Questions about how FTTF works...

[scrapperluv]

Hi all! I bought FTTF for my family for the Breeze departing next weekend. We're first time cruisers so I thought it would make things less confusing. I have a couple questions for you all...

 

1. When can we START boarding the ship at the Port of Miami? If we get there a few hours after boarding, do we still go through registration quickly or is there a line?

 

2. When we Debark after the cruise is over are we able to chose when we debark? My family aren't early risers and I'd like to put off get up and off the ship until the last minute. Do we have the colored tags on our luggage and do we sit in our designated areas and wait for our color to be called?

 

I'd love to hear the details of start to finish for boarding and debarking with FTTF. Please share!

[Danacat222]

Hi all! I bought FTTF for my family for the Breeze departing next weekend. We're first time cruisers so I thought it would make things less confusing. I have a couple questions for you all...

 

1. When can we START boarding the ship at the Port of Miami? If we get there a few hours after boarding, do we still go through registration quickly or is there a line?

 

2. When we Debark after the cruise is over are we able to chose when we debark? My family aren't early risers and I'd like to put off get up and off the ship until the last minute. Do we have the colored tags on our luggage and do we sit in our designated areas and wait for our color to be called?

 

I'd love to hear the details of start to finish for boarding and debarking with FTTF. Please share!

 

There is a VIP & FTTF line, you will be directed to that when the nice ladies or gents with Carnival are welcoming you into the terminal and looking at your cruise documents.

 

When boarding begins, it will be called by weddings, diamond platinum VIP then FTTF, then Zone 1 and so on.

 

Once on board, you can go to your cabin and drop of your carry-on stuff, relax, nap, hang out, unpack, or go do whatever it is you enjoy doing.

 

The day before you leave, you will get a letter in your cabin with the FTTF debarkation choices, it will say early or at your leisure, and if you choose early, it will instruct you on where to be and when. For example, it might request that you meet at a specific lounge no later than a specific time and someone from Carnival will be there to escort you and the others waiting with you the area where you leave from the ship.

 

I hope that helps. Have fun!

Edited May 10, 2014 by Danacat222

[scrapperluv]

 

The day before you leave, you will get a letter in your cabin with the FTTF debarkation choices, it will say early or at your leisure, and if you choose early, it will instruct you on where to be and when. For example, it might request that you meet at a specific lounge no later than a specific time and someone from Carnival will be there to escort you and the others waiting with you the area where you leave from the ship.

 

I hope that helps. Have fun!

 

Ok, so if we choose to debark at our leisure and stay on the ship later, are there any benefits to having the FTTF pass? Our flights isn't until later in the evening, so we aren't in a hurry. Do we debark with everyone else or is there a quicker line to debark with FTTF? Since we've never cruised I don't really know how long we can sleep in and linger on the ship.

Edited May 10, 2014 by scrapperluv

[Criticname]

If you don't want to be one of the first on the ship or one of the first off the ship Faster to the fun is useless to you IMHO

 

Save your 49.95

Edited May 10, 2014 by Criticname
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[fishtaco]

Ok, so if we choose to debark at our leisure and stay on the ship later, are there any benefits to having the FTTF pass? Our flights isn't until later in the evening, so we aren't in a hurry. Do we debark with everyone else or is there a quicker line to debark with FTTF? Since we've never cruised I don't really know how long we can sleep in and linger on the ship.

 

The idea is to get everyone off as quick as possible!

 

You need to put your luggage outside your cabin door before 10pm last night unless you do self assisted.

 

The cruise lines first allow those with early flights off and have stated their flight time and number on the letter but also give priority to those who booked flights through the cruiseline.

 

Once all priorities/self assists are off they start to disembark by colour code and deck by deck.

 

If you choose to take your own luggage off and not leave early the Steward will be cleaning your room for the next cruisers as soon as you head of for breakfast so dont expect the cabin door to be closed when you get back for luggage:)

 

Basically you will be given a colour or number zone and you must leave the ship when its called:)

[fishtaco]

If you don't want to be one of the first on the ship or one of the first off the ship Faster to the fun is useless to you IMHO

 

Save your 49.95

 

And if you have booked Carnival excursions for tender ports it is doubly useless:)

 

Its more for those that want to get onboard as quick as possible thus being Faster To The Fun but is fast becoming a good purchase just to get access to your cabin early and priority tenders.

[Danacat222]

And if you have booked Carnival excursions for tender ports it is doubly useless:)

 

Its more for those that want to get onboard as quick as possible thus being Faster To The Fun but is fast becoming a good purchase just to get access to your cabin early and priority tenders.

 

For tender ports, FTTF peeps sit with the Plat & Diamond guests in the "lobby" near guest services for escort to the tender. I have had FTTF 3 x and have had tender ports each of those cruises. Once we were late and someone with Carnival walked us to the tender line and we were bumped to the front of the line and had no wait.

[Danacat222]

Ok, so if we choose to debark at our leisure and stay on the ship later, are there any benefits to having the FTTF pass? Our flights isn't until later in the evening, so we aren't in a hurry. Do we debark with everyone else or is there a quicker line to debark with FTTF? Since we've never cruised I don't really know how long we can sleep in and linger on the ship.

 

There are benefits to the FTTF pass, but more so with getting on the ship. I did like having a designated area to wait to leave the ship, it's less chaotic.

 

Are you trying to decide if it is worth it? I'd say yes, but everyone is different. We carry on sodas and stuff, i like the early access to the cabin, and when tendering to HMC especially, i like to be there as long as possible, get there early and catch the last tender back. If i am cruising with my Mom, it's good for her, she is 73, makes her feel like a VIP and less standing.

[fishtaco]

For tender ports, FTTF peeps sit with the Plat & Diamond guests in the "lobby" near guest services for escort to the tender. I have had FTTF 3 x and have had tender ports each of those cruises. Once we were late and someone with Carnival walked us to the tender line and we were bumped to the front of the line and had no wait.

 

Yes for experienced cruisers FTTF is worth the money just for the priority Tenders:)

 

But if you have an excursion on a tender port FTTF wont do you much good as you will still have to meet up onboard and wait with all the others on your tour.

[RWolver672]

 

They want you out of your cabin by 8:30 so that they can start cleaning them and off of the ship by 10:30 at the latest so that they can start boarding for the next cruise.

Edited May 10, 2014 by RWolver672

[SadieN]

They want you out of your cabin by 8:30 so that they can start cleaning them and off of the ship by 10:30 at the latest so that they can start boarding for the next cruise.

 

 

All of your stuff needs to be out of your cabin by 8-8:30.

Your debarkation letter will tell you what time.

[Jenhem31]

I also purchased FTTF for my first cruise. You'll want to get off the ship and be thankful for priority debarking, trust me. We had to be out of our room by 8:30 and just wait in this lounge which became very crowded. We didn't debark until about 10:30 and we were the first group to do so. They are wanting you to be off the ship as soon as possible so they can get her ready for the next crowd.

 

 

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[trvlgrl422]

I have the same question, but I can't seem to get answer. What if your arrive after boarding has started, is it still worth it? It sounds like there is still a separate line. I've purchased FTTF, and am wondering if I should cancel it. There are no tender ports for my cruise. I'm sailing on the Valor. I do have a somewhat earlier flight (12:30) home. Any thoughts?

[Jenhem31]

I think it's subjective. For me it was totally worth it and I'll purchase every time without hesitation.

 

As far as boarding goes. I can't give a specific time when it starts because no one is getting on the ship until it's ready. It's not ready until all of the passengers from the previous cruise are off and common areas are clean.

 

 

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[Jenhem31]

I'm sorry, I wasn't done with my post lol. iPhones these days, right?

 

Anyway, the OP stated they wanted to be off the ship as late as possible due to not being early risers. Understood, but there are a couple thousand people literally waiting on you. They're just as excited to start their cruise as you were and can't until you'll get off. Same goes with staff. Everyone needs to be off so they can clean. You're waiting in common areas to debark. You won't be able to wait in your room because you have to be out by 8:30. So you may as well get up, get ready, and take advantage of the priority debarking. It's wall to wall people waiting to get off. I'm not an early riser either. I get home from work at 3 am. But I was thankful to be one of the ones to get off the ship first. You don't get to sit by the pool on debarkation day sipping a cocktail. It's crowded and uncomfortable.

 

When you check in you'll get to go to priority check in, where the diamonds and platinums check in. Your wait will depend on how many other diamonds there are on your cruise. 1 couple was ahead of us. The lines for regular check in were insane.

 

I have no ideas what check in will be like after boarding starts. It's a moot point really as you paid for priority boarding so you obviously won't be on the ship before everyone else.

 

Once they start boarding, they call for wedding parties first. Once they're on, they call for platinum and diamond. After that is suite guests and FTTF. We started boarding around 11:30 on my last cruise and I heard them talking about people lingering and not wanting to debark.

 

Once you board, you can go straight to your room and drop off your carry ons. That right there makes FTTF worth it for me. It's difficult to hold your carry on, cocktail, and buffet plate. I was so thankful to be able to drop my stuff off. Also, your luggage is prioritized so you can be all unpacked by dinner. That's also nice.

 

I hope these answers help!

 

 

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[Jenhem31]

I have the same question, but I can't seem to get answer. What if your arrive after boarding has started, is it still worth it? It sounds like there is still a separate line. I've purchased FTTF, and am wondering if I should cancel it. There are no tender ports for my cruise. I'm sailing on the Valor. I do have a somewhat earlier flight (12:30) home. Any thoughts?

 

 

If you have an earlier flight home, don't cancel your FTTF. Once you get off the ship, you still have to collect your bash and wait in huge lines to get thru customs. It takes forever!

 

 

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[Abilene01]

We had FTTF on our first Carnival cruise together and loved it. We had no tenders but we enjoy boarding early and leaving early. The special Guest Services line was outstanding-yes we will purchase it again. It has it's unique benefits to everyone, but I think you should at least try it.

 

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[ShellLoves2cruise]

I have the same question, but I can't seem to get answer. What if your arrive after boarding has started, is it still worth it? It sounds like there is still a separate line. I've purchased FTTF, and am wondering if I should cancel it. There are no tender ports for my cruise. I'm sailing on the Valor. I do have a somewhat earlier flight (12:30) home. Any thoughts?

 

Yes, if you get to the port after boarding has begun someone from Carnival will walk you past the very long line to a separate area where you will board as soon as your check-in is done. I've had FTTF just once but I found it very worth it, just in the fact that I could go drop my carry-ons off as soon as I boarded the ship and my luggage was already there so I was unpacked and ready to start my vacation before muster drill! I have FTTF again on my cruise in 5 days and have no tender ports but still purchased it for the other benefits, enjoy your cruise! :)

[trvlgrl422]

Yes, if you get to the port after boarding has begun someone from Carnival will walk you past the very long line to a separate area where you will board as soon as your check-in is done. I've had FTTF just once but I found it very worth it, just in the fact that I could go drop my carry-ons off as soon as I boarded the ship and my luggage was already there so I was unpacked and ready to start my vacation before muster drill! I have FTTF again on my cruise in 5 days and have no tender ports but still purchased it for the other benefits, enjoy your cruise! :)

 

Thanks, this is what I was thinking. I don't mind not being the first on board, I just don't want to wait in a huge checkin line. I'm thinking I'll keep it after hearing others' comments as well.