When we went on our cruise last October, we arrived around 10am and were the first in line to enter the terminal. We had a rental car, so when they let us drive into the terminal area, my husband dropped us off in front and the porters came and took the luggage. (Be sure to tip them). We kept the carry ons (including the day bag and our camera case) and entered into the terminal while my husband took the car back to Budget. He took the shuttle back to the ship from Budget. We were able to check in and then got on the line to enter the ship. We were on the line from around 10:30 until they let us on the ship at noon. My kids loved being the first ones on the ship. Our luggage was actually outside our room by around 1:30pm.
