Is Fun to Ship worth the $

[Dadof2kids]

Hello all! Long time lurker, first time poster, 5th time cruising. We haven't cruised in about 10 years due to, well 2 kids. Our last cruise was March 05 and we are ready to take our 10 year old (we call him our favorite cruise souvenir :D) and 7 year old on their first cruise! We are booked on the 5 day Western out of Tampa on the Paradise. I saw that they offer a "faster to the fun" option. Is this worth the money? Will we avoid long lines with the kiddos? Exactly how does this work? Thanks in advance

 

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[pinkpod87]

If you have a tender port then yes I would say it's worth it. If you think you'll need to visit guest services on more than one occasion FTTF gets you in the priority line and you get of the ship quicker during disembarkation. I only used FTTF once but I do think it was worth it.

 

 

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[lovingCCL]

No one can say whether FTTF will be worth it or not for you. I personally love it and will buy it for every cruise until I get to platinum. However, there are those who think it is a waste of money. I love it because you get to board right after platinum and diamond guests and your room will be ready (normally you have to wait until after 1:30 or so in order to get to your room). For people with kids (who might need naps), this can be a very good benefit. I personally just don't like to have to tote my carry-on around until the rooms are ready. Also, you can use the guest services line which is for platinum and diamond guests. On my last cruise, I needed to go to guest services during my last night of the cruise. The regular line looked like it might take up to an hour to get through and I was done in 5 minutes. Lastly, if you have a port where you have to tender to shore then this allows you to get priority in order to get on a tender.

[Purvis1231]

We have never purchased it and have generally been on the ship within an hour or less.

[cruising maniac]

I'm platinum so I can't comment on FTTF. I just wanted to say "Welcome to Cruise Critic." Have a world of fun on your cruise. :)

[vwrestler171]

If you have a tender port AND not doing a Carnival excursion in that port, it may be worth it. Just get to the port early and get an early zone number and you will only be 10-15 min behind FTTF in boarding. The only other perk that might make it worthwhile is having your room ready when you board.

[Dadof2kids]

Thanks for the information guys! I thing my wife will want to do it so the kids won't be standing in line to board for too long.

[springs741]

When traveling with small children (nap taking age) having the room ready is worth so much more than the 50-60 dollars you spend on FTTF. Your children are beyond nap age so that "pro" is removed. Tender ports? In a hurry to debark for the long trip home? Will Tampa have staggered check in by your sail date? These would be question I would be asking myself.

 

Either way have a wonderful memoriy making cruise.

[kayhold]

We have a 10 year old and 1 year old.

I will gladly pay $150 to have a place to drop our crap and a place for the baby to nap.

[Hose A De RR]

We have a 10 year old and 1 year old.

I will gladly pay $150 to have a place to drop our crap and a place for the baby to nap.

 

FTTF price is per stateroom not the number of guests.

[kayhold]

FTTF price is per stateroom not the number of guests.

 

Well, we travel with 4 so if it was per person, it would be $240.

 

But, I am saying I WOULD pay $150 because it's worth that to me.

 

Not that I *DID* pay $150.

[Florings]

I've purchased it for the first time for our upcoming cruise on the Splendor, mainly for early boarding, having the cabin ready, AND getting our luggage early. It sounds totally worth the money, but will know for sure when we cruise!

[cccer]

We have gotten it our last three cruises. For me the main benefit is to drop everything off at the room and go out to explore the ship. I would think it would be worth it even more with kids.

[Dadof2kids]

We have gotten it our last three cruises. For me the main benefit is to drop everything off at the room and go out to explore the ship. I would think it would be worth it even more with kids.

I believe so as well.......

[mondello]

FTTF is very limited availability and often sells out quickly, although they sometimes release additional blocks of about 15 slots.

[Dadof2kids]

FTTF is very limited availability and often sells out quickly, although they sometimes release additional blocks of about 15 slots.

 

We went ahead and purchased one this morning. I was surprised there were some still available and began to wonder if no one was purchasing them because it was not worth the $. I guess we shall soon see..........

[slyman17]

We had it last week on Ecstasy and although we didn't have to tender to any port, we felt it was definitely worth it. As others have stated, being able to drop your carry on bags off in your room as soon as you get on board is great. We bypassed the long line for the metal detectors and were on board extremely quick. We also loved priority debarkation. Getting off the ship right after diamond and platinum was great! I think you made the right choice! Have fun!!!

[GOLDENBONNY]

If you have a tender port AND not doing a Carnival excursion in that port, it may be worth it. Just get to the port early and get an early zone number and you will only be 10-15 min behind FTTF in boarding. The only other perk that might make it worthwhile is having your room ready when you board.

 

It dose not work any more -get to port early. Now they give you time when to come and they really mean it . :o

[CraftyJGinSC]

congrats on scoring the FTTF! Just wanted to say that, like you, we took a 10+ yr break from cruising due to having kids and when we started up again with them (they were 8 & 10 yrs old), it was also the 5-day on Paradise out of Tampa! They loved it so last year we bumped up to 7 days and this year we're going for 8!

 

Hope yours love it and y'all have a great time!

[GOLDENBONNY]

We went ahead and purchased one this morning. I was surprised there were some still available and began to wonder if no one was purchasing them because it was not worth the $. I guess we shall soon see..........

 

I purchased mine last week for May cruise and this Monday it was shown -sold out.

[jc4me]

Hope you enjoy it as much as we did. It was great to be among the first to board the ship and having our room ready was well worth the money. Debarkation was nice too! We got it the first time on our October cruise on Paradise out of Tampa. Enjoy your trip!!

[tandemcruzr]

It dose not work any more -get to port early. Now they give you time when to come and they really mean it . :o

 

They were talking about a Tender Port -- not Staggered Check-in Times. :)

[hapytobehr]

It dose not work any more -get to port early. Now they give you time when to come and they really mean it . :o

 

Not true......When you have FTTF you do not have to go by the "chosen or given" check-in time.

 

We have had it for all our cruises and boarded immediately after platinum and diamond.

 

If we were not Platinum, I would buy it every cruise.

Edited April 15, 2016 by hapytobehr

[musikfans]

If you have a tender port AND not doing a Carnival excursion in that port, it may be worth it. Just get to the port early and get an early zone number and you will only be 10-15 min behind FTTF in boarding. The only other perk that might make it worthwhile is having your room ready when you board.

 

Room early is nice, but I think you may REALLY like the priority line at Guest Services. If you have ANY issues that you need to check on (S&S Cards, Billing, Room issues, etc.) you could wait in a huge line without FTTF. This is what made the most difference to us with our kids.

[harv1631]

I have purchased it for every cruise since they started it. Will be platinum soon so won't be an issue. For now I think it is worth it. The lines we arrived to when I sailed he breeze last were crazy and it was great to bypass the masses. I booked a last minute trip next month and it is sold out:( I've been checking daily hoping a spot opens up but no luck so far. I'm going to miss it!