Embarkation question??

NicholeB630

DIS Veteran
Joined
Mar 6, 2014
First time cruiser here we are sailing over spring break in April on the magic family of four. We are so excited!!
We have a one bedroom concierge suite booked and I know that we don’t have to pick a boarding time being concierge but I was curious when you find out how early you can get on the cruiseship or check in that is? I’ve read 11 is the typical time but a girlfriend of mine sailed on the fantasy and they were able to pick times as early as 10 AM. From what I understand when you get to the port you can check in and then just wait until you can get on the ship but when will I know how early we can actually show up to the port? Thanks :)
 
Check-in at Port Canaveral typically begins at 11 am. I'm not sure whether Miami is the same. Since you are sailing concierge, you will be among the first to board when boarding opens (usually sometime after 12) so there's no need to arrive at the terminal earlier than 11 even if it is open.
 
The port opens for new arrivals at 930-945. Officially the building Opens at 1030. It sometimes just depends on how fast they can clear the current cruises guests.
 


We sailed out of Miami a year ago and our PAT was 11:00. I’m pretty sure that was the earliest PAT. We got there a little before 11 and port was already open. I can’t remember when boarding started but we didn’t have to wait too long. So I think arriving around 11 should be fine.
 
Typically in Miami the earliest PAT (I know you don’t need one) is 11am. They usually start boarding the ship 11:30. Concierge will board first. You will also have a separate check in and waiting area
 
Officially, the terminal opens at 11 but they often let people in at 10:30. That’s the time I’m aiming for for our upcoming Concierge cruise.
 


Officially, the terminal opens at 11 but they often let people in at 10:30. That’s the time I’m aiming for for our upcoming Concierge cruise.

thanks! Maybe we’ll shoot to be there around 10:30 if we have to wait no biggie. This being our first cruise & only 5 night I wanna be on the ship as much as possible!
 
Concierge!? Excuse me! Let us know how it is!
What‘s the point of your question ? OP is sailing out of the same port as me, on the same ship, in the same category of stateroom. He asked what time he should get there to maximize his time onboard, and I replied with my own plan to get the same result.
 
What‘s the point of your question ? OP is sailing out of the same port as me, on the same ship, in the same category of stateroom. He asked what time he should get there to maximize his time onboard, and I replied with my own plan to get the same result.

I’m excited about your concierge experience and want to know how it is when you return.
 
OP, your friend probably meant they were able to pick a PAT of 10:00 (port arrival time) not a check in time. The Fantasy sails out of Port Canaveral and they have earlier PAT times than Miami. DCL owns the terminal at Port Canaveral so they can call the shots there. Marc D gave good advice.....have a fantastic cruise!!

We are headed out on the Fantasy on Feb 1st!!

MJ
 
OP, your friend probably meant they were able to pick a PAT of 10:00 (port arrival time) not a check in time. The Fantasy sails out of Port Canaveral and they have earlier PAT times than Miami. DCL owns the terminal at Port Canaveral so they can call the shots there. Marc D gave good advice.....have a fantastic cruise!!

We are headed out on the Fantasy on Feb 1st!!

MJ

Great thank you so much that makes a lot of sense!! This is our first Disney cruise I am excited we are going out of Miami though just because it makes the transportation so much easier with it only being a few minutes away from the airport!!
 
In my experience, at PC the earliest PAT is 10:30 and that is the time the terminal opens. Boarding typically begins around 11:30. At Miami, the earliest PAT was 11:00. We arrived a little before 11:00 and the terminal building was already open, but boarding began closer to noon.
 
Great thank you so much that makes a lot of sense!! This is our first Disney cruise I am excited we are going out of Miami though just because it makes the transportation so much easier with it only being a few minutes away from the airport!!
For future reference, DCL makes it very easy to sail out of PC. If you wish to do a 7-nights on Fantasy - you probably will after a shorter Magic cruise - the transport to PC is not complicated. We arrive a day early, as you should always do, stay at the Hyatt and use the DCL bus. The Hyatt collects the luggage in the room and sends it to the ship. You walk down to the bus when you want after 9. 45 minutes later, you get to enter the terminal.
 
For future reference, DCL makes it very easy to sail out of PC. If you wish to do a 7-nights on Fantasy - you probably will after a shorter Magic cruise - the transport to PC is not complicated. We arrive a day early, as you should always do, stay at the Hyatt and use the DCL bus. The Hyatt collects the luggage in the room and sends it to the ship. You walk down to the bus when you want after 9. 45 minutes later, you get to enter the terminal.

We have done that often but this time we are picking up a car at MCO, spending the night in the WDW area and then dropping car off at the port the next morning. We have 4 people so financially it is better with the rental car but taking DCL transportation is the most convenient!!

MJ
 
I remember last time we parked a little before 10:30 - we had to wait in the parking garage for about 10 minutes before they started letting people in at 10:30. Not my choice but friends picked us up from the MCO Hyatt at 9:15 because they wanted to make sure not to run into any traffic coming from Tampa. We were Platinum which boards just after Concierge and I'm pretty sure we weren't waiting in the terminal for a full hour after check-in - which was very quick - so I'm going to say we boarded between 11:15-11:30. This was PC. Won't do it again if I can avoid it. It was packed, people were literally leaning against me (I was sitting) and wouldn't move out of the way when we tried to board. Had to actually use elbows as well as constantly saying "excuse me, please" while being pushed back by people with much higher boarding numbers who just didn't want to let us through and who mobbed the entryway. Horrible. We probably won't take the bus MCO on our cruise next week until 11-11:30 to avoid all of that.
 
I remember last time we parked a little before 10:30 - we had to wait in the parking garage for about 10 minutes before they started letting people in at 10:30. Not my choice but friends picked us up from the MCO Hyatt at 9:15 because they wanted to make sure not to run into any traffic coming from Tampa. We were Platinum which boards just after Concierge and I'm pretty sure we weren't waiting in the terminal for a full hour after check-in - which was very quick - so I'm going to say we boarded between 11:15-11:30. This was PC. Won't do it again if I can avoid it. It was packed, people were literally leaning against me (I was sitting) and wouldn't move out of the way when we tried to board. Had to actually use elbows as well as constantly saying "excuse me, please" while being pushed back by people with much higher boarding numbers who just didn't want to let us through and who mobbed the entryway. Horrible. We probably won't take the bus MCO on our cruise next week until 11-11:30 to avoid all of that.

This is the most frustrating part of boarding....people blocking the way and not letting other people through whose boarding numbers were already called.

MJ
 
This is the most frustrating part of boarding....people blocking the way and not letting other people through whose boarding numbers were already called.

MJ

Just like airplanes, everyone stands right at the ticket counter like they are not gonna get on the plane, its ridiculous! I always just wait till no ones left to get on the plane HA. But the cruise I just wanna make the most of our time and not having to pick our time I wanna be there early :)
 

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