Carnival Faster to the Fun Review on the Carnival Liberty

After reading online about Carnival’s “Faster to the Fun” option, I wanted to try it on my upcoming cruise on the Carnival Liberty.  For $50, I liked the idea of not having to wait in lines when I was checking in at the port and having my room ready when I boarded the ship.  Faster to the Fun includes:

• Priority Check-in and express boarding
• Stateroom guaranteed to be ready upon embarkation
• Luggage will arrive soon after boarding
• Dedicated line/phone number for guests services
• Priority dining reservations
• Priority tendering
• Priority debarkation

If you are interested in booking FTTF (Faster to the Fun), you will want to do it as soon as possible.  For my cruise, FTTF was sold out over 4 months before the sailing.  Carnival only sells a certain amount based on the number of platinum and diamond members they have on each particular sailing.  If you wait to book it until the last minute, it will be sold out.

FTTF will have a separate line when checking in at the port.  If you arrive at the port early (10-11:00 am) FTTF won’t save you anytime at all since there are usually little to no lines.  However, if you plan on arriving to the port around noon, FTTF will save you from standing in long lines.

Once the ship is ready for embarkation, the diamond and platinum passengers will board first.  Once they have boarded, all those with FTTF will be called.  You will receive a “Priority Boarding” pass instead of a zone number.  I was on the ship within 5-10 minutes and it was great to be one the of first on the ship.  I headed straight to my room to drop off my carry-on luggage and 12 packs of Coke.

It took roughly 30-60 minutes for all of my luggage to reach my cabin.  They will put an orange FTTF tag on them, one of my suitcases was missed but did arrive shortly after.

The thing I enjoyed the most about FTTF was having a separate line at Guest Services.  On the first night of the cruise, I noticed in my Fun Times that there was an activity planned the next day in a room that I had reserved for my group months earlier.    The line at Guest Services was long and moving very slowly, but I didn’t have to wait at all.  I was able to get things cleared up within 5 minutes instead of waiting 45 minutes in line.  I actually used Guest Services several times, making FTTF well worth it for me.

With FTTF, you will receive zone 1 for debarkation.  You can be one of the first passengers off the ship and can fly through customs.  Once I had my luggage, I was standing outside the terminal in less than 5 minutes.  Of coarse, you do not have to be one of the first to get off the ship, you can wait until later if you would like.  You just have that option in case you need to catch a flight home.