FTTF question

[MNFamilyof4]

I apologize in advance if this has already been asked.

My family of 4 is cruising with Carnival, in March, for the very first time. I have been looking at the FTTF program and have a couple of questions.

First, do you purchase the FTTF for each person staying in your cabin (49.95x4) or do you only need to purchase it for one of the adults and the rest are automatically included? The logo on the FTTF excursion page is confusing to me :)

I have read mixed reviews on the program on this board and am trying to determine if it would be worth it if we had to purchase for all 4 of us.

What do ya think?

[shonuf]

One FTTF per cabin covers everyone in the cabin.

[cccer]

Only need to buy one per cabin. I think it's worth the money just to get to your room right away.

[5Hawkeyes]

You'll get lots of opinions on worth, but I bought it for our two cabins for my family so we can go straight to the room and drop off our carry ons and sodas. $100 is small price for that luxury in the grand scheme of things!!!

 

Good luck!!!

[jcearth]

The worth of the program is dependent upon the value you place on the benefits you receive. To me, being able to board early, have immediate room access, and a separate line at customer service is definitely worth it to me. Priority debarkation and priority tender are just icing on the cake. To others, it may not be as valuable, so it is a decision you have to make for yourself.

[Ontario_Cruiser]

My personal opinion is that is it $50 wasted, but others find great value in it. But then, we do not drink much pop anyway, so do not need to bring any on board and can eat lunch and explore the ship until the rooms are ready - a few small carry ons do not bother us. I do not visit the purser's desk so there is no value to get to the front of that line. And we have not have a problem with waiting for tenders.

 

On our last cruise, delays from the previous cruise meant that nobody got on board until after 2pm and everybody's room was ready!

 

As others have noted, you need to review this on your own and decide if you will find value.

[CruisingSoon88]

We have used it twice and it was totally worth it for us. Both times we were on the ship early (10:30 & 11:00) and all of our luggage was there within an hour. By the time we got on the ship, dropped off our bags, and then went to eat, our luggage was waiting outside our door. I feel like we are able to use so much more of that 1st day onboard becuase we can go ahead and get unpacked and be settled. There's no waiting on your luggage and then getting to the drill and having to go back and unpack. By the time we are sailing away, we are all set and relaxed and ready for our vacation to begin.

[Vitamin_Sea]

You pay $50 per cabin to be able to cut lines.

 

My opinion, its not worth it.

 

I mean what is the big rush to get on and off the ship?

[paradiscroozin]

My family will be cruising next week and we have 4 cabins booked. I bought the last 2 available and everyone will be able to store their luggage in both rooms when they first get on board. We also have someone leaving on an early flight so they will take advantage of early disembarking. It was well worth the price for us!

[5Hawkeyes]

You pay $50 per cabin to be able to cut lines.

 

My opinion, its not worth it.

 

I mean what is the big rush to get on and off the ship?

Well you asked so I'll answer. The big rush to get on the ship is to get my vacation started that much earlier. If you've ever been on a ship early like a zone 1 or VIP you'd understand. There's nothing like being able to walk on the Lido deck when there's nobody there yet. Or go through the buffet lines and everything is fresh and looks so nice.

 

1 hour, 2 hours, or even 15 minutes before the masses means everything to us. So $100 is nothing for that feeling when you're already paying a couple thousand (or more:)) for a vacation. I love they have FTTF just gets me on the ship that much quicker:) And I promise, I will not board before the Diamonds and Platinums. They've earned that right and I totally respect it!!!

Edited January 9, 2014 by 5Hawkeyes

[brooklynfc]

Well you asked so I'll answer. The big rush to get on the ship is to get my vacation started that much earlier. If you've ever been on a ship early like a zone 1 or VIP you'd understand. There's nothing like being able to walk on the Lido deck when there's nobody there yet. Or go through the buffet lines and everything is fresh and looks so nice.

 

1 hour, 2 hours, or even 15 minutes before the masses means everything to us. So $100 is nothing for that feeling when you're already paying a couple thousand (or more:)) for a vacation. I love they have FTTF just gets me on the ship that much quicker:) And I promise, I will not board before the Diamonds and Platinums. They've earned that right and I totally respect it!!!

 

I totally agree with you. Embark is counted as one of your full days on the ship. Why start it at 2pm? Plus getting to take pictures of the ship and getting food that more easy does make for a nice few hours. Its why I like to stay on the ship during a port day when I can.

[kona_wahine]

I'm curious if any of the people who don't think it's worth it are platinum?;)

 

We had it in February and were thrilled when one opened up for our cruise next week. It's definitely worth the $50, especially if there are 4 of you in the same room.

[Vitamin_Sea]

Well you asked so I'll answer. The big rush to get on the ship is to get my vacation started that much earlier. If you've ever been on a ship early like a zone 1 or VIP you'd understand. There's nothing like being able to walk on the Lido deck when there's nobody there yet. Or go through the buffet lines and everything is fresh and looks so nice.

 

1 hour, 2 hours, or even 15 minutes before the masses means everything to us. So $100 is nothing for that feeling when you're already paying a couple thousand (or more:)) for a vacation. I love they have FTTF just gets me on the ship that much quicker:) And I promise, I will not board before the Diamonds and Platinums. They've earned that right and I totally respect it!!!

 

We have done FTTF on last Freedom cruise in July.

Yup, we were first on after Plats/diamonds/wedding group. YIPPIE

 

FTTF is all about cutting lines, I understand it but on vacation Im never rushing to go anywhere.

Edited January 9, 2014 by limoguy1

[forwardcabin]

I'm curious if any of the people who don't think it's worth it are platinum?;)....

...indeed--they don't know they already have it. Carnival doesn't really push that information to you. You have to go looking for it.

[fuddrules]

I mean what is the big rush to get on and off the ship?

 

From our last cruise we were trying to beat this snow storm. We went right past this exit less than 12 hours before this pic. Poor guy in the trailer is half way into a corn field:confused:

 

[Mysticks1]

We have done FTTF on last Freedom cruise in July.

Yup, we were first on after Plats/diamonds/wedding group. YIPPIE

 

FTTF is all about cutting lines, I understand it but on vacation Im never rushing to go anywhere.

 

Everyone has their own opinion but I do disagree that it is only about "cutting lines". I do want to be in the first groups on board and have always gotten to the port by 10:00 or so to do this. To me if you don't board early you are losing part of your first day on the ship that you paid for. I could really care less about the Guest Services line as I have rarely had to be there and getting off when I want is usually not a problem.

 

The FTTF features that most appeal to me don't involve lines at all. We always have several carry on bags with sodas/computer/cameras, etc. and having our cabin ready when we board allows me to dump all that stuff, check out my cabin/balcony and have a nice relaxing lunch without having to switch off when getting our food and then dragging all that stuff around for a couple of hours waiting for the cabins to be ready. The priority luggage delivery is a plus to me as well, with luggage return from lunch so you can unpack everything and completely relax before muster drill. To me those are the more important things and well worth $50 to me.

[cruise_gal21]

It's not just about being first on the ship for us, even though we love that, it's mainly about the cabin being ready when we board. When you have a carry-on full of soda/water, one full of clothes and toiletries, and another full of toys/beach stuff, all with a 4yr old running excitedly by your side, it's worth the money to drop those things off and hit the lido for lunch and pool without having to designate DH to watch our stuff. He wants to enjoy the first day too, ya know ;)

 

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[MNFamilyof4]

Let me throw this out there.... we did not add extra days to this cruise so our flight does not get into Miami until 12:30pm. I am assuming the lines will be quite long at this time to get onboard? The main reason for wanting the FTTF is for tenders. I want to make sure that we don't miss an excursion that leaves "promptly" 1 hour after the ship arrives. We have never encountered the need for tenders so I am fearing it a little bit.

I understand that Platinum members get priority and I completely respect that. A spring break cruise means a lot of kids and a lot of standing in lines to me. But then again, maybe not.

[Plant]

Let me throw this out there.... we did not add extra days to this cruise so our flight does not get into Miami until 12:30pm. I am assuming the lines will be quite long at this time to get onboard? The main reason for wanting the FTTF is for tenders. I want to make sure that we don't miss an excursion that leaves "promptly" 1 hour after the ship arrives. We have never encountered the need for tenders so I am fearing it a little bit.

I understand that Platinum members get priority and I completely respect that. A spring break cruise means a lot of kids and a lot of standing in lines to me. But then again, maybe not.

 

If you're taking the ship's excursion's there shouldn't be a problem. It you're doing a private tour the FTTF would be very helpful in getting you off the ship ASAP.

 

Just FYI, we bought the FTTF for our last cruise and thought it was well worth the price to be escorted through and board early and to have the "special" line at the Purser' Desk. Since that cruise, we're "Platinum", so don't really need any extra perks.

 

We don't need the early tender option since we don't do a lot of excursions, but if we did it would be worth it!

[gamma5]

Let me throw this out there.... we did not add extra days to this cruise so our flight does not get into Miami until 12:30pm. I am assuming the lines will be quite long at this time to get onboard? The main reason for wanting the FTTF is for tenders. I want to make sure that we don't miss an excursion that leaves "promptly" 1 hour after the ship arrives. We have never encountered the need for tenders so I am fearing it a little bit.

I understand that Platinum members get priority and I completely respect that. A spring break cruise means a lot of kids and a lot of standing in lines to me. But then again, maybe not.

 

We had FTTF last time on the Dream and have it again on the upcoming cruise in Feb on the Dream again. Mainly due to the faster boarding, room access, and it did come in handy for the few times we did have to visit the service desk. However, for the tenders, it did not come into play. If you book an excursion thru Carnival, you are directed to meet in the main show lounge and directed to the tenders with others in your excursion group. It is only when you do the private excursions (not booked with Carnival) that you would need to use your priority tendering privileges that come along with the FTTF to get to shore on time to meet your tour. At least that is the way it happened with us.

[lovelearnteach]

I apologize in advance if this has already been asked.

My family of 4 is cruising with Carnival, in March, for the very first time. I have been looking at the FTTF program and have a couple of questions.

First, do you purchase the FTTF for each person staying in your cabin (49.95x4) or do you only need to purchase it for one of the adults and the rest are automatically included? The logo on the FTTF excursion page is confusing to me :)

I have read mixed reviews on the program on this board and am trying to determine if it would be worth it if we had to purchase for all 4 of us.

What do ya think?

You purchase 1 per cabin, it covers everyone listed for the cabin.

 

I enjoyed priority boarding and getting to go directly to our cabin to drop off our stuff. That alone was worth the $50 bucks, for me :).

[tandemcruzr]

I'm curious if any of the people who don't think it's worth it are platinum?;)

 

We had it in February and were thrilled when one opened up for our cruise next week. It's definitely worth the $50, especially if there are 4 of you in the same room.

 

We are now Platinum. If it had been available before we got there, there were several cruises we would have been more than happy to buy it.

[Rena921]

I am 30 days away from being Platinum. I will purchase FTTF until I reach my mark.

[tandemcruzr]

I'm curious if any of the people who don't think it's worth it are platinum?;)

 

We had it in February and were thrilled when one opened up for our cruise next week. It's definitely worth the $50, especially if there are 4 of you in the same room.

 

We are now Platinum. If it had been available before we got there, there were several cruises we would have been more than happy to buy it.

[cmdknw]

If you don't know what the big deal is to get on the ship, you clearly don't have a 10 year old! :D

 

We have it for our upcoming cruise and can't wait! We were sold based on being able to get to the room soon as we get on but the bonus is priority tenders...we have 2 tender ports on the upcoming one.