My take on FTTF

[pblack]

Hello,

 

I know there are many different threads for and against FTTF, but I thought i'd share my first experience with it in hopes that it may help someone who is debating it. My husband and I purchased FTTF for our cabin and our friends cabin on the Triumph sailing out of NOLA on 10/10. We arrived to the port around 10 AM, got in line to park our car, drop off our baggage, and head downstairs to check in.

 

My first impression of the NOLA port is that it's very unorganized. This was the first time we had sailed out of NOLA. There were a lot of people sitting outside waiting until their designated check in time (NOLA has staggered check in for those of you who don't know). We walked right about to the gentleman letting people back upstairs and proceeded to security. Security was easy-peasy. Not a long wait at all, maybe 5 minutes. Check-in was also easy-peasy with another 5 minute wait. After all 4 of us were checked in we were ushered to the "FTTF Section" and sat to wait for our group to be called.

 

They started calling groups at about noon to start boarding. We were on the ship shortly after noon. We proceeded straight to our cabins to drop off our carry ons. The rooms were ready, with the exception of "extras." The case of water, and our two free water bottles did not arrive to the room until after muster. (This wasn't a big deal to us.) Our luggage wasn't to our room yet, but we didn't expect it quite that quickly.

 

All 4 of us then proceeded to the lido deck for some lunch. After lunch we went back down to our rooms to check for our luggage, take a shower, and a nap. (The 4 of us pulled an all nighter and drove from Austin, TX to NOLA...roughly about 8 hours.) Our luggage wasn't there yet, so my husband and I laid down to take a short nap. When we got up my luggage was there, but his wasn't. By the time I had got out of the shower his luggage had showed up. After showering and feeling like a normal human again, we proceeded up to muster drill.... Fast forward to the last day of the cruise and with FTTF it was a breeze to get off the ship. We met in the dining room, and were off the ship and exploring the French Quarter by 7:30 AM (we carried off our luggage).

 

For us FTTF was totally worth it for the simple fact that our room was ready when we boarded and we were able to take a nap. We didn't use it for guest services and we didn't have any ports that tendered. Would I purchase FTTF again? Maybe, it would depend on the cost and whether or not I see the benefit of it for that particular cruise.

 

Hope this helps someone who may be on the fence about purchasing FTTF!

[springs741]

Thank you for sharing your story. Like so many things in life different thing are important to different people. I think part of the issue is so many people think it is only about getting on board faster. Indeed the very name, Faster to the Fun, leads our thinking to this.

 

The staggered check in you mentioned has helped with the lines. I sail from Galveston and have seen this first hand. But as you pointed out there are more advantages than the reduced time in lines.

 

Having your room ready after a long drive as you experienced is a true plus. For us it was traveling with small children. A nap before the drill was a life savor.

 

Again thanks for sharing and happy cruising.

[poobears]

I just got back from NOLA. I didn't notice anyone waiting outside for check in on our sailing but we were ushered in so fast with FTTF that we didn't have much time to notice anything. We literally walked straight into the terminal with no time to even stop to look, there was no line at all to wait in for priority/FTTF when we got there. We walked in and straight through all the processes with zero wait. It was fantastic.

 

We also had a suite so stayed in the private lounge to wait and boarded with them just ahead of FTTF. We were actually on board and settled into our room before noon since they had the ship ready early and started boarding a bit early. I know I sent a text to Mom at 12:04 of the kids chilling in the room to show her what the room looked like. Our water was in the room when we got there. We headed to Lido to grab lunch and take a couple of ship pictures, our luggage was there when we got back.

 

Like you we didn't need to use Guest services for anything during our stay and of course no tenders so didn't use that portion of it. But debark was a breeze, we checked our luggage so experienced the other side of debarking than you. Went to the dining room assigned and waiting. Once the ship was finally cleared (there was a long delay for clearance, no idea why but it was around 10-10:30 I think, when they finally got clearance) we were off in minutes, just behind the priority people, grabbed our luggage and breezed through customs with not much of a wait, maybe 10 minutes or so. Managed to get on an elevator right away and off we went.

 

We will definitely be buying FTTF for all out future trips and we LOVED the staggered boarding, this was our first experience with both and it made boarding so much easier and more organized. No over crowding, no pushing and shoving.

 

Oh and on the ship they definitely do guard the entrances to the halls and check your cards before they let you into the rooms. I saw them turn several people back for not having proper access.

Edited November 4, 2016 by poobears

[chezelle95]

Thank you for the information! We decided we would give it a try on our cruise next weekend!

[jc4me]

The last 2 times we sailed we thought that it was totally worth the $50, but now that it is $70, I'm not so sure. It is sold out on our upcoming cruise so I don't have to think about it too much :rolleyes: Just a few more cruises and we won't have to worry about it any more, but until we get there I guess we will just wait in lines.

[Purple723]

We had FTTF on our last 2 cruises and loved it. We have it again for this December on the Vista!

I have one question though. Do the luggage tags need to be printed in color for the porters to see the FTTF logo? We ran out of colored ink.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Forums mobile app

[cruizinisthebest]

The last 2 times we sailed we thought that it was totally worth the $50, but now that it is $70, I'm not so sure. It is sold out on our upcoming cruise so I don't have to think about it too much :rolleyes: Just a few more cruises and we won't have to worry about it any more, but until we get there I guess we will just wait in lines.

 

Worth it @ $50. Once the prices started jumping, not so much IMO.

 

We had FTTF on our last 2 cruises and loved it. We have it again for this December on the Vista!

I have one question though. Do the luggage tags need to be printed in color for the porters to see the FTTF logo? We ran out of colored ink.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Forums mobile app

 

No.

[poobears]

We had FTTF on our last 2 cruises and loved it. We have it again for this December on the Vista!

I have one question though. Do the luggage tags need to be printed in color for the porters to see the FTTF logo? We ran out of colored ink.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Forums mobile app

 

I printed everything on my business printer so it was all in black and white. It all got there just fine.

Edited November 4, 2016 by poobears

[cruznjan]

We used FTTF for Guest Services, and it great not having to stand in the long line.

 

Sent from my STV100-2 using Forums mobile app

[Butterbean1000]

It is totally worth it to us, even at the new increased price. We like boarding early and being able to go straight to our room. It is also nice when we are at a tendered port. Some might think it is is "wasted money", but for those of us who like it, it is worth it. This will be our last time having to purchase FTTF, our next cruise I'll be platinum.

 

Enjoy your cruise! :cool:

[easyboy]

FTTF is an option. Its value depends on one's need of the convenience it provides. I heard some complaints on the price. I find it reasonable as it makes my cruising more comfortable.

[Scirocco Breeze]

We had FTTF on our recent cruise and it was a godsend. When we got to Miami we had no waits for checking in, just straight through, onto the ship, dropped bags in our room and off for our first cocktails. As a first time cruiser I needed guest services several times for dumb newbie questions and it was good to skip the long lines. And of course tenders and debarking where a breeze. I was a fan.

 

Sent from my SM-G903F using Tapatalk

[rjrice1]

We have purchased it several times and enjoyed

it as well. Especially carrying on bags with medications.

[Pyrate13]

Add us to the list that loved FTTF and feel it is well worth it. Last cruise out of PC we walked right past the lines waiting to get into the terminal, thru check in and right on board, no waiting. Cabin was ready and luggage came fairly short time after boarding. Certainly will do it again.:)

[Drazil65]

FTTF totally worth it for us! Love it!

[mzlinda]

We had FTTF on our last 2 cruises and loved it. We have it again for this December on the Vista!

I have one question though. Do the luggage tags need to be printed in color for the porters to see the FTTF logo? We ran out of colored ink.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Forums mobile app

 

 

Just make sure the porters tag your luggage with the orange Faster to the Fun sticker when you hand it to them.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[BattyL]

I was lucky enough to get it for all of our cruises except for the first one. Now I book far enough ahead so that I am always able to get it. I have it for the next 3, and am waiting for it to open up for the one in 2018. :D

[mishka422]

I was lucky enough to get it for all of our cruises except for the first one. Now I book far enough ahead so that I am always able to get it. I have it for the next 3, and am waiting for it to open up for the one in 2018. :D

Me too. I wonder how long it will be before they start loading excursion info for 2018. Middle of 2017?

 

Sent from my SM-G925V using Forums mobile app

[joeyancho]

On Princess everyone's room is ready when you board.

[joe bucker]

Me too. I wonder how long it will be before they start loading excursion info for 2018. Middle of 2017?

 

I booked my Christmas 2017 cruise on 10-30-16 and also purchased my FTTF that same day.

[maldenmusic]

Sorry you found NOLA unorganized. We've cruised out of there 8 times and always thought it flowed well. Once we did the FTTF and while I have no complaints about it probably won't do it again.

[BNBR]

We used FTTF on our recent cruise. Well worth it. We did self-assist boarding also, so pretty much walked right on with our stuff and in our room - if I recall, before noon or right around noon. It was great not waiting for our stuff, waiting for room to be ready, etc. etc. I highly recommend, if you just have simple bags, doing self assist boarding if you have FTTF as your room is ready immediately.

 

So we were on, unpacked, etc.... while others were waiting to board... enjoyed lunch. And needed guest services once, skipping the line was great.

 

Getting a couple of hours at the beginning to not deal with waiting for the room to be ready and all that nonsense... well worth the $70. If you don't really care if your room is ready or anything when you board, it may not be worth it at all.

Edited November 6, 2016 by BNBR

[riclop]

Hello,

 

I know there are many different threads for and against FTTF, but I thought i'd share my first experience with it in hopes that it may help someone who is debating it. My husband and I purchased FTTF for our cabin and our friends cabin on the Triumph sailing out of NOLA on 10/10. We arrived to the port around 10 AM, got in line to park our car, drop off our baggage, and head downstairs to check in.

 

My first impression of the NOLA port is that it's very unorganized. This was the first time we had sailed out of NOLA. There were a lot of people sitting outside waiting until their designated check in time (NOLA has staggered check in for those of you who don't know). We walked right about to the gentleman letting people back upstairs and proceeded to security. Security was easy-peasy. Not a long wait at all, maybe 5 minutes. Check-in was also easy-peasy with another 5 minute wait. After all 4 of us were checked in we were ushered to the "FTTF Section" and sat to wait for our group to be called.

 

They started calling groups at about noon to start boarding. We were on the ship shortly after noon. We proceeded straight to our cabins to drop off our carry ons. The rooms were ready, with the exception of "extras." The case of water, and our two free water bottles did not arrive to the room until after muster. (This wasn't a big deal to us.) Our luggage wasn't to our room yet, but we didn't expect it quite that quickly.

 

All 4 of us then proceeded to the lido deck for some lunch. After lunch we went back down to our rooms to check for our luggage, take a shower, and a nap. (The 4 of us pulled an all nighter and drove from Austin, TX to NOLA...roughly about 8 hours.) Our luggage wasn't there yet, so my husband and I laid down to take a short nap. When we got up my luggage was there, but his wasn't. By the time I had got out of the shower his luggage had showed up. After showering and feeling like a normal human again, we proceeded up to muster drill.... Fast forward to the last day of the cruise and with FTTF it was a breeze to get off the ship. We met in the dining room, and were off the ship and exploring the French Quarter by 7:30 AM (we carried off our luggage).

 

For us FTTF was totally worth it for the simple fact that our room was ready when we boarded and we were able to take a nap. We didn't use it for guest services and we didn't have any ports that tendered. Would I purchase FTTF again? Maybe, it would depend on the cost and whether or not I see the benefit of it for that particular cruise.

 

Hope this helps someone who may be on the fence about purchasing FTTF!

 

Not worth $70-80.

[BNBR]

Not worth $70-80.

 

When you can't afford it...

[terri-eddie]

After one cruise without FTTF, where we waited outside in the hot sun until almost 4pm to embark....never again. On that trip, just as we got on the ship, muster drill was being announced...even though there were still long lines of people not boarded.

 

Since then, no matter what the price, we get FTTF. There are three of us together, so the cost isn't really all that much per person. And it's wonderful to be onboard relaxing while so many others are still waiting to board.