When does FTTF Open for your Cruise?

[MrsKC08]

SO, I'll admit it has been a while since I have sailed on a Carnival cruise, and I apologize if this question has been asked and answered. My search didn't really warrant any clear answer. The last Carnival cruise I booked closer to sailing and FTTF was already available. However, I am booked on the new Mardi Gras and my sailing is not until 2021. BUT, what has been your experience as to how far in advance does FTTF and other excursions open up?

 

Thanks in advance for those who have some insight on this and care to share their experience.

 

[1025cruise]

Generally, for new ships FTTF won't be available for the first couple of months.

[MrsKC08]

54 minutes ago, 1025cruise said:

Generally, for new ships FTTF won't be available for the first couple of months.

I checked the website and it states it will be open for Mardi Gras 2021 which is when I'm sailing.

 

[JaxsMama]

I've seen it open up over a year out (Horizon) and also stalked it and finally gotten it a few months out. 

[Organized Chaos]

I agree with JaxsMama. It usually opens up about a year out. If you want it, get it as soon as you see it, because it can sell out quickly. There's no real time as to when it'll appear, so about all you can do is keep looking. Roll Calls, either here or on facebook, often alert people when FTTF is available, so you might think about joining one.

 

If you miss it, it'll still show up in excursions as "Sold Out." There's always a chance they open up more when they get a better idea of how many priority passengers will be booked. Also, when someone who has FTTF cancels, their FTTF will get thrown back into availability. If you miss it, keep checking it religiously...morning, noon, & night...in hopes of catching it again. I've found that early morning hours are best. We needed two for our March cruise. I got one at 5:30am one morning and am still trying to catch another one. Right around final payment date is another good time to look because if someone's going to cancel, they'll often do it right before final payment.

 

The amount of FTTF they sell per cruise is capacity controlled based on the number of P/D's who've booked. With new ships, like Mardi Gras, they're often frequented by more P/D's for the first few months, so there's more than likely to be less FTTF sold.

[VentureMan_2000]

45 minutes ago, MrsKC08 said:

I checked the website and it states it will be open for Mardi Gras 2021 which is when I'm sailing.

 

 

I'm sailing out of San Francisco for all three of my cruises, so it's not offered.  On the bright side, I save around $300...  😅

[grandmarnnurse]

45 minutes ago, MrsKC08 said:

I checked the website and it states it will be open for Mardi Gras 2021 which is when I'm sailing.

 

They never actually give you the date it will open. You just need to check daily. I check about 20x a day until I grab it. Seriously. It can appear and be gone from sale in just a matter of hours, and sometimes minutes. Grab it when you see it. Don’t wait around. 

[MrsKC08]

Thanks everyone!

[Organized Chaos]

1 hour ago, grandmarnnurse said:

They never actually give you the date it will open. You just need to check daily. I check about 20x a day until I grab it. Seriously. It can appear and be gone from sale in just a matter of hours, and sometimes minutes. Grab it when you see it. Don’t wait around. 

 

The portion of the FAQ's that MrsKC posted is in reference to when FTTF will first be available for new ships. For example, even though the Panorama started sailing already, FTTF won't first be available until its February 2020 departures. Radiance sails next year, but won't offer FTTF until its Jan. 2021 departures. I think it's because a lot of P/D's like to sail the new ships in the beginning, so Carnival waits to offer FTTF.

 

But as for the date FTTF appears for each individual cruise, right, we never know that one.

[1025cruise]

My guess is that it won't open until the Mardi Gras starts sailing. They just opened Panorama up once they saw how the flow would work. My guess the same for the Mardi Gras.

[1st4our25th]

I just called my PVP yesterday to ask this question, as well as when excursions will become available. We are booked 2021 on the Radiance and she said neither will be posted until about 10 months out from sailing. I do not know if that is a definite timeline, I plan to look sooner just in case. But she did say the ship is not even "built" yet so FTTF will not be released until after it is complete.

[HeidiHo]

For all my past cruises (except for the ones before FTTF even existed), FTTF opened up many months in advance, possibly even a year out. It just opened up for my Feb 8, 2020 Panorama cruise a couple of days ago. This time I don't need it though because it will be my first platinum cruise. 😀

[Sean_B]

23 hours ago, MrsKC08 said:

I checked the website and it states it will be open for Mardi Gras 2021 which is when I'm sailing.

 

This is literally the only right answer in this entire thread but it didn't have a single like. Go figure. I liked it.

[Sean_B]

For context, we're sailing on the Breeze in Oct 2020. FTTF just opened up today for the first time; 11 months away, almost to the day.

With Mardi Gras being significantly delayed for their first sail, this may push the FTTF opening date for your cruise, but I would starting looking in Feb 2020 and keep checking every few days. If there is a FB roll-call group for your cruise, you could consider joining it as members usually post when FTTF goes live and then the mad rush is on. There's also the roll-call group on CC

Edited December 20, 2019 by Sean_B

[Organized Chaos]

3 hours ago, Sean_B said:

This is literally the only right answer in this entire thread but it didn't have a single like. Go figure. I liked it.

 

The OP was originally asking when FTTF (and excursions) would appear for their particular cruise. There's no definite answer for that because FTTF isn't released on a set timeframe for each individual cruise.

 

What you claim is the only right answer is simply a section of the FAQ's that states FTTF won't even be available, at all, for the Mardi Gras until 2021 (date yet to be determined). All that means is, FTTF is not available on new ships for the first few months they sail because a lot of P/D's book those sailings. So no, that portion of the FAQ's does not answer the OP's original question, which was asking when FTTF would be released for their particular cruise. There's no answer for that...not one that anyone here can give. I don't see why it matters so much that it wasn't liked as many times as you thought it should be.

Edited December 20, 2019 by Organized Chaos

[jdemps]

FTTF just appeared in the excursions for Sunrise on 2/22/20 yesterday.  It was 65 days out I think.  It never opened once until yesterday.  I believe if it is sold out, it will show that.  Good Luck.

[Joe817]

I'm late to the party on this one, but we booked a Carnival Freedom 7 day, sailing on 09/13/20 out of Galveston on Sept. 3, 2019, if that's any help.

[Joe817]

40 minutes ago, Joe817 said:

I'm late to the party on this one, but we booked a Carnival Freedom 7 day, sailing on 09/13/20 out of Galveston on Sept. 3, 2019, if that's any help.

Duh. Forgot to add, we snagged a FTTF on 9/06/2019, still a year out from the sailing.

[DubNHub]

We are on the Breeze for April 2020. FTTF opened up several months ago, actually a lot of folks said it was late getting released. Anyways, I checked several times a day for about a month and gave up, it was always sold out. But this past Wednesday evening around 8pm, it was showing available so I managed to grab it. 

[serene56]

our january cruise on the Magic the FTTF opened in APril.   Was gone in less then 15 minutes showing sold out

[MrsKC08]

On 12/20/2019 at 12:28 PM, Sean_B said:

With Mardi Gras being significantly delayed for their first sail, this may push the FTTF opening date for your cruise, but I would starting looking in Feb 2020 and keep checking every few days. If there is a FB roll-call group for your cruise, you could consider joining it as members usually post when FTTF goes live and then the mad rush is on. There's also the roll-call group on CC

I was wondering where you got this information, but see that it was just announce two days ago. This is one reason why I never book early sailings. Our's is the end of February. Of course, we all know how things can change. 

[Sean_B]

7 hours ago, MrsKC08 said:

I was wondering where you got this information, but see that it was just announce two days ago. This is one reason why I never book early sailings. Our's is the end of February. Of course, we all know how things can change. 

The first 8 sailings on the Mardi Gras have been cancelled.

[Hoops_Baller]

FTTF has just opened (or re-opened) on the Sunrise out of Ft. Lauderdale for our cruise leaving on 1/20/20.  I checked when booking about 4 months ago, checked when I completed online check-in 90days out and have checked a few times since.  Finally see it now.  

 

I'm on the fence...We have used before, and in general I like the benefits.  This time we have a Noon-12:30 appt time and aren't doing any excursions, and don't need to disembark early so the only real benefits to us this time are the day 1 advantages.  Nothing else really does anything for us.  I'm listing them here to help me make my decision.  It's $80 for the stateroom.  Here are the bennies as I see them.

 

1.  Likely on board by 10:30 rather than 12:30. 

2.  Ability to go straight to the room and drop everything off rather than check luggage and lug a backpack around. 

3.  Get a good seat on the Lido deck...we enjoy the party atmosphere that first afternoon and watching all the people board and begin their vacation. 

4.  Get lunch early and avoid the crowds.

5.  Get a head start on the Cheers Package!

 

My thinking...it' worth about $20 bucks just to get on, drop stuff off immediately at the room and have access to everything.  It's worth about $20 bucks just to be able to avoid the crowds, get a good seat and get to the food early.  Finally, I'm pretty sure that I can drink at least 3 maybe four drinks (those first few go fast) in the extra hour and half/two hours.  My partner maybe only 1 or 2, so to be conservative, we will call it 4 combined.  That's worth about 30-40 bucks.  By my calculations, that pretty close to breaking even...thus my dilemma...lol. 

 

If we have a later arrival time, it would be a no-brainer.  Also, I've never cruised out of Ft Lauderdale, so not sure how smooth that is in general.  Just thought I would share my thoughts as I know everyone views this differently. 

 

[grandmarnnurse]

10 hours ago, Hoops_Baller said:

FTTF has just opened (or re-opened) on the Sunrise out of Ft. Lauderdale for our cruise leaving on 1/20/20.  I checked when booking about 4 months ago, checked when I completed online check-in 90days out and have checked a few times since.  Finally see it now.  

 

I'm on the fence...We have used before, and in general I like the benefits.  This time we have a Noon-12:30 appt time and aren't doing any excursions, and don't need to disembark early so the only real benefits to us this time are the day 1 advantages.  Nothing else really does anything for us.  I'm listing them here to help me make my decision.  It's $80 for the stateroom.  Here are the bennies as I see them.

 

1.  Likely on board by 10:30 rather than 12:30. 

2.  Ability to go straight to the room and drop everything off rather than check luggage and lug a backpack around. 

3.  Get a good seat on the Lido deck...we enjoy the party atmosphere that first afternoon and watching all the people board and begin their vacation. 

4.  Get lunch early and avoid the crowds.

5.  Get a head start on the Cheers Package!

 

My thinking...it' worth about $20 bucks just to get on, drop stuff off immediately at the room and have access to everything.  It's worth about $20 bucks just to be able to avoid the crowds, get a good seat and get to the food early.  Finally, I'm pretty sure that I can drink at least 3 maybe four drinks (those first few go fast) in the extra hour and half/two hours.  My partner maybe only 1 or 2, so to be conservative, we will call it 4 combined.  That's worth about 30-40 bucks.  By my calculations, that pretty close to breaking even...thus my dilemma...lol. 

 

If we have a later arrival time, it would be a no-brainer.  Also, I've never cruised out of Ft Lauderdale, so not sure how smooth that is in general.  Just thought I would share my thoughts as I know everyone views this differently. 

 

In my personal opinion, it is definitely worth it! I get it whenever it is available for a cruise of mine. Just having a priority check in, boarding, and cabin ready makes it a no brainer for me. My hubby and I are not big drinkers, maybe 3 each in a whole day, so we never buy the Cheers package, so I’m not factoring that in. I know many people disagree with me, but this is my personal opinion. We hate waiting in any long check in lines, and dragging our carry ones around ship, so definitely worth it for that alone. 

Edited December 24, 2019 by grandmarnnurse

[thesmiths]

I always get it.

 

My wife doesn't travel well ( from a car wreck years ago).

She walks slow.

 

Like to get to the port early, on the ship and into the cabin soonest to rest and relax.

For the most part the luggage has been there each time, Unpacked and out to lunch by 1ish.

 

My wife does not drink so no cheers.

I pre-order a bottle for the cabin and get a few out an about.

 

If you factor it in, for us we do 8 days normally. So $12 to $15 additional per day.

Plus its paid for in advance along with my bottle..

 

Enjoy!