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Does Ft Lauderdale / Splendor use Staggered boarding?

NoJolt4U

By NoJolt4U,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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NoJolt4U

NoJolt4U

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Our itinerary has no tendered ports but we are only red cards so my question is simple, do they stagger boarding out of Ft Lauderdale and if so how is FTTF affected by this and is it worth it? Thanks

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dacsmom

dacsmom

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They stagger boarding in all ports, and always have. First are wedding parties, then Diamond, then Platinum, then FTTF, then zones.

 

Only you can decide if FTTF is worth it. It is for me because my stateroom is ready when I get on the ship, and there is a separate line for guest services.

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riclop

riclop

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Our itinerary has no tendered ports but we are only red cards so my question is simple, do they stagger boarding out of Ft Lauderdale and if so how is FTTF affected by this and is it worth it? Thanks

 

Splendor is in Miami.

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springs741

springs741

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I am on Splendor January 22, 2017, out of Miami. There is staggered boarding, I already have mine from 10:30 to 11:00 am

IT is staggered check in. I don't want you to be disappointed You will check in between 10:30 and 11:00. You may not get on the ship until much later. When I boarded the Splendor in May(Miami) it was after 1:00 until I got on board and I had priority boarding.

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dacsmom

dacsmom

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I am on Splendor January 22, 2017, out of Miami. There is staggered boarding, I already have mine from 10:30 to 11:00 am

 

The OP was asking about FLL, not Miami. Miami has staggered check in for all ships except Vista.

 

You did not choose your boarding time, you chose your check in time. Two very different things. You chose the time you would be allowed into the terminal to begin your boarding process. Don't go expecting to walk right on the ship at 10:30.

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originalgeek

originalgeek

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the interesting thing was that it didnt ask me to select any time for check in or boarding when we booked. We only paid the deposit so far. Is that why?

It didn't ask you because you are going out of Ft Lauderdale (Port Everglades) and FL doesn't have the staggered check-in yet. Miami does but FL and Miami are 2 different ports.

 

As for FTTF we thought it was worth it last week on Conquest out of Ft Lauderdale. And we didn't even get to check-in early because we got to the port late. But the rest of the week it came in very handy for Guest Services, Tenders and debarkation. In the future we will probably try to sail out of Port Canaveral and be able to utilize early check-in with FTTF and have our rooms ready for us when we are allowed to board. We live about 35 minutes from PC. :)

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joepeka

joepeka

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the interesting thing was that it didnt ask me to select any time for check in or boarding when we booked. We only paid the deposit so far. Is that why?

 

I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong but I don't believe you select your check-in time until you complete your online check-in via the web site.

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dacsmom

dacsmom

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I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong but I don't believe you select your check-in time until you complete your online check-in via the web site.

 

FLL does not have staggered check in time yet, so there is nothing to select.

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joepeka

joepeka

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FLL does not have staggered check in time yet, so there is nothing to select.

 

I meant in general, for those ports where there is staggered check-in, you do not pick that time until you go through the online check-in process.

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NoJolt4U

NoJolt4U

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It didn't ask you because you are going out of Ft Lauderdale (Port Everglades) and FL doesn't have the staggered check-in yet. Miami does but FL and Miami are 2 different ports.

 

As for FTTF we thought it was worth it last week on Conquest out of Ft Lauderdale. And we didn't even get to check-in early because we got to the port late. But the rest of the week it came in very handy for Guest Services, Tenders and debarkation. In the future we will probably try to sail out of Port Canaveral and be able to utilize early check-in with FTTF and have our rooms ready for us when we are allowed to board. We live about 35 minutes from PC. :)

 

ty! we wont have any tenders on this cruise but would love to get on board as fast as possible and the guest services line is nice.

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JOANN226

JOANN226

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It didn't ask you because you are going out of Ft Lauderdale (Port Everglades) and FL doesn't have the staggered check-in yet. Miami does but FL and Miami are 2 different ports.

 

As for FTTF we thought it was worth it last week on Conquest out of Ft Lauderdale. And we didn't even get to check-in early because we got to the port late. But the rest of the week it came in very handy for Guest Services, Tenders and debarkation. In the future we will probably try to sail out of Port Canaveral and be able to utilize early check-in with FTTF and have our rooms ready for us when we are allowed to board. We live about 35 minutes from PC. :)

 

 

 

 

When was the FTTF available to book on your cruise, we are doing the Splendor in October and I think I might book it, as of now it is not in the excursions yet.

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NoJolt4U

NoJolt4U

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When was the FTTF available to book on your cruise, we are doing the Splendor in October and I think I might book it, as of now it is not in the excursions yet.

 

Cruising in July 2017 avail now. Not sure when they put it in. Maybe it's sold out already for yours? Not sure though.

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luv2trvlnow

luv2trvlnow

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I meant in general, for those ports where there is staggered check-in, you do not pick that time until you go through the online check-in process.

Correct. You pick your check in time through the online check-in. You can do this right after booking your cruise. You don't have to be paid in full and you don't have to complete the whole online check-in. You can just go to the part to choose your check in time. That's what I did on our cruise from Galveston in March.

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originalgeek

originalgeek

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When was the FTTF available to book on your cruise, we are doing the Splendor in October and I think I might book it, as of now it is not in the excursions yet.

 

I booked our cruise for July 23rd on the last day of March. I am 87% positive I saw FTTF available at that time for purchase through the excursions page but I didn't know about it then so I ignored it. I then started reading Cruise Critic and saw a lot of threads on FTTF so about the end of April I tried to get it but it was listed as sold out. For the next couple weeks I checked the excursions page every day and finally one morning about 3am (I couldn't sleep so decided to soothe my brain by looking at excursions for our upcoming voyage) and BAM! there it was in limited availability. I grabbed it right quick. I think that was in early May.

 

I looked again the next day and it was sold out again.

 

Over the next couple months I checked periodically for other people on my roll call and since I was there looking at my itinerary every day anyway like a psychopath and I saw it become available and then sell out at least twice more.

 

The moral of the story is, if you want it, check every day multiple times a day and at weird times of the day. People cancel FTTF, people upgrade to suites that don't need it, Plats and Diamonds might cancel so there's more space for FTTF - just keep checking and it could very well open up for you.

 

Good luck! It was very worth it to us! :)

 

Edit to add~ May 7th was when I got it. So about 2 and half months from sail date and it opened up a couple more times after that.

Edited by originalgeek
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