I give up...

[Ms. T]

What's FTTF?

How's it work & is it worth the dough?

[GPop&Nana]

What's FTTF? A program "Faster to the Fun". Pax can pay $50 per cabin and get to board after weddings, diamond, and platinum - but before the rest; you get to go to the diamond/platinum line at the pursers desk; you get your luggage faster; and you can access your room when you board. You also get priority reservations (dining), and seating - after diamond/platinum cruisers.

There may be more but those are the biggies - might include priority tendering.

How's it work & is it worth the dough? You pay and you get the above 'perks'. Worth the money - don't know been Platinum for a while and I get those perks for free; and I would guess that the worth of it is as individual as our favorite cruise drinks.:D

[shof515]

Here is some info on carnival site:

http://www.carnival.com/Activities/Excursion/101031

 

you can only book it online as an excursion in your embarkation port

[jimbo5544]

Ms. T, Google is your friend.

[BenjiRodney]

YES it is worth the 50.00 did it in Jan on the Imagination and doing it again in May on the Paradise.

[askimdog]

Worth it for some...for some it is not and just a waste of 50 bucks.

 

For me, not worth it, when I get to the embarkation port it goes fast, had one wait at Long beach, otherwise breezed trhough Tampa and Galveston. Luggage, we carry our own all the time, no porters, so no need to "get to it" quicker. Room right away can wait, only sleep in it, once on board I sit near a window and relax, prefer that than getting to my cramped little inside room. Meal reservations make little difference as we eat 99% of our meals in the buffet.

 

Now, quicker on a tender, which I think is one perk..YES!!! We cruise for ports and wander all around the port town till the ship leaves, more time in port is a plus! Worth 50.00 bucks....not that much worth it.

[beachbum53]

For a while, I was hesitant about paying the $50.00 for the FTTF benefits. But, the more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea about having some of the Platinum perks, even though we're not Platinum yet. And besides, for us it's better to spend the money for FTTF and get SOMETHING, rather than blow it in the casino and get nothing. At least, that's how I look at it. So, guess we'll pass on the casino this time, since I'm spending the money elsewhere.:cool:

[photogineer]

My friends and I are booked on the Ecstasy in March, does the Ecstasy have FTTF available?

 

Also, we're in a Junior Suite, is there any point to getting FTTF? If I recall correctly (which may not be true) then we get priority boarding anyway right?

 

Thanks

[RWolver672]

Now, quicker on a tender, which I think is one perk..YES!!! We cruise for ports and wander all around the port town till the ship leaves, more time in port is a plus! Worth 50.00 bucks....not that much worth it.

 

From what I've read, the priority tender is only good for getting off the ship. Getting back on, you have to wait with the masses.

[Djptcp]

As Platinum cruisers with 19 Carnival cruises, DH and I were pretty bummed about this program because we felt we earned those perks the hard way, by purchasing many Carnival cruises. So now you can buy them for $50? I was pretty steamed and emailed Carnival last week about it and received a very nice response and the person writing said he understood our concerns. Platinums and Diamonds still have priority boarding and the FTTF people have to wait until we are boarded - I don't know how that will work considering people arrive at the ports at various times. Platinums and Diamonds luggage tags will say Priority and have the FTTF logo - this is true because DH and I are sailing in 10 days and our luggage tags now have the FTTF logo, so we'll see how quickly our luggage arrives to our grand suite and whether we can get in our cabin when we board and not have to wait until 1:30pm. I had printed out our luggage tags awhile ago and they did not have the FTTF logo, so I checked after the response from Carnival and now they do and I printed out the new ones.

[sparks1093]

I don't see the value in it myself.

[srlafleur]

I've never had a wait so long that it would have been worth the extra money to board earlier. I suppose if there are many tender ports on an itinerary, and you're not doing ship's excursions, it might be worth it.

[beachbum53]

As Platinum cruisers with 19 Carnival cruises, DH and I were pretty bummed about this program because we felt we earned those perks the hard way, by purchasing many Carnival cruises. So now you can buy them for $50? I was pretty steamed and emailed Carnival last week about it and received a very nice response and the person writing said he understood our concerns. Platinums and Diamonds still have priority boarding and the FTTF people have to wait until we are boarded - I don't know how that will work considering people arrive at the ports at various times. Platinums and Diamonds luggage tags will say Priority and have the FTTF logo - this is true because DH and I are sailing in 10 days and our luggage tags now have the FTTF logo, so we'll see how quickly our luggage arrives to our grand suite and whether we can get in our cabin when we board and not have to wait until 1:30pm. I had printed out our luggage tags awhile ago and they did not have the FTTF logo, so I checked after the response from Carnival and now they do and I printed out the new ones.

 

Why be bummed about it? There are still a few perks that Platinum and Diamond cruisers get that aren't available to those that purchase the FTTF. Although it's highly unlikely that this would ever happen, but what if Carnival had a cruise that only had Platinum and Diamond cruisers on board? Not everyone can be first in line for something. Somebody will still have to wait their turn. Look at it this way. As Platinum cruisers, you'll still be in line ahead of those that purchase the FTTF. Does it really matter who's in line behind you?