IS FTTF really worth it?

[Rockjock64]

Cruising from SJ in may, we booked the FTTF for hopes of getting on board a lil earlier.

Is it really worth it?

[AngAndBoys]

I think....sometimes, sometimes not. If you have a tender port and want to get off early, worth it. If you use guest services and don't want to stand in line, worth it. If you want to get off early when you get back, worth it.

 

I have been on many cruises (before I was Platinum and got to use VIP) were the regular line was quick quick. I have been on a few where I stood in line for over an hour to get on. On my last one, it was pouring rain at embarkation and the regular line reputedly took 3 hours. It was LONG when I got there. VIP line was quite empty and I was on in 15 minutes flat. The thing is, I think it depends on individual variables like what time you get to port and the weather.

[falkcor]

it depends on what is important / valuable to YOU.

 

you can get on a little earlier, sure. you can go right to your room... are you really planning on arriving at 10am and being 'first onboard'?

 

otherwise, ESPECIALLY since from SJ they are late departures, you can show up at 1.30 or so, skip those 'first onboard' people, and go right to your room anyway...

 

the other primary benefits are priority tendering... also not so much an issue... and priority line at guest services... do you plan to complain to or require guest services often? i typically only end up there 1-2 times a cruise and just wait for times when the lines aren't long as it's typically stupid stuff.

 

frankly on SJ sailings i'd intend on arriving 'fashionably late', dropping stuff off, and going back into SJ for a while since the sailings are so late...

 

i wouldn't there, nor for any other port, book FTTF as it is not of value to ME... i hate waiting so i'd rather skip the 'first onboard' people, the lines, and the waiting (yes, even with FTTF, you wait longer than i do, since i arrive after the waiting masses are processed). the few extra hours is not valuable to ME, though i can see how it would be to someone with children or infirm elderly, etc.

 

it's really a question only you can answer, for YOURSELF, though :)

[ChicagoCrafter]

You really do breeze through security and the biggest benefit is that your room is promised to be ready upon boarding, so no carrying your back pack around or a case of soda if you chose to carry that on too.

 

Is $50 worth ~1 hr of your time and convenience? For us it is.

 

I also enjoyed getting access to the "special" line at guest services when I needed help. You also get priority tendering access if you have ports that tender, but I can't comment on that because I took an early excursion and there was no line when we returned.

 

Is it necessary? Heck no. But I have bad feet, so not waiting in a line truly is worth it for me.

[cmdknw]

For us it is. We get to the port early b/c our son is always SO excited! And we like having immediate access to our room so we don't have to worry with carrying bags around once on board. I'll continue to pay for that perk as long they have it!

[kidlessatsea]

We purchased FTTF for our upcoming cruise in November but I have no current experience with this benefit.

 

Why did we book FTTF? Kids. We have a 4 year old and a 15 year old and we want to get on the ship and in our room as quickly as possible. While I teach my kids to be patient as much as possible, I also want the cruise to feel like a vacation - and not a Disneyland-stand-in-line kind of vacation.

 

$50 guarantees priority boarding and our room being ready when we get on the ship - after a long flight and travel, it's 100% worth it to our family on this trip.

[gtalum]

I think it is, but it's a totally subjective decision.

[Rockjock64]

We booked it with our upcoming cruise, were gonna see how it works and hope it was worth it....

Thanks all for your input, keep the comments coming.

[Velvetwater]

We had it for both out cruises and my main love of it was getting our luggage early so we could unpack and relax before muster and sail away. Don't get me wrong I also love the early start to the cruise and no waiting when I get to Guest services.

 

I have had 2 different experiences with it:

 

 

1st cruise rounds the Baltics where passengers were a mix of seasoned Carnival cruisers and Europeans new to the brand. We showed up around 11.20 and were on the ship around 11.30. I was too excited to remember if this was FTTF or because there was hardly anyone about. Our bags were there by our room by 12 when a lot of other passengers were boarding and we were in group 1 of aboard photos. No tenders and no lines as Guest services but we were happy with it.

 

2nd Cruise leaving from Tampa. We rock up around 11ish and hoards of people are already about. We go through everything and are in the priority boarding lounge by 11.30 surrounded by masses of Plats and diamonds (500+ and no places to sit) and told theres a delay. We board around 12.40ish (none priority was around 2ish) and our luggage is there after 1 but our room has a massive fan in it because the air con dripped. We get $40 in drinks vouchers and FTTF refunded because of it (but keep the benefits). We used FTTF for jumping the line for Tenders and Guest services.

 

So in conclusion, it is worth it for us no matter what.

Edited March 10, 2015 by Velvetwater

[cmukid87]

To me, yes it is.

 

1. Being able to board the ship quickly after flying/transportation to the terminal is huge. Being able to unpack and settle into the room before we even eat lunch is wonderful.

 

2. Getting on early to check seating in the MDR. It's nice to get it over with quickly.

 

3. Just in case we need to use Guest Services often...it is there.

 

4. Priority tendering isn't a big deal. Only port I hate tendering to is Belize and I won't be doing that again. I'll be staying on the ship.

 

 

For $50 it is completely worth it. As a % of my total cost for the vacation, it's miniscule.

[bjd2]

We really liked it the last 2 cruises. Just dropping our bags off right away so the only thing in our hands as we check out the ship is a beverage is worth the entire amount to us. I agree it is a miniscule amount of our vacation, especially since we fly from WI.

 

We also like being unpacked before muster. Before FTTF we were normally not unpacking until later in the evening or the next day if we had too much fun on the first day.

 

Haven't used it at Guest Services and have had no tender ports with it so far. We have it again in a few weeks and look forward to dropping our bags off and starting our vacation right away. :D

[Havingfun2010]

You really do breeze through security and the biggest benefit is that your room is promised to be ready upon boarding, so no carrying your back pack around or a case of soda if you chose to carry that on too.

 

Is $50 worth ~1 hr of your time and convenience? For us it is.

 

I also enjoyed getting access to the "special" line at guest services when I needed help. You also get priority tendering access if you have ports that tender, but I can't comment on that because I took an early excursion and there was no line when we returned.

 

Is it necessary? Heck no. But I have bad feet, so not waiting in a line truly is worth it for me.

 

What's funny about your post is that you implied you spend $50.00 so you don't need to carry your soda with you.....Remember, you room will be available, and you bags will be delivered without paying for it.

[Warm Breezes]

Cruising from SJ in may, we booked the FTTF for hopes of getting on board a lil earlier.

Is it really worth it?

 

Depends on who you are asking. I don't think I would ever pay for it since I don't see the value. I've never had a wait long enough to make me think I would even want it, either getting on, getting off, or at tender ports. We don't rush to be the first person to do any of these things either though....

[Laurie S.]

It's definitely worth it to us, and we're always in a suite so we're not getting it for priority boarding. The ability to have our room ready, drop off our stuff, priority tendering, and special line for guest services is why we get it. On our repositioning cruise last September, I had to go to guest services at least five times. Each time there was a very long line, but never more than one person ahead of me in the FTTF/Platinum line. I hate standing in lines!

[KPfromCT]

For us, it's worth every penny:D:D

Nothing better than being able to drop your bags immediately, and not have to lug them around with you on the Lido, while trying to find lunch.

That alone is worth its weight in gold.

Secondly, the line at Guest Services. At any given time the line is 5-20 people deep. It's nice walking up and being taken care of immediately.

 

San Juan is tricky. Unless you plan on being one of the first on board, I'm not sure that's a port I would buy it for. If you plan on being there early, and staying on the ship, then by all means, it would be worth it.

Otherwise, like others have stated, I would just go later and walk right on.

 

Good Luck!!!!:D

[RTRMom]

It was worth it to us. We were behind schedule and got to the NOLA port at 12 to 12:30. It was crazy, very busy.

 

Would have taken 1-2 hours to get on. We were on the ship in probably 15 mins-20 mins. That alone was worth it and the tender priority was nice.

 

 

 

We didn't get our luggage any sooner, so I was disappointed in that part.

[cutiepiefred]

it was not worth it to us. our friends who were unable to get it as it was sold out on our last cruise were on the ship before us by almost 30 mins, our rooms were both ready when we boarded but has always been the case on all of our cruises. we never need guest services as we have never had an issue worth complaining about. the luggage isnt an issue since we change at the airport/hotel before our shuttle comes into swim/lounge clothes so no neeed to wait

[RenoNanaOz]

Our upcoming cruise is #8 and first time using FTTF. We have never had a problem getting on board. We always arrived early to port and were on at the latest 12:30. We have never sailed out of Miami and so not knowing what to expect. When FTTF became available we figured let's give it a shot. Tendering in Belize and Grand Cayman so that alone is worth it. I will be back in about 8 weeks to let you know how it worked out for us;)

[Leo's Rule]

Cruising from SJ in may, we booked the FTTF for hopes of getting on board a lil earlier.

Is it really worth it?

 

I personally don't see the point in spending money for it, but a lot of people love it. But to answer your question; I feel you wasted your money for the San Juan port.

 

The ship doesn't leave the port until 10 pm. What's the rush? What you're paying for is 1) faster boarding on the ship, 2) priority for tender boats, but there are no tender ports on that itinerary, 3) use of the Platinum/Diamond line at Guest Services and that's beneficial if you're not Platinum or above.

 

Save your $50 and spend it on something else.

[Geebee8]

We used it for the very first time with our last cruise (Feb. 2015) and it was 100% worth it for us! We had a late departure from Columbus due to snow and arrived at the port at the same time as just about everyone else! My dad is 70 and is starting to have some mobility issues and to be able to breeze through the lines was well worth the $50/room for us! He did not have to stand in line for a long amount of time and we were able to get to our rooms and be on the balcony so much sooner than before. We did have 1 tender (Half Moon Cay) and being able to get on the tender quickly was also a great perk. We will definitely do it on our next cruise!

[ChicagoCrafter]

What's funny about your post is that you implied you spend $50.00 so you don't need to carry your soda with you.....Remember, you room will be available, and you bags will be delivered without paying for it.

 

Actually, you missed my last line, which, granted, I did minimize since it's not something the majority of people deal with but again, I'm physically unable to stand in a long line.

 

On trips when FTTF wasn't available, I chose to board as late as possible to skip the line. Per the OPs question: It's worth the $50 to start my vacation a few hours earlier, to not do something that causes me a great deal of pain, and there is an added convenience of having my room available immediately.

 

I hope my choice to buy FTTF doesn't ruin your vacation!

[Butterbean1000]

We buy it for most of our cruises. We think it is totally worth it. We had an issue on our last cruise and had to go to GS services. The line was winding around to the elevators, but we didn't have to wait. We were able to go to the Platinum/FTTF line. That alone was worth it.

[srlafleur]

So far, out of about 20 cruises, I haven't been on more than a couple that it might have been worth it. But neither of those were on Carnival, so...

 

If traveling with children, I can certainly see the value. Getting on quickly for a timely lunch and/or to the stateroom for a little nappy-nap, priceless. (same applies if traveling with elderly or otherwise fragile cruisers)

 

If your itinerary is heavy with tendered ports and you're not taking ship's excursions (or have time and want to explore the port pre-excursion), I think it may be worth it's weight in gold.

 

Other than that, eh, not such a biggie, for me.

Edited March 11, 2015 by srlafleur

[Jkodko]

I hope my choice to buy FTTF doesn't ruin your vacation!

 

You made me giggle! I totally agree with another previous poster, it's subjective, We had fttf for our first cruise last year and thought it was well worth what paid for it. We had to go to guest services a few times with questions and didn't have to wait, I also liked that I could unpack and start enjoying my cruise right away. :D

[SMSACE6]

As some others have stated, it all depends on what you want or need. For me it was totally worth it, and here are reasons why.

 

First and foremost, I have a back/disc problem which causes me great discomfort if I stand for more than 10 mins at a time, sometimes even less than 10mins, but still very uncomfortable. I am otherwise healthy. I am not yet reached platinum, and several cruises away from that tier, so the 50.00 spent was worth it because I was able to go through a quicker line, (actually no one in line when I arrived), so I was checked in and shown to a seating area nearby where I could wait till boarding.

 

Even at 11am, the regular checkin line was very long and I knew that I would have had problems there.

 

once the wedding parties and diamond and platinums had been called, fttf was next and I boarded at about noon.

 

Here is the next reason why fttf was good for me; I sailed solo, and this now gave me the opportunity to go directly to my room to drop the carryon. Otherwise I would have had to drag it all with me through the buffet and balance a plate with food and pull my carryon behind me until the room would be ready at 1.30pm

 

So I got to enjoy lunch without that hassle.

 

Also, had the need to visit guest services desk a couple of times in 8 days, and again appreciated being able to join a shorter line for the same reasons stated above.

 

Will I purchase this again in October? probably not. Not because it did not work for me last November, but because of many rounds of physio, and some weight loss (alleviating the pressure on the disc), I am much better these days. As for the dragging the carryon with me through buffet, I have done that before, and can do it again if I have to, especially if leg pain is no longer an issue.

 

See?...it is subjective...something different for everyone. These were my reasons, some folks will have other reasons....I say for the price, try it once and see if it works for you and if it is worth it.

 

But most of all, have a great cruise:)

 

 

oops, forgot one more thing. with fttf, got zone 1 for disembarking, and I did not at first think that it was of use to me since I was staying post cruise for another day in Florida, but I utilized it, and found out afterward that the lines at Port Everglades customs were horrendous later. So again...this worked for me too.

Edited March 11, 2015 by SMSACE6