FTTF - is it worth it?

[Kathyds]

My husband and I are going on our first cruise with our friends who have gone on several. I learned about FTTF tonight and thought it was a no brainer so I signed up and paid for it. When I told our friends about it so they could do it too, they said they weren't interested. My question...is it worth it? We are on the Carnival Fascination out of San Juan on June 11th for 7 days and will be cruising to 5 ports.

 

 

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[springs741]

This is a very subjective question and the value of FTTF is so dependent upon circumstances.

 

If you had small children sailing with you and desired to minimize your wait time from check in to boarding (priority boarding after Wedding, Diamond, Platinum and Suite guest)

 

If you had an elderly parent that might need a rest between boarding and drill (room ready upon boarding)

 

If you had a tender port (you get priority tendering)

 

If you anticipate a need to speak with or visit Guest services ( special number or line)

 

If you have an early flight scheduled (priority debark)

 

All good reasons to book FTTF. I had the grandkids and an elderly parent with a tender port all in one cruise. I promise you it was worth the cost of FTTF.

 

There have been a host of other cruises that we didn't elect to spend the extra money. With staggered check in things move along very nice. Daughter did a spring break cruise and picked a 12:30 check in time. Once off the shuttle bus she had almost no lines and her room was ready.

 

So there are times it can be really nice and other times it really could be done without.

[lizardhowson]

This question gets asked non-stop and always results in a heated debate.

 

Do a search for "FTTF", you will find countless arguments about whether it is worth it.

[bnorris10]

I have done Faster to the Fun before and loved having it - I have also not done it - There are times where I did not need it so it was good that I did not purchase it but then like my last trip 2 different times I had to wait in line that took like an hour and wished I had it

 

I have a cruise booked in September and will not be doing it

then I kept going back and forth on if I wanted it for my trip in December and when I finally decided okay yes I want it since its going to be a longer trip they were sold out and I was kicking myself for not getting it -- (Kept checking every day did finally catch it one morning)

[sparks1093]

The only real advantage for you in San Juan is that your cabin will be ready when you board. You will save a little time at check-in and you'll have a dedicated line at guest services that may help if you have to go there. We got FTTF for this ship and itinerary and felt that we benefited enough.

[Drazil65]

We do not sail without it, until we reach platinum anyway (getting closer!). We love boarding early and being able to go straight to our cabin to drop off carry ons. We love getting our luggage early enough to unpack and be totally settled in well before muster. We love the vip line at GS (no or VERY little line/waiting).

 

It is well worth it for many of us and if you do a search for this subject on this forums you can read/research all the personal opinions regarding FTTF. Its a personal choice and as I would never pay for cheers for DH and I (another subjective subject), we do not hesitate to purchase FTTF. :D

[beachbum53]

Now that many of the home ports have staggered check-in times, and Carnival has raised the prices for FTTF, I'm not so sure that we'll be buying FTTF in the future. We purchased FTTF for our upcoming, but I'll have to give it some serious thought before our next cruise.

[asalligo]

My husband and I are going on our first cruise with our friends who have gone on several. I learned about FTTF tonight and thought it was a no brainer so I signed up and paid for it. When I told our friends about it so they could do it too, they said they weren't interested. My question...is it worth it? We are on the Carnival Fascination out of San Juan on June 11th for 7 days and will be cruising to 5 ports.

 

Three weeks ago March 5th, New Orleans on the Carnival Dream with FTTF. The story we got was that the gangway had been damaged in high winds the night before and this was true, but a passenger had also been found dead in their cabin. So both reasons delayed boarding. Boarding started at 12:30 and I was on board before 1 pm with FTTF. From my Balcony I watched people still standing in line to get on the ship at 4:15. FTTF just paid for somewhere between 3 and 4 hours on the boat for me and that is why FTTF will always be worth it to me.

[First and Ten]

I believe it may be the single greatest pure profit gimmick Carnival has come up with. They have even raised their prices for it substantially and people are still battling to get it....Here is the thing, if you have one of those "me first mentalities", it is probably worth it....Case in point, if you like to show up at the port on embarkation day at 9 am, because you HAVE to get on the boat FIRST, you will typically have a shorter line and the bonus is, your room will be ready so you can drop off your bags. If you show up after 1 pm, your room will already be ready and the "firstie" cattle have already cleared out of the terminal, so no real need for it and you will stroll on board with little to no wait....With FTTF you have a special line at GS. Me personally, short of a major problem with my cabin or some unwanted charge to my S&S account, I don't have a need to go to GS. I get some people live to complain about EVERYTHING, no matter how minor it is and spend a good portion of their cruise at GS. If this is important to you, FTTF is probably worth it....Tenders.....the "me first mentality" comes back. The same people who like being first on the boat seem to like being first off the boat too....LOL....If you have an excursion booked thru Carnival at a port, you don't need FTTF as they will get you off in plenty of time....There are some passengers who have a true need for getting into cabin early (ie: traveling with special needs in their party and need access to room as early as possible), so FTTF does meet their need, but I am willing to say for the majority of people who purchase FTTF, they like the limited power of "me first"

[Sitzmark]

My husband and I are going on our first cruise with our friends who have gone on several. I learned about FTTF tonight and thought it was a no brainer so I signed up and paid for it. When I told our friends about it so they could do it too, they said they weren't interested. My question...is it worth it? We are on the Carnival Fascination out of San Juan on June 11th for 7 days and will be cruising to 5 ports.

 

 

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I think it's worth it. It's cheap and if there is a problem you can spend less time in line at GS and more time doing what you would like to be doing. If you have a tender port you also will be able to get to shore a bit faster.

 

 

I like knowing that our room will be ready when we board to be able to drop our things off right away. Someone mentioned that you can show up later which is true, except that I can't stay in my hotel until 2 in the afternoon. So since I have to check out of the hotel and move on I'd rather move on into the boat rather than into a waiting area.

[Absolutheada]

I tried looking up FTTF on the website but I keep getting a "bad request" screen anytime I try to navigate from the main things. What is FTTF? I see from the other responses it gets you on board quicker, if you didn't book it what time would you normally get on board? We normally cruise disney and are on by 11am. What does FTTF cost?

[MNKEITH]

I really look at FTTF as an insurance policy protecting me from the 'unknown', like a delay in getting to the port and showing up when there is a huge line, or some sort of onboard issue where 1/2 of the ship is at Guest Services etc..

 

I usually buy it when it is available. It was not available for our most recent cruise on the Vista. Looking back, I cant think of one time when having FTTF would have been beneficial this time, outside of dropping my bag off in the room as soon as we boarded.

 

That said, I will still probably try to snag it next cruise, and then after that it is Platinum City for us and FTTF will no longer provide any value.

[camijo]

I've cruised twice. I've had it once on my first cruise. We had a tender port and liked not having to wait in the extremely long line to get off. Then my second cruise I did not have it and it was fine, no tender ports. We did have to carry our carryon's with us until after 1:30, but it wasn't bad. I am hoping to get it for my next cruise.

[mrsfuzzmo]

We usually cruise without it. We have no problem waiting an extra 15 minutes to board after the FTTF go through. I can only count on one hand the number of times I've had to go to GS (and I've cruised 18 times), so that doesn't matter to us. We only take a small carry-on and limit the things we need to carry so if our room isn't ready immediately, not a big deal.

 

All that being said, we have purchased it for the first time for our cruise in June. We are traveling this time as a family of 15 (including tweens/teens and grandparents). Because the Grandparents purchased this trip for ALL (first cruise for the littles) they want to make sure and experience all the fun with the kids seeing the ship the first time, stepping onboard, seeing the atrium lobby, etc. We are all flying in from different locations and arriving to port in separate vehicles. We want to all board together, so have purchased the FTTF. It will also be nice for the priority tendering, since two of our four ports are tender ports and we do NOT book Carnival excursions. We have private excursions planned, so this will help with timing.

[Sitzmark]

I tried looking up FTTF on the website but I keep getting a "bad request" screen anytime I try to navigate from the main things. What is FTTF? I see from the other responses it gets you on board quicker, if you didn't book it what time would you normally get on board? We normally cruise disney and are on by 11am. What does FTTF cost?

 

FTTF is faster to the fun.

 

https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1374/~/faster-to-the-fun-(fttf)

[amydresh]

We went our first cruise in Jan on Dream out of NOLA and we had FTTF. It was definitely worth it to us, we used the benefits from it several times including priority tender to Grand Cayman and without it we wouldn't have made it to our meeting spot for our excursion on time.

 

Our next cruise is the same cruise you are going on in Feb next year and we do not see the need for FTTF for that particular itinerary. There are no tenders and I have read that boarding goes very smoothly because the ship doesn't sail until 10 pm so we have plenty of time for boarding without congestion.

[Absolutheada]

FTTF is faster to the fun.

 

https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1374/~/faster-to-the-fun-(fttf)

 

Thanks I did end up finding it, it seems like a good perk for the cost. What time could I expect to be on board if I did not purchase it?

[Katie62]

We used FTTF for the first time on our cruise from San Juan aboard the Fascination. We loved it! On board by noon, room was ready, we were able to book two of the limited slots for the Behind the Fun tour, and then back off the ship with plenty of time to spend in Old San Juan. Early debarkation was another benefit of FTTF with the time of our late morning flight out of San Juan.

 

 

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[Sitzmark]

Thanks I did end up finding it, it seems like a good perk for the cost. What time could I expect to be on board if I did not purchase it?

 

Don't know, some ports like New Orleans have staggered check in, you can't even enter the building until your check in time. If you have FTTF though that doesn't apply.

[psk2347]

Yes its worth it. We never cruise without it.

 

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[Drazil65]

if you like to show up at the port on embarkation day at 9 am, because you HAVE to get on the boat FIRST, you will typically have a shorter line and the bonus is, your room will be ready so you can drop off your bags

 

Only if you have FTTF, are platinum or Diamond can you go directly to your cabin and it will be "ready" for you (especially with the implementation of the new S&S card in your mail box change coming). Otherwise your cabin will be ready for you to get into between 1:00-1:30 pm, so you WILL need to carry your bags (if you carried on anything) around until then.

 

 

Getting on the ship early has nothing to do with being "first" and so much more with making the most of your first day of vacation from the very beginning. If people want that extra time to start and enjoy their first day on board, then go for it and enjoy!

[Neotericisis]

I just did the San Juan itinerary this past December (amazing by the way). There are no tender ports so there is no need for FTTF. Also, you leave at nighttime so you will be on and off the ship until dark (I love this because San Juan can be explored like any other port. We stayed 2 days in San Juan, and the morning of our cruise dropped off our bags then went exploring in Old San Juan. There was a street festival in a park and we enjoyed some yummy street food and treats. Late afternoon we checked in some bottles of wine, got our sign and sail cards and headed to our room for a little bit. We left the ship again to eat a lovely mofongo dinner in a cafe, had some pina coladas, shopped in the outlets and was back on the ship by 8ish.). If you can get a refund I would do so.

[bobbismith]

We do not sail without it, until we reach platinum anyway (getting closer!). We love boarding early and being able to go straight to our cabin to drop off carry ons. We love getting our luggage early enough to unpack and be totally settled in well before muster. We love the vip line at GS (no or VERY little line/waiting).

 

It is well worth it for many of us and if you do a search for this subject on this forums you can read/research all the personal opinions regarding FTTF. Its a personal choice and as I would never pay for cheers for DH and I (another subjective subject), we do not hesitate to purchase FTTF. :D

I agree that access to out cabin and shorter lines are worth $50. Thanks for sharing.

 

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[First and Ten]

duplicate post

[First and Ten]

if you like to show up at the port on embarkation day at 9 am, because you HAVE to get on the boat FIRST, you will typically have a shorter line and the bonus is, your room will be ready so you can drop off your bags

 

Only if you have FTTF, are platinum or Diamond can you go directly to your cabin and it will be "ready" for you (especially with the implementation of the new S&S card in your mail box change coming). Otherwise your cabin will be ready for you to get into between 1:00