Faster to the Fun - FTTF - your thoughts?

[jovifan78]

I would say it's definitely worth it! We purchased it on our cruise last time and it made things so much easier, from checking in to getting on one of the first tenders. Everything went smoothly. We'll continue to purchase until we hit Platinum. lol:D:D

[lhanson38]

This is my first time getting it. It pays for its self if I get my luggage early My vacation dosn't start till I am all unpacked. Then it starts for me

[Martini Mom]

This is my first time getting it. It pays for its self if I get my luggage early My vacation dosn't start till I am all unpacked. Then it starts for me

 

I agree! I'm too type A for my own good and my hubby would pay FAR more than FTTF to have me settled in and relaxed ;)

[Waterloomarc]

Yes it is absolutely worth it to me! We've had it 4 times now and unfortunately I haven't been able to get it yet for my upcoming September cruise...but I'm still hoping.

 

I don't care about the priority tendering as I tend to sleep in to let the crowds die down anyway. But the dedicated guest service line comes in handy. But far and away the biggest reason I buy it is to skip the line and check in and have the cabin ready when I board.

 

Buy it. If you regret it, it was only $60 and chalk it up to experience. Hell that won't even buy dinner anymore especially in Canada!

[CrusieToy]

Hi all,

New to Carnival, our first cruise with them. Tell me about the perks of FTTF. If you've used it before, do you find it worthwhile?

 

We plan on being at the cruise terminal as EARLY as they will let us in. So would it be worth it? And as for tendering early, in Belize, we will be doing an excursion that we will most likely have to wait for those who do not have FTTF...so really is it worth the $60? (which is more than that in CDN) :(

 

was nice putting everything in the room right away. the carry on can get a little

heavy and u have to watch it.

was great when you had a tender, someone from carnival brought us to the

head of the line and that saved a lot of time.

was not that great for Guest Services (we used FTTF on the Legend)

It appeared to other guest that I was cutting in front of them and when the

lady from Carnival said next a lady from the other line said something like

"I'm next" and jumped in. It would of been nice if the special line for

FTTF was not right next to the reg. line

Did not use it on our last cruse since we had 2 cabins but would prob. do it

again on our next cruise.

[printingchick]

I just purchased FTTF for my daughter and fiance for their honeymoon cruise in May 2016. I had no idea it was so hard to get! I'm so glad I timed the purchase right!

 

They will arrive at the terminal early (probably about 11:30), so having their cabin available will be really nice. They also have one tender port (Grand Cayman), so avoiding those tender lines is another big plus.

 

I'm more often a Royal Caribbean cruiser, but I would definitely purchase this program if it were available through Royal. At $60, I think it's worth it. If it were any more than that, I probably wouldn't pay the money. I think Carnival has priced it at the high end of reasonable, making it a worthwhile expense for a good number of travelers.

[hapytobehr]

We have purchased it and would do it again. However, it can sometimes be very difficult to get as it sells out very quickly.

 

We had originally purchased for a cruise that we had to re-schedule and are having trouble getting it for the re-scheduled cruise.

 

We love it because not only is your room ready and your luggage there for you, it's great during debarkation if you are self assist (which we are). The last cruise we were off the ship by 8:30 AM and home by 9:15 AM.

 

Happy Cruising!!

[berrieh]

Having the room ready when you board, especially if you show up relatively early like we do, float onboard at 11 right after plats/diamonds/wedding, and throw your stuff down, sometimes noticing your luggage has already magically arrived (not always, but sometimes even by 11 or noon!) is fantastic in my eyes. The easy tendering and shortcut line at Guest Services are icing on the cake. At $30 or less per person ($60 for the cabin), it's a steal in my eyes!

 

Edit: For me, it's about vacation really starting with all the fussiness (boarding, luggage, etc) is settled with and I can chill with drinks in my hand.

Edited November 3, 2015 by berrieh

[ccw2891]

With a little planning, you can get all the perks of FTTF without any expense.

 

Don't waste your money on it.

 

Sent from my SM-G386T using Tapatalk

 

How do you go about getting the benefit ...while not paying for FTTF? I'm curious? Sailing out of Long Beach in May and don't really know what to expect...I hate lines:(

[averysmama]

Personally we have never bought it and have never found a need for it. We've always traveled with a child… her first at age 2 and the most recent was age 7… my only cruise without a child I was pregnant. We've never waited more than 30 mins to get on the ship and we get there early. I've found it you just bring a backpack, it's super easy to just wear around and there is no need for putting carry ons down immediately in the room. We don't want to swim immediately so that also doesn't play a factor.

 

:)

[cruznjan]

I am not the OP on that statement, but I think they meant things like - go to boarding after 1pm and you breeze right through and your room is already ready. If you need guest services, just go at an off time when everyone else won't be there, etc. That is what we do.

 

For our last cruise we arrived around 2:00 p.m. and the check-in lines were still long. It was great being able to bypass them. Using the priority guest services line on the ship was a time-saver.

[marcimm]

We've used it on the last two or three cruises and love it! From the early embarkation, rooms ready, early luggage delivery, no tender lines, and zone 1 debarkation. But the most beneficial to us was the guest services line on the morning of debarkation on our last cruise on Dream. One of my daughter's friend's credit card wasn't going through so she had to go down there to settle her account before we could debark. That line snaked all over the ship! But with FTTF, we were able to walk right up to the counter and get things squared away.

[lablover61]

If you can get it on any cruise, grab it. Best deal by far on Carnival. We have had it on several cruises and love it ! Many advantages.

 

 

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[hlauburn]

Do it! Just got back from the Breeze and it was absolutely worth it! Just the dedicated Guest Services line alone was worth it to us...walked right up every time, even when the "regular" line was 30 people long.

[HectorAchilleus]

Yes it is absolutely worth it to me! We've had it 4 times now and unfortunately I haven't been able to get it yet for my upcoming September cruise...but I'm still hoping.

 

I don't care about the priority tendering as I tend to sleep in to let the crowds die down anyway. But the dedicated guest service line comes in handy. But far and away the biggest reason I buy it is to skip the line and check in and have the cabin ready when I board.

 

Buy it. If you regret it, it was only $60 and chalk it up to experience. Hell that won't even buy dinner anymore especially in Canada!

 

Is it really that hard to get? I mean four out of five and still a chance to get it for number 5 seems pretty good. A lot of people say they would not cruise without it, or they had it on their last three cruises. I guess the real question is "How many of these things do they sell?" I have heard that it is related to Plats, etc. but also have seen it still offered on journeys cruises where there are 500+ Plats. They must sell a ton of these things.

[Keys2Heaven]

We got it for our April 24th Conquest cruise, just to see if it is worth it for future cruises.

 

We've always found our cabin ready when we board, have very rarely every used guest services, have not needed priority tendering nor early debarkation.

 

But, with all the for/against on these forums, felt we couldn't make an accurate judgement unless we tried it ourselves.

[evandbob]

I think most posters here are thinking of FTTF with Miami, Canaveral, Galveston and a few other ports. I won't disagree there.

 

But is it necessary or useful for a port like San Juan with a 10PM sailaway? I imagine that Carnival still promotes and sells FTTF there, but IMO, it might be a waste of money here, esp. if there is no tendering on the Southern itinerary.

 

I don.t know about Carnival in Alaska, I've only done Princess there, same with Rome and Venice.

 

Anyway, my opinion is that most cruisers who get it will use it well, but there are others who will not benefit.

[bkerber]

We are tendering in 1 port. We have booked an independent tour. Do we still get priority on the tender boats and how do we go about letting them know.

[riclop]

Hi all,

New to Carnival, our first cruise with them. Tell me about the perks of FTTF. If you've used it before, do you find it worthwhile?

 

We plan on being at the cruise terminal as EARLY as they will let us in. So would it be worth it? And as for tendering early, in Belize, we will be doing an excursion that we will most likely have to wait for those who do not have FTTF...so really is it worth the $60? (which is more than that in CDN) :(

 

A waste of $$$. We boarded 5 minutes after FTTF had lunch and the rooms were ready.

[erinmarie424]

If I was going to get to the port on the late side I'd pass.

If I traveled with people that just want to go up to Lido, grab some lunch, and hang out there until the room is ready I'd pass.

If I didn't mind dragging my carryon around, and watching my travel partner's stuff while they got food (or if we carried on a very minimal amount of stuff)I'd pass.

 

I like to leave my hotel at checkout time, go to the terminal in a leisurely fashion, and get on as soon as I can. My travel companions and I like to drop everything off so we can walk around the ship easily and get our food without the inconvenience of having to watch our stuff. I'd rather have a free hand for a cocktail than drag a bag around. This is my primary reason for getting FTTF.

 

Unanticipated benefits:

One time we got stuck in a horrible traffic jam from South Beach to the Miami terminal. We arrived a good 45 minutes lateer than planned, around 11:15. By then the terminal was swamped and we were able to bypass all the lines and walk right up to security and check-in and were in our room less than 20 minutes after we were dropped off. (now with staggered boarding this may be different, but we were happy we had it then.)

 

Another time my roommate and I were putting our suitcases out in the hall and neither of us had our card in our pocket and the door closed. She got a new card at GS in about five minutes and did not have to wait in the "last night line" with a hundred other passengers.

 

So.... it has been worth it for me the two times I got it. All it would take for me to not get it would be a later arrival when I know the room would be ready and I'd skip it. Since I fly to ports and stay in hotels the night before it works out best for us to go early. Getting luggage early and being able to unpack right after lunch (or before as was the case last time) is another nice benefit.

[cruisinsly]

I see that others have already told you of the benefits with it. I can tell you that if you can get it - do so. We had it on our last Carnival cruise and LOVED it. For our upcoming -I was able to snag a FTTF for both rooms we have booked. I feel like it is a great value for the price.

[AmberTeka]

Hated it when it first came out. We were platinum and I saw it as Selling rewards that we had sailed a lot and paid a lot to earn.

 

then we took daughter. SIL and grand child.......then 3 years old

I loved it. They were able to board with us. Baby did not have a meltdown. We through lines at same time. Life saver

 

AND last cruises we took were on Sunshine. Platinum and FTTF were not in same lounge. Getting on and off for both was smooth and easy. No hurt feelings. No resentment. Carnival may have figured out how to do it.

 

Have Small Children?????????? .BUY IT would be my advice Want to get luggage quick? BUY IT. Want to get in Cabin and just sit down? BUY IT