Do I need Faster to the Fun

[tiwi]

My flight arrives in Ft Lauderdale at 9:05 a.m. so I am guessing I will be at Miami port by 10:30 a.m. Should I get Faster to the Fun or will I be able to get on the ship shortly thereafter? I believe I requested an 11:00 a.m. check in time.

 

Thanks!

[Shaded Lady]

Your checkin time is different from your boarding time.

 

If you get FTTF you'll be able to check in as soon as you get to the port. You'll be one of the earlier groups to board, once boarding starts (approximately 11:15- 11:30)...

 

There are other benefits- you can go straight to your cabin when you board to drop off carry-ons, expedited access to Guest Services etc... bottom line, check the Carnival website and look at all the benefits to decide if it's worth it to you.

[tiwi]

I also have a later flight home. How long will they let you stay on the ship on disembarkment day if you have Faster to the fun?

[ray98]

No....you don't 'need' it. Plenty get along just fine without it and have for decades.

[Shaded Lady]

FTTF is a benefit you don't have to use on debarkment. You can stay onboard til they make a final call for all ashore, which is usually around 10 AM. There are limited things to do onboard after you eat breakfast that morning, but if it's better than sitting in an airport, go for it!

[mdsgu]

I also have a later flight home. How long will they let you stay on the ship on disembarkment day if you have Faster to the fun?

 

You don't get an extended checkout time with FTTF. You have to get off the boat at your assigned time just like everyone else.

[Shaded Lady]

No....you don't 'need' it. Plenty get along just fine without it and have for decades.

Technically Ray98 is correct- few people 'need' it, but as I said, you need to decide if it's right for you, if you 'want' it.

[Shaded Lady]

You don't get an extended checkout time with FTTF. You have to get off the boat at your assigned time just like everyone else.

Not true- I cruised out of Port Canaveral and my ride was delayed so we stayed onboard til almost 10 so we wouldn't have to wait outside (FLA was having a rare winter cold snap). By the time we got off, there were very few people still onboard.

 

They don't care if you offboard at your designated time, if you want to wait. But you'll need to get off when they make the final call (darn them!)

[Havingfun2010]

My flight arrives in Ft Lauderdale at 9:05 a.m. so I am guessing I will be at Miami port by 10:30 a.m. Should I get Faster to the Fun or will I be able to get on the ship shortly thereafter? I believe I requested an 11:00 a.m. check in time.

 

Thanks!

 

 

Carnival needs the money, but you don't need it. Think of it this way, everything that you get for FTTF are items you will still get but 5 minutes faster. So you are buying items that are free. Carnival wins because they got your money. The marketing guy, who came up with the idea, got a promotion.

[Shaded Lady]

Carnival needs the money, but you don't need it. Think of it this way, everything that you get for FTTF are items you will still get but 5 minutes faster. So you are buying items that are free. Carnival wins because they got your money. The marketing guy, who came up with the idea, got a promotion.

That is your opinion and you're entitled to it. For me, what they offer is enough to warrant the cost.

[naxer]

Can you still check in at the airport? When I still flew in the same day of the cruise to Miami, I just checked in at the airport and used the Carnival transfer, and airport check-ins/transfers got an early zone. I just walked right on to the ship from the transfer bus.

[beachbum53]

Not true- I cruised out of Port Canaveral and my ride was delayed so we stayed onboard til almost 10 so we wouldn't have to wait outside (FLA was having a rare winter cold snap). By the time we got off, there were very few people still onboard.

 

They don't care if you offboard at your designated time, if you want to wait. But you'll need to get off when they make the final call (darn them!)

 

On Debarkation day, FTTF is irrelevant. No one will know or care that you had purchased it. The FTTF benefits become null on Debarkation day. Anyone can stay on board (whether you had purchased FTTF or not) until last call, which is usually about 10:00 a.m.

[Shaded Lady]

On Debarkation day, FTTF is irrelevant. No one will know or care that you had purchased it. The FTTF benefits become null on Debarkation day. Anyone can stay on board (whether you had purchased FTTF or not) until last call, which is usually about 10:00 a.m.

What you say is true about late offboarding.

 

But if you want to get off the ship faster then FTTF can get you off the ship before the various zones so there can be some benefit on debarkation day.

[maldenmusic]

We bought it once just to see what it was like. It wasn't really helpful to us.

[kona_wahine]

Love it for getting to room early, tendering, and incase I need to go to GS. No, don't "need" it, just really enjoy the benefits.

[dolita22]

We thought we'd want it for our cruise on the Glory a few weeks ago, but it was sold out from the time we booked last August until the days before we sailed, so we were never able to purchase it. (I checked daily, sometimes multiple times each day, per many on here saying it would become available and it just never did.) We wondered once we were on the ship if we'd feel like we needed it, but never felt the need for it the entire cruise. So if it were available on a future Carnival cruise we're taking, we very likely wouldn't purchase it. We don't typically go to Guest Services, don't really need to be the first to get our luggage, and prefer to take our time getting off if we're at a port where you need to tender. So to us, I'm glad we didn't purchase it. Instead, we used the money towards a bottle of alcohol for our room. :)

[Shaded Lady]

We thought we'd want it for our cruise on the Glory a few weeks ago, but it was sold out from the time we booked last August until the days before we sailed, so we were never able to purchase it. (I checked daily, sometimes multiple times each day, per many on here saying it would become available and it just never did.) We wondered once we were on the ship if we'd feel like we needed it, but never felt the need for it the entire cruise. So if it were available on a future Carnival cruise we're taking, we very likely wouldn't purchase it. We don't typically go to Guest Services, don't really need to be the first to get our luggage, and prefer to take our time getting off if we're at a port where you need to tender. So to us, I'm glad we didn't purchase it. Instead, we used the money towards a bottle of alcohol for our room. :)

Good for you! I always encourage people asking about FTTF to look at all the things that are offered, and evaluate whether they make sense for you, on your particular cruise, at that particular time!

 

You decided against it for your last cruise- who knows, things may change and you decide to get it for a future cruise. But you're making an informed decision based on what makes sense to you and your traveling companions for that cruise.

[beachbum53]

What you say is true about late offboarding.

 

But if you want to get off the ship faster then FTTF can get you off the ship before the various zones so there can be some benefit on debarkation day.

 

Again, FTTF is irrelevant on Debarkation Day. If you're doing self debarkation and want to get off before any zone numbers are called, just listen for the announcement for self debarkation. Of course, doing self debarkation means taking all of your luggage with you, instead of putting it out in the hallway the night before.

[bakersdozen12]

Again, FTTF is irrelevant on Debarkation Day. If you're doing self debarkation and want to get off before any zone numbers are called, just listen for the announcement for self debarkation. Of course, doing self debarkation means taking all of your luggage with you, instead of putting it out in the hallway the night before.

 

 

 

If you don’t want to do self-debarkation then FTTF is certainly not irrelevant. It will get you zone 2 tags.

 

 

 

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[SNJCruisers]

Carnival wins because they got your money. The marketing guy, who came up with the idea, got a promotion.

And the second marketing person who decided to set up a sliding scale depending upon the length of your cruise so Carnival could charge more and add additional $$$ to the coffers also got a promotion.

[Pellaz]

If you don’t want to do self-debarkation then FTTF is certainly not irrelevant. It will get you zone 2 tags.

 

It's gotten us Zone 1 tags on more than one occasion, too. :halo:

 

As for FTTF, I've purchased it for every Carnival cruise I've been on, and each time there has been a significant benefit to us....although not always the same ones. On one cruise the tendering benefit ended up not mattering because we missed HMC, but I had to go to Guest Services several times over a stateroom issue and FTTF saved me at least an hour waiting in line...possibly more. You just never know.

On our most recent cruise out of PortMiami, we arrived at the terminal fairly early (about 10:30) and looked in horror at a huge line of people waiting outside to enter. We were able to enter the building immediately through the VIFP/FTTF line and my two friends looked back at the line of people waiting for the 11 am time slot and said "Paul, if we ever doubted that Faster to the Fun was worth every penny, those doubts were dispelled RIGHT THERE." :)

[LuckyStar]

My flight arrives in Ft Lauderdale at 9:05 a.m. so I am guessing I will be at Miami port by 10:30 a.m. Should I get Faster to the Fun or will I be able to get on the ship shortly thereafter? I believe I requested an 11:00 a.m. check in time.

 

Thanks!

 

You would only have to wait 30 min and you will have saved the money. Only you can decide if you want to pay the extra. I don't find it worth it. But many do. You can take your time at the airport and not feel as rushed as you might ordinarily.