FTTF not actually Priority

[NewfieFam]

Hello,

I have booked FTTF out of Miami in 6 days, I did not stay up to check in because I had understood that I had Priority boarding. But, you can only get in the priority line when you show up at your arrival time. Do you get to board any earlier once inside the terminal? I am very tempted to cancel.  I feel that if people knew that they had to show up at a specific time they would just skip the FTTF and stay up for the earliest check in time.

Do you get to board any earlier once inside the terminal?

Does priority debarkation even matter if you are bringing your own bags off?

I'm zone D10 with arrival time of 11-11:30, what time would I expect to actually be on the ship.

[momof3cruisers]

When you get to the terminal, it will likely go much more quickly because instead of the regular lines, you go to the priority line which will have a lot less people. With that arrival time, you will either be in the FTTF boarding group or pretty much walk right onto the ship. As I recall, you can also drop your bags in your room right away with FTTF. 
 

and yes, disembarking is faster because you will be able to wait in a designated area and be allowed to get off the ship before announcements for regular groups begins.

 

Do you have any tender ports?

[NewfieFam]

No tender ports

[ninjacat123]

Plus you get to use the shorter line at Guest Services.  I was happy to have FTTF just for that.

[ObstructedView2]

Just now, ninjacat123 said:

Plus you get to use the shorter line at Guest Services.  I was happy to have FTTF just for that.

 

Hi @ninjacat123🙂

 

Me too! However I did enjoy the dedicated phone line more. Extremely convenient. 

 

 

 

🍹

[ninjacat123]

6 minutes ago, ObstructedView2 said:

 

Hi @ninjacat123🙂

 

Me too! However I did enjoy the dedicated phone line more. Extremely convenient. 

 

 

 

🍹

Hi @ObstructedView2 😊

 

Yes!!  I did feel like I was using the "bat phone" calling Commissioner Gordon.  Very special!!😎

[VentureMan_2000]

Check-in and boarding are two separate events.  Even if you check in early, you still have to take a seat and wait to board until US Customs clears and your group is called:  First to board is Weddings, then the Wheelchair crowd, Diamonds, Plats, FTTF, Gold, Red, Blue.

I'm not convinced that FTTF is that beneficial, given how many Plats/Diamonds there are.  

[Beav1279]

You may not "check-in" ahead of regular guests but you will be getting on the ship before them. That part of FTTF is great but the ability to drop off your carry-on in your room right away and the dedicated Guest Services line makes the $ totally worth it!

[wildcatcruzer]

You don’t get priority debarkation with FTTF

[NewfieFam]

sorry that comes with the premier

[wemjam]

2 hours ago, wildcatcruzer said:

You don’t get priority debarkation with FTTF

Yes, you do.  FTTF has an area they can wait and they get to get off before general debarkation.  It works like Embarkation.  They allow Diamond and Platinum to disembark and then FTTF and each has their own "special" waiting area they can wait.  You get a letter in your room the day before debarkation that explains it all.

[Elaine5715]

5 hours ago, VentureMan_2000 said:

Check-in and boarding are two separate events.  Even if you check in early, you still have to take a seat and wait to board until US Customs clears and your group is called:  First to board is Weddings, then the Wheelchair crowd, Diamonds, Plats, FTTF, Gold, Red, Blue.

I'm not convinced that FTTF is that beneficial, given how many Plats/Diamonds there are.  

Assisted boarding is after Diamonds, not before

[Beav1279]

2 hours ago, wemjam said:

Yes, you do.  FTTF has an area they can wait and they get to get off before general debarkation.  It works like Embarkation.  They allow Diamond and Platinum to disembark and then FTTF and each has their own "special" waiting area they can wait.  You get a letter in your room the day before debarkation that explains it all.

Correct. We were on the Panorama in June and met in the theater and were escorted off.

[Bbloom004]

We are currently on the Horizon and used FTTF yesterday to board in Miami.   I also had similar doubts about its use, as I didn’t check in early and was assigned a 12:30 boarding. I wasn’t very organized with the checkin!   However we have a 3 year old so I thought any line skipping may be beneficial, so decided to keep FTTF, in spite of late check in.  We got to the Miami port at 11:30 (hour before assigned time). We were waived through the Prioirty line and walked up to check in and direct to security and then on the ship. We were on the ship in 15 minutes max (easiest I have ever had).   No one said anything about assigned boarding time, and we had to

show our boarding pass multiple Times.   We had read you could leave your bags in your room prior to 1:30.   That was not the case for us. We tried and were very sternly told not until after 1:30.   They said if we left them outside the room there was a risk they would be taken and get lost.  The lady in charge of cleaning was very  adamant and borderline rude on this.  As such that perk was not worth it.    Just day two of cruise now so haven’t used it for anything else yet ….   

[AllgoodOnTheRoad]

FTTF is priority and you may check in at any time. I had a 10:30 check in time and checked in at 9:10am as soon as they opened the terminal as did many others. I recorded it all below. I did dislike that Miami has no separate seating area for FTTF. They throw you right into general population. 

 

 

[jsglow]

10 hours ago, Bbloom004 said:

We are currently on the Horizon and used FTTF yesterday to board in Miami.   I also had similar doubts about its use, as I didn’t check in early and was assigned a 12:30 boarding. I wasn’t very organized with the checkin!   However we have a 3 year old so I thought any line skipping may be beneficial, so decided to keep FTTF, in spite of late check in.  We got to the Miami port at 11:30 (hour before assigned time). We were waived through the Prioirty line and walked up to check in and direct to security and then on the ship. We were on the ship in 15 minutes max (easiest I have ever had).   No one said anything about assigned boarding time, and we had to

show our boarding pass multiple Times.   We had read you could leave your bags in your room prior to 1:30.   That was not the case for us. We tried and were very sternly told not until after 1:30.   They said if we left them outside the room there was a risk they would be taken and get lost.  The lady in charge of cleaning was very  adamant and borderline rude on this.  As such that perk was not worth it.    Just day two of cruise now so haven’t used it for anything else yet ….   

Unfortunately you got a 'mixed bag' of proper FttF procedures from shoreside and, more importantly, shipboard personnel. One, and especially with the new stricter enforcement, you should have been held to your arrival time-slot. So big win for you! Two, your cabin steward was absolutely wrong to turn you away from dropping your bag once she knew you had purchased FttF. Priority guests and those that have purchased FttF absolutely have that right as documented in company literature. What one can't do is 'occupy' the room until 1:30p.

 

As you said, the value of FttF is in the eye of the beholder. Enjoy your cruise!

[ninjacat123]

29 minutes ago, jsglow said:

Unfortunately you got a 'mixed bag' of proper FttF procedures from shoreside and, more importantly, shipboard personnel. One, and especially with the new stricter enforcement, you should have been held to your arrival time-slot. So big win for you! Two, your cabin steward was absolutely wrong to turn you away from dropping your bag once she knew you had purchased FttF. Priority guests and those that have purchased FttF absolutely have that right as documented in company literature. What one can't do is 'occupy' the room until 1:30p.

 

As you said, the value of FttF is in the eye of the beholder. Enjoy your cruise!

After reading about the denial of leaving bags in the room, I'm tempted to print out the benefits of Platinum (which I am) so I don't run into that issue.  Heck, I print out everything else...just in case😉

[Haljo1935]

13 minutes ago, ninjacat123 said:

After reading about the denial of leaving bags in the room, I'm tempted to print out the benefits of Platinum (which I am) so I don't run into that issue.  Heck, I print out everything else...just in case😉

Isn't it nice how many trees we're saving with all the digital stuff, lol?

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

If FTTF has to stick to the arrival time, but doesn't get the 16 day check in, the priority benefit is highly diluted. 

[ProgRockCruiser]

4 hours ago, AllgoodOnTheRoad said:

FTTF is priority and you may check in at any time.

It appears that has changed - but enforcement may vary, of course.  You are supposed to show up at your arrival appointment time slot.  Per the current FTTF page at Carnival.com:

 

https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1374/~/faster-to-the-fun-(fttf)

 

Priority Check-in
Upon arrival to the terminal (during your arrival appointment), look for the Priority line to check-in. 

 

And:

 

• All guests including FTTF guests are required to select an Arrival Appointment that works best with their plans when completing Online Check-in. 
  • We will not be able to accommodate FTTF guests who show up at a time prior to their selected Arrival Appointment window. Upon arrival to the terminal, guests must look for the priority line to check-in. 
  • If FTTF guests arrive after their selected Arrival Appointment window, they will be accommodated in the priority line.

[wemjam]

2 hours ago, PrincessArlena'sDad said:

If FTTF has to stick to the arrival time, but doesn't get the 16 day check in, the priority benefit is highly diluted. 

They get pretty much all the benefits of Diamond and Platinum that have earned the privilege's by days at sea, except for the 2 days early for picking your check in time.

 

You still get to go to the priority lines, and you still get to board before general boarding...along with the guest services line, priority debarkation, etc.

 

To be able to pay a few bucks and buy that is a lot better than the tens of thousands that I have spent to earn it 🤣

 

IMHO if anything has been diluted it was the earned benefits of higher tiers.

 

Edited August 7, 2023 by wemjam

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

5 minutes ago, wemjam said:

They get pretty much all the benefits of Diamond and Platinum that have earned the privilege's by days at sea, except for the 2 days early for picking your check in time.

 

You still get to go to the priority lines, and you still get to board before general boarding...along with the guest services line, priority debarkation, etc.

 

To be able to pay a few bucks and buy that is a lot better than the tens of thousands that I have spent to earn it 🤣

 

IMHO if anything has been diluted it was the earned benefits of higher tiers.

 

FTTF gets to board before general boarding, but only if they get an early arrival time.

 

If they are not able to get an early arrival time, they will board upon arrival, just those without priority do. They can use the priority line, but, with the enforced arrival times, the priority line isn't that much shorter than the general line.

 

I didn't say there is no benefit to FTTF.  As you said, you still get early cabin access, debarkation priority, guest services priority, etc.

 

But, FTTF having to stick to the arrival time, and not getting the extra two days, results in getting less for your money for FTTF.

[wemjam]

3 minutes ago, PrincessArlena'sDad said:

FTTF gets to board before general boarding, but only if they get an early arrival time.

 

If they are not able to get an early arrival time, they will board upon arrival, just those without priority do. They can use the priority line, but, with the enforced arrival times, the priority line isn't that much shorter than the general line.

 

I didn't say there is no benefit to FTTF.  As you said, you still get early cabin access, debarkation priority, guest services priority, etc.

 

But, FTTF having to stick to the arrival time, and not getting the extra two days, results in getting less for your money for FTTF.

Agreed, but they do have to draw the line somewhere.  It isn't right that for $100 you can buy pretty much all the same critical privilege's that it took others years to earn.

 

It frustrates me that there are as many benefits included as there is, which to use your word, dilutes my experience as a long time cruiser.  I understand why they did it, to earn more money, and a business has to be profitable.  But it still is frustrating when I am standing in a line (albeit much shorter than the general line usually, but a line non the less) because numerous people were able to purchase for a nominal fee what I had to earn over a long period of time. 

 

This is especially true at guest services if I have an issue I need to address.  Can't count how many times I have been standing there in line for 20-30 minutes, and a "group" of 3-4 people all together with red and blue cards in their hand, complaining about every little thing under the sun...... and you just know hearing the conversation they are just trying to get money off their bill for really trivial non-legit things.

 

 

[ninjacat123]

Hmm, I thought when I bought FTTF (before Covid and before I became Platinum) that we basically had all the amenities as Platinum, like Priority Line, arriving early, walking onboard right after Platinum.  The two day delay for online check in makes FTTF not as "special" as before but I would still buy it now if I wasn't Platinum.  

[ninjacat123]

@wemjam and then I think about how it used to be, you take ten cruises regardless of the length and BOOM! you are Platinum.  That could be 30 days of cruising instead of 75.  We have paid our dues and then some🤑