FTTF - is it worth it?

[Neotericisis]

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.

 

This EXACTLY! Whew, reading some responses, people got testy LOL! San Juan is a different bag of apples than any other U.S. port as the embarkation port IS a port of call. The ship leaves at 11 p.m.- you have the whole day to explore. Its not like MIA or NYC where you are in a huge terminal with nothing close by. You don't need FTTF because more than 1/2 the ship will be locals and they arrive late. I was on and off the ship at least 2x with no lines at all. ALSO, there are no tender ports on this itinerary so there is no help there. The only use I would have for it is a dedicated Guest Services line (this line is crazy the last day, but I didn't have any issues and didn't take off my tips so I didn't need to wait in line the last day.).

 

We dropped our bags around 10:30/11 am and just kept backpacks to explore. To each his own, but I would rather be exploring Old San Juan than on the ship when in port there. The cruise terminal is literally smack dab in the middle of the action at Old San Juan so you can walk to El Morro Fort, Barrachinas for pina coladas etc. Old San Juan is beautiful and lively. The music in the streets, little side walk cafes, cobblestone walkways, tons of history. Whatever OP does, I hope they have a fab time. My Dec cruise was one to remember (and it surely wasn't because of the ship since the Fascination is an old girl now- its not a bad ship, but the amenities reflect her age).

Edited March 28, 2017 by Neotericisis

[tennboy1981]

I personally don't find fttf worth the extra money. Ive never had trouble getting on the ship rather quickly, and dont mind waiting to board with everyone else, or debarking the ship wkth everyone else. Now, if fttf also included getting to the buffet quicker, or getting seated at dinner quicker, and generally able to bypass lines in the ship, yeah id probably get it.

 

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[Neotericisis]

I personally don't find fttf worth the extra money. Ive never had trouble getting on the ship rather quickly, and dont mind waiting to board with everyone else, or debarking the ship wkth everyone else. Now, if fttf also included getting to the buffet quicker, or getting seated at dinner quicker, and generally able to bypass lines in the ship, yeah id probably get it.

 

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Yuppers! If FTTF included no line/priority line for YTD then I would get it. I was going to do YTD this time around again, and switched to late dining. My children can have a slice of pizza in the early evening and then eat in the dining room. 5:45 is sold out and too early for us anyway. 7:00 would be ideal for our fam, but the YTD line can be crazy, especially on formal nights and my children would get antsy. I can already see that we may have to eat in the buffet to make certain events (for instance, the Love and Marriage show seems to be on for 9 p.m. on many Fun Times Programs that I reviewed, so that night we will head to the buffet and make the kiddies go to Club Ocean).

[RoscoeJames]

We always get FTTF. One perk I like other than early boarding is your luggage arrive early. If you have young kids and are responsible for unpacking it is nice to have it done early. I always feel I have an extra day by getting on early. If it was just me I might feel different but boarding with kids or with an elderly parent embarkation can be stressful. FTTF is worth it to my family.

 

 

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[moonvine]

I'd never spend my money like that.

[Athankfulheart]

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 purchase it soley for the priority disembark. The other perks are nice, but the MOST valuable thing for me is the ability to debark early and quickly .

 

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[ryanjb]

Very worth it if you dislike long lines. I snagged a FTTF pass last night for my July cruise out of Galveston. I can show up whenever I want and I don't have to wait in the long line. We had it on our last cruise in 2015 too and the general line was very long at that time. Walked right up at 10:30 and was on the ship a little after 11. It's about the cost of happy hour w/dinner...worth it in my opinion. Gets me on my balcony sooner!

 

 

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[jennas_mum]

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]

 

 

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We just did this cruise in March. We did not have FTTF and we had a check in time of 130. We arrived at the port to drop our luggage at 1130 since we had to be out of our hotel and decided to try and atleast get checked in and get our sign and sail cards since there was absolutely no lines. We got our cards in less than 5 minutes and then they told us we were able to board. Walked right on and the rooms were ready. We were able to get our room about 12. I can see FTTF being beneficial for some ports but no necessarily this one. But to each their own!! Have a great cruise!

 

Donna

[MTruvillio]

If you are interested in purchasing and find that it is sold out (it does sell out quickly) keep checking back. I have checked often over the past two months and just today - 44 days before my cruise did it become available. I booked it and am now looking forward to getting to the fun even faster :)