Faster to the Fun Sold Out

[hotsauce126]

Anyone think there's a Carnival bean counter reading this thread thinking, "we need to increase prices."

 

 

Well obviously there was, that's why it went from $50 across the board to more expensive, tiered pricing by cruise length

[Alaskan Joe]

$80 to be one of the first on the ship, and cuts in lines my DW will probably like this, for me I can wait 1/2hr longer. We are looking at a 14 day Alaskan cruise so in my opinion get on the ship early when we will be on her for 14 days does not seem like a big perk to me. The one thing that sounds good is get the luggage early so we can unpack and then start exploring the ship, but as I think about out we have 2 weeks to explore the ship:D. Lastly I will tell her about FTTF and I bet she will want it for $80 I can hear her now....."it cutting in lines for 2 weeks:confused:".

[shayv01]

So, Carnival cruises are so disorganized that passengers are willing to pay almost $70 extra to get their vacation started? That sounds crazy. Other cruise lines just work harder at making these things faster. RCCL, Celebrity & Princess all make this a comfortable process.

 

I'm going on my 1st Carnival cruise on the Vista & getting a little worried. The Vista looks like a great ship but, am I gonna be shelling out money for things that other cruise lines do with ease???:confused:

[mrsfuzzmo]

I am losing hope for our upcoming Vista cruise. I have checked at least once a day since booking in November. This will be our first time without it since it was launched. We LOVE it and have gotten our money's worth every time. And we have a tender port.

 

Oh well, we do have an early check in time but we were also hoping for an early debarkation time as we have to drive to Atlanta from Miami.

You don't have to have FTTF to disembark early. We did self assist and were off the ship and in a taxi by 7:05 am. We just walked off the ship with the FTTF and the Plat & Diamonds who wanted off early. Just do self assist and leave when the doors open.

[BK456]

I sail again on May 6th and FINALLY got to purchase FTTF a couple of weeks ago. It said sold out since I booked in February, but I checked for it daily until I found it was available on a random afternoon. Checked again the next day and it said sold out again. Be persistent if you want it!!!!! ;)

[First and Ten]

So, Carnival cruises are so disorganized that passengers are willing to pay almost $70 extra to get their vacation started? That sounds crazy. Other cruise lines just work harder at making these things faster. RCCL, Celebrity & Princess all make this a comfortable process.

 

I'm going on my 1st Carnival cruise on the Vista & getting a little worried. The Vista looks like a great ship but, am I gonna be shelling out money for things that other cruise lines do with ease???:confused:

 

Shay, no worries....the Vista is a great ship and you will have a great time....the FTTF cult will scare off a Carnival newbie with tales of "you cant possibly cruise without FTTF"....FTTF allows for priority boarding, so if an FTTF cruiser gets to the port early and you as a person without FTTF gets there at the same time, FTTF will board after Weddings/Diamonds/Platiunum. If you were boarding zone 1, you would board maybe 3 mins after an FTTF. They can go to their room and drop off their carryon, you would have to keep your carryon until approx 1 pm (if not carrying a backpack around is worth $80, go for it). They get a "special" line at GS. Unless there is a huge problem with my cabin or some major issue with my S&S account, i am never at the GS desk, but others live to complain....If you have a tender port, an FTTF will get the first tender while you without may get the 2nd....Contrary to what alot of the FTTFers will tell you, you can have a great cruise without FTTF....enjoy!!!!

[gardn198]

It's also worth it if you have Anytime Dining, as it puts you higher on the priority list for seating so you don't have to wait as long if it's busy.

[lennythenose]

For those who have been able to get FTTF for 2018 are any of you sailing on the Magic? I keep checking for FTTF and check in times to be available. Neither is showing up yet for my June 2018 sailing(which isn't a surprise).

[9876]

You are 4 cents overprice. Lol. It's $69.95. :D:D

 

A penny saved is a penny earned, lol.

[riclop]

It's a waste of $$$.

[Pellaz]

So, Carnival cruises are so disorganized that passengers are willing to pay almost $70 extra to get their vacation started? That sounds crazy. Other cruise lines just work harder at making these things faster. RCCL, Celebrity & Princess all make this a comfortable process.

 

I wasn't aware that RCCL, Celebrity and Princess were able to make everyone's cabins available as soon as boarding begins! That's pretty impressive! And everyone's luggage is delivered to the staterooms within a half-hour? Amazing! These are among the benefits that Carnival offers to its FTTF patrons, as well as Diamonds and Plats.

Indeed, they're so "disorganized" that when we checked in with FTTF, the nice lady who escorted us to the priority line radioed ahead to the ship to advise that we had arrived and to have everything ready. We were onboard 7 minutes after arriving curbside at around 11:00 am and our cabin was ready immediately. Our luggage arrived not long after we did.

 

I truly wish there had been an express line for Guest Services on my last Royal cruise. Wanna talk about long and disorganized? It was nearly an hour wait and the line stretched into the Promenade.

--And the sad thing is, if it had been a Carnival ship we could have avoided going to GS completely and simply used one of the service kiosks that Carnival somehow manages to provide (despite being "disorganized")....yet which continue to elude Royal.

 

 

I'm going on my 1st Carnival cruise on the Vista & getting a little worried. The Vista looks like a great ship but, am I gonna be shelling out money for things that other cruise lines do with ease???:confused:

Yes, I'm afraid so. You might want to cancel immediately since Carnival is (at least as perceived by you) so incredibly disorganized. ;p

[Markmom18]

My experience has been usually 10-12 months out. I am going to be checking at least once a day for our March 2018 sailing to hopefully get one for my sister again :).

 

Thank you for this information. I booked my cruise for Feb 2018. I didn't see why they weren't offering FTTF. I get it for the VIP Guest Services line, and getting our cabin & luggage earlier. For me, it's worth it.

 

My son will be working on the ship, so I chose the last week of his Contract. I always love to have a cruise booked, something to look forward to:D

:cool: Bobbi

[Freebird63]

When I got mine this morning I almost exited the browser because I was so used to seeing it say sold out. I had to do a double take! I grabbed my credit card as fast as I could!

 

 

LOL! Can't wait for that feeling! Sailing on the Vista July 1st out of Miami, FL and I've been checking everyday, several times a day. On a previous cruise, I scored one a month before my cruise so I'll keep checking.

[psk2347]

LOL! Can't wait for that feeling! Sailing on the Vista July 1st out of Miami, FL and I've been checking everyday, several times a day. On a previous cruise, I scored one a month before my cruise so I'll keep checking.

Keep at it! You will get one

 

Sent from my SM-N920V using Forums mobile app

[tlc64]

good to know there I still hope!

[bkw122]

We finally got it for our July 1 cruise on the Vista this week. We've been checking for months. One thing I've noticed is they show up more frequently after the final payment date. I guess it's because they pretty much know how many platinum cruisers are going to be on-board. It's been available several times this week but they go fast.

 

We like it for the extra perks. It's $40 well spent since we split the cost. We're normally on the ship between 11-1130. We drop off our carry on luggage in the cabin, go eat lunch then explore the ship all before the crowds arrive. We benefited on our last cruise since Belize is a tender port. You get shorter wait times for anytime dining. Using the platinum line for guest services comes in handy since my honey finds reasons why she needs to talk to them:rolleyes:

[Freebird63]

Thanks for the encouraging response. Now I have that feeling of hope again! Gotta score on this July 1 Vista cruise.

[tef43]

- 90 days will be your best chance as this is the cutoff where people have to have their trip paid. If its not they will have to cancel their FTTF

 

This is absolutely incorrect. Your final payment deadline is dependent on the length of your cruise.

[Bosrox]

We finally got it for our July 1 cruise on the Vista this week. We've been checking for months. One thing I've noticed is they show up more frequently after the final payment date. I guess it's because they pretty much know how many platinum cruisers are going to be on-board. It's been available several times this week but they go fast.

 

We like it for the extra perks. It's $40 well spent since we split the cost. We're normally on the ship between 11-1130. We drop off our carry on luggage in the cabin, go eat lunch then explore the ship all before the crowds arrive. We benefited on our last cruise since Belize is a tender port. You get shorter wait times for anytime dining. Using the platinum line for guest services comes in handy since my honey finds reasons why she needs to talk to them:rolleyes:

 

Shorter wait times for anytime dining? Is this noted on Carnival website or is it just your personal experience?

[Freebird63]

I can't believe I missed out this week. I was logging in to check every day. Geez!

[firestopr]

This is our first Carnival Cruise. there is 6 of us between two rooms. 4 kids 2 adults The FTTF is a no brainer for us once I read about it with our little ones they hate waiting for anything and this seems like a great deal. I was able to get FTTF for both our rooms. no issues with it being sold out for either, of course, we have booked Pride for NOV 2018 so maybe that is why since we are so far out.

[Wheels87]

I know many of you may be consistently checking to see if FTTF is available for your upcoming cruise. For the past month I have been checking 5 times a day and it has always been sold out, until this morning. We are exactly 5 months from our sail date today and I checked at 5am this morning and it finally said add to cart! I quickly bought it! I went back to check to see how many more were available and it was sold out again.

 

So tips for trying to snag Faster to the Fun:

- Check multiple times a day, especially in the early morning.

- Spefically check on monthly intervals. Ex: 30, 60, 90, 120 days.

- 90 days will be your best chance as this is the cutoff where people have to have their trip paid. If its not they will have to cancel their FTTF

- Email Shoreexcursions@carnival.com and see if they can sell more FTTF. (This is decided by the amount of diamond and platinum guests booked.)

- Be persistant!

- Dont give up!

 

I know its so frustrating when its sold out especially if you have used it in the past. Keep checking back on the website and Im sure you will find one! Good Luck!

 

 

Actually, final payment is not due 90 days out...it is typically due 60 or 75 days out depending on the length of the sailing.

 

Good luck!

[thewynn]

It's also worth it if you have Anytime Dining, as it puts you higher on the priority list for seating so you don't have to wait as long if it's busy.

 

Is this a benefit? Our last Carnival cruise we had FTTF and YTD and I don't remember them moving us to the front of the line for seating. Granted when we showed up there was not more than a 5 min wait or so, maybe that was because we were FTTF. I don't remember them mentioning FTTF though when we checked in for dinner.

 

The only FTTF benefit I show on Carnival's website says:

Dining Reservations

Priority Dinner Time Assignment: FTTF guests will be cleared after VIFP Platinum guests. This benefit does not include specific time reservations for 'Your Time Dining'.

 

 

We are FTTF again for our next cruise, so I would like to know if this is actually a benefit.

[tef43]

You get shorter wait times for anytime dining.

No you do not.

 

Per carnival.com:

 

Dining Reservations

Priority Main Dining Room and Specialty Restaurant reservations (excluding Your Time Dining).

[Freebird63]

I've had FTTF my last three cruises and always have "your time dining". It seems like they seat you quicker but you don't get to skip to the front of the line if you choose "your time dining".