Is FTTF worth the money?

[Megtheblackbelt]

Hello! I have my first cruise with Carnival on the Magic coming up this September. I’ve always had the luck to acquire priority boarding through my TA when I sail RC. Now, I’m wondering - is FTTF worth the money? There’s only one stateroom (for just my husband and I)... so it’s not like we’d be purchasing for multiple state rooms. But is it worth the money in your experience?

[StolidCruiser]

Personally, yes.

 

You’ll need to decide for yourself based on personal preferences, ship, ports and itinerary.

 

Do a quick search for the multitude of posts asking the same question for previous feedback while you wait for others to chime in to your question today.

[mdsgu]

It really depends on you. Is it worth the money TO YOU to get priority boarding (after Diamond, Platinum, and wedding parties), have immediate access to your room, and get priority tender tickets? You do not get the free "gift" that Diamond and Platinum cruisers get, priority or guaranteed dining time selection, Diamond/Platinum party invitation, or the Diamond/Platinum lounge access while waiting to board.

[Caps_Shield]

It's always worth it to me. I'm big on getting on and getting the vacation started so FTTF works perfect. To me the $75 is well worth getting on faster.

[Cruiseman38]

To us, it is also a must. Love getting to the port early, bypassing everyone at check in, boarding almost immediately when boarding to called and going to the room immediately, not having to wait until 1:30 or so. Also, being able to go into the priority guest service line is great, if you were to have any issues.

 

Have a great cruise either way you choose to go!!!!

[cmptrwiz]

We went on a b2b cruise just over a year ago and we purchased FTTF for both legs of our cruises. I guess the main reason was getting on the ship early and early luggage delivery. Those were two big pluses for us. We only had one tender port out of eight ports so not really a big advantage there. I think I only went to guest services once or twice, so no big deal there either. Was it worth it? It was for us!

 

 

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[vilacr]

We get it on every cruise ( 10 so far)

[summersigh]

it's not worth is to us.

DH has wheelchair assistance so boarding is pretty much out of our hands.

We really don't mind having lunch and an umbrella drink waiting for cabins to open at 1:30.

Our luggage has never, in 13 cruises, been delivered after 4pm so we can be unpacked before sail away and dinner.

 

None of the rest of the "perks" hold an interest for us.

[Bulldogsoc]

Loved it. Priority line at guest services, priority tendering and priority self assist debarkation. We were off the ship and at LAX by 8:45 last Saturday.

 

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[teknoge3k]

There will be a lot of people who post no. In my experience, those people are either already diamond/platinum, have never sailed Carnival, or have never had it.

 

Personally, we won't cruise without it. We don't go on vacation to stand in every line possible. I like to skip the 9834787 people standing in line at the terminal and go to the front and board priority. We also carry on 48 sodas so I like to be able to put them down ASAP along with our carry on luggage. I don't want to carry that around until 1:30. We also always book private excursions so at tender ports I want to be the first off to get to my excursion vendor and get my day started. Then at the end of the cruise, I pay my balance in gift cards so I don't want to stand behind a zillion people to pay off my balance. Let's face it, the kiosks suck sometimes so it's easier just to hand my numbers to GS and let them pay it off for me. So considering it's about $2.50 per person per day, it's well worth it for us to skip all of those lines.

[PrettyPenny7]

It's nice to be able to board early, and not have to lug your bags around.

 

Experience will vary by ship. Got FTTF on my 1st Victory cruise last October, and yes getting to the food before there were huge lines was nice. Luggage delivery was an absolute fail on that particular voyage, however; my sister and I had to go hunting for the cart that had our luggage AFTER the muster, AFTER we ate dinner!:rolleyes: Many people were fed up and were out there trying to get their luggage. A snafu happened somewhere, who knows....

 

Most recent cruise was a weekend on the Imagination this February. I didn't get FTTF for this one. I could fit everything into my carry-on rolling luggage, and as luck would also have it, there were not a lot of Diamond or Platinum cruisers on this trip, so I just boarded right after the other FTTF people and still didn't wait in line for food. And as soon as my room was ready, I just walked there with my stuff.

 

I am doing a B2B this October on the Victory; I might get FTTF for the 1st leg of the trip since my family did. I will be solo on the 2nd leg, and probably won't mind waiting to re-board the ship.

[Yellowbird75]

There will be a lot of people who post no. In my experience, those people are either already diamond/platinum, have never sailed Carnival, or have never had it.

 

Personally, we won't cruise without it. We don't go on vacation to stand in every line possible. I like to skip the 9834787 people standing in line at the terminal and go to the front and board priority. We also carry on 48 sodas so I like to be able to put them down ASAP along with our carry on luggage. I don't want to carry that around until 1:30. We also always book private excursions so at tender ports I want to be the first off to get to my excursion vendor and get my day started. Then at the end of the cruise, I pay my balance in gift cards so I don't want to stand behind a zillion people to pay off my balance. Let's face it, the kiosks suck sometimes so it's easier just to hand my numbers to GS and let them pay it off for me. So considering it's about $2.50 per person per day, it's well worth it for us to skip all of those lines.

 

My answer is maybe not, maybe so as we don't get it every time and we've done a decent amount of Carnival cruising but we are not Diamond/Platinum (yet!). We decide based on what time we will be able to get to the port and how many tender ports you have. If we have no (or only one) tender ports and can get to the terminal early, then it's not worth it for us. A little waiting never killed anyone and we can use that money on a night at the Steakhouse. We also don't carry a ton on though either. With cheers, no need for soda or wine so we just have a light backpack. If you have a lot of carry-on luggage, it might be worth it to drop your luggage off right away. It is nice when we have it, I'm not saying it's not! Just saying in every situation, it might not be worth it. YMMV

[dsotm73]

I’m a “no” and I’m not a Platimond! I get on board about 20 minutes after FTTFs, usually before noon. I pack light and have no problem hanging on to my carry-on while I eat on Lido, and can wait until my room is ready usually before 1:30. I have found the lines for tender ports manageable, and in seven cruises have only needed GS a few times. When needed, we go to GS early in the day and find hardly any lines. We self-assist for debarkation and again get off about a half hour (or less) after FTTFs.

 

I use the $70 I save to eat at the Steakhouse an extra night.[emoji41]

 

I think it might be different in other ports but I love the efficiencies if New Orleans. Maybe that’s why so many others love FTTF, because their embarkation ports are less efficient?

 

 

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[LakeWobegon]

I decided it was worth it, mainly to have access to our room right away and to hopefully have our bags faster. And to disembark at the time we want. I know that's now always the case - getting your bags faster. I think I read you should make sure the porter puts priority stickers on your bags?

 

ANYWAY, MY QUESTION (hopefully related) is: what time does check in and then boarding generally start if you have FTTF? So, on Vista, cruising out of Miami at 4 pm, when are you generally allowed in to check-in? And when could you expect to be on board typically after Platinum, Diamond and Suites passengers? Forgive me if this is has been answered before. I truly did search for it first. And perhaps its a question best left to calling Carnival on.

 

We get there 2 nights beforehand this cruise so you can bet I will have my family on a schedule that morning. lol.

[Qchell]

For us, it would never really have been worth it. Our waits to board always seem to be minimal and a number of times we have practically walked directly on (that is before they began staggered boarding, so not sure how that impacts boarding later in the day). We generally only carry a small carry-on each, so if our room is not ready, we stash them under our chairs and enjoy lunch, music, a drink or two and relax until our rooms are ready - which is rarely a significant amount of time - at which point one of us runs and drops our bags in our room and heads back out to rejoin the party. A few times our room was already ready when we boarded, so would not have been needed. I also don't recall ever needing our bags prior to their arrival in our room.

 

Tender ports are rare and for those ports that have them, we are either on an excursion - which dictates which tender you take - or we were leaving ship later in the day after the excursions have left and weren't desiring to get off the ship quickly.

 

So for our lifestyle, not so much. For others, I can see the benefit. You just have to compare the benefits to your needs (and possibly itinerary) to see if it is something worth the extra $$.

[nursemommy7578]

For us it has been.