Thinking of giving up FFTF

[Gallivanting Souls]

Will be going on the Dream in August. I presently have FFTF purchased. Last week I also signed up for my boarding time (10:30-11:00) One of the main reasons I choose FFTF was to be able to get on the ship ASAP early. Now, since I have the earliest time, I am wondering if I still need it.

I know that we will have to carry our carry ons with us for a while until room is done. I know about special line at Customer Service (whatever it is called).

I am not concerned about tendering 1st or leaving first.

Please convince me why I should keep it.

This will be our first time on Carnival.

[lizardhowson]

Please convince me why I should keep it.

 

Why ? From what you posted it seems obvious you have already decided and posted your justification for getting rid of it.

Plus, it is not something one should have to be convinced about. It either is or is not a perk that is worth $60 to each individual cruiser.

 

Of course, this will bring on another round of the FTTF supporters and the FTTF haters berating each other :rolleyes:

[kona_wahine]

I think you should cancel. Whoever gets your spot will appreciate it.

[elliair]

Will be going on the Dream in August. I presently have FFTF purchased. Last week I also signed up for my boarding time (10:30-11:00) One of the main reasons I choose FFTF was to be able to get on the ship ASAP early. Now, since I have the earliest time, I am wondering if I still need it.

I know that we will have to carry our carry ons with us for a while until room is done. I know about special line at Customer Service (whatever it is called).

I am not concerned about tendering 1st or leaving first.

Please convince me why I should keep it.

This will be our first time on Carnival.

 

I won't try to convince you to keep FTTF. I know Carnival would like for you to keep it as it's easy money for them. I see no reason to have FTTF since you're boarding early and you don't care about the other perks. $49.95 will buy you a few beers, sodas, money towards the steakhouse or other venues. When Carnival sees that people no longer will pay for FTTF, they'll think of another way to lift money out of your pocket.

[elliair]

Why ? From what you posted it seems obvious you have already decided and posted your justification for getting rid of it.

Plus, it is not something one should have to be convinced about. It either is or is not a perk that is worth $60 to each individual cruiser.

 

Of course, this will bring on another round of the FTTF supporters and the FTTF haters berating each other :rolleyes:

 

$60!!!!! I guess I haven't been paying attention to price increases. Cancel it OP.

[KPfromCT]

If it were us, we'd keep it.:D:D

Cabin being ready when you board, for us, is HUGE!

Also, the "special" line at Guest Services is well worth it.

Completely up to you, but, again, I would keep it.

Whatever you decide, have a great cruise!!!!!

[riclop]

Will be going on the Dream in August. I presently have FFTF purchased. Last week I also signed up for my boarding time (10:30-11:00) One of the main reasons I choose FFTF was to be able to get on the ship ASAP early. Now, since I have the earliest time, I am wondering if I still need it.

I know that we will have to carry our carry ons with us for a while until room is done. I know about special line at Customer Service (whatever it is called).

I am not concerned about tendering 1st or leaving first.

Please convince me why I should keep it.

This will be our first time on Carnival.

 

Save your $$$ for other things.

[cruizinisthebest]

Cancel it. Get your money back and use it on something else. Like pics of your family onboard that you can have forever. Happy new year!

[makavide]

Will be going on the Dream in August. I presently have FFTF purchased. Last week I also signed up for my boarding time (10:30-11:00) One of the main reasons I choose FFTF was to be able to get on the ship ASAP early. Now, since I have the earliest time, I am wondering if I still need it.

I know that we will have to carry our carry ons with us for a while until room is done. I know about special line at Customer Service (whatever it is called).

I am not concerned about tendering 1st or leaving first.

Please convince me why I should keep it.

This will be our first time on Carnival.

 

My understanding is that the time you signed up for is "Check-In Time". In other words, that is the time they will allow you into the terminal to begin the check in process. With FTTF you can enter at anytime to begin the check in process (once the terminal opens), there should be a shorter security line for the priority/fttf people, and shorter check in line for the priority/fttf people.

 

So you may have an early terminal entry time, but who knows how long you will be in the security line while the priority/fttf goes through first.

 

Either way, you are still getting on the ship :)

[YubaSutter]

We haven't bought into the whole FTTF thing. We board at 2 pm, couldn't care less about the first tender, and go to guest services after 2 am when there is no line.

[Naomi John]

Unless you have tender ports, I agree you can use your money elsewhere.

[firemanbobswife]

I always get FTTF and will continue to until I make Platinum because almost all of the perks are important to me. Since you don't see any benefit in them, then I would cancel. It's only worth paying for if the perks are of value and in this case, it appears they're not.

 

You may want to hang on to it for a while just in case your situation changes or you reconsider as there's a good chance it won't be available again. Then if you still feel the same, cancel.

Edited January 1, 2016 by firemanbobswife

[Boozebabe]

Will be going on the Dream in August. I presently have FFTF purchased. Last week I also signed up for my boarding time (10:30-11:00) One of the main reasons I choose FFTF was to be able to get on the ship ASAP early. Now, since I have the earliest time, I am wondering if I still need it.

I know that we will have to carry our carry ons with us for a while until room is done. I know about special line at Customer Service (whatever it is called).

I am not concerned about tendering 1st or leaving first.

Please convince me why I should keep it.

This will be our first time on Carnival.

 

Yes you can go straight to your room and drop your bags. If you have ever had to drag carry-ons around for 2 hours and try to get thru the buffet for lunch with them, that alone would make it all worth the money. Yes there is a special line at the service desk. Not a big deal to us. But the luggage comes so fast and you'll be unpacked before muster. We love that benefit. We hardly ever have to tender so no biggie there either. If it were me, I'd KEEP IT.

[Drose716]

I think it's honestly a personal decision. I'm taking my 6th Carnival cruise in 2 weeks & I've never used FTTF while it was an available option for 5 of those 6 cruises. I looked at the perks & determined I'd rather spend the money on a DOD or excursion or the like. This is the first I'm not flying in day of for so super early boarding isnt usually an issue. My last cruise on the Valor repo in March we arrived by noon & literally walked right on with no line. As for room being ready, I've always taken my carry ons to the Lido buffet. By the time I've finished lunch the rooms are ready. I use guest services maybe once per cruise if even that & just wait until the line isn't long to do so. Only one in 6 cruises did I have an annoying wait time. Since I am usually cautious & fly out in the afternoon on debark day being first off the ship is definitely not a goal.

 

So for me, the $60 has never been worth it. But that's for me & my circumstances & cruising style. If you're an early arrival to the pier, don't want to take luggage to lunch, utilize guest services desk, & need to debark quickly then for you, it may be worth it.

[Gallivanting Souls]

Thank you to everyone that has offered replies. For now I am keeping it. I am still 233 days out so I don't have to make a rash decision. All of your points are well-taken. My problems is that I can relate to each side. Makes it that much harder to decide. :eek:

I'll try to come back closer to our time and tell you what decision I came up with.

[Gallivanting Souls]

I did end up giving up my F2F. I also gave up my cruise that I had it on. My teen boy, who was going with decided he might not want to go. Whatever! I decided that I really wasn't all that impressed with the ports and doing them in August. Unfortunately we were booked early saver and had to each pay penalties ($50 each) and my son's remaining portion will go to me as a FCC. My DH and I turned around and booked another Carnival cruise with an itinerary that we are both looking forward to. We will be doing it after getting off our Princess cruise in December giving us our first opportunity to do a B2B and sail at Christmas. We will not be getting the F2F for this cruise. We will just drop our luggage at the Conquest and go toodle around town, restock any supplest and enjoy FLL. With the ports that are doing timed/scheduled check in, I just can't see (now) that paying extra with a time is worth it. I guess we will figure it out next time, since I now have a FCC that has to be used in the next 24 months! This will only be our first time on Carnival, so I hope we like carnival! :eek:

[path145]

If the priority line at guest services and priority tendering don't appeal to you, I would cancel it. We never get FTTF and have never had a long wait to board. We also check all our bags except for my purse which carries my medicine. It's not much to "lug around" until our room is ready. The rest of the bags are usually there by dinner time and even if they are a little later it's not going to ruin our cruise. There is so much more to spend $60 on.

[moniquet]

I would sooner use that money towards a suite and get priority boarding. We don't get to the Port early anyway, stay overnight in a hotel and use their facilities such as pool etc. Until about 1pm. In our suite in 15 mins. Our bags arrived within an hour, although that may have been luck:) never leave the ship early so rarely have a wait for tenders.

 

What happens if most of the FTTF arrive at the same time:D seems very few perks for that money.

[bjd2]

We've had FTTF 3 times now. The priority embark and room ready right away are the main reasons we got it, but having the luggage arrive early so we are all unpacked before muster helps us feel like our vacation is officially started earlier.

 

I'm not one to normally need the Guest Services desk, but our last cruise I accidentally forgot my S&S card in a machine in the casino and was told to check GS to see if it had been turned in. When I went up to the priority window, there were at least 10 people waiting in the regular line. My card was there and they handed it to me and we were on our way again. I wouldn't have enjoyed standing in that line.

 

We have FTTF for our upcoming Pride cruise and I'm already watching to try and get it for our 2017 Vista cruise. After that we won't need it as we'll finally be Platinum. :D

[ohiowilly]

We bought FTTF for a couple cruises, when it was first introduced. At the time, it seemed like a great addition. It was very nice to be able to drop our carry-ons in the cabin when we boarded, and to get what seemed to be "priority boarding," after the Diamond and Platinum Passengers.

 

The FTTF/Diamond/Platinum line at the Customer Service desk seemed like a nice perk.

 

We elected not to purchase it for a sailing from San Juan; given a 10pm departure, boarding was spread throughout the day, and it just didn't make sense.

 

For our most recent cruise, FTTF was sold out. We still arrived early, got on board quickly, and took a chance, and found that our cabin was already serviced, and we were able to drop our bags.

 

The ATM-Like Kiosks provide answers to any questions that we ever had regarding our S&S account. We can check detailed charges, pay cash against our account, all without bothering the CS staff.

 

I might run into a situation where one of the FTTF benefits might come in handy, but I'll wait until that happens before buying FTTF again. I'd rather save the $ for an excursion, Steakhouse meal, or something else.

[serene56]

You can pick a time to board this early before your cruise?

Where do I find that section

[kelkel2]

If you have to be convinced to keep it you probably don't need it

We had it for our last cruise and we got it for this one as well. Our main reason for purchasing is for the early access to our room. We also like getting our luggage early. For us it's worth it, but if I had to convince myself it was, then it probably isn't!

[keywest1]

You can pick a time to board this early before your cruise?

Where do I find that section

 

You can only pick your boarding time on ports with staggered checkin, currently only NOLA and Galveston. This is supposed to be rolled out to all the ports, I believe by the end of the year. You should receive an email from Carnival if your port changes to this system.

[kendracruises]

FTTF does not always act as advertised. We bought it for our last 2 cruises on Triumph and Conquest. 1st cruise when we boarded our rooms were not ready, oops sorry said the room steward I did not know you were FTTF your not on the list and luggage did not arrive for hours.(FTTF purchased 2 months before sailing)

2nd cruise with elderly parents same thing had to wait quite a while in the terminal for boarding, rooms not ready, luggage not really faster. Probably won't get it next time and just go with the flow.

[Jana60]

Will be going on the Dream in August. I presently have FFTF purchased. Last week I also signed up for my boarding time (10:30-11:00) One of the main reasons I choose FFTF was to be able to get on the ship ASAP early. Now, since I have the earliest time, I am wondering if I still need it.

I know that we will have to carry our carry ons with us for a while until room is done. I know about special line at Customer Service (whatever it is called).

I am not concerned about tendering 1st or leaving first.

Please convince me why I should keep it.

This will be our first time on Carnival.

 

If its for one person I can understand you cancelling but I will tell you that if I did not get to drop my stuff off at the room with my platinum status I would be willing to purchase the faster to the fun just for that one perk because it's a pain to drag around the suitcases for several hours! Another consideration if you are new to Carnival is the information line priority. I remember back to my first cruise on Carnival and the most frustrating thing was waiting in the long line at the information desk to obtain information. It may seem very simple to just ask one of the numerous crewman standing around the ship but please understand that most of them do not speak English well and you will end up going to the front desk and waiting in a very long line to get the answer to your question. So if I were not Platinum and already receiving those benefits I would definitely pay $60 per cabin for the faster to the fun benefits.

Edited January 9, 2016 by Jana60