Should we do FTTF?

[chewie8008]

We are leaving on the Dream on the 26th and are debating if we should do the Faster to the Fun program? We're leaving from New Orleans and are going to explore NOLA for a few hours before we leave, so the Faster boarding aspect of it isn't of much appeal to us bc we're not getting there until 11-ish anyway. We are wondering if it's worth it for the priority tenders. We are taking a tender to Belize and are trying to go to Caye Caulker on our own. Bc of that, we're worried about timing. So how much time might we expect to save by having the FTTF? If it's only saving us 10-15 minutes, not worth the $100 for our 2 cabins. However if the wait for the tender is long, then it might justify it.

 

Would appreciate any input. Thanks

[k2excursion]

Belize's tender ride is extremely long. You can barely see the ship from the shore. Because of this, they can sometimes be picky about letting you on a tender if you don't have a Carnival excursion at first. Some people have gotten on one right away by saying that they have an independent tour that's meeting soon, but I wouldn't count on that unless you get plenty of people saying that they have had success with that. I haven't seen too many of those posts. It might be 2 hours before you can get on one without FTTF, platinum, or being booked on a Carnival excursion. We were booked through Carnival & still had to wait a little bit, because they were carefully planning who & when people would get on what tenders, based on their Carnival tours.

[chewie8008]

It shouldn't take 2 hours to get off the ship. They know how many passengers are on the ship before It ever leaves the U.S. If you have 100 passengers don't send a boat that holds 2. And if you do, don't send one, send 50. I realize now that FTTF is and has been sold out for a while. It's never enough money, "pay this much for the cruise. Ok now pay more money to actually be able to experience what you thought you would c originally get to experience". We planned to do Caye Caulker, but if it takes us 2 hours to get off the flippin ship, we likely won't have time. Thanks for your help.

[springs741]

It is not about how many tenders are in place to transport. It is about the number of people that must pass thru the disembarking procedure. Everyone must go through the exit process and then board the tender. It takes more time. Carnival disembarks excursions booked thru their vendors first. You might look at that as one of the perks of booking a Carnival excursion just as priority disembark is a perk with FTTF.

[amber381]

Without a doubt- Yes. Get it! Sailing on a larger ship, you will want it. Not just for the priority tender, but also for guest services.

[chewie8008]

I guess that makes sense. But seems like their should be other solutions for the future. Multiple disembarking areas around the ship for ships that routinely visit ports that use the tender process? Idk, just seems like something that could be improved. I can't get FTTF as its already sold out. 😞

[bplazo]

I would rather have the money. I am in no hurry when on vacation.

[chewie8008]

I'm not either. The problem is that Caye Caulker takes a little while to get to and from. I think we're docked from 8-5. Or 4. So if it takes us 2 hours to get off the ship, thats 10am, the next water taxi over there is 1030am, then a 45 minute ride over, that's 1115am. Then we have to be on either the 130 or 330pm taxi back to Belize city. 330 is cutting it dangerously close to making it back in time if any problems arise, we could miss the ship. Thats my issue. We have my grandma and 4 year old with us so we're not interested in cave tubing or ziplining. Other than that, Belize doesn't seem to offer much else.

[v3cruiser]

Wow. With all these threads from time to time discusing long wait times to tender im glad i did the western caribean cruise when i did on the carnival legend. There was no stress at all with the tendering. Seems like the port and/or carnival isnt stepping up their game to handle the larger ships and more people with more tender service!

[smyliecruising]

No I wouldn't. I got on board 10 minutes later than the FTTF folks. We went to port about 10:30 and were on board before noon. Relaxed and had a nice time waiting. Spent the extra on the Steakhouse. Money better spent buying something in my view. We went early to port both times and boarded early both times but I have only gone twice and both out of Galveston so I don't have much experience.

[jacksmycat]

If you're worried about the tender maybe you could book a carnival excursion that's similar to what you wanted to do. I'm not sure what you planned on doing at Caye Caulker. I haven't heard of it. Maybe next time you go you will be able to get fttf and go to Caye Caulker. I had a carnival excursion when I went to belize so they had us wait as a group in the lounge. I don't even know how the tendering worked for people who did not have a carnival excursion. I do know that our group was one of the last ones back and our ship was late leaving because they waited for us.

[chewie8008]

Bc the prices of Carnivals excursions are RIDICULOUS. At this point, nothing i can do except go with the flow. I appreciate everyone's help!

[Rottweiler Puppy]

Bc the prices of Carnivals excursions are RIDICULOUS. At this point, nothing i can do except go with the flow. I appreciate everyone's help!

 

Actually some are as cheap as the same on land or darn near it. Some are quite high. You will have a mix of prices with the cruise line ones being higher on average, same for all cruise lines.

[chewie8008]

Cheapest i saw was $64 pp. X3 = $192. $15×2 to caye caulker = $30 + 25 + 25 + 10 for the ride back is $90 total. $100 difference is a big deal for us. And $64 was the cheapest, most are closer to $100pp.

[k2excursion]

My friends are going to Belize this week, and they booked their excursion a couple weeks ago. They got a Carnival excursion for $59 each. The excursion picks them up at the ship, so they don't even have to mess with the tender. The boat takes them from the ship straight to a beach. While that is expensive by comparison to something on your own, that's still what I would do in Belize, and I am very frugal. It's worth the extra expense for me, just because of the long tender ride and the uncertainty of going on your own. You could be just fine on your own, and you might even be able to get on a tender early, but you just never know.

[Rottweiler Puppy]

Cheapest i saw was $64 pp. X3 = $192. $15×2 to caye caulker = $30 + 25 + 25 + 10 for the ride back is $90 total. $100 difference is a big deal for us. And $64 was the cheapest, most are closer to $100pp.

 

Sounds about right. Like I said, all cruise lines have excursions that are considerable more expensive and some are less. You go the more expensive one which makes the choice even easier. For $100 I would book it privately -- IF the port isn't busy that day.

 

My last cruise was on Norwegian and I booked one thought them as there were 5 ships in port that day. Glad I did as they had to wait on our tour before leaving. Had I booked it privately we would have missed the ship.

 

Check the port schedule and see how it looks,, if its not too busy, I say book it privately.

Edited April 20, 2015 by Rottweiler Puppy

[OCruisers]

Without a doubt- Yes. Get it! Sailing on a larger ship, you will want it. Not just for the priority tender, but also for guest services.

 

Totally agree with the above! It'll be worth it to you! :)

 

LuLu

[shortyy2k00]

I had FTTF on the Dream out of Port Canveral and loved it though we were eastern so no tendering. This June I already have it for Paradise and yes it will help with tendering we also have an excursion with carnival as well. For us we do it because our room is ready when we get on board no carrying around bags (bad back/knees) makes it hard. We also are local to Tampa so family is dropping us off and we don't have to worry about such a long wait at the port. Also the Guest Services line is nice and getting to kind of chose when we disembark.

[sjcruiser]

Yes, get it!!!

[chewie8008]

Thanks for all the info everyone! Unfortunately it was sold out already, I'm guessing for a while now. Should have checked on it much earlier but had never even heard of FTTF until last week. Not a very frequent cruiser. But i know for future cruises. We'll work it out one way or another. Either that or my next post might be, "Help, missed my ship and stuck in Belize!" 😃

[LovindaBoat]

Thanks for all the info everyone! Unfortunately it was sold out already, I'm guessing for a while now. Should have checked on it much earlier but had never even heard of FTTF until last week. Not a very frequent cruiser. But i know for future cruises. We'll work it out one way or another. Either that or my next post might be, "Help, missed my ship and stuck in Belize!" 😃

 

They will release more FTTF tickets in rolling waves. I know it's a pain, but if you really want one, check back each day up until your cruise leaves.

[chewie8008]

Yeah, i have been randomly checking in on it. Problem is I need 2, bc we have two staterooms. And we sail this Sunday. But I'll keep checking. Thanks!

[Vitamin_Sea]

not worth it to cut lines

[LeisaH3067]

Yeah, i have been randomly checking in on it. Problem is I need 2, bc we have two staterooms. And we sail this Sunday. But I'll keep checking. Thanks!

 

Still keep checking though I just saw on another thread that Carnival just raised the price another $10. I don't think for that price I would do it again. Hopefully you will be able to get a early tender ticket. The only reason we feel it's a benefit to us is to drop our luggage off and being able to leave the ship early when we return. We must be lucky in that we really haven't encountered bad lines tendering or at guest services. Now if they offered priority tendering back, and getting on the ship at ports quicker..well, that's a totally different ball game :) would do it in a second! lol. Enjoy your cruise! We are on the Breeze in June and counting the days!

[chewie8008]

If i end up not being able to get the FTTF, how early should we go to try to get tickets for the tender, say if we dock at 8. Would the line only be allowed to form at 8, or does it start earlier? Just trying to give us the best chance to be able to get to Caye Caulker.