Why do people want to get on ship early?

[Athankfulheart]

I am one of the folks who would rather wait. My vacay begins the moment I leave home so thats not a factor for me. In the end, delaying arrival an hour or two changes the whole feel of the beginning of my cruise. Its less crowded, noisy, rushed and chaotic. I can take my time at every part of the pr0cess . Since vacation is chill time for me, I like it best when I dont have to be a part of the AM terminal race.

 

Although priority boarding has its advantages , I buy FTTF mostly to get off the ship as early and easily as possible. Will be plat soon, which will be nice because then I dont have to stalk the Carnival site for a FTTF ticket anymore. The only perk I really care about is being off that ship first and with minimal delay when the fun is over, so I can start my long trip home..

 

 

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[pal2pluto]

Ok...... I'm aware I'm late to the game of FTTF. We've got a cruise early November 2017. But where do I look to find if there are any FTTF available still for my cruise?????

[beerman2]

Thanks, all good answers. I have never taken a cruise so I have never looked at it that way.

If you've never cruised all the more reason to get to port and watch all the hustle and bustle. It's an experience by itself.

 

We fly in the day before and why sit at hotel when you can be at the port.

 

Drinks and lunch before the vast majority board.

 

Explore the ship!

 

Get vacation started, like others have said you are paying for Day 1, might as well take advantage of it.

[Rudyard]

It's nice to be able to roam around the ship before it gets crowded. Also nice to have shorter lines at the food venues that are available at the time. We've done early boarding and later boarding and both have their advantages.

[firemanbobswife]

Ok...... I'm aware I'm late to the game of FTTF. We've got a cruise early November 2017. But where do I look to find if there are any FTTF available still for my cruise?????

 

Under excursions for your home port.

[dmdiver]

I like to get on board and have a Guy's burger for lunch. Plus, it's just a relief to finally set foot on the ship - then I know all is good and I'm starting my cruise.

[Retired_to_Cruise]

If you're platinum you're cabin is ready. You can get started on your 15 drinks for the day :tropical-drink:

You paid for that day, might as well use it, nowhere else to be. Why not?

 

You paid for half that day, like you only paid for half the day when you arrive back in port.

[WMQueenie]

We have a 3 hour drive to the port. I am anxious about arriving on time so we leave very early and 9 out of 10 times, arrived very early. I'd rather sit and wait with the masses than worry about missing the boat!

[Alaskan Joe]

My checking in time is 12:30-1:00 and that seems fine to me. But I would like to know why anyone would want to check in early. If your room will not be ready until 1 or later. Why get on early.

 

 

*in my best Robot Voice*

Can not compute.....Can not compute....Can not compute...LoL

[okgirl]

I've had a change of attitude about this in recent years. Previously, I wanted to be checked in and sit in the VIP lounge as early as possible. It wasn't so much about getting on the ship first, but just the peace of mind that, everything is ready to go as soon as I get on the ship.

 

Even though we're Diamond and have access to our cabins as soon as we board. We still stop at the Lobby bar with our small carry on bags for our traditional Bloody Mary (or two), before we go drop our bags.

 

But now, I don't want to be bothered with the initial rush of people fighting their way up the gangway. We're older and just prefer to wait until boarding has been underway for a bit.

 

We have to fly to all of our cruises now and to save money we're still going down (Galveston) a day early, but we're staying by the airport and taking the Carnival shuttle to the pier getting there around 12ish.

 

Should be able to walk right in and get directly on the ship.

[richfret]

If some one said, I'm going to give you a million dollars. Would you like to have it at 11 am or 3:30 pm? What would you choose? .......................................................................... I would choose 11 am and then ask if it would be possible to have 10 am instead.

[sprint180]

My checking in time is 12:30-1:00 and that seems fine to me. But I would like to know why anyone would want to check in early. If your room will not be ready until 1 or later. Why get on early.

 

 

 

To get your CRUISE on!

 

 

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[sprint180]

My checking in time is 12:30-1:00 and that seems fine to me. But I would like to know why anyone would want to check in early. If your room will not be ready until 1 or later. Why get on early.

 

 

 

My vacation doesn't start when my rooms ready, it starts when I board the ship.

 

 

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[buddylover]

We always fly in to the port and stay in a hotel the night before the cruise....you have to be out of the hotel around 11 am.....with nowhere else to go but to the port....and that is why we are there to begin with. So we are always anxious to get there and start enjoying our 1st day (lunch, checking out the ship to get the 'lay of the land', unpacking etc). Being Platinum means we can access our cabin upon boarding (to drop off our 'stuff').

[peajay84]

It's nice to be able to roam around the ship before it gets crowded. Also nice to have shorter lines at the food venues that are available at the time. We've done early boarding and later boarding and both have their advantages.

 

Ditto for me!

 

I'm not a fan of crowds so I want to get on the ship early and check everything out before too many other people are around.

[angiegal]

I think all of my reason have already been posted, but I'm a nervous traveler. I worry about every "what if" scenario. Once I'm on the ship, I don't worry anymore. And whether we drive in or fly in, we almost always stay at a hotel close to the port the night before. If we have an 11am check out, what else is there to do but head to the port. My kids like to get in the pool, and I'm not a fan of the pool after day one so we like to take advantage of it on the first day.

[naxer]

Because I'm ready for fun. And the hotel check-out time thing. And the people watching stuff. And getting a drink before noon if I can. And sitting and eating lunch with food that I've been waiting months to taste again. I don't have any carry on to haul around, just the papers I need for embarkation.

[Doggielover68]

To start your vacation.

 

 

This. For us, the day before the cruise is an unpleasant, stressful travel day all day. The morning of the cruise there isn't much else to do but get on the ship. We don't bring that much luggage so it's not a hassle to have our 2 rolling suitcases sitting under our lunch table while we eat. By the time we finish eating and check out the fun times, our room is ready.

 

 

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[cheermomof2girls]

I think all of my reason have already been posted, but I'm a nervous traveler. I worry about every "what if" scenario. Once I'm on the ship, I don't worry anymore. And whether we drive in or fly in, we almost always stay at a hotel close to the port the night before. If we have an 11am check out, what else is there to do but head to the port. My kids like to get in the pool, and I'm not a fan of the pool after day one so we like to take advantage of it on the first day.

 

The what if part is totally me! First cruise, we were traveling with just BC and DL. Then I worried because we only had the "short" form. You can only get the long form in TX in the county of your birth, or Austin. So, I stressed about this. We got to the port SUPER early. Like before they would even let us get in line early. We had a suite, and FTTF, and were the first ones in the suite guests lounge. We got on the boat with ZERO issues. So, nothing to stress about for future cruises, right? LOL Next cruise, we still got there an hour or more before boarding. Next? Same. LOL Last cruise though, first without FTTF, only because it was sold out, we had a mishap and got to the terminal MUCH later than we would have had I been able to plan everything- probably noon, or before. It was so stress free, we still had short lines at the terminal getting our S&S cards, but walked right on board with NO lines. I tell myself we are going to try to go a little later from now on, but we will see if I will "let" myself relax and go later.

 

I do like making the most out of my first day onboard though, and getting on the boat, getting my Funship drink and starting VACATION!!

[JohnSpo]

I like to get on as soon as I can. The check out time for the hotels are usually at 11am. What else do I have to do but to head over to the cruise port and hopefully get on board as soon as possible and start that cruise vacation.:cool:

[elcuchio24]

to get on and crush a bunch of food

[Megan_Strick]

My checking in time is 12:30-1:00 and that seems fine to me. But I would like to know why anyone would want to check in early. If your room will not be ready until 1 or later. Why get on early.

 

I do it to lay by pool and explore the ship

[cruise_everywhere]

Really it's been covered but for me - it's vacation time! We get FTTF so first we try to get the free drink from the Red Frog (never had yet...) then we head straight to the room, check out the balcony and start the fun, making sure to get our drink package started. It's always good to just watch people around that time as well, so many are on their first cruise and they are in awe of everything around them. I bet I was like that my first cruise as well!

[siestakeys04]

Because I'm Platinum and when I wasn't, I got FTTF so that means my cabin is ready when I get on the ship. Since I only bring a carry on sized suitcase and a tote bag, I like to get my things unpacked and go get some lunch.

 

Before they had FTTF, or when we sailed on Celebrity, we still liked to get on early, grab some food, and then go camp out somewhere with our carry ons and just relax and enjoy the ship. Once you're on, vacation can start!

 

I have a question if you have FTTF and your room is in an area where they still have the doors closed either for luggage loading how do you access the room? Or is that not a problem? I was wondering because I was thinking about purchasing.

[firemanbobswife]

I have a question if you have FTTF and your room is in an area where they still have the doors closed either for luggage loading how do you access the room? Or is that not a problem? I was wondering because I was thinking about purchasing.

 

You go through the doors.