LibratPDX

At this point I book FTTF when I book the cruise.......and I can relate to the OCD thing. Persistence pays, you will catch the elusive FTTF! :D

I book ES because I usually book 6-18 months in advance, since the cabins I like are in limited supply (sometimes only two per ship).

You are definitely lucky to live in Florida!

To each their own!

The ship on a stick.

Bwahahahaa, you're a nut! :)

I only discovered the joys of winning a SOAS on the last two cruises....no medals yet though :(

I cruise Carnival for the price (especially important since I cruise solo) and the sheer number of choices.

I disagree completely. I think it is possible that we could have seen Faster to the Fun before the VIFP Club was introduced. Months before the loyalty program was changed, a survey was distributed to many past guests about paying extra for perks. These matched Faster to the Fun.

 

Below is a link to the survey thread from March 2012

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1588857

 

Edit: As a convenience, I quoted it below.

I never saw this survey, so you are probably right! Whether or not I choose to pay for a specific privilege, I like that there are options. :)

I thought I said most. I guess not. My apologies.

Nothing to apologize for, I hope I didn't sound like I was jumping on your head. I am jealous of the laundry perk. I bow down to you and your bazillion cruises, I'm not worthy! ;)

If you pay extra for the steakhouse, you are getting something that actually cost money - different food, different staff etc. A Balcony, or Suite is actually extra space. Just like a house, you pay for size.

 

However, many times, you can get the exact same service for "free". Like getting on the ship when you arrive at the port. Having your room available sooner and having your luggage delivered sooner. These are all items, that cost nothing to produce, and Carnival charges money for it. The point was, that why pay for something that is free?

Why do you care? If it's not worth it to you, don't do it! I don't see anybody here trying to convince others to do it, they are just sharing their experiences.

I travel solo and travel from the left coast to get to Caribbean cruises, it makes all the difference in the world to me to be able to drop off my bags before I go get something to eat. Having to juggle luggage while trying to get something to eat is a PITA. And having to stand and wait in long lines is hard on my feet (plantar faciitis).

We are Platinum---there I said it!!!!! We love FTTF because before FTTF we had to lug our carry-ons all over the ship until our cabin was ready. My DH uses a walker, so I am the one who has to do the carrying most of the time.

 

Now, the cabin is ready because we were granted that privilege when FTTF was instituted. It is so handy to drop things off and just go to lunch or walk around the ship. I am hoping though, that on Liberty we will get the early luggage which is another benefit of FTTF because on Dream the delivery people didn't deliver ours until everyone else on our floor got theirs. I do know now that we are to be sure that we get an orange sticker put on the luggage, so hopefully, we will get our luggage soon after we board.

 

Thanks all of you for purchasing FTTF and if you are in line at CS and I happen to be there, you won't get any comments from me!

Thank you for confirming that Platinum & Diamond cruisers have also benefited from FTTF :). On my last cruise, I did not hear about any Suite passengers so I don't know when they boarded, but I was directly after Platinum/Diamond passengers.

Ok so everyone here is for the positive side so I guess I will be the negative one .

 

My problem is not with people who purchase FTTF it's with Carnival for offering it . It is or should be a perk earned by loyal customers who repeat cruise with carnival. A benefit of repetition so to speak , however with that being said it's no different than being at Disney or other theme parks , waiting in line all day and along comes someone who pays extra to not wait and steps in line in front of you so to speak .

 

Perks have no meaning if bought or sold instead of earned through loyalty .

 

On the flip side , no one really know who paid into the program unless the person advertises it .and on our most recent cruise the baggage handlers at the port added FTTF stickers over our VIP luggage tags to get our bags to our room quicker .

I have been a "loyal" customer for over a decade, but I do not live close to a cruise port and was not able to take 10 cruises before Carnival changed the conditions required to become Platinum. If that had not happened, FTTF probably wouldn't exist.

Your phrase about perks having no meaning if they are purchased rather than earned makes no sense IMO. If the convenience is worth the extra money for some of us, it's definitely "meaningful". I would never try to convince someone to do it if they are not interested, and it has actually benefited those of you who were lucky enough to attain Platinum or Diamond status before the rules changed.

And to anyone who is basically saying, between the lines, that FTTF purchasers are suckers, I don't understand what the attitude is about. Nobody is saying you MUST do this, so why do you care? I personally don't gamble and consider it a waste of MY money, but what you do with YOUR money is your own doggone business and none of mine, so I will not be making snarky comments about it :cool:

LOL.....is that a Plantars Wart? LOL

 

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Ew, NO! lol...............and I'm not the OP, just submitting my two cents :)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantar_fasciitis

As other have said, until I become platinum I will buy FTTF every time! Now I book it as soon as I book the cruise. I travel solo and appreciate the opportunity to drop off my bags instead of trying to juggle them and my lunch tray. And we won't even get into the plantar faciitis! :D

I have never encountered a negative attitute about it other than in these boards. Some Diamond/platinum people thought it gave people the right to pass THEM up, it doesn't. And they benefit from it as well, before FTTF I heard there was no early entry into the cabins.

No. Faster to the Fun guests receive all Platinum perks. However, on ships that offer Faster to the Fun, the priority luggage and your stateroom being ready upon boarding perks will be extended to Platinum guests.

Almost all the perks.............no free laundry, no gift.........but worth it for me!

It appears you didn't order the item that is the topic of this thread.

I hope they (Verizon) will consider allowing you to make a return for credit back to your card.

 

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Fair enough........I saw "Verizon" and saw red & needed to vent! :) When I purchased the Carnival Cash I didn't even see the eCards as an option or I would have definitely go that route, even just for convenience! Hopefully they will let me exchange them for the eCard $$$ at the very least! *sigh*

I just purchased $500 worth for $450. I was just about to add my booking number to the certificates when I noticed they say "Not Valid for On-Board Credit" on them. I intended to use them for my cruise in 4 weeks (fully paid for).

On Verizon's website it only says that you can't use them to book a cruise, and you can't use them for on-board gratuities, and on the telephone they told me they were usable for on-board credit. There is also an expiration date of August 2016.

They can apparently only be used to pay off an existing booking, and only if you booked directly with Carnival. I usually do that, but for next year's cruises I booked via a travel website.

I'm ticked off at the contradictions and misinformation and I'm going to call Verizon to get authorization to return them!!!

Birth certificates don't work for everyone! My name does not match; I changed my name for personal reasons 35 years ago but never had it done in court.

I will take both on my cruise when I renew, then I can take the card when I go on excursions and leave the booklet on the ship :)

Being on a cruise (or perhaps any vacation?) overrides that rule!!! :D

If you haven't signed on before, create a Carnival signon account and add your booking to it. When you look at the booking details, there's usually a note at the top about bed configuration, and you should be able to change it there instead of waiting until the cruise. That said, the stewards seem to know how many passengers are in any given cabin and they usually put the beds together if they see it's one person :)

On the Breeze last year I bought both the Blue Iguana and Red Frog Tervis Tumblers. From then on, I got a 16oz frozen alcoholic drink for the 12oz price by re-using my tumblers. You'd have to ask them if they'd be willing to use your non-branded cup, but I imagine they want you to spend the money to buy one . :)

There are deckplans all over if you Google, but only the ship has the small fold-out ones as far as *I* know :D Even if you find it online in that format, it's a special size/type of paper......

i got mine the day they opened up the cruise i am going on in October . That was way over 500 days out. :D bought 3 that day

Agreed! I grabbed FTTF right after I booking by Oct 2015 cruise :)

Do they do this on the Breeze?

Yes, that's where I got my Red Frog and Blue Iquana tumblers :)

Great review!

Off topic, do you have Covet Fashion by any chance? http://www.covetfashion.com/

It's probably going to look like the stock photo for that category, it's just a question of whether the bed will be on the right or left.

http://www.icruise.com/cabins/carnival-cruises-cruises-carnival-magic-cabin-12021.html https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSmlZdABgxmItwR5KBApOkmDeTSw8TRlVXqkMylkNKPHQ3T3DDD

I usually can find photos of cabins that are unusual in some way, but it's harder to find specific cabin photos when there a lot of cabins in the same category :)

Have you already done a search for that specific cabin here and/or on Google? I have lucked out and even found some videos on You Tube of specific cabins I have booked. :)

Actually, some of the ships are still experimenting with the "American Table" and "American Feast" menus. I've heard mixed reviews, so it hasn't been rolled out to the entire fleet......

http://zydecocruiser.net/menus/aNew/index.htm

I agree most of the jewelry is junkola, including the Bella Perlina stuff. Even if it's half-way decent, you can get a much better price on eBay for the same type of thing.

The only exception I have found is a) Citizen Eco-Drive watches - I did some online research before springing and their sale prices are worth it. b) a new jewelry brand by the name of Shablool, it's a little different that the usual generic clone jewelry they sell and the sale prices are decent. And no I don't work for them! :)

http://www.shablool.com/

Sorry, no freezers.......and yeah, the mini fridges are more like coolers than actual refrigerators....

Don't go to Quebec if that scares you - everyone eats poutine there. (Fries, gravy and cheese curds) It's catching on in the Northeast US. I personally think it's delicious.

I was just thinking "it sounds like poutine, too bad they don't have cheese curds on the ship". It's awesome but a bit of a "heart-attack-on-a-plate". :D