A lot of the fun about cruising is at the very beginning of your cruise vacation, when you’re at the port with your luggage and your family/friends. Excitement is at its highest point, as the ship you’re getting on is most likely visible in the background. If you don’t like the waiting game of having to be in the port waiting for all of the guests who are in suites or have elite status with the cruise line to board before you, Carnival Cruise Line has the program for you.
Faster to the Fun (FTTF) is a program from Carnival that does as the name suggests and gets you to all of the fun of the ship as soon as possible. This package is available for purchase via the Shore Excursion page on the Carnival site. With this package, you are considered to be a priority guest with the cruise line. As such, you get to start boarding immediately following VIFP Diamond, Platinum and guests traveling in deluxe suite accommodations.
Once you get onboard, you can go straight to your stateroom as it will already be prepared for you. If you gave your luggage to porters, you will be among the first to receive them as you will have priority delivery. Further priority is given to guests with FTTF status via dining reservations, water shuttles, and debarkation choices when it is time to get off the ship after your cruise vacation is over. The program is capacity controlled so that the whole ship is not on priority status, as that would render the program moot.
The cost of the Faster to the Fun package depends on two things: the length of your cruise vacation and the ship you’re on, with newer ships being more expensive. The cost is also per stateroom, per cruise. One ticket purchased by someone in the stateroom covers all guests in the room for the length of the cruise. However, if you’re going on a back-to-back sailing, it will need to be purchased for each leg of your trip. Note that FTTF is not available on Carnival Journeys and Europe cruises. Also note that not all items that are available to VIFP Diamond and Platinum guests will automatically be available to FTTF guests. However, the FTTF program is free of charge to VIFP Diamond and Platinum guests.
- 2 – 3 day sailings: $39.95 – $59.95
- 4 day sailings: $49.95 – $69.95
- 5 day sailings: $59.95 – $79.95
- 6 – 7 day sailings: $89.95 – $109.95
- 8+ day sailings: $99.95 and up
Now that you’re aware of the cost, the next thing to consider is the worthiness of this package. Since it has to be purchased before you get onboard (it cannot be added once you get on the ship), adding this cost to your vacation ticket takes some thought. If priority access and beating the lines is very important to you, go for it, especially if you are traveling with young children. For that same reason, it also helps give you somewhat of a schedule/routine that you can stick to during your vacation. If those time saving items are not that high on your list of priorities, and you’re not in one of the staterooms that receives this perk at no cost, skipping this package would be the better option for you. If you arrive early or at the tail end of check-in, in most cases, you won’t encounter a long line. In addition, you can make dinner reservations once they open up online, or even onboard at the main restaurants.
If you change your mind about purchasing Faster to the Fun after you’ve already completed your online check-in, you will need to re-print your boarding pass so that the stamp is on your documentation. If you change your mind again after you’ve already purchased FTTF and you no longer want it, you can cancel without penalty up to 11:30 PM ET the night before your sailing. The cancellation must be completed online and you will be refunded in the original form of payment.
Related blogs:
Using Carnival Future Cruise Credits
Popular Carnival Cruise Drink Recipes
