Faster to the Fun Frustration

[bellagirl5]

We have cruised 6 years in a row with Carnival and have had FTTF every time but one.  We love FTTF and it works out well for our family.  Most of the time it has been sold out when i have booked our cruise and I find myself checking multiple times throughout the day trying to catch it when it becomes available.  With our current booking, the FTTF did not even appear as an option under shore excursions until today, when to my surprise it appeared at 6:30 am as I was getting ready for work.  I immediately added it to my cart and proceeded with my payment option.  It said it was processing and then I got a "error message" that read "something went wrong and your order was not processed.  "The shore excursion you are attempting to book is not available for all of the guests selected."  Of course, FTTF is purchased for the cabin and not on an individual basis so I was confused by this.  I called Carnival twice today and was told it is a glitch in the system and that FTTF in not available and is still sold out.  I cannot understand why it is still displayed with "add to the cart" option rather than showing "sold out, or the "add to cart" being removed.  I am convinced that I should just keep checking but i have to go through the whole process of adding credit card and processing to see if it is still available or not available.  Has anyone else ever had this happen? Thanks!

[amyotravel]

The website has been absolute junk in so many ways lately. Sorry about your frustration! But can't advise if it is a website problem, sadly.

[KansasBeachLover]

Same thing has happened to us...over and over again the last few months.

[Organized Chaos]

Yep, the website has been glitched and buggy for at least a couple months now.

 

In the past, once FTTF was released for a cruise, it always showed up in excursions, even if it was sold out. If it was, it was simply listed as such. A few weeks ago, all of our excursions disappeared for a few hours, and others here reported it happening to them too. When they came back, FTTF no longer showed up, not even as sold out. And that's the way it has stayed. I figured they changed it so it no longer appeared as sold out, it just wouldn't appear at all. One time, my wife said she did see it, but it said sold out. I kind of assumed that one became available, was bought, then showed as sold out until the system "caught up," and it disappeared again.

 

What you described with the "add to cart" button still being active did happen to me, and it wouldn't let me purchase it, but that was some months ago before all the website problems started.

 

We needed one more FTTF for our cruise next month and have been checking relentlessly for months. This past Sunday morning, my wife finally caught one. But it was in an odd way. She started on the Carnival Hub app, then let the app open her mobile browser to get to the excursions. THAT'S where she saw an available FTTF. I immediately logged in using my computer, but FTTF didn't appear at all. She was able to buy it and it eventually showed as sold out after a few minutes. But it goes to show that the system is still terribly glitched because it only showed up when she went through the Hub app.

 

FYI We snagged that last one just under 3 weeks away from our cruise, so keep checking. One can appear close to the cruise.

 

OP, try clearing your browser's cookies to see if it deactivates that "add to cart" button so you don't have to keep entering your payment info. If that doesn't work, try a different browser. Or, if you have a smartphone, go through the Hub app and see what that does. It worked for us.

 

I keep getting an email from them telling me I left something in my shopping cart and asks if I want to place the order. It says our internet plans are still in the cart, but I purchased those weeks ago. I get that email once a week and am hoping it stops after the cruise. Their system has gone haywire.

[wolft927]

mine just showed up for my cruise in September and is sold out. Check an hour ago and wasnt there, now it is there and sold out. Oh well, saves me $89 lol

[CoW mAn]

I've heard similar reports from other people recently

 

Glitches don't often make sense

[shof515]

I recently purchase an excursion for my cruise in may. every now and then i get an email that i left something in my cart. when i check my cart, it says my cart is empty 

[Jamesatgsu]

I had a similar problem trying to checkout for the Spa during the Valentine's Day sale.  Was going to bring it up with Carnival, but decided to just wait until the cruise since they will probably give us a voucher towards the spa for our anniversary anyway.

[miataman19]

Similar issues with making Steakhouse reservations. The new way is you now must pay upfront if you're making a reservation for the Steakhouse. However someone on these boards mentioned that every so often if you go thru the Hub app it will allow you to make reservations without paying. I did this for a sailing in July and got email confirmations for 6 days of Steakhouse reservations and the Chefs Table from the Steakhouse Manager stating my Sail &  Sign account will be billed on the ship which is what I wanted because of OBC I want to use. Sometimes glitches are a good thing.

 

[skrufy]

2 hours ago, bellagirl5 said:

We have cruised 6 years in a row with Carnival and have had FTTF every time but one.  We love FTTF and it works out well for our family.  Most of the time it has been sold out when i have booked our cruise and I find myself checking multiple times throughout the day trying to catch it when it becomes available.  With our current booking, the FTTF did not even appear as an option under shore excursions until today, when to my surprise it appeared at 6:30 am as I was getting ready for work.  I immediately added it to my cart and proceeded with my payment option.  It said it was processing and then I got a "error message" that read "something went wrong and your order was not processed.  "The shore excursion you are attempting to book is not available for all of the guests selected."  Of course, FTTF is purchased for the cabin and not on an individual basis so I was confused by this.  I called Carnival twice today and was told it is a glitch in the system and that FTTF in not available and is still sold out.  I cannot understand why it is still displayed with "add to the cart" option rather than showing "sold out, or the "add to cart" being removed.  I am convinced that I should just keep checking but i have to go through the whole process of adding credit card and processing to see if it is still available or not available.  Has anyone else ever had this happen? Thanks!

Get used to the glitches in the website, it happens a lot. Their website has had problems for years.

[Cb1977]

Here's my philosophy on FTTF.  I usually only do 7-8 night cruises. It's not worth the expense to me to get on the ship maybe an hour earlier. I simply try to book the earliest boarding time. 

[TNcruising02]

I have heard it happening before. I was in a Facebook group for a cruise and someone posted that FTTF was suddenly available. Several people were able to get it. After about an hour it still showed as available, but when people tried to buy it, they couldn’t. Then it later changed back to sold out.
 

FTTF was definitely a Carnival perk that I appreciated when I was able to snag it. I’m so happy to finally reach platinum and get those benefits for free.

[bellagirl5]

18 hours ago, shof515 said:

I recently purchase an excursion for my cruise in may. every now and then i get an email that i left something in my cart. when i check my cart, it says my cart is empty 

So if this could not get funnier.....I tried all day yesterday to purchase the FTTF and after entering payment info it would give me the error message.  Late in the evening, I receive an email from Carnival stating that I still had an item in my "cart".  I got my hopes up in thinking just maybe they fixed the system only to find there was nothing in the cart.  Today, when I go on to try to purchase the FTTF, the screen just blips after I select "add to the cart" and goes not further.  Yes this system is terrible!

[evandbob]

Could be that someone else cancelled FTTF or their entire cruise and when that slot opened, another FTTF lurker booked it a few seconds before the OP attempted to get it.