Embark & Disembark Tips?

[BellsFam]

As the "responsible/control freak" spouse of the two of us I know it will be my job to be prepared and I didn't know if you could help fill in the blanks on what to expect.

Embarking -
As a first-timer, when you get to the port I've read that there is a separate line to go through? Crazy busy? But that you pick your arrival time?

Are you in the port area for a long period of time before you can make your way to the boat? (ala waiting in line for Splash Mountain July4th?)

We are flying from MA, do you think it's best to fly in on the night before and stay over? (leaning towards this just need to justify the cost!)

Is there really a special place where kids can do a check in?

Can you really set up a phone call for Mickey to call and tell you how excited he is that you are going?

Disembarking -

How are you getting off the boat? Is it a free-for-all down crowding in the hallways?

If your luggage is picked up by handlers, where do you get it once you are off the boat?

Do you individually go through customs at that point then leave the port area for your transportation back to the airport?

SUPER LONG POST I KNOW!!! AARGH!

 

[noahdove]

Great questions, and I don't have current answers...I know someone will tho

 

[DahliaRW]

As the "responsible/control freak" spouse of the two of us I know it will be my job to be prepared and I didn't know if you could help fill in the blanks on what to expect.

Embarking -
As a first-timer, when you get to the port I've read that there is a separate line to go through? Crazy busy? But that you pick your arrival time?

When you get to port you give your checked luggage to a porter (and tip him) and then get in line to go through security. Sometimes the line is shorter if you go get in the line from the parking garage rather than waiting for the one at street level near where you drop your luggage.

Are you in the port area for a long period of time before you can make your way to the boat? (ala waiting in line for Splash Mountain July4th?)

You wait in line to go through security. Then you get in the check in line. We waited maybe 3 minutes in line and then it took around 5-10 to do the whole check in process. There are areas to wait around in the terminal until your boarding number is called. You do not have to line up. You can sit in the lounge area, get in line to get your picture taken with a character, check out the model ship, go get bands for the kids clubs, etc.

We are flying from MA, do you think it's best to fly in on the night before and stay over? (leaning towards this just need to justify the cost!)

This is up to you. I personally like to get there at least a day early, because day of if your flight gets cancelled or something happens you probably will miss the boat. Day before you have mor options.

Is there really a special place where kids can do a check in?

The whole family checks in together, it is required that all members of your family be there to check in.

Can you really set up a phone call for Mickey to call and tell you how excited he is that you are going?

This I don't know. I know there is a character call thing on the DCL website, but we did not use it.

Disembarking -

How are you getting off the boat? Is it a free-for-all down crowding in the hallways?

No, it's pretty orderly. We just walked off when we were ready. We had to wait a minute or two to get our KTTW cards scanned as exiting, but that was it.

If your luggage is picked up by handlers, where do you get it once you are off the boat?

It is lined up in the terminal by luggage tag which is a color and a character. These are put in your stateroom a couple of nights earlier. I highly recommend getting a porter (and remember to tip) who will grab your bags for you and schlep them through customs out to wherever you are catching transportation.

Do you individually go through customs at that point then leave the port area for your transportation back to the airport?

Yes.

SUPER LONG POST I KNOW!!! AARGH!

Answers are in red above.

 

[bumbershoot]

As the "responsible/control freak" spouse of the two of us I know it will be my job to be prepared and I didn't know if you could help fill in the blanks on what to expect.

Embarking -
As a first-timer, when you get to the port I've read that there is a separate line to go through? Crazy busy? But that you pick your arrival time?

It can be busy. The terminal is very big and pleasant, and there are seats and models of ships and even characters. The first-timers go to the normal checkin. Just look for the signs and go to what is correct for you. (for instance, OUR first time we had actually booked concierge, so we went to that checkin area...second cruise we got in the line for our new Castaway Club level...we never actually went to the main area to get into line)

When doing the online checkin, you do pick your port arrival time. That's the time you'll be let in. Then you do the checkin stuff and be given the info on when you can board. When they call your group, then you go.

Are you in the port area for a long period of time before you can make your way to the boat? (ala waiting in line for Splash Mountain July4th?)

Ship. Boats can be carried on a ship. We haven't had to wait very long. But I assume some can. If you do an image search on your fave search engine site for "disney cruise terminal" I bet you could find all sorts of pictures of the space.

We are flying from MA, do you think it's best to fly in on the night before and stay over? (leaning towards this just need to justify the cost!)

I ALWAYS think it's a good idea to get in at least a day ahead. I don't know when you're going, but there can always be "weather" that prevents your plane from getting to your airport, even if there's no "weather" at your airport. I walked into madness a couple years back at my local airport, flights being changed and cancelled all over the west coast and beyond, because the EAST coast was having problems and the planes for "our" flights weren't getting to us. Beautiful gorgeous day on the west, not so much on the east.

Is there really a special place where kids can do a check in?

I don't think so. There's a line where you can sign up and get the band for the kid's clubs. First time we just did that at concierge checkin (something done there because they are so much less busy), second time the line in the terminal was long so we just went to the kid's club and did it later...but we had registered DS online already.

Can you really set up a phone call for Mickey to call and tell you how excited he is that you are going?

Once you have your cruise booked there's a page that shows the info on how to do it. Check for how your state does it. I remember that WA does it differently than some other states do, where it wasn't a scheduled thing, but I called in and then they called back or something...was just a pain IMO so I didn't do it.

Disembarking -

How are you getting off the boat? Is it a free-for-all down crowding in the hallways?

I haven't noticed a free for all. There are different ways, though. Are you flying out that day? What airline are you taking? Or are you going to Disney? How are you getting to wherever you're going? Answers to that help us tell you what YOUR options are.

If your luggage is picked up by handlers, where do you get it once you are off the boat?

The bags are set out the evening before (be sure to watch the disembarkation video on the TV! very very important to keep clothes etc for the disembarkation day, and shoes, out!) during a timeframe that will be told to you, they are picked up, they are taken off the ship that morning. They will be in groups based on the luggage tags given to you while onboard. When you get into the main customs "hall" you will find your luggage tag section and get your bags. I highly recommend creating a category in your Tips budget for a porter, who will have a cart and will get your bags (and help you navigate the area) and walk through with you as you go through customs. Then he will take your bags where you need them. Budget $1 or $2 per bag and everyone's happy.

Do you individually go through customs at that point then leave the port area for your transportation back to the airport?

What do you mean *individually*?

SUPER LONG POST I KNOW!!! AARGH!

Answers inside the quote, in blue.

 

[BellsFam]

WOW! Thank you soo much!!! This is super helpful!!!

 

[Ravenne]

Can you really set up a phone call for Mickey to call and tell you how excited he is that you are going?

Yes. Log into your account on DCL's website. Under "Planning Center" (upper right hand corner), click on "My Reservation" to pull up your reservation. There you will see an icon of Goofy holding a phone which says "Character Calls" and it will allow you to schedule a free call.

This is assuming you booked through DCL and have access to your reservation online. I don't know if and how this will work if you booked with a TA.

Do you individually go through customs at that point then leave the port area for your transportation back to the airport?

Customs forms are one per family/everyone living in the same household. I believe you will go through customs together with everyone listed on the form.

 

[DahliaRW]

Sorry, on customs I missed the "individually" part. No, you go through as a family. It's really easy.

 

[Dug720]

Sorry, on customs I missed the "individually" part. No, you go through as a family. It's really easy.

As long as your last names are the same. Exception being a single parent traveling with the kids they are guardians of who have a different last name.

Same last name and address? One form per family.

For adults...
Different names even with same address? Separate forms and go through separately.
Same name but different address? Different forms and separately.

 

[kapoof]

I do not like long lines and have read disembarking can be horrible with people in the stairways and elevators getting off the ship etc. We got off early and had no problem...so just remember to get up and ready and you will get off the sip a lot quicker

 

[bumbershoot]

As long as your last names are the same. Exception being a single parent traveling with the kids they are guardians of who have a different last name.

Same last name and address? One form per family.

For adults...
Different names even with same address? Separate forms and go through separately.
Same name but different address? Different forms and separately.

Not actually true. We are a family and we go on one form. Three different last names. Have been told this multiple times by customs people in various places and after the first time of filling out two forms and being told it doesn't work that way in real life it's what we've done with no issues at all.

 

[Dug720]

Not actually true. We are a family and we go on one form. Three different last names. Have been told this multiple times by customs people in various places and after the first time of filling out two forms and being told it doesn't work that way in real life it's what we've done with no issues at all.

Interesting as that's (about different last names needing different forms) what they say in the disembark video. At least Christiaan did in his just a couple of weeks ago.

 

[Justacruiser]

Yes. Log into your account on DCL's website. Under "Planning Center" (upper right hand corner), click on "My Reservation" to pull up your reservation. There you will see an icon of Goofy holding a phone which says "Character Calls" and it will allow you to schedule a free call.

This is assuming you booked through DCL and have access to your reservation online. I don't know if and how this will work if you booked with a TA.



Customs forms are one per family/everyone living in the same household. I believe you will go through customs together with everyone listed on the form.

the phone is easy to set up. Provide your phone number. When the phone rings at the desired time it will give you an option to listen to the message. Let whoever the call is for know the call if for them and then press the appropriate button. That will start the message. I recommended to a co-worker that he surprise his wife with the phone call. He got the call, told her she had a call on his phone. She told her husband it was just a recording. He said to listen to the call, she got extremely happy. You can place more than one call, you could call yourself today and listen to what the call does, then act accordingly for the actual person you want to surprise.

 

[rachdawn26]

I just got off the Disney Wonder in Miami on Sunday and will tell you my experience as a first-time cruiser with a lot of the same questions you have. Keep in mind this was in Miami and not Port Canaveral, but I have found that there wasn't a lot of info on the Miami port so this may be helpful to someone.

We had a port arrival time of 12:00-12:30pm but ended up getting there about 11:45am, which was no problem. The porter took our tagged checked bags as soon as we got out of the taxi curbside and we proceeded into the terminal, going through security just like at an airport (except you keep your shoes on) and went right to a check-in desk. Yes, everyone must be with you as they take a photo, which is then used by the person scanning your KTTW card whenever you get on or off the ship to verify your identity.

You are given a boarding number after you check in (the whole time from taxi to completed check-in was about 15 minutes for us). We had #9 and they were boarding #3 when we got our number. Numbers were called about every 5-7 minutes. Although the terminal was full (we stood waiting for our number to be called) boarding was very fast. We were on the ship by about 12:35pm I think. So, overall, a very fast experience in Miami.

Getting off, we used express walk-off, which meant we didn't leave our bags outside the night before. For us, it was too complicated to re-pack our bags for airport security, since we were heading straight to the airport. Everyone had to be out of their rooms by 8:30am and off the ship by 9:30am. Since we had second seating breakfast at Triton's scheduled for 8:15am, we decided that wouldn't work for us and our luggage situation and ate at Beach Blanket Buffet at 7:30am (got right in--no line), then got off the ship about 8:15. Customs line took about 20 minutes and our shuttle was there to take us to the airport (FLL) when we got out of customs. Anyone who had left their bags outside their door the night before picked up their bags on an airport style carousel just before heading into customs (and yes your whole family is with you when you talk to customs). There is a very detailed letter left in your room the night before debarkation with all this information as well.

Sorry it's so long and detailed, but this was our experience as first-time cruisers and I was very pleased with the efficiency of it all. Hope it helps!

 

[NCConch]

When we recently made our 1st cruise we parked in the parking garage and brought our bags to the curb to be checked. Then the porter sent us back into the garage and up to the 3rd floor because it would be quicker. Next time we will drop our bags off and park up on the 3rd floor of the deck.

 

[bumbershoot]

Interesting as that's (about different last names needing different forms) what they say in the disembark video. At least Christiaan did in his just a couple of weeks ago.

I know. And as much as I adore Christiaan (he's been the CD on both of our DCL cruises) if I meet him again I'm going to chat with him about that.

Our real life experiences are that we choose one adult as the representative of the family and use their name. Since DS is hyphenated between us they can see the names and how they work together.

Also, I'm sorry if I came off as brusque in the first post. I didn't mean to sound short, but sometimes I manage it without trying.

 

[dawne98]

When we recently made our 1st cruise we parked in the parking garage and brought our bags to the curb to be checked. Then the porter sent us back into the garage and up to the 3rd floor because it would be quicker. Next time we will drop our bags off and park up on the 3rd floor of the deck.

That is what we did on our 1st cruise in 2012 and I got that info on the DIS too

 

[BellsFam]

Thanks for all the help everyone!

These tips are great!!!