FTTF - is it worth it?

[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 1:00-1:30 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!

Apologies for the few posts in a row, my response kept getting cut off....trying again....FTTF allows you to board the ship before the general population, so in theory, you are "first"....if that is important to you and it justifies spending $70 for, by all means, have at it (y)

[moondog73]

Don't listen to all the blowhards. Make up your own mind. We are not lucky enough to live close enough to a port to drive to it embarkation morning. We, like a lot of people, stay in a hotel the night before. With FTTF, it allows us to check out of the hotel and head directly to the port and board as soon as they allow boarding. We drop our bags off at the room and hit the lido before it gets super crowded with people and all their carry on luggage. Should we have an issue, we NEVER wait in line at guest services. Our last cruise, we especially liked the VIP debarkation in Aruba. People had been waiting in line for who knows how long and they were not happy when ship personnel escorted us right past them all. It was a good thing because we arrived 3 hours late to Aruba and there were zero taxis at the port. We would have wasted a ton of time waiting on a taxi had we not gotten off first. We also get priority debarkation after the cruise is over. This is a tremendous help in getting on the road asap to drive home. To us buying it is worth it and we get it every time we can on a Carnival cruise.

[elainmir]

We have sailed without it and lived ..only because it was not available. However if it's available then I do purchase it because hubby has back issues and can't sit or stand for long periods of time. So it's worth it to us just for that but almost every cruise we've had to go to GS for some reason and the short line is a plus for us. Our luggage almost always arrives really quickly. Tender ports are a breeze now thanks to FTTF. I like not toting luggage around on the Lido. We will always purchase it because it works for US. Try it once and if you like it then you'll know and if you don't then you don't need to purchase it anymore.

[vamartha]

I have cruised with it and without it. I'd prefer to cruise with it.

 

For me, the reasons are simple. I like being able to go to my cabin when I first board and drop my things off. I like being able to get in the Guest Services line without having to go to the back of the line, so to speak. And I like Priority Tendering. And I don't mind paying for the opportunity to do just so. Until I am Platinum I will try and purchase FTTF each cruise.

 

Only you can make the decision if it is right for you.

[sjcruiser]

I've done FTTF several times and the "perks" I mainly used were the early boarding, luggage, and room access, and dedicated line at GS. These in itself were well worth the price to me.

[geckoaz]

Last night on ship i had problems with my return flight boarding pass..several trips to gs and there was a long line but with fttf..i got to front each time...look on faces of those in line ...priceless..if you are on vacation and dont want to spend it waiting in line..great...if you table in main dining room is almost in the servers area and you want to move...it has made it happen for me...we turn plat this cruise but i thought of it as money well spent

[Kathyds]

Thank you everyone for your thoughts on this! Our original embarkment time was 1:30 so I'm excited to be able to get on sooner and start the exploring/fun/drinking/unpacking/swimming/vacation. I haven't figured out what that time is yet, but whenever it is, it will be better than 1:30 [emoji2]

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[KPfromCT]

We never cruise without FTTF. We love being able to go directly to the cabin and drop off the carry-on bags, before grabbing a bite to eat on the Lido.

 

Also, if the need arises, we love the lack of lines at GS if we need to go down there.

 

Well worth the cost for us!!!!

To each their own!

[riclop]

Not for me i can spend $70 in other areas.

[First and Ten]

We never cruise without FTTF. We love being able to go directly to the cabin and drop off the carry-on bags, before grabbing a bite to eat on the Lido.

 

 

 

Also, if the need arises, we love the lack of lines at GS if we need to go down there.

 

 

 

Well worth the cost for us!!!!

 

To each their own!

 

 

So if you weren't able to get it, you would cancel your cruise? Seriously?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[jcole817]

They didn't say they "wouldn't". They said they "never".

 

Even though I haven't been reading these boards for a long time, I've noticed that people love to jump in and ask that question whenever anyone says anything remotely close to that statement.

 

So if you weren't able to get it, you would cancel your cruise? Seriously?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[First and Ten]

They didn't say they "wouldn't". They said they "never".

 

 

 

.

 

 

Thus the reason I asked the question....you can't get FTTF until after you book a cruise. The poster said he/she NEVER cruises without it. I simply asked if you couldn't get FTTF, would you cancel your cruise? Seems a bit extreme if you ask me, but it takes all kinds I guess

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[amydresh]

Thank you everyone for your thoughts on this! Our original embarkment time was 1:30 so I'm excited to be able to get on sooner and start the exploring/fun/drinking/unpacking/swimming/vacation. I haven't figured out what that time is yet, but whenever it is, it will be better than 1:30 [emoji2]

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

Isn't 1:30 the earliest check in time for this particular ship/itinerary? I could be wrong, but I thought that was what I had read. Our check in time isn't available to choose yet so I don't know for sure though.

[sparks1093]

Thus the reason I asked the question....you can't get FTTF until after you book a cruise. The poster said he/she NEVER cruises without it. I simply asked if you couldn't get FTTF, would you cancel your cruise? Seems a bit extreme if you ask me, but it takes all kinds I guess

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

 

They never said that. If you buy FTTF as soon as it's available you don't have to worry about it being sold out. Clearly FTTF is not for you, you've made that clear. That doesn't mean you have to put everyone down that does purchase it, even if it's only because they want to get ahead of you.

[GalCruzer]

We just did the same itinerary as the OP and did purchase FTTF. It came in especially handy because we flew in a few days before the cruise. So with checking out at 11 a.m. from our Hotel it was perfect in that we got to the cruise port checked in and dropped off our bags to our room then went and spent the day in Old San Juan.

[Havingfun2010]

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.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

If you like paying for items that are "free" and adds to Carnival's bottom line for a product that Carnival pay's no additional cost for, than go for it. Your friends aren't interested because they can use the money to pay for things they want and need.

[First and Ten]

They never said that. If you buy FTTF as soon as it's available you don't have to worry about it being sold out. Clearly FTTF is not for you, you've made that clear. That doesn't mean you have to put everyone down that does purchase it, even if it's only because they want to get ahead of you.

 

The poster responded with "We NEVER cruise without FTTF"....I simply asked if they would cancel their cruise if they couldn't get FTTF. You cant get FTTF until your cruised is booked. I said if someone actually cancelled a cruise because they couldn't get FTTF, that seems extreme. That was just my opinion, I didn't put anyone down, so lets not exaggerate :rolleyes:

[sparks1093]

The poster responded with "We NEVER cruise without FTTF"....I simply asked if they would cancel their cruise if they couldn't get FTTF. You cant get FTTF until your cruised is booked. I said if someone actually cancelled a cruise because they couldn't get FTTF, that seems extreme. That was just my opinion, I didn't put anyone down, so lets not exaggerate :rolleyes:

 

If you take all of your responses in this thread together it sounds like you are and if you aren't then I apologize for misreading your responses, but you stated more than your opinion when you added "it takes all kinds I guess" after "Seems a bit extreme" and I believe many would read that as a put down.

[First and Ten]

If you take all of your responses in this thread together it sounds like you are and if you aren't then I apologize for misreading your responses, but you stated more than your opinion when you added "it takes all kinds I guess" after "Seems a bit extreme" and I believe many would read that as a put down.

 

 

There has been dozens of FTTF threads, if not hundreds, I think we can agree on that. I remember a few months ago, a poster did say (paraphrasing, as i cant find the exact quote) that he/she would cancel their cruise if they could not secure FTTF. So when KP said he/she would NEVER cruise without it, i asked was that an off the cuff response or was he/she serious. My opinion is if you cancel a cruise because you cant secure FTTF, that is a bit extreme. Its like saying I would cancel my Disneyworld vacation because i cant ride the monorail. Its an opinion, not a putdown. I think that would be a bit extreme and if someone did cancel, they are a much different mindset than myself, thus my "it takes all kinds" remark. When it comes to FTTF, people are extremely passionate about it. It has literally reached cult status following ;p

[TX Trucker 71]

In my opinion, it is worth it.

[suzycruiser2]

We have purchased FTTF several times in the past and with the price increase, even I am still on the fence about purchasing it for our next cruise. I really like getting on the ship early, but we have the earliest check-in time, so that should help.

 

I think the biggest perk to us is the early access to our cabin and early delivery of our luggage so that we can get our cabin set-up and get ready for the fun to begin. However, a couple of times our luggage didn't get there any earlier than normal. (I'm sure I could have used that dedicated guest services line to complain, but that's just not my style.);)

 

So, since we will not have a tender port, I think I will just use those dollars for a few drinks and enjoy the day!

[lizardhowson]

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

 

 

Yep, as usual these FTTF threads always turn into arguments :(

[amyhobbs]

I loved it! We got on the ship soon after wedding parties, platinum and diamond, then we got to go straight to our room and drop carry on off, we saw many people through the day lugging their carry on stuff around, it was worth it for that, also I visited guest services a few times for simple things and bypassed the mile long line so it was worth it for that! I will do it again if I get a chance

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[jsglow]

San Juan? Absolutely NOT. That is unless they have started staggered check-in and you got a crappy time slot. Many of the locals don't board until later as the ship doesn't leave until 10p. For much of the afternoon the ship will be fairly uncrowded. I've sailed that itinerary twice.

[jsglow]

Thank you everyone for your thoughts on this! Our original embarkment time was 1:30 so I'm excited to be able to get on sooner and start the exploring/fun/drinking/unpacking/swimming/vacation. I haven't figured out what that time is yet, but whenever it is, it will be better than 1:30 [emoji2]

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

I'm not so sure. Please check into that. Remember that 90% of the responses here are from folks that only have experience with the stateside ports. Trust me, San Juan is the very last place I would purchase FTTF.

 

Question. Are you flying in the day before and staying at a hotel? We just stayed at the beach until it was time to head over. I remember the bellman putting our suitcases in storage after we vacated our room at maybe 11a. For many folks, FTTF is totally worth it. I just don't want you to think San Juan is just like all the other ports, that's all.

 

And enjoy your cruise. It's a simply wonderful itinerary.