FTTF Worth It?

[Organized Chaos]

We had purchased the FTTF the last 4 cruises, but the last cruise we had already pretty much decided it wasnt worth it anymore and that was at the cheaper price, lol.

 

1. The last 2 cruises we went on our luggage was NOT in the room any earlier than our friends who did not do FFTF. And it was showing up like a bag or 2 at a time. This was at the port of Baltimore, and also the port in New Orleans. Strange.

2. I did not find the guest service line to be long enough to really make it worth the extra money.

3. One of the cruises, our room was clearly not ready. We didnt have our waters waiting. (No big deal, but usually they are), we did not have beach towels, and we didnt have the luggage pads on the beds. It was clean, of course, but obviously was rushed through, im assuming because we had fttf and they needed to get the room ready first. Not a big deal, but again, not worth it to me.

4. The tendering was better with FTTF, but its not an instant thing. You might go to the front of the line but your still waiting on the tender to come get you and then you and ALL those people behind you just get on the same tender. LOL>

 

But.....

I have enjoyed it other times. I think it depends. If you have to purchase for 1 room its different, imo than if you must purchase for 2 or 3 rooms.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

We bought it for the first time for our cruise a couple weeks ago and thought it was well worth it. Granted, we bought it at the old, lower price. ;) Looking back now, even though we're not completely convinced it's worth the higher price, we found enough value in it that we'll consider it again at the higher price.

 

Our luggage wasn't immediately ready either. Two bags came first (shortly after lunch), then the third came 5-10 min. later. We got the fourth and final about 20 min. after that. Had them all by 2pm. But priority luggage isn't a deal breaker for me. Just as long as it doesn't take until the late afternoon hours or later, I'm ok with it. It is odd, though. We hand over four bags to the porter, all together, yet they show up in intervals. But I can see why. By the time they throw our bags into those large bins with all the others, load them onto the ship, different members of the crew pulling them out of the bins and staging them, others loading them onto the carts that are taken to the cabins across several decks. They're bound to get separated.

 

The normal GS line was very long many times throughout our Glory cruise a couple weeks ago. I had to go to GS a couple times and was very glad to have the use of the priority line. It was like that on our cruise a couple years ago too. We didn't have FTTF that time and I had to stand in line for 20 min. or more on day 2. So I think the priority line is a huge asset.

 

We had two cabins on this last one and they weren't completely ready either. They still needed to be vacuumed. It wasn't a problem, they let us put our bags on the bed and we got out of their way. We wanted lunch first anyway, so it wasn't like we wanted to stick around. As I see it, the biggest benefit is having a place to stow your carry-on luggage right away. They also didn't have our 12-pack of water in there or our complimentary waters, but I didn't see that as a FTTF deal breaker. The 12-pack was there by the time we came back from lunch and the other waters came during evening turn-down. That was fine, they all got drank regardless.

 

The higher price is definitely going to make our decision a little harder, but I'm not completely ruling it out. Overall, I don't think it's stopping enough passengers to lower it again, so it is what it is.

[Trueblueky]

Just to clarify, you do not pick a boarding time. You pick an arrival, or check-in time. That's when you'll be allowed in the terminal to go through security then check in. The boarding process calls priority passengers first (platinum, diamond, suites, & FTTF), then they begin general boarding by zone numbers. The earlier the arrival time you choose, and are there at that time, the sooner you'll be on board. You will be able to choose an arrival time when you reach 90 days from your cruise. You have to keep an eye out for it in your Cruise Manager and catch it when it opens up if you want the earliest time possible.

 

With that said, if you purchase FTTF, you still have to choose an arrival time, but you will be allowed to enter the terminal before that time if necessary.

 

As everyone will say, the value of FTTF is up to you. Look at all of the perks it includes and decide if the cost is worth it to you. We did our first FTTF a couple weeks ago and would say yes, it was most certainly worth it to us. Then again, we bought it at the old, cheaper price. Is it worth the higher price to us now? That's yet to be determined.

 

One of the biggest advantages, if not the biggest in my opinion, is immediate access to your cabin. Since you're cruising with a group, and especially since you have a toddler, being able to put your carry-on bags away as soon as you get on board would be a huge advantage. Otherwise, you'll have to carry them with you until your cabins are ready. Or arrive at the terminal late enough so your cabins are ready when you get aboard. For non-priority passengers, they're generally ready by 1:30. FTTF boards the ship after platinum/diamond and suites. It's nice to get on board, put your bags away, and go have lunch before the big crowds hit the Lido deck. Another great perk is the priority line at Guest Services. When you see how long the regular line gets at times, you'll be glad to have access to the priority line.

 

Good luck on your decision. Let us know what you think.

Can you have FTTF for just one cabin?

 

One or two people could go there with the 3-yr-old.

[elcuchio24]

As I said just a few posts above, most people who argue against FTTF base their entire argument on one single perk, priority boarding. And here's yet another example of that. Again, FTTF comes with more perks than just priority boarding. But most importantly, different people find value/worth in different things. It was more than worth it on our last cruise at the old, lower price. It did become more difficult of a decision for many people after they raised the price, but we still find it to be valuable enough that we'll strongly consider it on our next one.

 

Well aware of the perks, and giving my opinion. I would rather not pay and show up later, and by showing up later your room will be ready ANYWAY. And to be honest, maybe we are just not complainers but in 12 CCL cruises I think I have gone to guest services like three times. So an express line has zero value to me.

[airlink diva]

I mainly cruise solo and I purchased FTTF when it first rolled out. To me it was a worth option. Two main appeal was I could go right to my room and place my items. When sailing solo and trying to get a table is not fun!

I also had to work the night prior (graveshift) and turn to travel to the port. I was able to take nap until safety drill which was helpful.

I also had Grand Cayman which was a tender port and able to get off early was helpful

I was looking at it for my upcoming cruise and the pricing now is extreme. Still sailing solo but going in days early and no tender port so no value for me.

[misfit72ford]

I have purchased it for my cruise next year. For me it's the cabin being ready when I board that's the biggest draw. My husband uses a cpap and enjoys taking pictures. Being able to put it in the room and not lug it around means he will bring whatever camera stuff he wants. I'm hoping not to need guest services however on my last cruise they knew me by name due to the rep at the credit card company thinking my calling to let them know I was traveling was "suspicious" and putting a stop on the card instead. That priority line would have come in handy.

 

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[jamie717]

We always get FTTF and have felt it is more than worth the extra expense. I tend to rationalize the "extras" and when looking at a sailing 12 months away that is only 20.00 per month to cover all 3 rooms and when looking at it that way it's a minimal expense. I can pretty much make ANYTHING about cruising work in my head! HaHa! Especially with the little one, I would definitely recommend it. Enjoy every minute of your cruise!!

[handbellplayer]

:p

We always get FTTF and have felt it is more than worth the extra expense. I tend to rationalize the "extras" and when looking at a sailing 12 months away that is only 20.00 per month to cover all 3 rooms and when looking at it that way it's a minimal expense. I can pretty much make ANYTHING about cruising work in my head! HaHa! Especially with the little one, I would definitely recommend it. Enjoy every minute of your cruise!!

 

I mentioned in my original post that this is a graduation celebration for our granddaughter. As such, I want the whole experience to be special. I have reserved a villa on Labadee, for example. It's also our first family cruise in 10 years. DH and DIL (parents of the toddler) are not crazy about cruising, but they want to do it for their niece. They are also apprehensive about cruising with the little one, who is not the most patient and compliant of kids.

 

I am going to purchase FTTF because I want everyone to have an experience that goes as smoothly as possible and for all to have a good time. So I have determined that yes, for us, FTTF is worth it. If it were just me and DH, I wouldn't even consider it.

 

Thanks again to all of you for your advice!

[MoxieDoll66]

We're strongly considering it for our March '19 Breeze cruise (if it's even offered!) because we're traveling with my elderly parents-one has to use a mobility scooter and the other is on continuous oxygen. They'll be carrying on an O2 concentrator as well as enough ostomy supplies for the week, so having their cabin ready before 1:30 will be enormously helpful. Since they need mine and my family's assistance, we will buy it for both cabins so we can board together.

 

None of our ports are tender ports, so that's not an issue and I've never visited GS in any previous cruise-but being able to get to the port early enough to get a handicapped parking spot and then able to access our cabins immediately is the reason we will grab it if we can.

[CA_Cruzing]

Thanks for the advice, everyone. We are arriving the night before (let's just say some people in our party have a hard time getting started on time). The drive from where we live is more like 4 1/2 hours than 3 hours. I was worried about having to check out of a hotel at 11:00 and dealing with a toddler until mid-afternoon. If selecting a check-in time 90 days will help me get an earlier check-in time, I'll probably just do that. I was afraid we'd be assigned a time like 3:00 and have to fill the time with a fussy toddler. What are the latest check-in times that you can be assigned?

 

IIRC, the cutoff time to check your bags with a porter is 2PM. meaning if you arrive AFTER 2PM, you're self-carrying your luggage onboard.

 

from all the excellent advice posted herein, i'd show up at 1PM, check my bags with a porter and walk right on, get to your room by 130P and enjoy your vacation.

 

stressing with a 3 y.o. is never fun. make life easier and just time shift. doing so will save you lots of frustration, waiting time and the human crush of boarding.

[evandbob]

:p

 

I mentioned in my original post that this is a graduation celebration for our granddaughter. As such, I want the whole experience to be special. I have reserved a villa on Labadee, for example. It's also our first family cruise in 10 years. DH and DIL (parents of the toddler) are not crazy about cruising, but they want to do it for their niece. They are also apprehensive about cruising with the little one, who is not the most patient and compliant of kids.

 

I am going to purchase FTTF because I want everyone to have an experience that goes as smoothly as possible and for all to have a good time. So I have determined that yes, for us, FTTF is worth it. If it were just me and DH, I wouldn't even consider it.

 

Thanks again to all of you for your advice!

 

 

Respect your decision, it's entirely up to you.

 

But Labadee is a Royal port, no?

[Organized Chaos]

Can you have FTTF for just one cabin?

 

One or two people could go there with the 3-yr-old.

Yeah, you could do it that way. I think there's a lot of people with multiple cabins who do it that way. They get only one FTTF and put everyone's bags in that one.

[Organized Chaos]

Well aware of the perks, and giving my opinion. I would rather not pay and show up later, and by showing up later your room will be ready ANYWAY. And to be honest, maybe we are just not complainers but in 12 CCL cruises I think I have gone to guest services like three times. So an express line has zero value to me.

Do you think the only reason people end up at Guest Services is to complain about something? Are you saying all three of your visits was to complain? I've used it 3 or 4 times in our last two cruises and none of them were to complain. And not that I was purposely eavesdropping, but if I happened to overhear people ahead of me, they weren't there to complain either. With thousands of passengers on board, problems and questions come up.

[handbellplayer]

Respect your decision, it's entirely up to you.

 

But Labadee is a Royal port, no?

 

OOPS! Too many RCCL cruises. Half Moon Cay.

[ZoeyVictoria]

:p

 

I mentioned in my original post that this is a graduation celebration for our granddaughter. As such, I want the whole experience to be special. I have reserved a villa on Labadee, for example. It's also our first family cruise in 10 years. DH and DIL (parents of the toddler) are not crazy about cruising, but they want to do it for their niece. They are also apprehensive about cruising with the little one, who is not the most patient and compliant of kids.

 

I am going to purchase FTTF because I want everyone to have an experience that goes as smoothly as possible and for all to have a good time. So I have determined that yes, for us, FTTF is worth it. If it were just me and DH, I wouldn't even consider it.

 

Thanks again to all of you for your advice!

 

My reasons are similar to yours. I lost my SO last year, after 20 cruises together, and now sail with a man who had never cruised before he met me. I want each cruise to be very special in hope of him becoming as addicted as I am, and FTTF just might enhance the experience. I also miss sharing my late SO’s Platinum status and need just a few nights to become Platinum myself, so FTTF will be needed for just two more cruises.

[elcuchio24]

Do you think the only reason people end up at Guest Services is to complain about something? Are you saying all three of your visits was to complain? I've used it 3 or 4 times in our last two cruises and none of them were to complain. And not that I was purposely eavesdropping, but if I happened to overhear people ahead of me, they weren't there to complain either. With thousands of passengers on board, problems and questions come up.

 

Jeez take it easy, just saying thats how many times I had ever had need to go. Relax.

[Organized Chaos]

Jeez take it easy, just saying thats how many times I had ever had need to go. Relax.

When you say, "maybe we are just not complainers but in 12 CCL cruises I think I have gone to guest services like three times," you're implying that those who go to GS services do so just to complain. I was merely pointing out that that was an unfair assessment of many who use GS. Don't worry, I'm relaxed, but thanks for your concern. ;)

[Blackjack22]

When you say, "maybe we are just not complainers but in 12 CCL cruises I think I have gone to guest services like three times," you're implying that those who go to GS services do so just to complain. I was merely pointing out that that was an unfair assessment of many who use GS. Don't worry, I'm relaxed, but thanks for your concern. ;)

 

 

I go to guest services a lot in order to deposit money on my account whenever I get a decent score in the casino. I know the kiosks can do the same thing, I just don't trust them!