition of shows and menus is a bonus, because you can skip some MDR dinners and shows without feeling like you're missing out on anything. That leads to a more relaxed experience. You don't have to go to Nassau twice, or even once, if you're not interested. That's more relaxation time, more time to do some of your bucket list activities on the ship you might not get around to otherwise.

I recommend the Dream for a Bahamian B2B, because the Dream class ships have more diversions & activities available on them than the classics.

 

[Spork24]

Man, I’m torn now.

Disney cruise line has for the first time made me regret planning a trip (or trips) to Disney World. Most of our remaining vacation time this year is already booked at DW with various sets of travel companions. But I’m dying to go on another cruise. Here’s to 2019!

 

[Shanti]

Thats alot of Cons. I appreciate your input.

A lot of cons, but most of them are fairly insubstantial cons imo.

 

[CamColt]

We enjoy B2Bs because CC is the only port we really care about (the rest are all the same to me) Also, where the shows and menus are repeated that gives us flexibility to do other things without missing out. Another perk that I hadn't experienced on previous B2Bs is being Platinum now we can get a complimentary Palo brunch and dinner, 1 on each cruise.

A con from my DSs is the kids in the club (specifically Vibe) seem to bond better on the longer cruises.

 

[kathi]

The only reason I would select a B2B on the Dream over a week on the Fantasy would be price. People have covered the pros/cons well already. My top reasons wold be:

1) No wasted time getting off and back on again.
2) Different menus every night and more options to dine at Palo and Remy (food is key for us)
3) Better port options (although the double dip at CC would be lovely on the Dream - there are nice beaches on the Fantasy routes)
4) I have found the Fantasy cruises to be more relaxed in terms of the passengers. The longer duration means that folks are less likely to be overly aggressive about trying to get EVERYTHING in - which can make for some unpleasant interactions.

 

[Twilight Terror]

We just made this same decision whilst on our 7n Fantasy over Christmas - do we do another Fantasy 7n or a B2B Dream? When we did the costings on board, the two combinations were coming out pretty much the same (maybe $30-$40 difference), so it became a bit more of a personal choice.

• Mum did not cope well on the Fantasy, and we all found the vibrations were fair worse on there than on the Dream, so that was a pretty big determining factor.
• We are going in September (HOTHS), so two Halloween nights! As three adults it gives us an additional excuse to dress-up!
• Two lots of fireworks at sea
• We are not bothered too much about Nassau, so that's just two extra days to enjoy the boat and all the things it has to offer!
• Two days at Castaway is fun - our 7n Xmas trip was a double dip, so we really enjoyed that, and looking forward to being able to do that again.
• One or two of the shows on the Fantasy, we had already seen, so it was nice to be able to miss them and doing something else. On the flip side, one show I really liked, and would have liked to have seen again - with the B2B that will be an option
• It gets us to Gold status, ready for our venture onto the Magic and Wonder before the new ships arrive!

Yes, disembark/embark day will be a bit of wasted time, but we look at it as a new experience and something to try at least once; we'll be able to say we did it. We might actually be able to achieve silly little things like the photo with Mickey/Minnie in the foyer! We managed this last time, but previous cruises have missed out because the line is too long. At least this time around, we will have two chances to make an attempt!

There have been some really good pros/cons discussed in this thread, and I look forward to reading more as our trip gets closer. I think as long as you go in with your eyes open, realistic expectations and some good DisBoard research, all will be fine!