Embarkation Day

[SandyinMonterey]

Asking for a friend. He is on the Wish April 3rd (PC). What is the latest PAT that you can usually get? What time is all aboard and about to sail? He's driving nearly 8 hours on embarkation day, not staying in hotel before and I'm worried he may not make it on time.

 

[erionm]

Asking for a friend. He is on the Wish April 3rd (PC). What is the latest PAT that you can usually get? What time is all aboard and about to sail? He's driving nearly 8 hours on embarkation day, not staying in hotel before and I'm worried he may not make it on time.

All aboard is typically 3:45 pm.

 

[Alicatt]

I agree I think that's what it was last week. I would say that he nedvto be there no later than 3 to park and make it through customs.

 

[SandyinMonterey]

All aboard is typically 3:45 pm.

Thank you. Right now his plan is to be there at 4 p.m.

 

[brentm77]

Thank you. Right now his plan is to be there at 4 p.m.

As every cruise director loves to say, it sounds like he will get a beautiful picture of the ship . . . as it sails away.

 

[sadiecatie]

Thank you. Right now his plan is to be there at 4 p.m.

I would strongly advise that he bite the bullet and drive the night before or, barring that, plan to be up and on the road much earlier. What if he hits traffic? What if he has car trouble? Why risk entirely missing your vacation by cutting it so close?

 

[lanejudy]

Thank you. Right now his plan is to be there at 4 p.m.

I strongly advise against this. Planning to arrive at 4pm is first off probably too late for "all aboard" but also leaves zero wiggle room for travel/traffic delays. All it takes it one slow restroom/gas stop or 3-mile section of highway with construction to put him behind. He needs to aim for arrival at least an hour earlier.

 

[SandyinMonterey]

I would strongly advise that he bite the bullet and drive the night before or, barring that, plan to be up and on the road much earlier. What if he hits traffic? What if he has car trouble? Why risk entirely missing your vacation by cutting it so close?

I told him that. I've urged him to get a hotel room the night before. I told him we've been driving to Florida for years and there is always traffic, accidents, etc. and never made it in the time Google maps initially showed. Plus....he and his wife are NEVER on time, for anything.

 

[SandyinMonterey]

I strongly advise against this. Planning to arrive at 4pm is first off probably too late for "all aboard" but also leaves zero wiggle room for travel/traffic delays. All it takes it one slow restroom/gas stop or 3-mile section of highway with construction to put him behind. He needs to aim for arrival at least an hour earlier.

My husband is going to try to talk to him about again today. I don't know if it will do any good, once he has a plan, he sticks to it.

 

[sadiecatie]

I guess at the end of the day all you can do is advise him and then let him make his own mistakes - if he misses the cruise, maybe he'll learn? He'll have no one but himself to blame since he has the necessary information that planning to be there basically at all-aboard time would be a terrible choice.

 

[auntlynne]

 

[Calantha]

When we were in PC for our Wish cruise last month, there was an accident on the A1A bridge. We had to detour south and cross at Cocoa Village. It added an extra 45 min to our drive (with all the other people detouring). It was 2 days before, so it didn't matter, but it clearly can happen!

 

[kiford]

We drove with friends from Tampa at the end of January. We left at 7 am because they said it would take about 3 hours and we wanted to give ourselves time for any issues. We figured we could find a coffee shop or something if we got there at 10 am. We ended up in a traffic jam due to two recent accidents and it took an extra hour to get through that. While we had plenty of time, an hour's delay can be the difference between getting there on time and not.

 

[RedHead0186]

Dreams Unlimited has an FAQ that says everyone must be checked in and on board prior to 4pm, and that it's a US Customs requirement. Arriving at 4pm would be too late, as time is needed to get checked in, through security, and on the ship.

https://www.dreamsunlimitedtravel.c...EARLY CAN I BOARD THE SHIP?,begins at 1:00 pm.

 

[BStieers]

You may want to share this thread with both your friends, perhaps the advice of a fair number of experienced DCL cruisers telling them to avoid this risk will help them make a better decision here. The ship will not wait for them, and since this will be seen as a customer fault I am not at all sure what their refund or rebook policy would be. They could be out the entire cost.

 

[WDWJonasGirl]

Depending on where your friend is driving from, I would recommend getting to the ship no later than 2:30 at the latest. This way, in case the security lines are long, he has enough time to get checked in before the all aboard time. Another option like the op's said is to spend the night before in a hotel to reduce those risks

 

[Erica1016]

I think the real question is...what time is your friend willing to leave for the drive? If it were me, I'd get up and leave around 4 or 5 am, which should leave plenty of buffer for traffic issues, etc.
If he's not willing to do that, then it would be tough and he should drive the day before.

 

[Ensusieasm]

Thank you. Right now his plan is to be there at 4 p.m.

That’s definitely not going to work!

 

[NEGeekymama]

We leave next week on the Fantasy, and the absolute latest PAT available is 3-3:15pm.

If he's so set in his ways, make sure to make it painfully clear that they will be out thousands of dollars.