What happens if you miss the boat at Port Canaveral?

[girlbomb]

The hubs and I are taking our first cruise (Western Caribbean on the Fantasy) next month, and I'm putting the final touches on my list of things to worry about. I hope nobody can answer this from personal experience, but I'm curious -- if the ship sailed without us, would we be able to get on at the next stop? Thanks for any info you can provide.

 

[southerngirl528]

Whoa. First, why on earth would you be considering alternate plans for missing the ship?? Sorry, it's just that you asked a pretty scary question, IMO. There are some experts here who may know but for security reasons, they are pretty tough about all passengers boarding at the embarkation port.

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

(1) Travel insurance.
(2) your fault- you make your way to the next port.
(3) DCL fault ie DCL booked flight that was delayed they make arrangements to next port or WDW or re book.

Rule one, allow plenty of time to get there they leave on time unless there are a lot delayed by DCL fault.

 

[PizzieDuster]

Run fast. For exercise.
I have heard the ship waiting for DCL paid transfers from the airport to the port.

 

[tinkmom2]

This is why you should never arrive the day of the cruise. Plan on flying or coming in a day in advance. The first time when Disney planned our flights we didn't get on the ship until almost 3:30PM from the that day forward we have always planned our own flights and stay either at Disney a few days before or fly in the night before.

 

[Sir William]

On our cruise last year some passengers on a Disney booked flight were late but the ship waited for them. I watched the mad scramble to board as passengers and CMs with their luggage ran on board as other CM began removing mooring lines so we could leave. Lesson: if you booked your transportation with the cruise line they will wait for you as long as they can.

On another (non-Disney) cruise a woman was stuck in traffic about a quarter mile from the exit ramp. She lived an hour away and had timed her arrival for about a half hour prior to final boarding. She watched our ship sail away while she sat stuck in her car and talking on her phone to another woman standing near me at the sail away party. Lesson: arrive early.

We always fly in at least a day early and arrive at the terminal as early as possible. I'd rather sit in the terminal for a couple of hours than miss the ship by a couple of minutes.

 

[SillyInventor]

First of all: rule #1 is "Be onboard before all aboard". period. The ship will NOT wait for you.

Now if you miss the Ship you can fly to the first non US-port and embark there, but this will take a lot of arrangements:
Arrange with DCL that the crew knows about you boarding late and will allow you on the ship
Book last minute flights to the next port. This will require a passport and possibly visa! With just an ID and birth certificate you will not fly, not allowed in a foreign country by air and not make the ship.
As the Fantasy takes a day to sail to the first WC port you will need two nights at a hotel.
Finally: you will miss two days out of seven with fun on the ship.
The cost of all the arrangements will be yours, unless it is DCL's fault you missed the ship and cost can be significant.

So just remember rule #1, fly in the day before. Stay close to port that night and have a relaxing embarkation day without any stress if you will make it to the ship in time.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[Sir William]

Run fast. For exercise.
I have heard the ship waiting for DCL paid transfers from the airport to the port.

That is correct. I've seen the ship wait. But they usually can't wait too long, usually an hour or so (on one cruise we had to clear a bridge before the tide rose too high so that determined how long we could delay). I also saw them wait for one of the baggage trucks that broke down on the way from Orlando. A CM told me they had to send a replacement truck, and then offload and reload all the luggage. The ship was preparing to move as the truck was unloaded.

If you book you flights and transfers through the cruise line and miss the ship, the cruise line will get you to the next port. If you didn't use the cruise line to book your flights and transfers, you're on your own. The same goes for excursions. Last year in the Med, heavy traffic delayed tours from Rome and almost all arrived back after the deadline (I watched from my balcony with a glass of wine in hand). Friends were on a privately booked tour but were sitting in front of the Disney tour in the traffic jam so figured they were safe. I don't know if anyone missed the ship, but it was amusing to watch a convoy of buses, vans, and sedans arriive and unload hundreds of people

On a slightly related subject, met a couple on our last cruise who told me their original flight was cancelled and they just barely made it to the ship, but the man's luggage didn't. Because DCL booked the flights, they gave him a voucher to buy clothes at the ship's store, and provided him a very nice tux for formal night. His luggage was waiting for him at our first port.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

Folks there is a mental pattern with some passengers that when on a cruise you can treat timing things like last minute is ok .

SORRY, WRONG. You have to be at the ship early, always early. Yes most of the time you will be ok, but when it does not work out, there is major problems.

Please always fly or arrive in the general Florida Port area a day early and also a hour or two early back on the vessel.

It's really just common sense

AKK

 

[Bree]

I live 2.5 hours away from Port Canaveral. If I sailed out of PC, I would still drive there the night before the cruise and stay at a hotel. Last thing I need is car or traffic issues on the day of sailing.

 

[FloridaBabe]

I live 50 mins from PC but I am on that ship before the buffet opens for lunch!

 

[girlbomb]

Thanks for the sage advice. I'm definitely NOT planning to cut things close, but we don't want to come from NYC to Florida the night before. Right now, we're booked on a flight that gets to MCO at 10 am, so it would take some massive bad luck to keep us from getting on the boat by 3:30. But it sounds like the smart cruisers agree that coming in the night before is the only way to go.

 

[LSUfan4444]

we don't want to come from NYC to Florida the night before.

Nobody wants to miss the boat, but things happen. Fender bender on the way to the airport, flight delays flight cancellations, fender bender on way to the port, lost luggage at airport, etc. The smart move is to definitely fly in the day before. If not, you greatly increase the potential odds of missing the boat.

 

[Julylady]

Just a week before our first cruise in 1997, our friends missed their RCCL ship. They were scheduled to land about noon. A maintenance delay on the first leg of their flight caused them to miss their connection in Chicago. They were rebooked arriving in Orlando at 6pm. I remember the Mom calling my Mom just frantic because she couldn't believe they weren't going to hold the ship for her.

They ended up staying in a cheap hotel for the week waiting for their return flight home. She said she followed the advice of her travel agent who told her the airlines don't let anyone miss a cruise. Wrong! It was a lasting object lesson that my brother, sister and I took to heart. All of us fly our families in 1-2 days prior to any cruise.

 

[tiggergal15]

My own opinion...if you allow 3 hours for getting to the boat from MCO that woud be around 1pm IF your flight leaves NY on time
....IF you actually arrive in MCO at 10 am...2 big IFS any expierenced traveler will tell you are not gonna happen..planes rarely ever arrive at the designated time..now you have traffic to the boat..checking in the boat and whatever they require. You are setting yourself up for extreme stress IMHO. Obviously none of us are going to change your mind but those is us with this kind of travel expierence hate to see you take such a chance of such a close call. I wouldnt but change my flight if I could

 

[maxiesmom]

Thanks for the sage advice. I'm definitely NOT planning to cut things close, but we don't want to come from NYC to Florida the night before. Right now, we're booked on a flight that gets to MCO at 10 am, so it would take some massive bad luck to keep us from getting on the boat by 3:30. But it sounds like the smart cruisers agree that coming in the night before is the only way to go.

And if your flight is delayed you are in serious trouble. By planning on coming in the same day you ARE planning to cut things close. There is a reason why all cruise lines will tell you to fly in the day before.

Which is worse to you: Flying in the night before, or missing the boat?

 

[Minniemiss]

The hubs and I are taking our first cruise (Western Caribbean on the Fantasy) next month, and I'm putting the final touches on my list of things to worry about. I hope nobody can answer this from personal experience, but I'm curious -- if the ship sailed without us, would we be able to get on at the next stop? Thanks for any info you can provide.

Yes, you could meet the ship in Cozumel. You would have to have a passport in order to fly to Mexico.

 

[redsonja76]

Thanks for the sage advice. I'm definitely NOT planning to cut things close, but we don't want to come from NYC to Florida the night before. Right now, we're booked on a flight that gets to MCO at 10 am, so it would take some massive bad luck to keep us from getting on the boat by 3:30. But it sounds like the smart cruisers agree that coming in the night before is the only way to go.

We had a flight that had us landing at the airport at 10am. But we missed check in by 2 minuts and had to be put on a different flight that got us to the airport at 2 pm. It was a terribly stressful day and in the end, my luggage didn't make the ship. NOT WORTH IT. Go the night before. Trust me.

 

[BLTtinkerbell]

Lots of good advice here.
Is there anyway you can fly in at least the night before?
My family is flying in four nights early & heading to WDW first. We are looking forward to our first cruise & don't want any stress that could be avoided.
Best of luck to you. I hope you have a fun cruise!

 

[bumbershoot]

In case I hasn't been obvious in replies, the only way you would get to meet the ship later is if you have passports. Even with an emergency passport that time taken won't allow you to meet the ship at the next port.