A few general and specific questions

[Bibsters]

Hi all,

We're looking at a 7-day cruise on the Magic in August. Here are some things I'm not sure about and I'm hoping you experts can share your knowledge!

I've read a lot about upgrading at check-in. Can anyone give some advice on how this works and best strategies?

What time can we: 1) check in 2) board 3) make spa reservations 4) make Palo reservations?

What time should we get to the Port?

How long does checking in take if we don't already have a Key to the World card, and we've never been on DCL before?

Thanks in advance for any help and guidance!

Bob

 

[elemusing]

Hi Bob,

I can't answer all of your questions, but here are a few:

If you stay at WDW before your cruise with a KTTW card, you will not have to check in at all at the port - even if you are a first time cruiser. (Isn't that great?!)

You will simply show your card and enter immediately.

I believe the official time to make Palio and Spa ressies is 2pm. I suggest one person each in your party go to the Palio ressie placeand the other to the spa and plant yourself around 1:40ish and wait until they begin taking reservations.

I believe they let people start boarding aroud 11?? I took the transfer and we arrived around noon and boarded immediately.

Dont' know about upgrades, sorry!

Angie

 

[tstobb]

The port will open for check-in between 10 & 10:30 and boarding usually begins between 12 & 12:30.
Check-in is pretty efficient & depending on the lines can be anywhere from 5 minutes to 1/2 hour.

 

[Michelle]

Hi Bob, and welcome to the Cruise Board!

Just to clarify one thing elemusing said:

If you stay at WDW before your cruise with a KTTW card, you will not have to check in at all at the port - even if you are a first time cruiser. (Isn't that great?!)

That is ONLY true if you have a land/sea package booked, if you have just the 7-night cruise you must check in at the port.

The port opens for arrivals around 10:30. The stated boarding time is 1:00 pm but they generally begin boarding around 12:15 pm. Check-in is quick, usually only takes about five minutes. Be sure to have all your paperwork completed before getting to the port and have the proper documentation. If you want to check on the cost to upgrade and availability go to the supervisor's line to the far right of the check-in line.

You should go IMMEDIATELY after boarding to make Palo and spa treatments. They now begin these MUCH earlier than they used to and they pretty much start with the boarding time.

Hope that helps a little!

 

[Señor Ferrari]

As I recall, they begin taking Palo reservations at 1:00pm, the spa at 2:00. This may have changed, but they will let you know the exact times and places when you check in. If you get there about 10 minutes before the scheduled time, they have usually begun to take reservations, especially for Palo. Sometimes the spa doesn't begin until exactly 2:00.

Check-in at the port, if you haven't stayed at a WDW resort is very easy. There are a ton of check-in windows and it usually doesn't take more than a few minutes. Have someone from your party grab a spot in line while another checks everyone in. Things go much faster if you've already filled out your paperwork before getting to the port.

I'm not sure if there's a strategy to upgrading at the port. Do you mean a free upgrade? That seems to be pretty random. If you'd like to pay for an upgrade, just ask when you check in what it would cost to upgrade to a certain category. There either will be room or there won't. I don't believe the price is negotiable. Anecdotal evidence suggests that this will be a bit cheaper than upgrading prior to arriving at the port. I've never actually done this myself. A word of advice, be prepared to have to stay in the category you've booked. An August cruise will likely be pretty full, and there is a fairly good chance that there will be no room to upgrade. If you want to be assured of a certain category, book it.

We usually arrive at the port at around 11:00am, taking the DCL buses from the airport. Boarding usually begins at around 12:15, although it is scheduled for 1:00. At 11:00, the port isn't very crowded yet, and we can usually check in and be amongst the first 20 or 30 people in line.

 

[Bibsters]

Thanks for your help, everyone!!!!

Bob