What's the earliest/latest you can board on a
Disney cruise? Do some people not get on until late afternoon or evening, or is it quicker than that? I assume that the better your room the sooner you board, like 1st/Business on an airplane?
Please realize that information based on experience is all Pre-COVID based.
The only
rooms with boarding preference are Concierge. They can board anytime after embarkation begins. (Could be possible even they will have to pick a time now. Then, I would expect them to have first choice of boarding times). This is basically your first-class airline treatment. Not a lot of cabins involved.
After that group, the most expensive balcony to the cheapest inside cabin are treated equally. The difference is actually determined by
Castaway Club (
DCL loyalty program status). And it Is in picking your time that Platinum (seasoned cruisers) get first choice. They can pick late or early.
Disney has been very good about getting everyone on board for lunch. There’s a service line on the upper deck. Sit-down dining with similar food is offered in one of the 3 main dining rooms.
Cabins are typically not available upon arrival onboard (usually available after 1:30). Luggage gets delivered sometime usually before dinner.
The muster / lifeboat drill (what to do if ship needs to evacuated) is mandatory and is done right at All-Aboard time. You wouldn’t want to be skimmi G in for that,
Actually, most people are ready to board as early as possible. That Disney feeling really starts when you step foot off the gangplank into the atrium. No other cruise line presents itself in quite the same way. And with short cruises, you want to maximize your time. A three-night cruise can leave You thinking, “but I just unpacked my bags and now I am leaving.”
In Florida, boarding did not begin until about noon. Check in started prehabs at 10:45 am (I haven’t had to pick a time in years, as I am in the Platinum category; we didn’t have to pick port arrival times in the past). Now, I imagine we will be given early dibs on check-in times.