How to get your Port Arrival Time, a rookie's mistake.

[anricat]

We are going March 8th out of Miami on the Dream, so its a slower time of the year.

You mean the Magic, right? The Dream sails out of Port Canaveral and is in the middle of a cruise on the 8th (it's in Nassau that day).

 

[anricat]

My only question about this is are you sure you have the right ship? I don't think that the Dream sails out of Miami only the Magic or the Wonder.

I think they mean the Magic. The Dream is in Nassau on the 8th. The Magic in Miami on that day so it must be the Magic.

 

[bumbershoot]

3. This is a great idea, thank you! If I specifically wanted to get on earlier do you think they'd allow one family to get on with the concierge family? I know they wouldn't allow all of us but curious if they would if it was a small family.

We were the family with concierge and there was a reason we booked it, and it wasn't so others could board with us. So I wouldn't ask AS the concierge family and I wouldn't ask it OF the concierge family, personally. That said, we took disney transport from the resort and we got there ages later than the others, so it didn't get us onboard early. And then we got to go get the concierge spiel before joining the others.

5. Yes, I think so. We'll just all need each others code right? Curious though - do I have to carry around the Wave phone if kids are in kids club or can we use the app?

Yes you'll spend some time with the app and everyone's codes etc.

If the kids all have devices that get wifi, and their parents are willing to let them take them to the club, they can contact you via app. Everyone needs to know that there can be a delay, and that you often have to go all the way into the app and open the messenger portion AND hope it has refreshed, before you get the messages. This isn't an instant thing. The kids need to understand this and the adults need to be sure to check often.

My son has a no-SIM phone that he would take to the club with him and let us know when he wanted to go.

It's prudent to bring the WAVE with you as well, in case there's a problem and the counselors themselves need to contact you. But the one time the counselors felt the need to contact us ("your son says he's a vegetarian; can he have the cheese sandwich?") they called the ROOM, not either of the wave phones. Poor kid went hungry (the ONE and ONLY time he wanted to eat in the club) because for some reason they would not let him eat one of the sandwich offerings because they didn't believe he was vegetarian? Mystifying.

Anyway, that's my answer, LOL.

 

[ktscott01]

I think they mean the Magic. The Dream is in Nassau on the 8th. The Magic in Miami on that day so it must be the Magic.

yep. Its the magic. good catch

 

[kid-at-heart]

Can someone refresh my memory, what information is needed when you do online check-in? Flight information, passport numbers, hotels, birthdays, shoe size?

Thanks,
Kate

 

[FigmentSpark]

Can someone refresh my memory, what information is needed when you do online check-in? Flight information, passport numbers, hotels, birthdays, shoe size?

Thanks,
Kate

@PrincessShmoo posted some wonderful detail for me, but I can't find the thread now. Hopefully, she'll stop by and post an answer for you.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Can someone refresh my memory, what information is needed when you do online check-in? Flight information, passport numbers, hotels, birthdays, shoe size?

Thanks,
Kate

Full names, birthdates, addresses, passport info (number & expiration date); flight info (are you flying the same day, flight number/time of arrival) same info for departing flights; method of arrival at port (DCL transfer or other); pre & post cruise info (hotel & how you're getting to/from them); how you are backing up your onboard account (credit card/cash) CC number; whose charges you're going to be responsible for; Port Arrival Time.

 

[kid-at-heart]

Full names, birthdates, addresses, passport info (number & expiration date); flight info (are you flying the same day, flight number/time of arrival) same info for departing flights; method of arrival at port (DCL transfer or other); pre & post cruise info (hotel & how you're getting to/from them); how you are backing up your onboard account (credit card/cash) CC number; whose charges you're going to be responsible for; Port Arrival Time.

When doing a back-to-back, this information must be filled in twice? Once for each cruise on the appropriate check-in dates?

Thanks,
Kate

 

[PrincessShmoo]

When doing a back-to-back, this information must be filled in twice? Once for each cruise on the appropriate check-in dates?

Thanks,
Kate

Yes.

 

[aksearaven]

I have never read any threads on this topic before, which I guess means I'm the first person to make this mistake.. But, I had always heard people talking about their 11:30am PATs and such, and I just assumed I would get an e-mail or something in the mail prior to the cruise letting me know when to arrive.. I was wrong. It was getting closer and closer to cruise time so I decided to call customer service to find out when our PAT was..

I was notified that you can't get a port arrival time until you fill out/upload all the online things: flights, ID's, credit card info. Until then the Port Arrival Time would remain grayed out.

As quickly as possible I filled everything out copy and pasting from Southwest and all that, adding my credit card and sure enough the "Port Arrival Time" button was now available! But of course the earliest times were all taken and 1PM is when we will be arriving... I know there are some people that prefer later times because you miss the hustle and bustle, but we are trying to spend every minute possible on that awesome ship!

Live and learn, I guess this is just a rookie mistake that I obviously wont make when we go on our 2nd/3rd cruises and so on. But, hopefully me posting about my mistake will help newbies in the future get the earliest times possible.

here's the thing, I actually always choose a 1 pm time boarding... we have mostly gone out of miami, and so the hotel we stay at has a 12:30 checkout time so we are not rushed we can have lunch at one of our favorite miami restaurants and then casually make our way to the port. We usually take a cab or a shuttle to the port and usually there are fewer lines and because we are castaway club members we get to get in the shorter line and we get right on the ship... best part is usually we can go right to our cabin and drop stuff off. The earlier the port arrival time the longer the lines and the longer the wait and really its just more stress that you dont need before starting a vacation. that and you have to wander until your cabin is done about 1:30.

just my opinion, getting on the ship and then having to wander around and carry my stuff for 2 hours is really not that appealing to me.

 

[mmouse37]

We never consider it wandering.....we board as Platinum as soon as boarding opens, have lunch, make Palo reservations or changes, have a drink, review the navigator, relax and then head to the rooms when ready. Have our carry on with is really is no problem at all...even when we wine with us.

MJ