Fttf

[Ceezers]

Can anyone tell me when they release more faster to the fun tickets...we sail in November and would like to get two, but they are sold out!

[RWolver672]

Your best bet is to keep checking every day. They will only allow so many depending on the amount of Platinum/Diamond cruisers on that particular cruise.

 

As you get closer to the cruise, they may add more if some people cancel their cruise or get a suite and no longer want the FTTF. Just keep checking and good luck.

[Velvetwater]

I snagged one a month ago (we sail in less than 2 weeks)

 

It was just 1 so someone must have cancelled but it does happen.

 

Just check 2-3 times a day.

[snc_cam]

Ceezers, you only need one per cabin. Just adding this since you said you needed two but didn't say it was for multiple cabins.

 

Steve

[Ceezers]

Thanks everyone.

 

We actually need two as we are a family of 6!

 

I will keep checking. Our final payment is due in two weeks and I think around then some might come available...at least that is what I hope!

[pj woods]

My cruise is sailing in November also. They just released 10 more last weekend. So we grabbed up 5 since we have 5 rooms. Keep checking.

[Elaine515]

My cruise is sailing in November also. They just released 10 more last weekend. So we grabbed up 5 since we have 5 rooms. Keep checking.

 

 

I'm just really curious... why is FTTF worth $250 to you? That sounds like alot of money just to board early..... I personally, and this is me, can think of lots more things to spend $250 on...

Edited August 5, 2014 by Elaine515

[cruisinqt]

I'm a little skeptical of cruisers that have numerous cruises listed and are obviously platinum cruisers dissing FTTF. They are not very subtle in their attempt to dissuade people from getting FTTF because they don't like sharing their platinum perks. I'm not addressing this to any particular poster, I'm just saying it's happening on a lot of posts about FTTF and it's starting to get pretty obvious. So just keep that in mind when you hear the negative comments. :) That being said, you get a lot more than priority boarding. You get priority boarding, priority debarkation, you can go straight to your cabin instead of lugging around your bags waiting for the cabins to open up, you can use the always empty platinum line at the pursers desk instead the normal line with 20 or more people in it, and you get priority tendering. Well worth $50 to me. We use it every time now. Even my tightwad husband approves of the purchase. Good luck. Oh and some cruisers are saying they called Carnival and got on a waiting list for FTTF and it helped them get it. Hope this helps. Happy sailing.

[sjcruiser]

Just keep checking the Carnival website and on here (Roll Call for your cruise) several times a day. I didn't decide on mine until we had all the cabins booked for our party, and then it didn't open up for awhile. When slots did open up, I found out on here, and 20 spots had opened which were gone in less than 24 hours. FTTF is well worth it for the $50 per cabin. We used it on our Breeze cruise, and have it for our cruise in a week or so. The early boarding, the cabin being ready when you board, early luggage delivery, dedicated line at guest services (also the Diamond and Platinum line), priority reservations for dining, priority tendering, and priority debarkation was/is worth the money!!! Hope you grab one, and enjoy your cruise!!!:)

[EnTnSA]

I'm just really curious... why is FTTF worth $250 to you? That sounds like alot of money just to board early..... I personally, and this is me, can think of lots more things to spend $250 on...

 

This comes up in almost every FTTF post. I completely agree with you, seems like a absolute waste to me, but people buy it up like it was crack.

 

My last cruise, FTTF boarded a whopping 10 to 15 minutes faster than we did. We weren't even in the first group, we were in group 7.

 

Not my money though, so I can't complain…apparently Carnival knows what they are doing. That 250 dollars is pure profit.

Edited August 5, 2014 by EnTnSA

[buckeyefrank]

This comes up in almost every FTTF post. I completely agree with you, seems like a absolute waste to me, but people buy it up like it was crack.

 

My last cruise, FTTF boarded a whopping 10 to 15 minutes faster than we did. We weren't even in the first group, we were in group 7.

 

Not my money though, so I can't complain…apparently Carnival knows what they are doing. That 250 dollars is pure profit.

 

There are quite a few people who actually drive home from the cruiseport. We used in in January when we went on the Elation out of New Orleans. We had a 14 hour trip home. The early access to the room was great but debarkation was the reason we purchased it. Much less hassle getting off the ship. We didn't have to wait in the hallway for two hours.

[cruisinqt]

When we boarded we bypassed numerous long winding lines and went straight onto the ship. It wasn't just 10-15 minutes earlier than others, it was an hour or more at least. ;) I guess the reason for people saying they boarded as quickly as the FTTF people is because it depends on when you arrive. If you get there super early or kind of late, you miss the majority of the crowds and get on quicker so I could see it being only 15-20 minutes earlier in that instance. But we never arrive late, we want to enjoy every last minute we can of our cruise. We always try to get there early like 10:30 to bypass the crowds but with two teenage daughters it's difficult to get out of the hotel early. :rolleyes: So we end up getting there around 11:30-12:00 which is the most crowded time. That's why we love FTTF because it saves us major time on boarding. I say go for it. It certainly is not a waste but well worth the money. I have no idea why people make the effort to go on a thread and put down something you value. If they don't like FTTF and would never purchase it, then why do they go on FTTF threads? Seems like that's the real "absolute waste" of time here. Lol.

[Velvetwater]

It always puzzles me that people associate FTTF with just getting on board early. I bought it last year so I could get my luggage early and unpack and settle before muster and sail away. Getting on early was a lovely perk though. I liked the option of getting zone 1 tags as well for the last day but we stayed on as long as we could instead!

 

I have bought it this year for the same reasons above but mainly because we have 2 tender ports one being Cabo so paying $50 for extra port time, less hassle and getting settled in early is worth it to me. I probably wont ever become platinum either as I will be too busy trying out different lines.

 

The priority phone line is bull though, no-one ever answered it. :)

[ShakyBeef]

This comes up in almost every FTTF post. I completely agree with you, seems like a absolute waste to me, but people buy it up like it was crack.

 

My last cruise, FTTF boarded a whopping 10 to 15 minutes faster than we did. We weren't even in the first group, we were in group 7.

 

Not my money though, so I can't complain…apparently Carnival knows what they are doing. That 250 dollars is pure profit.

 

But did you get to go straight to your cabin that was all clean and ready for you upon embarkation? Was your luggage among the first delivered? Did you ever have to wait in line at guest services? Or for a tender? Or have to wait longer than you wanted to to disembark? Did you have priority dining reservations?

 

Those "crack addicts" got a lot more for their money than priority embark.:rolleyes:;)

 

And by the way, I haven't heard many complaints from those "crack addicts" who do spend their money on it. We all get to choose how we each spend our own money - ain't life grand?:D I guess I'll see if the "crack" was worth it after my first time using it next month.:p:rolleyes:

Edited August 5, 2014 by ShakyBeef
spelling

[snc_cam]

we predominantly use it to get onboard quicker... we tend to get to the port early and wait for the boarding. Some times it is within 30 minutes; last time was (hopefully) an abnorm where it was almost 2 hours. Not sure what the holdup was.

 

But another feature we take advantage of is tossing our carryons into the cabin before going to lunch... so we don't have to lug them around.

 

And on the last cruise, we were able to disembark with the Platinum/Diamond folks too, so avoided the mass rush. And I know if you wait to the end you can get off easily, but we have places to get to so we get off early.

 

So for us, well worth the $50... only 4 more cruises then PLATINUM :)

[Mikey7989]

I got it for my last cruise mostly because my mother has COPD and CTSWH (carries a ton of stuff with her). We bypassed all the lines, went straight to our cabin and dropped everything off. It was such a relief not to drag everything around until the cabins were ready!

 

The best advantage though was when we tendered into Grand Cayman, and the lines were snaked down the hallways and up the steps. We were told to go to Guest Services which we did. One of the crew took us down the back way and we were on the next tender out within five minutes!

 

3 people for $50 = $16.67 per person. Easily worth it!

[SMSACE6]

It is worth it for some, and not for others. Bottom line it is an option. Get if you want it and can get it, or dont. And for the Platinum and Diamond cruisers who dont like this program. You still get to go first, and dont have to pay for it, and FTTF, only has limited availability. For this cruise coming up it is definitely worth it for me!

[Cruise-Crazy]

Like others said, lots of benefits aside from early boarding. Well worth $50.

[imapris]

part of the reason people think it's a waste of time is the misconception that you have to buy one per person.

 

For the person who started this thread, only 2 FTTF are needed for 6 people (2 cabins). Thus the total cost is only $100.

 

I sail Friday on a 3 day to Mexico for my bday and purchased FTTF. It was a last minute decision to sail, so I just booked the cruise the last week of June and learned about FTTF the next week and purchased it right away. Out of curiosity I looked yesterday and there are still 16 available for this cruise. Guess it depends when/where and from where you're going how full the platinums are.

 

I can't wait to get to my room by noon, drop off my bottle of birthday champagne for the steward to put on ice and then go grab lunch and my first drink of the day.

[Pellaz]

I'm just really curious... why is FTTF worth $250 to you? That sounds like alot of money just to board early.....

 

Oh, Lord, here we go again.

 

As others have said, there is MUCH more in FttF perks than simply boarding early.

 

On one of our cruises, the VIP line at Guest Services basically saved the cruise. There's no doubt it saved me at LEAST an hour, maybe two, of waiting in line.

 

Also, for those who are reserving cabanas or villas at HMC, getting to ShoreEx as early as possible can be crucial to getting your desired location. On our last cruise, FttF saved us from getting a cabana too close to the crowds.

[SoCal Cruiser78]

part of the reason people think it's a waste of time is the misconception that you have to buy one per person...

 

You do if you are sailing solo, but I purchased it anyway. I've heard that tendering at Catalina without it can take forever. Also, I'm driving to the port and hope to get off the ship early and beat the crowds at customs and immigration.

[lady_cruiser]

Here's a thought Just because a person buys more than one FTTF excursions, like someone mentioned buying five, doesn't mean they are actually paying for all five. Maybe they grabbed them ahead of time for family and friends and will be reimbursed. At least this is what I think of when I hear someone purchased that many.

[rolaur]

We are traveling with a group of 18 most of which are new cruisers. I purchased FTTF for each cabin (8) as a gift to enhance their cruising experience. I used to have cabin decorations done for new cruisers but FTTF is a much better gift. We alway book balconies and being able to go directly to our cabin, unpack (early luggage delivery) and relax with a drink from our bon voyage package while watching everyone else board while relaxing on our balcony, just gets the trip started off the right way. Plus, if you do need guest services, FTTF can save you hours! Worth every penny to us but to each their own.

[Angela61280]

We've purchased it in the past also. We travel with our toddler and having early access to the room was super important. We were also really interested in it since we had to tender in a couple ports (you get priority tender). Debarkation was quick and we were off the ship in record time. This time around we didn't get it since it was sold out, but the upgrade fairy called and we snagged a suite. Sad the room won't be ready when we board (not a suite perk), but not having to wait around on debarkation day will be awesome.

 

 

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[vincentharris]

Heck I am platinum and still show up to the port after 2pm even though FTTF is "free" for me.

 

Priority debarking is not for me either as I self carry off

 

Priority tendering is not for me since I tend to sleep in/get off later

 

The platinum line at guest services is nice.

 

Bottom line of my story is I get it for free and really only use 1 of the 4 main perks of it. Some people like the other 3 perks and want to pay for it which is fine. Better that someone else gets the use of those perks I am not using :) Everyone vacations differently, pay for it, dont pay for it, but in the end does it really matter how others travel?