Never Saw The Need For FTTF - Why Bother?

[PAPERBKWRITER]

On debarking I've noticed some people that find out about the platinum meeting place show up and get off with the group. You can tell by their ss card when they are logged off the ship. They should have someone at the door of the meeting room to check ss cards but they never do.

[elainmir]

I knew I wanted to purchase it for our anniversary cruise..hubby has back issues and when he stands a long time he is in pain. So I thought with Fttf we could pass the lines and get on and he could sit and have lunch. totally worth 50 bucks to me...:D

[cynthe66]

Prior to them offering F2F, I was at the port by 1030. Wouldn't be onboard the ship much before 1230, and this was in both Tampa and Port Canaveral. Now, if I get there by 1030 with F2F, I can be onboard by 1115, settled in my cabin where I don't have to lug my carryon, and enjoying lunch with no crowd. And that doesn't include the hassle of dealing with rude people trying to get off early once returned to port.

 

I don't feel it would be of great use to myself and hubby. The last three cruises we've been on we were on the ship by 11:45 and we didn't have FTTF. (three different ports mind you, Tampa, Canaveral, and Miami). As for the carry on, we drop them off in my inlaws room, they are platinum. And we always wait till the very last minute to get off. Of course it helps that we live in Florida so it's not like we have to make it to the airport to catch a plane. It's whatever you think is important to you, for us it's not that important.

[BenjiRodney]

It was worth the 2 1/2 hour early access to the room to drop off carry on bags and soda, and not have to carry them around the ship waiting for the room to be ready. It was worth being escorted down to the front of the tender line when we wanted off in Grand Cayman.

[rarasnake]

We purchased F2F because of our kids.. We are first time cruisers and luckily, able to snag both cabins for F2F.. We have 2 Autistic children and even though we will be meeting with Special Needs, there is still no priority given at boarding to them and with 1 of them, he will go into an all out war when we get into heavily crowded places and he cannot move.. So, to me, spending the extra money, to get out of the crowds as soon as possible, totally "hopefully" going to be worth it...

[bigbny1]

I had FTTF on my last cruise and still stood in line to get off and back onto the ship at ports. Was I supposed to go to guest services to skip the line?:confused:

 

Only would apply to Tenders, other wise you wait like everyone else.....

[mobydog]

I had FTTF on my last cruise and still stood in line to get off and back onto the ship at ports. Was I supposed to go to guest services to skip the line?:confused:

 

Yes. They personally escort you past the line and right on to the tender...it was the best!

[keith75]

I knew I wanted to purchase it for our anniversary cruise..hubby has back issues and when he stands a long time he is in pain. So I thought with Fttf we could pass the lines and get on and he could sit and have lunch. totally worth 50 bucks to me...:D

 

You would think it's 499.00 instead of 49.00 the way some people wine about it. ..lol

Edited March 26, 2014 by keith75

[Vitamin_Sea]

WE did get FTTF one time and totally NOT worth it. Its pure profit for CCL.

[ferfoodle]

Hi, Steve:

 

Thought I did what you suggest, but let me try again. I really want to verify that I am that close to Platinum, because it does not seem possible.

 

See you on the Pride. Don't be jealous just yet.:D

 

Kathy

 

Kathy, another way to tell what level you will be on our Pride repo is to go into your booking. Select "view cruise documents" and then "print general info". This pops up a new page - and no, you don't have to print it, just look. There on the booking summary near the bottom of the first page, it will show your name, your VIFP# and your level. If you are going to turn platinum on the Repo - it will say it right there.

 

We got FTTF on our last sailing and the #1 thing I loved about it: My luggage beat us to the room. It was so nice to unpack before muster.

Edited March 26, 2014 by ferfoodle

[petesweet]

Kathy, another way to tell what level you will be on our Pride repo is to go into your booking. Select "view cruise documents" and then "print general info". This pops up a new page - and no, you don't have to print it, just look. There on the booking summary near the bottom of the first page, it will show your name, your VIFP# and your level. If you are going to turn platinum on the Repo - it will say it right there.

 

We got FTTF on our last sailing and the #1 thing I loved about it: My luggage beat us to the room. It was so nice to unpack before muster.

I'll try that as well as Steve's way, because somewhere there is an indication that I am much closer than I am supposed to be. It may have popped up somewhere when I was preregistering for our Pride cruise.

Thanks for your help.

Kathy

[petesweet]

I tried doing it this way, but it says it is too early to view/print cruise documents for my 2015 cruise. I'll just go with what I know (not near Platinum). It does seem there should be a simpler way on the website. I could call, but that, as everyone knows, has its own complications.:eek:

Happy sails.

Kathy

[snc_cam]

Good morning Kathy. Odd that it is saying it is too early for you to view the documents, especially since I just did with mine.

 

What I did:

 

1. logged into my account on Carnival.com

2. selected "Manage, then My Booking" which brings up the page of my active bookings.

3. selected the "repo" booking

4. selected "view cruise documents"

5. checked the "print general information" and pressed the SUBMIT button.

 

This will display your cruise documents as a PDF which you can scroll through.

 

Steve

[RWolver672]

We fly in a day or two early. Most hotels kick you out at 11 am. What are we suppose to do but go to the ship and start our vacation. That's usually when the the port is jam packed with lines leading out the door.

 

Thr first two times we cruised out of Miami, we stood out on the hot blacktop waiting to get in the building because the lines were so long. The third cruise we left out of NOLA and waited in a room until they led us into another room where we waited. Then they finally started boarding.

 

Picture 3000 people shlepping around a carry-on on the Lido Deck waiting for 1:30 so that they can get into their cabins. On the Dream, not only was there no place it sit, there was no place to even stand. That's why we buy the FTTF if it's available.

[Casco Bay Kid]

We always wait til 12:30 to get to port.

 

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[Thebosn1]

depends what's "big" difference to you? what's little to you may be big to others

 

It's like travelling in economy class vs J class, or having hertz gold vs none. some are ok with economy and no status and wait in the big line... some are not.

 

Not sure what you mean by "economy and no status ". I pay full price for my cruises and I think I have the same status as everyone else. If paying $50 to cut in line in front of me is what you call status you can have it.

 

I was just saying I have never seen the need for it, not that I want to travel "economy" with "no status". What kind of statement is that?

[Thebosn1]

WE did get FTTF one time and totally NOT worth it. Its pure profit for CCL.

 

Yep. I think that is where I am at also. My wife and I travel very lite and no kids so I don't mind waiting a few extra minutes to board. Plus like I said I have never had any real long waits for anything, even with "economy and no status' like the guy above said.

 

Lots of folks seem to have good reasons (needs) to get this program, I really don't. I don't mind having an extra cocktail on the lido while I'm waiting for my bags. I will have platinum "status" soon and then I will cut in line for the tender.:mad: Till then I'm good. See you on the ships everyone!

[ladyaero]

I am usually pretty cheap and don't like to pay for extras, but I chose to get the FTTF for my upcoming cruise with my 13 yo son. Our last cruise we were with my sister and her kids, so it worked well (one adult to stand in the check in lines, one to herd kids, find bathrooms, watch our carry-ons while the other grabbed food on the lido deck, etc, plus the kids could entertain each other during the long wait we had before boarding). Even though my son is 13 and very responsible, I decided the $ was worth it to me (especially since the cruise was an amazing bargain to start with) as a small splurge to make sure we can get on quickly and easily (no sending him off to look for bathrooms, etc, with no idea where they are, where he'll end up), drop off our stuff so we can sit and eat together instead of taking turns watching our bags, and start our vacation as soon as possible!

[prattmom]

On debarking I've noticed some people that find out about the platinum meeting place show up and get off with the group. You can tell by their ss card when they are logged off the ship. They should have someone at the door of the meeting room to check ss cards but they never do.

 

My last cruise on the Magic they were checking at the door. The only non-platinum/diamonds in there had fttf.... It was the first time I've seen it, though.

 

 

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[path145]

I can't see that we'll ever use FTTF. No one has to watch the bags when everything is checked. The only thing I carry on is my purse with my prescriptions, ID, etc. We're usually on by noon, 1230 at the latest, and I don't remember ever waiting for more than 10-15 minutes in line. By the time we've had a few DODs and lunch our room is ready.

 

As for leaving the ship? As far as I'm concerned we can be the last ones off!

 

Might have waited 30 minutes for a tender though. Never had a problem getting to an excursion on time.

Edited March 26, 2014 by path145

[elliair]

 

I'm just wondering, has anyone gone without FTTF and experienced a long delay, and then found it to be a huge difference when they paid for it?

 

Before we became platinum, we rarely waited in a long line to board, and rarely did we ever have to lug our carry ons around. We went straight to our cabin and dropped our things off, our cabin was always ready. Some people feel as though shelling out $50 to board after platinum and diamond people and get their luggage to their room quick is a bonus. We always go to lunch and when we get back our luggage is sitting at our door. So, there's no big deal that I can see to getting FTTF.

[nstraveller]

How late can u board the ship?

Im a first time cruiser. As i read this threat it seems everybody wants to be the first to get on the boat. Would it be better to board later after many have already boarded. Then use the fifty i saved to buy myself a drink or 2 until my room is ready. Will my luggage be ok sitting beside me at the table or at the bar?

There is no tendered port so should be ok there.

Anybody else do this and if so does it work out for u?

[iron9er]

Question on whether this would be worth it to me on the next cruise or not: We have an early flight out and would like to get off the ship as early as possible. Anybody know how much quicker FTTF would get you off the ship versus doing the self debark and taking your luggage by yourself? Or does it save any time at all? Thanks!

[1kaper]

Question on whether this would be worth it to me on the next cruise or not: We have an early flight out and would like to get off the ship as early as possible. Anybody know how much quicker FTTF would get you off the ship versus doing the self debark and taking your luggage by yourself? Or does it save any time at all? Thanks!

 

I've never done self debark but they are called first. After that, zone 1 is called. When I was FTTF, we had zone 1 tags. We went down to the exit, walked right off the ship and into the baggage claim as our luggage was coming out. There was a very short, quick line through customs and done. I have never debarked that fast.

[megmno]

How late can u board the ship?

Im a first time cruiser. As i read this threat it seems everybody wants to be the first to get on the boat. Would it be better to board later after many have already boarded. Then use the fifty i saved to buy myself a drink or 2 until my room is ready. Will my luggage be ok sitting beside me at the table or at the bar?

There is no tendered port so should be ok there.

Anybody else do this and if so does it work out for u?

 

That's what we've done in the past. I don't get why people want to get there early knowing full well that there will be huge crowds. When we were on the Magic in 2012 I think we arrived around 1:30 or 2 p.m. and breezed through security and went right to our rooms.

 

It's sort of like I don't understand why people arrive at the MDR fifteen minutes before their seating (for the early or late seatings, not YTD). You just end up standing around with a few hundred of your new best friends in a crowded corridor. Instead, aim to arrive about 5 minutes after the doors open and just follow the crowd in...