FTTF conspiracy theory?

[lido deck larry]

So I ran into a fellow FTTF hater on the Breeze and he made an interesting point. OK so it's more like a conspiracy theory. The theorist complains that Carnival intentionally keeps lines long, tendering processes slow, and rooms unavailable to keep demand for FTTF high.

 

While I doubt his theory of the intentional delays, he does have a point- if people are willing to pay for FTTF what incentive does Carnival have to improve these choke points that cause people to buy the convenience in the first place? Why should Carnival try to reduce lines at GS by hiring more staff for example, when they simply say "the long lines are a problem, and here is a way around the problem, if you pay for it."

 

Not only do they get to avoid fixing a problem, but they gain a new revenue stream at the same time. Genius!

Edited May 17, 2015 by lido deck larry

[sanmarcosman]

what incentive does Carnival have to improve these choke points that cause people to buy the convenience in the first place?

None ;)

[SadieN]

Those lines are the same pre and post FTTF.

 

At busy times we've seen every station at GS manned and the ship only has so many doors to tender out of.

Same no matter the cruise line.

[kona_wahine]

I'd quit cruising carnival if I were you.

[bakersdozen12]

First of all, I thought the lines are caused by customs, not the cruise ship companies. And secondly, they don't offer enough of them per cruise for Carnival to make that much of a profit off of them.

[lido deck larry]

I'd quit cruising carnival if I were you.

Really? I never buy FTTF, because I never have a problem that makes me need to buy it. Personally I think Carnival is great. But the lines bother a lot of people, and FTTF sells out constantly so I'm just raising a discussion topic.

Edited May 17, 2015 by lido deck larry

[Roscoe13]

I don't know about that "theory" but here's something that happened that is a fact.

 

Last time I booked FTTF was the day after I booked my cruise in January of 2013 for a February of 2014 sailing. Now, fast forward to this year. I booked a January of 2016 cruise in January of this year, 2015. Suddenly, FTTF is not available.

 

When I inquired to Carnival's excursion department they said basically that excursions are NEVER available until about 6 months prior to your sailing date. Patently FALSE, but I went with it.

 

Now, fast forward to today, while I keep checking for FTTF the price went up. In other words, they knew they were going to increase the price and didn't want to have to "grandfather" a bunch of passengers in at the cheaper price.

 

That's the only reason that they didn't make it available back in January when I booked and the only reason it's not available yet. It has nothing to do with how many Plats and Diamonds will be sailing because they advertise it as allowing at least 15 FTTF excursion purchasers up front before they control it for Plats/Diamonds.

 

I think I'm right!:mad:

[lido deck larry]

First of all, I thought the lines are caused by customs, not the cruise ship companies. And secondly, they don't offer enough of them per cruise for Carnival to make that much of a profit off of them.

How does Customs control the line at guest services? FTTF is pure profit. They don't need to sell a ton of them, but multiply it across every sailing on every ship.... adds up.

[UpstateCruizer]

So I ran into a fellow FTTF hater on the Breeze and he made an interesting point. OK so it's more like a conspiracy theory. The theorist complains that Carnival intentionally keeps lines long, tendering processes slow, and rooms unavailable to keep demand for FTTF high.

 

While I doubt his theory of the intentional delays, he does have a point- if people are willing to pay for FTTF what incentive does Carnival have to improve these choke points that cause people to buy the convenience in the first place? Why should Carnival try to reduce lines at GS by hiring more staff for example, when they simply say "the long lines are a problem, and here is a way around the problem, if you pay for it."

 

Not only do they get to avoid fixing a problem, but they gain a new revenue stream at the same time. Genius!

 

 

Seriously? I've been on 18 cruises and the lines are no longer now than they were 18 cruises ago! In fact the lines at guest services are only bad usually on the first and last nights of a cruise. People wanting to make cash deposits on their account or settling up their bills. I don't think the real issue has anything to do with how many people are working but more so that people have become increasingly impatient! Lines have been customary at banks, grocery stores amusement parks ect but patience has gone out the window. Everyone wants to be waited on NOW!

 

FTTF has nothing to do with how long the lines are at the guest services desk. The people in line aren't being helped slower to encourage people to purchase FTTF. If you are looking for a reason for the longer lines you might want to consider the increase in cash deposits on accounts and the issues with credit cards some guests have. While being helped at guest services on our last cruise two of the people in line had credit card issues and rejections. The others were putting extra money on their accounts. I'm hearing more and more people leaving towards cash deposits because they can't get a credit card or they can't afford the holds being placed against their debit cards.

 

As far as rooms being unavailable again this is nothing new it's always been 1:30. The room stewards can't possibly have every single room available the minute they begin embarkation. Nothing has changed with the exception of FTTF and platinum/diamond cabins being ready sooner.

 

Tendering is again an issue of patience. People with excursions booked through Carnival get priority tendering along with FTTF anc platinum/diamonds. Everyone else is advised to wait and again patience comes into play. Instead of following the announcements people show up wanting to get off right then and are upset with having to wait. 18 cruises later nothing has changed regarding that.

 

The only exception to the changes is that those who absolutely do not want to wait are given the opportunity to pay a premium to be first. The limited amount of FTTF guests have no impact on my cruising experience.

 

We cruised the Breeze in April and saw nothing out of the ordinary that we didn't experience on our first cruise several years ago. No conspiracy and certainly a much improved cruises experience on an awesome ship!

[lizardhowson]

I don't know about that "theory" but here's something that happened that is a fact.

 

Last time I booked FTTF was the day after I booked my cruise in January of 2013 for a February of 2014 sailing. Now, fast forward to this year. I booked a January of 2016 cruise in January of this year, 2015. Suddenly, FTTF is not available.

 

When I inquired to Carnival's excursion department they said basically that excursions are NEVER available until about 6 months prior to your sailing date. Patently FALSE, but I went with it.

 

Now, fast forward to today, while I keep checking for FTTF the price went up. In other words, they knew they were going to increase the price and didn't want to have to "grandfather" a bunch of passengers in at the cheaper price.

 

That's the only reason that they didn't make it available back in January when I booked and the only reason it's not available yet. It has nothing to do with how many Plats and Diamonds will be sailing because they advertise it as allowing at least 15 FTTF excursion purchasers up front before they control it for Plats/Diamonds.

 

I think I'm right!:mad:

 

If your theory was correct, then Carnival would have released FTTF purchasing immediately after raising the price (which happened several weeks ago, not today).

 

As far as I know, FTTF has not been released for any 2016 cruises - including mine.

[kona_wahine]

Really? I never buy FTTF, because I never have a problem that makes me need to buy it. Personally I think Carnival is great. But the lines bother a lot of people, and FTTF sells out constantly so I'm just raising a discussion topic.

 

You are raising a "discussion topic" that's been beaten to death here. It's more of a "what kind of trouble can I stir up" topic.

[Nic6318]

Hi

 

I agree with Betty.

 

Carnival is not the only cruise line that has to deal with long lines.

 

They are moving many thousands of people and they are doing a pretty good job. I am not waving a banner, I am acknowledging a job well done ( for the most part ) by all the cruise lines.

 

The reality is that they do not create the long lines it is the passengers who all want to do the same thing at the same time.

 

If a line is long you should not enter it without waiting patiently. Nobody is forcing you to wait in a line, whether it is at guest services or at the buffet. Most times you can plan things to avoid lines.

 

Carnival saw an opportunity to cash in by allowing some people to benefit with the FTTF program, this is good for the company. There is no problem to fix.The trick is not to sell so many fttp's that they create a problem.

It is no different than selling some people a better steak at dinner or a room with a balcony. I can't complain that my room doesn't have a view just because it is an inside cabin.

 

have a great cruise

[RuthlessBoss]

Don't forget all the cabin key swapping because of booking people in certain cabins to get a special rate, but swapping after boarding. And don't forget a customer who thinks and acts like they are special.

[eponym]

So I ran into a fellow FTTF hater on the Breeze and he made an interesting point. OK so it's more like a conspiracy theory. The theorist complains that Carnival intentionally keeps lines long, tendering processes slow, and rooms unavailable to keep demand for FTTF high.

 

While I doubt his theory of the intentional delays, he does have a point- if people are willing to pay for FTTF what incentive does Carnival have to improve these choke points that cause people to buy the convenience in the first place? Why should Carnival try to reduce lines at GS by hiring more staff for example, when they simply say "the long lines are a problem, and here is a way around the problem, if you pay for it."

 

Not only do they get to avoid fixing a problem, but they gain a new revenue stream at the same time. Genius!

 

There are currently so few spots typically offered per sailing, it really has no impact to bottom line. For example, 30 cabins at $60 = $1800. Big deal.

[Rudyard]

I wonder how much money Carnival could make if it put it's logo on all those tin foil hats that people seem to be wearing lately.

[cruznjan]

Whatever they're doing is crazy. They hype it up and offer so few of them.

[Nic6318]

There are currently so few spots typically offered per sailing, it really has no impact to bottom line. For example, 30 cabins at $60 = $1800. Big deal.

 

for every ship/cruise...now how much would that be per year I wonder?

without thinking too hard it would be more than I make per year...I hope the person who thought that one out got a good bonus:)

[cruizinisthebest]

I don't know about that "theory" but here's something that happened that is a fact.

 

Last time I booked FTTF was the day after I booked my cruise in January of 2013 for a February of 2014 sailing. Now, fast forward to this year. I booked a January of 2016 cruise in January of this year, 2015. Suddenly, FTTF is not available.

 

When I inquired to Carnival's excursion department they said basically that excursions are NEVER available until about 6 months prior to your sailing date. Patently FALSE, but I went with it.

 

Now, fast forward to today, while I keep checking for FTTF the price went up. In other words, they knew they were going to increase the price and didn't want to have to "grandfather" a bunch of passengers in at the cheaper price.

 

That's the only reason that they didn't make it available back in January when I booked and the only reason it's not available yet. It has nothing to do with how many Plats and Diamonds will be sailing because they advertise it as allowing at least 15 FTTF excursion purchasers up front before they control it for Plats/Diamonds.

 

I think I'm right!:mad:

 

John Heald announced on his fb page at least a month ago that the price was going up for FTTF as of May 15. It wouldn't have mattered when they put FTTF up for sale- any sailing after that date will be at the new and higher price.

 

We're already booked for next Summer and 3 of the ports have excursions listed. However fttf isn't.

[JonathanFlorida]

for every ship/cruise...now how much would that be per year I wonder?

without thinking too hard it would be more than I make per year...I hope the person who thought that one out got a good bonus:)

 

Just roughly, 25 or 26 boats, so, $50,000 a week for the entire company, and 52 weeks a year, so, maybe $2.5 million or so, total. Not much on an asset base of $Billions (each boat maybe $600-800 million or so)? I think there is maybe 600 million shares outstanding, so, almost half a penny or so to earnings?

 

ETA: I cannot believe they only sell 30 cabins a sailing, however. Is that really all they make available?

Edited May 17, 2015 by JonathanFlorida

[eponym]

Just roughly, 25 or 26 boats, so, $50,000 a week for the entire company, and 52 weeks a year, so, maybe $2.5 million or so, total. Not much on an asset base of $Billions (each boat maybe $600-800 million or so)? I think there is maybe 600 million shares outstanding, so, almost half a penny or so to earnings?

 

ETA: I cannot believe they only sell 30 cabins a sailing, however. Is that really all they make available?

 

Depends on how many Diamond and Platinum cabins there are on any given sailing. Apparently there are a lot of Platinums on Carnival with 10+ cruises of any length.

[elliair]

Really? I never buy FTTF, because I never have a problem that makes me need to buy it. Personally I think Carnival is great. But the lines bother a lot of people, and FTTF sells out constantly so I'm just raising a discussion topic.

 

FTTF sales are dependent on how many platinum and diamond folks are cruising. If there's a lot of them then not that many FTTF are sold. So, that blows that theory of Carnival intentionally causing the lines.

[katiel53]

I don't agree with any conspiracy theory. First of all for embarkation Carnival does send email to tell cruisers to not be at the port until x time. How many times have you seen on here that you should disregard that and show up when you want because you have paid for the first day and get your money's worth. That is a problem caused by passengers, not the cruise line.

 

Secondly, as far as tendering goes, Carnival has always allowed their excursion people to go first, but when the lines are forming, the me, me, I'm first people push into the lines. That problem is caused by passengers, not the cruise line.

 

Thirdly, the lines at the GS desk are long many times because people want to change credit cards etc. Another big thing is the last night or last day, the lines are long because the cheapos are there to remove their tips. They did have the nerve to do it earlier in the cruise because they were afraid of poor service, but somehow the last night of the cruise they just don't care. I do have to say some of those, do tip, but either not everyone that Carnival feels should be tipped or others feel they don't need to tip because they spent their money in the casino or bars. Whatever.

 

Fourthly, I totally disagree that FTTF was delayed so that the price could be higher. We are sailing in July and bought FTTF in March and according to Roscoe's theory we shouldn't have been able to buy it until after the prices went up.

 

I guess I just don't understand why so many think that Carnival is trying to rip them off or cause them trouble. If I felt that way, I would darn sure not sail them. Sometimes I am amazed at how people think or maybe I should say, don't think. JMO.

Edited May 17, 2015 by katiel53

[Roscoe13]

I don't agree with any conspiracy theory. First of all for embarkation Carnival does send email to tell cruisers to not be at the port until x time. How many times have you seen on here that you should disregard that and show up when you want because you have paid for the first day and get your money's worth. That is a problem caused by passengers, not the cruise line.

 

Secondly, as far as tendering goes, Carnival has always allowed their excursion people to go first, but when the lines are forming, the me, me, I'm first people push into the lines. That problem is caused by passengers, not the cruise line.

 

Thirdly, the lines at the GS desk are long many times because people want to change credit cards etc. Another big thing is the last night or last day, the lines are long because the cheapos are there to remove their tips. They did have the nerve to do it earlier in the cruise because they were afraid of poor service, but somehow the last night of the cruise they just don't care. I do have to say some of those, do tip, but either not everyone that Carnival feels should be tipped or others feel they don't need to tip because they spent their money in the casino or bars. Whatever.

 

Fourthly, I totally disagree that FTTF was delayed so that the price could be higher. We are sailing in July and bought FTTF in March and according to Roscoe's theory we shouldn't have been able to buy it until after the prices went up.

 

I guess I just don't understand why so many think that Carnival is trying to rip them off or cause them trouble. If I felt that way, I would darn sure not sail them. Sometimes I am amazed at how people think or maybe I should say, don't think. JMO.

 

I'm talking about sailings for next year, 2016. I think the reason they didn't put FTTF on sale, like they have in the past, when I booked was because they didn't want to have to honor a lower price.

[Rottweiler Puppy]

The theorist evidently does not cruise other lines.

 

Lines for tendering are usually long for any line or ship as are guest services lines at times. Seriously. LidoLarry, if you bump into the theorist ever again ask them if they have ever sailed other lines because if they say yes a and that it doesn't happen on them, they are flat out lying to you.

Edited May 17, 2015 by Rottweiler Puppy

[Havingfun2010]

There are currently so few spots typically offered per sailing, it really has no impact to bottom line. For example, 30 cabins at $60 = $1800. Big deal.

 

It's $1800.00 free money for the cruise line, without having an expense associated with it.