FTTF? Yay or Nay and Why?

[Organized Chaos]

The recent price increase definitely sucks, but I can't fault them for it. FTTF is in very high demand, which means it was bound to go up. They might raise it again someday to test how much people are willing to pay, but if it keeps going up, at some point they'll reach a limit.

 

Absolutely agree with this. I wouldn't give $0.05 for FTTF. We purposely arrive late to board (will have to make sure I get a late boarding window for our upcoming cruise - that's new to us). We walk straight on after the rush and are much happier having had a nice lunch in an interesting restaurant shore-side than fighting the hordes for the buffet offerings. We never carry luggage on; we're fine without it until our bags are delivered (never lost one or had one super-late; knock wood). Cabins are almost always ready by the time we get there and as for debarkation - we get a time assigned appropriate for our flights (never hauled our own luggage off and never will). That only leaves priority tenders as having any possible benefit to us and we've always managed just fine without - we never plan our shore excursions for first-thing anyway. I'm happy to leave FTTF available for the rest of you who want it.

We bought it for the first time on our cruise earlier this month (at the lower price) and it was absolutely worth it to us. Now at the higher price, we'll think twice about it. I liked it enough, and got enough use out of its perks, that I won't say an absolute no in the future. Probably play it by ear whenever the time comes.

 

In regards to you boarding later, you technically don't have to pick a later check-in time. You're allowed to check in after your chosen arrival time, just not before. With that said, Carnival prefers everyone choose a time that's closest to when they'll actually arrive just to keep the process running as efficiently as possible.

[Pellaz]

OP, as others have so accurately stated, only you can make the decision as to whether it's worth it for you and your party or not. Just remember that the price is per stateroom, not per person, so purchasing it once covers everyone in your stateroom.

 

As for me and my cruise-friends.... I've purchased it for every Carnival cruise I've been on, and it was well-worth it. There have been times when the priority line at Guest Services was 20+ people long and on one cruise I saved at least 45 minutes there (probably closer to 90, over multiple visits) while resolving a serious stateroom issue.

On our last cruise we arrived at the terminal fairly early and we saw a huge pile of people waiting outside the door. We were whisked right inside -- no line -- and I asked about all the people waiting outside in the Miami heat. "Those are all the people with boarding times after 11am." My friend John and his wife looked at me and said "FTTF just paid for itself Right There." :)

Stress-free boarding as early as you want, stateroom ready when you board (and a place to drop your carry-ons), priority tendering, beat the big crowds to the Lido buffet... IMO it's worth it...even after the price increase.

[emory2001]

When I am on vacation I don't want to wait around. I want to go as much as possible and avoid as many lines as possible.

 

^ That's exactly why I bought FTTF for my cruise this fall, which will be my first on Carnival. I'm not impatient if I do have to wait in a line, but I'll definitely pay to avoid it, especially at Guest Services. I like to get my vacation started as quickly as possible, tender when I'm ready, and I usually have reasons to debark as early as possible too (and I consider it a good thing that everyone has different preferences on boarding and debarking times).

 

I also don't enjoy hauling my carry-ons around waiting for my room to be ready (on Royal). I always pack a swimsuit in my carry-on so I can get in the pool or hot tub while waiting for the room, but I have to change in a tiny bathroom stall. I'd much rather be able to drop everything in the room right away, throw on a swimsuit and something appropriate over it, and then get food and relax.

[Annabanana1234]

If it’s available I buy it, vacation insurance basically! I had a girls trip and drove to port the day of our cruise. I cruise out of Galveston since I live about 4 hours away. The day of the cruise we had bad weather, heavy rain and thunder etc. Everyone showed up late past their checkin window because of the weather the traffic was bad. We showed up around 2pm and we walked straight on. My friend in another cabin took 2 hours of waiting in lines to get on the ship. Meanwhile we were eating a delicious burger and having the drink of the day! We also had the benefit of going to the special line for customer service which was kind of a funny moment. I noticed a line of 15 people and then I saw the line for fttf and I walked up just as a representative came open so I walked up and this lady in the general line said hey the line is back here and I said it isn’t for me, since I was in the priority line. It felt good to get what I needed done and not have to wait! The other added benefit is not having to walk around the ship with my carryon bag! So we have a cruise in November and we have two rooms and we booked it! We are also cruising in June 2019 and booked it for two rooms!

[kcdancerkc]

What do they mean by express luggage? Not spelled out!

 

Our first FTTF in December

Luggage came staggered between 4-5

 

Maybe that is express? I know without having FTTF

it usually came in the same time frame

 

Hubby loved express guest service line

 

We are doing it again in January because of two tender ports.

 

It is nice to unload carry ons and backpacks, but really first world problems in the bigger picture. :cool:

[simplelife]

Although I understand the perks of FTTF, it would just be an unnecessary expense for DH and I. . The more we cruise, the more our motto is :light and leisurely." We prefer to board a little later and miss the hectic rush and the long lines at embarkation and in the buffet. Similarly, at ports, we wait until the initial rush subsides, so there's no need to be first for tenders ( if there are tender ports). We travel light, so we don't mind having our carry-ons with us when we first board. I usually sit with our two carryon bags while DH gets our first drinks at the bar; by the time we finish our drinks, they usually announce that rooms are ready and we drop off our carryons and explore the ship a bit and get a bite to eat (no long lines in the buffet by then) , When checked bags arrive, unpacking is easy (whether it's before or after muster) because we travel light. We don't need guest services much (especially since you can check balances on the HUB and make many transactions at the kiosks), and when we do it can usually wait for a less- crowded time, so even the dedicated line is not very important to us. I can buy quite a few drinks with the $60-70 we save by not getting FTTF :)

[Organized Chaos]

What do they mean by express luggage? Not spelled out!

 

Our first FTTF in December

Luggage came staggered between 4-5

 

Maybe that is express? I know without having FTTF

it usually came in the same time frame

 

Hubby loved express guest service line

 

We are doing it again in January because of two tender ports.

 

It is nice to unload carry ons and backpacks, but really first world problems in the bigger picture. :cool:

Yeah, priority luggage doesn't always work as quickly as many expect, and probably not as quickly as Carnival intends sometimes. But with all of the platinum/diamond/FTTF on board who get priority luggage delivery as a perk, I'm sure it's a lot to handle. A few weeks ago aboard Glory, we had FTTF and our four bags came at different times, but we had them all by 2:00. A couple years ago, without FTTF, they came about the same time, maybe an hour or so later. I don't mind because I've read many cases when people didn't get theirs until dinner time or later. If ours come in the early to mid afternoon, I'm good with it.

[mackenzie80]

If you would like to get to your room as soon as you board to unload all your carry-on stuff, and if you hate standing in lines, then yes.

 

Otherwise I wouldn't suggest it.

 

I am traveling with my mother on my next cruise, it is her first one. She will hate lugging things around, and so to not have to listen to her gripe for 2 hours I have paid the extra, WELL worth it for me.

 

Just depends on you and your situation. Some people hate the extra costs and say a few hours saved isn't worth it.

[simplelife]

absolutely agree with this. I wouldn't give $0.05 for fttf. We purposely arrive late to board (will have to make sure i get a late boarding window for our upcoming cruise - that's new to us). We walk straight on after the rush and are much happier having had a nice lunch in an interesting restaurant shore-side than fighting the hordes for the buffet offerings. We never carry luggage on; we're fine without it until our bags are delivered (never lost one or had one super-late; knock wood). Cabins are almost always ready by the time we get there and as for debarkation - we get a time assigned appropriate for our flights (never hauled our own luggage off and never will). That only leaves priority tenders as having any possible benefit to us and we've always managed just fine without - we never plan our shore excursions for first-thing anyway. I'm happy to leave fttf available for the rest of you who want it.

yes,