Is it worth getting on ship early

[mmouse37]

The question then becomes: Is the cruise the entire vacation...or is the cruise part of the vacation.

Depends...when we fly to Florida to cruise we usually fly down a few days early so the vacation starts when we board the plane.....this cruise we don't have to fly for the cruise so vacation will start either in the car on the way to the port or when we set foot on the ship...haven't decided yet!!!

MJ

 

[bakerworld]

Nobody boards that early. Boarding doesn't typically begin until 11:30ish (give or take 15 minutes). So early arrival means hang out in the terminal for an hour or so until boarding.

This is why I was wondering if the DCL transport from the hotels would back off the early AM pickup.

 

[lanejudy]

This is why I was wondering if the DCL transport from the hotels would back off the early AM pickup.

They haven't yet. I have to assume it's taken into consideration with regards to how many early PATs are allowed. Whether folks arrive by DCL transfers or other means, it's basically the same number of people in the terminal -- and that is the whole purpose of the PAT - managing crowds in the terminal for fire code.

 

[dcassetta]

This is new for me, instead of a notice on the door the night before, we have already received an email. Pick-up at 8:45am on Friday.

 

[gzmtlock]

On my most recent cruise, I really wanted a Rainforest Pass for the duration of the cruise. I was travelling solo and knew I'd be able to make the most of it. So getting on early was important, since the number of those passes is limited.

A few years back, we discovered the joy of arriving at the port about 2 pm and literally walking right up to the counter to check in, then right onto the ship. We had spent the morning in a pre-cruise, self-booked "excursion," (visited the botanical gardens in Miami), had a lovely lunch, then basically walked right onto the ship. It was awesome!

So unless I have a specific reason to be onboard early, I use the second option!

 

[Cheburashka]

We're going on our 3rd DCL cruise in a couple of months. Just DH and me. We will be staying at WL for a few nights before hand, so we can do the DCL transfers or take an Uber. I understand that the DCL transport leaves the resorts at around 8:00 and I assume gets to port around 10.

In our prior cruises, we've been sitting around waiting until we can get to our cabin and drop off our carry ons. The thought of getting on the ship at 10 or 10:30 just bores me to tears, but then we've never gotten on the ship so early that it was worth searching for stuff to do besides grabbing lunch at Cabanas. What am I missing that's available to do that wouldn't be a pain to drag carry ons to?

There's also the fact that I am a night owl and the thought of getting up in time for an 8:00 pick up after 3 days of walking around the parks when I could sleep until 10 is awful. Hubby isn't as much of a night owl, but he's not an early riser either.

Is there any reason I'm missing that we should take the DCL transfers.

No one boards at 10 because boarding doesn't begin that early. If you do board on the early side, carry only a shoulder bag or backpack and check other luggage with the porters so that you can enjoy the ship before the staterooms open. If you want to carry on luggage, then board after 2pm.

How much people enjoy boarding early seems to be inversely correlated to how much luggage they carry on with them.

 

[Chrislovesdisney]

I’ve been on 4 (3 Disney, one other) cruises, and have for some reason or another boarded to get on the ship just in time to catch the last 30 minutes or so of the mdr lunch (so figure maybe around 2pm?). My baggage/room was always ready by the time lunch was finished. Never did it go through my mind that I would have wanted extra time. As a matter of fact, the laid back nature of boarding when it works for me and not schlepping baggage all over the ship makes it 100% more vacation-worthy for me than the extra 2-3 hours. This is definitely a matter of opinion and no right or wrong.

 

[Akck]

For our cruise on the Fantasy that we’re currently on, I had originally scheduled a PAT of 11:30 am, so we’d not be sitting at the terminal for long. We had scheduled to arrive 2 days before and would drive to port in a rental. Hurricane Ian nixed that, so I changed our flight to arrive Saturday morning at 9:10 am and reserved DCL transportation from the airport. I think we got on the bus just after 10 am. There was hurricane roadwork being done, which delayed us for 30-45 minutes, so we arrived at the port around 11:45 and essentially walked on the ship, which we loved.

So, the only reason to take DCL transfers is there might be road delays. I wouldn’t necessarily plan for it though.

 

[MomOTwins]

For our cruise on the Fantasy that we’re currently on, I had originally scheduled a PAT of 11:30 am, so we’d not be sitting at the terminal for long. We had scheduled to arrive 2 days before and would drive to port in a rental. Hurricane Ian nixed that, so I changed our flight to arrive Saturday morning at 9:10 am and reserved DCL transportation from the airport. I think we got on the bus just after 10 am. There was hurricane roadwork being done, which delayed us for 30-45 minutes, so we arrived at the port around 11:45 and essentially walked on the ship, which we loved.

So, the only reason to take DCL transfers is there might be road delays. I wouldn’t necessarily plan for it though.

That’s a good point. I remember one time we sailed away a little bit late and I was remarking about it later that evening and someone overheard me said they were on the last DCL bus and the ship sailed the second after they boarded and were given on a super quick muster drill (these were they days before the new DIY muster)—apparently there was a big crash on the highway in the mid-afternoon and traffic was held up. The ship waited for the last DCL bus to get through but didn’t wait for anyone else.

So if driving yourself and not staying near the port (eg cocoa beach), I defined would definitely not book the latest PAT—give yourself some cushion!

 

[DCLCrazy64622]

We're going on our 3rd DCL cruise in a couple of months. Just DH and me. We will be staying at WL for a few nights before hand, so we can do the DCL transfers or take an Uber. I understand that the DCL transport leaves the resorts at around 8:00 and I assume gets to port around 10.

In our prior cruises, we've been sitting around waiting until we can get to our cabin and drop off our carry ons. The thought of getting on the ship at 10 or 10:30 just bores me to tears, but then we've never gotten on the ship so early that it was worth searching for stuff to do besides grabbing lunch at Cabanas. What am I missing that's available to do that wouldn't be a pain to drag carry ons to?

There's also the fact that I am a night owl and the thought of getting up in time for an 8:00 pick up after 3 days of walking around the parks when I could sleep until 10 is awful. Hubby isn't as much of a night owl, but he's not an early riser either.

Is there any reason I'm missing that we should take the DCL transfers.

I’m with you. I usually don’t board until rooms are open. You avoid long lines at check in and security that way. The ship is already alive and buzzing with excitement.