Platinum perks

[tkportersat]

I have always had my luggage unpacked by Muster - and that was even before becoming Platinum.  I do usually get to the Port before Noon.  

[RWolver672]

On 8/5/2019 at 5:02 AM, RWolver672 said:

 

 

Our last cruise out of Miami on the Horizon (Feb, 2019), they were still putting the orange tags on the FTTF but not for Priority/Diamond.  I asked the porter and he said P/D didn't need it because the tags already said Priority.  

 

22 hours ago, NCTribeFan said:

The FTTF tags also already say Priority, so that's just nonsense.  I also have not seen the orange tags in several years and I've sailed from several different ports.

 

 

I thought that too but that's what the Porter said.  Brother and SIL had FTTF.  We were Platinum.  They got the orange tags, we didn't.  We checked out our cabins as soon as we boarded, then went to grab something to eat.  When we returned, both cabins's luggage was sitting outside of our cabins.

[crusinpsychRN]

On 8/4/2019 at 4:37 PM, Shaded Lady said:

When you have priority for luggage, they are supposed to add a bright orange tag to your suitcase which id's it as supposing to go in the priority buggies for luggage delivery. The only times I've failed to get my suitcases early when I'm supposed to are the times the porters failed to put that orange tag on my bag.

 

This orange tag is in addition to your luggage tag- the FTTF or Priority or whatever it says is not sufficiently eye-catching enough to guarantee early delivery, but the orange tags appear to be. So IF you check your bags, and IF you're supposed to get priority luggage delivery (FTTF or VIPs) then take a second when you hand your bags over to the porter to ensure the orange tag is secured.

 

They stopped using the orange tags.

[Shaded Lady]

 

14 minutes ago, crusinpsychRN said:

 

They stopped using the orange tags.

 

I’m not sure if that is true of certain ports but they were using them last month in Galveston...

[SNJCruisers]

On 8/5/2019 at 7:46 AM, NCTribeFan said:

 

There's no need to dress up for the steakhouse on the first night.  I always "dress" at least a bit for dinner, even on the first night in the MDR, so I make sure I have at least a nice top in my carry-on that I can put on over jeans (which is typically what I'm wearing when I board. 

Since you're wearing jeans and bring a nice top in your carry on, you're set for first night dinner wherever you choose to dine.  But, if the OP is wearing shorts like the vast majority of people on a Caribbean cruise when boarding, then they will need a change of clothes since shorts will not cut it in the Steakhouse.

Edited August 8, 2019 by SNJCruisers

[RjayB]

Have they stopped putting the FTTF logo on Platinum bag tags? 

We didn't cruise last year so i am out of the loop, just printed docs for november and it has Priority but no FTTF logo. 

 

[ShakyBeef]

3 hours ago, RjayB said:

Have they stopped putting the FTTF logo on Platinum bag tags? 

We didn't cruise last year so i am out of the loop, just printed docs for november and it has Priority but no FTTF logo. 

 

 

That is correct.  My tags for my first leg of my upcoming BTB (for which I bought FTTF) have the FTTF circle logo on them.  My tags (which I will not need) for the second leg (on which I will be Platinum) just have the red Priority banner.

[tandemcruzr]

3 hours ago, ShakyBeef said:

 

That is correct.  My tags for my first leg of my upcoming BTB (for which I bought FTTF) have the FTTF circle logo on them.  My tags (which I will not need) for the second leg (on which I will be Platinum) just have the red Priority banner.

I thought that if you turn Platinum on your second cruise of a B2B (same ship) you would be Platinum on leg 1. I seem to remember reading that on this board a while back. I may be wrong, but it might be worth a call to make sure your 2 cruises are linked. Let us know what you find out.

Edited August 9, 2019 by tandemcruzr
Spelling

[ShakyBeef]

1 minute ago, tandemcruzr said:

I thought that if you turn Platinum on your second cruise of a B2B (same ship) you would be Platinum on leg 1. I seem to remember reading that on this board a while back. I may be wrong, but it might be worth a call to make sure your 2 cruises are linked.

 

Yes, thanks, that's good advice.  My cruises are definitely linked as B2B.  I made sure of it upon booking with my PVP.

 

OK, long story:  Yes, that is what most people reported here, from their experience.  But there were some reports of that not being the case and I couldn't get a definitive answer. 

 

So I called my PVP, who didn't know and transferred me to the Guest Loyalty Department.  The very nice lady there also didn't know, but put a lot of effort into trying to find the official answer for me.  She eventually had to go to her supervisor to find out.  And that official answer from Carnival came back as: I will be awarded my Platinum status on the first day of the second leg of the BTB.  (I will technically reach the requisite 75 days for Platinum on Day 94 of the second 5-Day leg).

 

So I carried on with this information, knowing that I would need FTTF for the perks I want for my first leg.  My cruise docs said Gold.  I stalked FTTF for many months and finally snagged it for my first sailing in June.  HOORAY! Then, when prompted by something another poster said in another thread a few weeks ago, I happened to check my cruise docs again.  Lo and behold, my DH and I are now listed as Platinum on both sailings!  But, with all this talk of another shake-up to the VIFP program, I'm not going to let go of my hard-won FTTF until just before sailing, for fear of getting bumped from Platinum status.

 

According to Carnival's official stance, as reported to me by their representative, I won't be Platinum until Day One of Leg Two, so they could bump me back to Gold for the first leg even without notice and without a change to the VIFP program, and I wouldn't really have a right to complain.  So I'm not counting on keeping it.  Instead, I'm keeping my FTTF as an insurance plan.

[tandemcruzr]

OK, good approach. Hopefully you will not need your 'insurance plan' and can cancel FTTF.   🙂

 

[Maraprince]

If you are Platinum and have the priority status on your luggage tags, can you access your cabin upon boarding to leave hand luggage and any outerwear in your cabin before going up to the buffet for lunch?

 

MARAPRINCE

[ShakyBeef]

20 minutes ago, Maraprince said:

If you are Platinum and have the priority status on your luggage tags, can you access your cabin upon boarding to leave hand luggage and any outerwear in your cabin before going up to the buffet for lunch?

 

MARAPRINCE

 

Yes.  Your cabin should be ready upon boarding for Platinum, Diamond, and FTTF.

[jimbo5544]

There is no guaranty’s, we are Diamond and got our bags at 5:30 on our Sunrise cruise in July.  Most times, we get them early, but there are many variables between drop off and your cabin door.

[jimbo5544]

On 8/9/2019 at 4:58 PM, ShakyBeef said:

 

Yes, thanks, that's good advice.  My cruises are definitely linked as B2B.  I made sure of it upon booking with my PVP.

 

OK, long story:  Yes, that is what most people reported here, from their experience.  But there were some reports of that not being the case and I couldn't get a definitive answer. 

 

So I called my PVP, who didn't know and transferred me to the Guest Loyalty Department.  The very nice lady there also didn't know, but put a lot of effort into trying to find the official answer for me.  She eventually had to go to her supervisor to find out.  And that official answer from Carnival came back as: I will be awarded my Platinum status on the first day of the second leg of the BTB.  (I will technically reach the requisite 75 days for Platinum on Day 94 of the second 5-Day leg).

 

So I carried on with this information, knowing that I would need FTTF for the perks I want for my first leg.  My cruise docs said Gold.  I stalked FTTF for many months and finally snagged it for my first sailing in June.  HOORAY! Then, when prompted by something another poster said in another thread a few weeks ago, I happened to check my cruise docs again.  Lo and behold, my DH and I are now listed as Platinum on both sailings!  But, with all this talk of another shake-up to the VIFP program, I'm not going to let go of my hard-won FTTF until just before sailing, for fear of getting bumped from Platinum status.

 

According to Carnival's official stance, as reported to me by their representative, I won't be Platinum until Day One of Leg Two, so they could bump me back to Gold for the first leg even without notice and without a change to the VIFP program, and I wouldn't really have a right to complain.  So I'm not counting on keeping it.  Instead, I'm keeping my FTTF as an insurance plan.

I would be surprised if you get a plat privileges on the first leg, a cruise is a cruise....that said, enjoy your cruises. 

[Lee Cruiser]

As others have said, the time varies.  On our cruise on the Breeze in April, we received our bags at 12:25 and were unpacked by 12:50.