Wedding/Diamond/Platinum/FTTF Boarding

[17andacruiseaddict]

For the people that think the OP is complaining or making a big to do out of nothing and are mocking the OP for doing so have it completely wrong.

This seems to be a common thing whenever this topic is brought up.

 

On my last cruise the waiting area was filled with more FTTP passengers than the Platinum or Diamond and it was pretty crowded. (BTW, yes I am Platinum. Have been for the past 5 years)

 

I get that Carnival is making more money with giving people the ability to purchase priority boarding but at the same time, Carnival is taking away what's special about earning your perks.

 

Unless they add more perks to being Platinum or Diamond, I think they should just do away with the whole levels system. That, or maybe change the number of cruises or days at sea again to thin the crowd a bit more. There is nothing special about being "special" if anybody can pay to be just as "special".

 

I cruise because I love cruising, especially on Carnival. I'm sure many others feel the same way. But when Carnival decided to do the whole levels thing, they decided to divide people up and make some feel more worthy than others. Which is cool. They found a way for there to be some competition, which makes people strive to cruise more. But if they want to keep this game of their's going, they're going to have to change things up a bit.

Edited September 25, 2015 by 17andacruiseaddict

[linbobky]

For the people that think the OP is complaining or making a big to do out of nothing and are mocking the OP for doing so have it completely wrong.

This seems to be a common thing whenever this topic is brought up.

 

On my last cruise the waiting area was filled with more FTTP passengers than the Platinum or Diamond and it was pretty crowded. (BTW, yes I am Platinum. Have been for the past 5 years)

 

I get that Carnival is making more money with giving people the ability to purchase priority boarding but at the same time, Carnival is taking away what's special about earning your perks.

 

Unless they add more perks to being Platinum or Diamond, I think they should just do away with the whole levels system. That, or maybe change the number of cruises or days at sea again to thin the crowd a bit more. There is nothing special about being "special" if anybody can pay to be just as "special".

 

I cruise because I love cruising, especially on Carnival. I'm sure many others feel the same way. But when Carnival decided to do the whole levels thing, they decided to divide people up and make some feel more worthy than others. Which is cool. They found a way for there to be some competition, which makes people strive to cruise more. But if they want to keep this game of their's going, there going to have to change things up a bit.

 

very well said!:) I still say that they sell a lot more fttf than they say they do. whos going to count?

[17andacruiseaddict]

Well thank you :)

I agree. If they had a more reasonable limit to who can purchase the FTTF (maybe like 80 people per cruise), it might not be such a bad thing. If they actually stuck with the number they say they are selling lol

Edited September 25, 2015 by 17andacruiseaddict

[Sweet Dutch Girl]

Anyone boarding from a "retirement" port should be aware that (especially during the non-peak season) that up to 1/3 of the passengers can easily be platinum or better and that many of these folks are early arrivers. Compare that with maybe a couple of dozen weddingers, a 100 FTTF passengers, and the 50 or so suite passengers and it is easy to see where the hang up is.

 

Last time I cruised out of Florida on Carnival over 2000 passengers had priority status....that's a lot of bodies.

[martinchem]

Carnival sucked in NYC last week on the Splendor. They never asked for Diamond or Platinum to board. They had 2 rooms with priority boarding and got our group second. We are Diamond and their were at least 100 boarded before us. Nothing special about that perk at all.

[Captain Carnival]

The current boarding order is as follows:

 

1. Wedding Guests

2. Diamond

3. Platinum

4. Suites

5. FTTF

6. Special (ambulatory) Needs

7. Numerical Zones

[Elaine5715]

I was on the Conguest out of FLL in August. The check in line was swift but I almost made the mistake of sitting in the area immediately behind the check-in area instead of proceeding up the escalator as platinum. It wasn't marked and since the area I was in was separated from the General Board, I assumed that it was the Priority waiting area. It is not.

There was a rope across the escalator but when I showed them my boarding pass, they sent me up.

 

Remember though, every terminal is different.

[mare73]

OP, sorry for the headache - this would frustrate me, too. I'm happy to report that on my one Carnival cruise from Baltimore, they did board in order.

[wemjam]

Anyone boarding from a "retirement" port should be aware that (especially during the non-peak season) that up to 1/3 of the passengers can easily be platinum or better and that many of these folks are early arrivers. Compare that with maybe a couple of dozen weddingers, a 100 FTTF passengers, and the 50 or so suite passengers and it is easy to see where the hang up is.

 

Last time I cruised out of Florida on Carnival over 2000 passengers had priority status....that's a lot of bodies.

 

Ya, I would buy this as being one major reason at fault for this; however, most of the people I see sitting around me are in my and my husbands age group (mid 40's/early 50's) or younger. The minority are people I would consider retirement age.

[wemjam]

For the people that think the OP is complaining or making a big to do out of nothing and are mocking the OP for doing so have it completely wrong.

This seems to be a common thing whenever this topic is brought up.

 

On my last cruise the waiting area was filled with more FTTP passengers than the Platinum or Diamond and it was pretty crowded. (BTW, yes I am Platinum. Have been for the past 5 years)

 

I get that Carnival is making more money with giving people the ability to purchase priority boarding but at the same time, Carnival is taking away what's special about earning your perks.

 

Unless they add more perks to being Platinum or Diamond, I think they should just do away with the whole levels system. That, or maybe change the number of cruises or days at sea again to thin the crowd a bit more. There is nothing special about being "special" if anybody can pay to be just as "special".

 

I cruise because I love cruising, especially on Carnival. I'm sure many others feel the same way. But when Carnival decided to do the whole levels thing, they decided to divide people up and make some feel more worthy than others. Which is cool. They found a way for there to be some competition, which makes people strive to cruise more. But if they want to keep this game of their's going, they're going to have to change things up a bit.

 

Amen! Thank you. I felt bad for one couple I saw with Diamond cards. When they shuffled us all upstairs they were in the far corner of the room with us and ended up about the last people making it through the doors to board - all I could think to myself is how "right" is that. I may be Platinum, but they are diamond and should have gone first (after the wedding parties that had to fight the crowd too). Instead everyone else in the VIP area boarded before they did. And Carnival wonders why people get frustrated.

 

Have to say in all these years cruising only ever tried one other line one other time, and when I was looking for my April cruise I started checking other lines. I booked with Carnival because I only had to cough up $50/pp deposit to hold our space - but I am still contemplating other lines and might switch.

 

In the beginning price kept us coming back to Carnival, then when we achieved Platinum status the perks were nice - now feel less and less loyal to Carnival each cruise. A couple hundred bucks more for a different line won't make us or break us at this point in our lives and the "perks" seem more and more useless.

[Sweet Dutch Girl]

In the beginning price kept us coming back to Carnival, then when we achieved Platinum status the perks were nice - now feel less and less loyal to Carnival each cruise. A couple hundred bucks more for a different line won't make us or break us at this point in our lives and the "perks" seem more and more useless.

 

As long as Carnival continues to make Platinum easy to reach (since its based on days and doesn't distinguish between those who "spend" money for a cruise or on a cruise) the number of those reaching priority will continue to escalate and make priority mean less and less. If you are 1 of a thousand things like boarding and priority for tendering become more and more cumbersome. Even lines at the service desk are now about equal for those in the priority line as those who aren't.

[Boozebabe]

Last 3 cruises on the Breeze it was pretty much like that. Utter chaos with no one to exert some sort of authority. I was in a wheelchair the last 2 cruises and believe me that when you sit down in a wheelchair, you AND the chair become invisible. No one pays attention and they trip over your foot rest etc in their rush to get ahead of you. On my next cruise I will be using a scooter and am anxious to see how bad it becomes.

 

Something seriously needs to be done to help control the crowds because no one is doing it yet. Someone is going to get seriously injured.

[Boozebabe]

Amen! Thank you. I felt bad for one couple I saw with Diamond cards. When they shuffled us all upstairs they were in the far corner of the room with us and ended up about the last people making it through the doors to board - all I could think to myself is how "right" is that. I may be Platinum, but they are diamond and should have gone first (after the wedding parties that had to fight the crowd too). Instead everyone else in the VIP area boarded before they did. And Carnival wonders why people get frustrated.

 

Have to say in all these years cruising only ever tried one other line one other time, and when I was looking for my April cruise I started checking other lines. I booked with Carnival because I only had to cough up $50/pp deposit to hold our space - but I am still contemplating other lines and might switch.

 

In the beginning price kept us coming back to Carnival, then when we achieved Platinum status the perks were nice - now feel less and less loyal to Carnival each cruise. A couple hundred bucks more for a different line won't make us or break us at this point in our lives and the "perks" seem more and more useless.

 

 

I have a very simple resolution to the out of hand boarding process. Hand out color coded cards to a group. Say BLUE for weddings, GREEN for Diamond, YELLOW for Platinum and RED for FTTF. If you don't have the proper colored card then you have to step to the side. It couldn't get any easier. Hand the cards out with the S&S card. But first they need a crew that will ENFORCE this process.

[JaneAustenite]

We are sailing on the Conquest in June. I purchased Fttf because I had read about how nightmarish embarkation is in FLL. Does anyone have any advice on how to make embarking as painless as possible? I really don't want to start our vacation on a low note.

[Archie796]

Just wanted to put this out there since there has been a lot of debate over this and I was slammed by quite a few respondents on a previous post about the fact that they NEVER had this issue before.

 

So I am Platinum with Carnival (big woop :-) ). However, one of the main things I did enjoy about this status was the priority boarding as it afforded us the opportunity to not have to deal with the cattle herd of people during the boarding process. Since starting FTTF, I have noticed that the priority boarding for us has been useless. Not once, in any of our last five or six trips, were we afforded the same boarding as before. We basically just had to board with the general boarding groups. Now, I thought maybe we were just arriving "too" late so, it was kind of our fault (mind you we usually arrive by noon at the latest). Used to be no matter when you arrived you would be escorted to basically the front of the line.

 

When I commented on this on a previous post, and said that both in Tampa and Miami, we had to wait for FTTF to be checked in before us, and had to just boarded with a bunch of other general boarding - I was corrected by numerous posters that they had always received priority and NEVER had this issue.

 

So, now I am back, to say - bull! Just sailed out of Fort Lauderdale on the Conquest and ran into the same kind of situation.

 

We got to the port by 10:30am - (flew into FLL night before this time). Get inside past security and here is this long line for VIFP members (which is Platinum, Diamond, Suites, FTTF, Weddings, etc) and the "regular" boarding line had like 5 people in it. There were 2 attendants helping the priority line, and like 10 or more in the regular line. After literally watching over 30 to 40 people go through the regular line while ours moved like 5 people, I asked an attendant if we couldn't just move over to a regular desk to speed things up (and trust me, I was not the only one in our line getting frustrated). I was told NO sorry, have to stay there as they have your key.

 

So, after finally getting through our line we were escorted to the waiting room - which did not have enough seating and a ton of people were standing in isle ways, etc. (so basically hot, crowded, and people standing on top of each other). Finally, 20 minutes later they moved us upstairs to a different room that was big enough for everyone.

 

Now, this is where I cry bull. Carnival does not "board" in the order stated. Yep, we got to board first... our entire room full of people all at once!!!! They just had a person come in and say "everyone can board now" and it was a chaotic mess. There were hundreds of us in this room - between weddings ( I saw at least 3 to 4 wedding dress bags), Suites, Diamond, Platinum, and FTTF - it was crazy. I was slammed into the door because some guy next to me caught his suite case on something and tripped in the chaos of everyone in the room trying to pass through one door way. Some poor bride was finally "escorted" by a Carnival employee that took pity on her because she was trying to wrangle her large wedding dress bag in all these people - then we all had to set aside and let the entire wedding part through.

 

So much for Carnival following their perk of priority for loyal, long time cruisers and some shred of order.

 

What you have described has been our experience as well the last 2 years. I am glad you wrote this because when I have complained, I was literally told I was wrong. Hats off to you - you have given a play by play of our experience especially Miami, Ft Lauderdale and NY.

[momof3cruisers]

very well said!:) I still say that they sell a lot more fttf than they say they do. whos going to count?

 

I also think Carnival's loyalty program needs a lot more oomph. I have used FTTF in FLL and it was not like the OP described so I'm really sorry you experienced that, OP. We also thought there were a LOT more FTTF than we expected. We were seated in a specific area of general boarding. When Plat and Diamond went by, that line just kept going and going and going. Not that that number can or should be controlled. However, I do wonder how one knows what level or type of ticket people have when there are just SO many people coming at once.

[momof3cruisers]

We are sailing on the Conquest in June. I purchased Fttf because I had read about how nightmarish embarkation is in FLL. Does anyone have any advice on how to make embarking as painless as possible? I really don't want to start our vacation on a low note.

 

Just relax. Seriously, that is my suggestion. :) you are going to get on the ship. You are going to get on the ship prior to hundreds and hundreds of other people. And then, you are on a cruise! There will most likely be a line to check in. There will be a big loud building to wait in. But you are going on a CRUISE! :)

[SadieN]

We sail primarily out of Los Angeles. Whether San Pedro for Princess or Long Beach for Carnival. Platinum on both, both have priority embark.

At either port we plan to arrive when the doors open. By the time we're finished checking in the priority crowds have dispersed and we get 'front of line' privileges. Usually onboard within 20-30 minutes of checking in. Only thing that holds us up is the security screening.

[Gazelle2]

You people are killing me! I'm leaving out of FLL in November on Conquest and this kind of BS gets me really worked up. We are finally Platinum and really hate when I become part of a cattle chute and it's total chaos at the port. We left out of Baltimore in May on Pride and it went very smooth. First drink in hand by 11:00.

I best warn my DH to have a few drinks BEFORE we even get to FLL:D

 

We will be right there with you boarding Conquest in FLL in November. I hate to hear this. We just got off Carnival Dream last Sunday in New Orleans and our platinum embarkation and debarcation experiences were flawless.

[smarks]

My family will be on the Conquest on Oct. 12 out of Ft Lauderdale. This will be my first cruise with my two great grand kids. I am diamond (only mentioned it because of the subject here and the tiers being discussed) and have never sailed out of Fort Lauderdale. I chose it for the ports for the kids. I sure hope I didn't make a mistake. My daughter and son have FTTF so it will be interesting to see how it's handled. I'm a bit nervous about taking the grands as is, but being cattled onto the ship with them in tow is scary to me. The kids are 5 & 6 and their first cruise. I will report back after our cruise and let you know how things went.

[Papa_Bear_]

Not very experienced having only sailed 3 times through Galveston, all 3 time with FTTF and last time earlier this month, priority due to a great deal on a suite. All 3 times were orderly and as advertised. Sorry to hear that at some ports the experience doesn't sound as organized. Also never more than two people in line at priority customer service on the Triumph, Magic, or Freedom.

[Shipbound]

The current boarding order is as follows:

 

1. Wedding Guests

2. Diamond

3. Platinum

4. Suites

5. FTTF

6. Special (ambulatory) Needs

7. Numerical Zones

 

That is the way it should but that is probably not the case. I usually cruise out of Miami and the Wedding Guests first than the four other groups get to board together (2, 3,4,and 5). Since I am Diamond I do not agree with this. Sometimes I am the 50th or so to board. There are only 3-6 Diamond guests on each sailing so technically we should be on the ship right away. But if special needs guests need to board first I have no problem with that.

 

 

Gary

[CJinFLA00]

The current boarding order is as follows:

 

1. Wedding Guests

2. Diamond

3. Platinum

4. Suites

5. FTTF

6. Special (ambulatory) Needs

7. Numerical Zones

 

Hi Captain, I wish every embark port was run like yours (Tampa). :)

[Bases5]

When we cruised out of FLL in July there was 2 lines. One for FTTF and another one for suite, diamond and platinum at check in. But I agree it was longer than the regular line.

Weddings diamond platinum and suits were escorted up stairs where as FTTF was seated down stairs.

There was a lot of people upstairs.

When they did board upstairs it was all at once but there wasn't any FTTF up there unless people snuck up there.

I bet there were 500 people upstairs.

I know for a fact there were 66 D&P on this cruise. Add suites and wedding partys

I don't think all those groups could add up to the amount of people upstairs but it might.

Edited September 26, 2015 by Bases5

[GottaLuvCruising]

We will be right there with you boarding Conquest in FLL in November. I hate to hear this. We just got off Carnival Dream last Sunday in New Orleans and our platinum embarkation and debarcation experiences were flawless.

 

Great to read this! Our next cruise is on the Dream - I've had issues with the Platinum boarding only once.