Embarkation change DCL Treasure 10/18/25

[DCL58]

Just a heads up for people driving to the port to sail the Treasure. We had an 11:45 PAT on 10/18. They did not let us in the terminal until almost 12:00. Never been held past our PAT before. There were huge lines of people outside the terminal. It was chaos. The workers said the Treasure has requested people to be let into the terminal at a slower pace than normal. They want fewer people in the terminal. It was close to 1:00 before we were on the ship.

 

[DCLMP]

Sounds like another great DCL embarkation experience.

 

[CamColt]

That's interesting! I wonder why embarkation is so hard for DCL. We sailed RCCL this summer and walked on the ship at 10:14 am. Easy Peasy!

 

[happycamper47]

Could have been issues on the ship that needed to be fixed before everybody was allowed to board.

 

[peder]

This can happen with any line. Most often debarkation is slowed down significantly because of issues with customs/immigration, especially if the automated machines go down. Then you end up with a super long debark line onboard and the ship doesn't get its passenger count down to zero until really late.

Could be lots of reasons for this type of thing to happen though: medical debark that has to happen first delaying debark for everyone else, maintenance in the embarkation area, the aforementioned immigration issues, bad weather leading to a late docking, etc.

 

[DCL58]

Could have been issues on the ship that needed to be fixed before everybody was allowed to board.

Lady said it was a new policy for the Treasure. Keeping the terminal less crowded. Keeping the crowds in line outside. She said they preferred the old way. Didn’t seem like an outside issue.

 

[peder]

That just sounds like they're trying to stop so many people from showing up early and actually showing up on their port arrival time. DCL is notorious for people trying to get there early.

 

[DCLMP]

That's interesting! I wonder why embarkation is so hard for DCL. We sailed RCCL this summer and walked on the ship at 10:14 am. Easy Peasy!

That’s always been one of life’s greatest mysteries.

 

[DCLMP]

That just sounds like they're trying to stop so many people from showing up early and actually showing up on their port arrival time. DCL is notorious for people trying to get there early.

The problem is they have people start showing up an hour or more before boarding starts. The terminal becomes overcrowded and chaotic. As a pearl you tell me too show up at 1030 that should be immediately followed by getting on the ship. It should not mean sitting around the terminal, waiting an hour watching hundreds of people flock in.

The last time I cruised the DCL workers were yelling at people to fill in all the available seats. For a minute I thought I was at WDW not getting ready to embark on a relaxing cruise. Let’s not forget the stampede every time a number is called.

 

[Mommb]

The problem is they have people start showing up an hour or more before boarding starts. The terminal becomes overcrowded and chaotic. As a pearl you tell me too show up at 1030 that should be immediately followed by getting on the ship. It should not mean sitting around the terminal, waiting an hour watching hundreds of people flock in.

Disney Cruise does not tell anyone to show up at 10:30. Pearl guests may enter the terminal as soon as they arrive, but they are not required to arrive at any specific time as long as they are onboard by mid-afternoon. Guests taking DCL transportation are issued a port arrival time that should allow them to enter the terminal as soon as they arrive, but that does depend on how many people are on each bus and how many buses there are.

DCL typically opens boarding at noon or later. People who don’t want to wait long in the terminal can choose to arrive at 1 pm or later, when they will usually be able to board shortly after arriving.

I haven’t sailed on any other cruise line in almost 30 years, so I don’t know how boarding works on other lines. However, it seems reasonable that it takes 3-4 hours to fully clean and prepare the ship between when previous guests leave and new guests board. That is shorter than the turnaround time for Walt Disney World resorts, where just a fraction of rooms turn over each day.

 

[happycamper47]

DCL typically opens boarding at noon or later. People who don’t want to wait long in the terminal can choose to arrive at 1 pm or later, when they will usually be able to board shortly after arriving.

We've never had a long wait in the Terminal for our Boarding Group. The crowds are outside where people arrive long before their PAT. We've gotten 11:30-11-45 at times and people are already lined up for 12:30.