Priority Boarding Staterooms Being Ready

[cgriffis]

On 5/8/2019 at 11:04 AM, PhillyFan33579 said:

 

The more I read your comments, the more I think you don’t cruise very often on Carnival. You keep insisting that FTTF is quantity controlled, but the reality is otherwise. On three recent cruises I have been on (Miracle, Horizon, and Sunshine) and on two cruises on Magic last year, we were told cabins would not be available due to the number of D&Ps on the cruise. However. the FTTF waiting area had at least 30-40 people sitting there for all 5 of these cruises. In my opinion if they can’t have cabins ready due to the number of D&Ps on the cruise, they shouldn’t sell FTTF. Unfortunately the reality is they still sell FTTF on cruises with significant numbers of D&Ps. When Carnival can’t provide promised perks, it’s not fair to anyone (D&Ps and FTTF) who are expecting certain things based on their loyalty level or paying additional money for FTTF. 

 

And just how did you know that they were all FTTF? Could they have been blue cards with a grand suite that had 5 people in it.  30 to 40 people could be just 10 cabins at the worst 20.  Im pretty sure there are way more D&P's than that.

 

 

[cgriffis]

On 5/9/2019 at 11:34 AM, PhillyFan33579 said:

 

Why is it insane?  No one is forcing anyone to work on a Carnival ship. I talked to my cabin steward last week on my cruise and he said the increase in cabins he is now responsible for is not overwhelming. What he does have trouble with is getting priority/FTTF cabins ready on time, especially when boarding begins around 11 AM, which has been the case on all 3 cruises I have been on since February. The other thing he said, which I have heard directly from the Hotel Director at a Diamond special event, is Carnival is moving towards only servicing cabins once a day. That will obviously make their job easier. 

Seems like they could push that boarding time back an hour. we sail out of Galveston and just recently got notice that they are leaving port an hour earlier, that definitely cant be helping the situation. 

 

Why on gods green earth does someone need thier cabin cleaned 2 or 3 times a day.  We always tell our RS once a day and we let them pick the time.  I dont really care as long as I have clean towels and plenty of ice.

[cgriffis]

5 hours ago, SRQbeachgirl said:

On our last cruise on the Magic, we had purchased FTTF and were on the ship by about 11am. When we got to our cabin, it wasn't ready and our S&S cards were not in our mailbox. Our room steward came by and said we weren't on his priority list. We told him we could guarantee we had purchased FTTF. He let us put our luggage in the room and we went down to GS. I told the GS rep what had happened and asked if she could make sure our passenger records were correct (I was very nice, didn't ask for anything other than to just make sure it did show us as FTTF) which I assume they would have had to be since we got on the ship with the other FTTF passengers. She looked up our account, said it did indeed show us as FTTF, apologized profusely, and immediately said they were going to refund 100% of our FTTF purchase and we would still have all the benefits for the week. I was pretty floored that she just automatically issued us a refund, especially since I hadn't asked for anything and certainly didn't expect anything.

 

We immediately went back up to our cabin and by the time we got from GS to Deck 10, our cabin steward was standing in our cabin with our S&S cards and extra free water (above our free VIFP water). We thanked him and then went to lunch. When we returned later, the cabin was spotless and there were two plates of chocolate covered strawberries on the desk and a note that another $50 in OBC had been applied to our account for the inconvenience. We were amazed and quite impressed by this example of excellent customer service!

 

Great story! Our blue card cruise we had FTTF ship was late we had to wait until after 12 to get on went to cabin they were still cleaning.  No big deal we left carry ons and went on our way.  Later in the day we couldn't get the hub app to work so went to GS. very nice lady and very patient with us. After dinner went back to room and found champagne and strawberries for our inconvenience.  I was stunned as well. Carnival staff have been over the top great to us.

[cgriffis]

28 minutes ago, cgriffis said:

 

I doubt that very seriously

Sorry I misread your statement

[RWolver672]

On 5/10/2019 at 7:07 AM, quickrate said:

You are right, no one is forcing them to work on a Carnival ship. But, just imagine you worked for a Company for over 10 maybe15 years and all of a sudden they doubled your work load without providing much more compensation. You could go look for another job but that is easier said than done. Talk to the room stewards  who have been with Carnival for over 10 years. Then you will get the "rest of the story".

Pat

 

This isn't just Carnival or any other cruise line.  It's all over.  Companies aren't replacing retiring employees, cutting back on staff, etc.  They just pile the work on the ones that are left.  As you pointed out, most people will stay with their jobs no matter how much work load in piled on them because jobs aren't that plentiful.  

 

I have noticed on our last few cruises that it isn't just one cabin steward any more.  They now have assistants.  

 

On our last cruise on the Horizon, our cabin steward started a conversation with us in the hall.  My wife mentioned to him that she couldn't get over how he already knew our  names  by heart.  He said that it's corporate policy to make sure they learn the names and treat the P/D and FTTF passengers with more care than the non priority passengers.  That makes me think that the theory of them catering to the first time cruisers isn't true.

[PhillyFan33579]

36 minutes ago, RWolver672 said:

 

On our last cruise on the Horizon, our cabin steward started a conversation with us in the hall.  My wife mentioned to him that she couldn't get over how he already knew our  names  by heart.  He said that it's corporate policy to make sure they learn the names and treat the P/D and FTTF passengers with more care than the non priority passengers.  That makes me think that the theory of them catering to the first time cruisers isn't true.

 

I find it hard to believe your cabin steward made that statement. The one thing Carnival employees have always been good at is remembering the names of guests. It has been that way from my first cruise on Carnival years ago until my 27th cruise on Carnival two weeks ago. I have always been treated great by staff members on every Carnival cruise no matter what color card I had at the time. 

 

Crew staff are very good at restaurants, bars and even hallways addressing guests by their first name. It doesn’t matter if the guests are blue cards on their first Carnival cruise or a white card on their 100th Carnival cruise. The crew staff is excellent at not only remembering your name, but also your preferences, for example, what you usually order at a bar. 

[RWolver672]

5 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

 

I find it hard to believe your cabin steward made that statement. The one thing Carnival employees have always been good at is remembering the names of guests. It has been that way from my first cruise on Carnival years ago until my 27th cruise on Carnival two weeks ago. I have always been treated great by staff members on every Carnival cruise no matter what color card I had at the time. 

 

Crew staff are very good at restaurants, bars and even hallways addressing guests by their first name. It doesn’t matter if the guests are blue cards on their first Carnival cruise or a white card on their 100th Carnival cruise. The crew staff is excellent at not only remembering your name, but also your preferences, for example, what you usually order at a bar. 

 

You can find it hard all you want.  Why would I lie about it.  That's what he said.  Plain and simple.

[mredandchis]

48 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

 

I find it hard to believe your cabin steward made that statement. The one thing Carnival employees have always been good at is remembering the names of guests. It has been that way from my first cruise on Carnival years ago until my 27th cruise on Carnival two weeks ago. I have always been treated great by staff members on every Carnival cruise no matter what color card I had at the time. 

 

Crew staff are very good at restaurants, bars and even hallways addressing guests by their first name. It doesn’t matter if the guests are blue cards on their first Carnival cruise or a white card on their 100th Carnival cruise. The crew staff is excellent at not only remembering your name, but also your preferences, for example, what you usually order at a bar. 

 

Actually you are both correct.    I too saw from my first cruise onward, that the staff treated me very well as mentioned by PhillyFan .  But I also had basically the same convo with my room steward as RWolver stated.  I think there is a degree in there.  Did you know that diamond passengers photos are hung at the exits of the crew areas so they can be recognized on sight?    I was on a recent cruise and a diamond couple was seated in the dining room always at the same table.  Each night the matradee stopped by thier table to check on them.  He didnt do it for us lowly Plantinums lol.  So there is a little extra care that is given, but still when i was blue I had good service.  And we as customers forge our own relationship with the crew.  Another example I have is that the D&P guests receive a pin with the year and ship name on it.  I was on the Vista at Christmas and i didnt get one.  I asked the steward and he said they were short but he would speak to his boss.  I did find out that it appeared the Diamonds all recieved thiers.  So ok , I understand the issue, it is the end of year and the supply was dwindling and they werent making anymore.  But i mentioned it to the crew boss of housekeeping up on the Lido deck.  10 mins later he showed up with a pin for me.  It was all a minor thing and i wasnt upset but for me that is the one thing I love getting.  So there is that little extra effort, but not to the determent to all the guests.

 

[JaniceB]

I am sure all the issues are why they have raised the cost of FTTF over the years trying to control the number that even want it.

[PhillyFan33579]

2 hours ago, RWolver672 said:

 

You can find it hard all you want.  Why would I lie about it.  That's what he said.  Plain and simple.

 

I didn’t mean to imply you lied about it. A better choice of words would have been I was surprised a cabin steward would say that. 

[BellaSweet]

I really don't care if my room is "ready" or not when I board. ONE reason I purchase FTTF so I can drop off my bags, greet our steward and go grab a drink without lugging our carry-ons around. Its not like I board the ship and want to shower and nap. 

 

I just look at our room stewards as being human..the debark/embark day is a hard day for them. If they need a lil extra time to get my room ready, who cares? FTTF is more than having my room ready..its priority help at GS, quick through the lines, etc.

[tm_aw_love]

On 5/6/2019 at 3:29 AM, RWolver672 said:

 

Priority Guests still have immediate access to their cabins.  There's just no guarantee that they will be ready.  You can still drop off your carry ons which is why most people want early access.  

 

We were Platinum for our last cruise on the Horizon.  Our cards were in the mailbox but they were still vacuuming the carpet when we got to our cabin.  We dropped off our bags and left.  On the previous two cruises, we had FTTF.  The same thing on those two.  Cabins were accessible but not fully cleaned yet.

 

We were told that our Horizon cruise had 567 Platinums, 80+ Diamonds and who knows how many FTTFs.  With that many priority guests, it would be impossible to have that many cabins ready by early boarding.  What if all of a steward team's cabins were priority?  It's very possible that it could happen.  Especially on our last cruise as it was a Premier cruise and a lot of those players are Priority cruisers.

As of today the excursion details actually say READY... 

[airlink diva]

I only purchased FTTF only once. I work graveshift and had to work the shift and leave work, head to airport, fly in and board the ship.  Since I was going to be up right at 24 hours, I wanted to take a nap before muster drill.

My room was ready and I was able to get on the ship little before noon and had a nice nap.

I also had Belize as a port and a non ship tour and another reason.

Also sailed with friends with twin toddlers and they wanted access to room to let the boys nap and away from the crowds.

Can understand why some people it won't bother if the cabin is not ready, but for others, having the cabin ready was the appeal and the choice I made for purchase.

But I do feel the Carnival need to limit or not offer if there's a high number of diamond and platium cruisers.  To me, they have earn it by the number of sailings and the list of perks state this.

In the end Carnival is going to do what it want to do

[IamPEBJ]

Question: If you have FTTF and get a check in time of 12-12:30 do you have to show up at that time or can you show up early?

Edited May 14, 2019 by IamPEBJ

[grandmarnnurse]

On 5/5/2019 at 9:59 PM, RumpunchGirl said:

I have FTTF on my cruise in Oct. I sure hope I get what I paid for.  The room being ready is the main reason we bother to purchase this. I'll be watching this board to see how others fair with this.

 

It was ready and available for me in March when I sailed the Breeze. I specifically buy it for this perk, because I don’t like lugging my carryons around. 

[bury me at sea]

56 minutes ago, IamPEBJ said:

Question: If you have FTTF and get a check in time of 12-12:30 do you have to show up at that time or can you show up early?

You ignore your check-in time.  Show up whenever you like and you will be shown to the priority line.

 

Enjoy.

[Retired_to_Cruise]

A Few Facts on Faster to the Fun

• VIFP Diamond and Platinum members and guests traveling in deluxe suite accommodations are the only guests to have access to the Captain’s Lounge at embarkation.   
• Similar to airlines boarding first class and then elite frequent flyers, etc., we will start boarding with VIFP Diamond and Platinum members, followed by guests traveling in deluxe suite accommodations and then FTTF guests.
• The number of people who may purchase the FTTF package will be capacity controlled based upon the number of VIFP Diamond and Platinum members booked on the sailing.

[JaniceB]

I never read the facts closely, " similar to airlines boarding" .