Meaning of scheduled port arrival time?

[candlemakerw/twins]

Disney assigned me a port arival time of 1-1:30. Is this new? I don't remember seeing this other times we have been.

Can I still arrive at 10 or 11 and get a boarding number or will they automatically slot me later to get on the ship?

 

[Zandy595]

double post

 

[Zandy595]

Disney assigned me a port arival time of 1-1:30. Is this new? I don't remember seeing this other times we have been.

Can I still arrive at 10 or 11 and get a boarding number or will they automatically slot me later to get on the ship?

They assigned you a port arrival time? Usually you are allowed to select your own time. It started last August or September because they were having a crowding issue in the terminal with the Dream.

Your port arrival time is connected to you boarding number, so getting there early isn't really go to help you.

Oh, I forgot to ask, what ship are you sailing on?

The terminal at Port Canaveral doesn't open until 11am.

 

[mmouse37]

This is the thread that announce the change and the discussion that followed.

Basically, as it stands now....for the Dream and Fantasy, because of the increased amount of people in the terminal DCL is staggering the times people can arrive at the terminal.

You can arrive earlier but your boarding number will be tied in with your Port Arrival time so even if get there at 11:00 when it opens, you will still not be able to board until your boarding time (which you will be given when you check in at the terminal...but it will be based on the port arrival time).

The days are gone when you would just show up at the terminal and be handed a boarding # card by the CM at the top of the escalator. You are now given your boarding number card at the desk when you check in.

Again, this thread discusses it all......

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2749138


MJ

 

[bajadahl]

mmouse37, Thanks for the link. I actually read several pages of it before skipping to the end. Unfortunately, it didn't appear that anyone came back and clarified Disney's stance on the port arrival time. Is Disney enforcing the port arrival time? It sounded like people were planning to test Disney by disregarding the assigned port arrival time and showing up early. I went through all the trouble of staying up till 3 am to checkin online and I do have an 11:00 am arrival time. I am planning on getting to the port around roughly 10:45 am. I'll be pretty upset if I can't even get to the terminal at 11:00 due to all the people showing up too early. I am a first time cruiser so I had absolutely no advantage over everyone else since I was in the last to check in group. From some of the others in our group it sounds like there was plenty of space on the 11 - 11:30 slot. I guess I am just curious from all the more recent t cruisers. Is the terminal checkin efficient or is it still a mess as described before when the Dream was new?

Thanks,
AD

 

[trimix]

Can I still arrive at 10 or 11 and get a boarding number or will they automatically slot me later to get on the ship?

It depends - you didn't mention what cruise you are on. As others have said, the arrival times were implemented at Port Canaveral to limit crowds in the terminal and your boarding number will be based on your arrival time, regardless of what time you actually arrive.

But I have not seen a single post claiming arrival times were enforced last summer in Vancouver or since then in the Port of Los Angeles. Next month we'll learn if they are enforcing arrival times in Seattle and New York, but I would be surprised if they do.

So, if you are sailing on the Dream or Fantasy, arriving before your scheduled arrival time probably won't help you much. But if you are on the Magic or Wonder, it doesn't appear the arrival time will matter at all.

 

[Zandy595]

mmouse37, Thanks for the link. I actually read several pages of it before skipping to the end. Unfortunately, it didn't appear that anyone came back and clarified Disney's stance on the port arrival time. Is Disney enforcing the port arrival time? It sounded like people were planning to test Disney by disregarding the assigned port arrival time and showing up early. I went through all the trouble of staying up till 3 am to checkin online and I do have an 11:00 am arrival time. I am planning on getting to the port around roughly 10:45 am. I'll be pretty upset if I can't even get to the terminal at 11:00 due to all the people showing up too early. I am a first time cruiser so I had absolutely no advantage over everyone else since I was in the last to check in group. From some of the others in our group it sounds like there was plenty of space on the 11 - 11:30 slot. I guess I am just curious from all the more recent t cruisers. Is the terminal checkin efficient or is it still a mess as described before when the Dream was new?

Thanks,
AD

Boarding the Dream was so quick and easy for us. We had a port arrival time window of 11-11:30am. We pulled into the parking garage at 11:26am (I know this because it's on our parking stub). We walked into the terminal, filled out the med questions, and went straight to a check-in CM. We were given boarding #3. I wasn't paying attention to the numbers being called. They had already called #3 by the time we were done with check-in and we walked right on the ship. We were sitting at a table in Cabanas at 11:52am (I made a point to check the time). Couldn't have gone any better or quicker.

 

[sandgrace]

I didn't know that DCL did this until now. We ended up with the 12:30-1pm arrival time for our June Fantasy cruise because we booked late. We usually like to get to the port as early as we can and I'm a little worried about how late we will get on the ship.

I'm interested in finding out how the process goes on the Fantasy. (Hopefully it's a quick process) or I'm not going to be a happy camper until I get my drink by the pool!

We were on the Oasis of the Seas a few years ago, a very huge ship, and they didn't have set port arrival times. Their process was very quick, and I'm wondering why DCL has to do this when RCCL doesn't.

 

[bajadahl]

Boarding the Dream was so quick and easy for us. We had a port arrival time window of 11-11:30am. We pulled into the parking garage at 11:26am (I know this because it's on our parking stub). We walked into the terminal, filled out the med questions, and went straight to a check-in CM. We were given boarding #3. I wasn't paying attention to the numbers being called. They had already called #3 by the time we were done with check-in and we walked right on the ship. We were sitting at a table in Cabanas at 11:52am (I made a point to check the time). Couldn't have gone any better or quicker.

Thank you, That makes me feel much better. My girls are very excited

Dancing bananas courtesy of one of my DDs sitting beside me right now.

AD

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I didn't know that DCL did this until now. We ended up with the 12:30-1pm arrival time for our June Fantasy cruise because we booked late. We usually like to get to the port as early as we can and I'm a little worried about how late we will get on the ship.

I'm interested in finding out how the process goes on the Fantasy. (Hopefully it's a quick process) or I'm not going to be a happy camper until I get my drink by the pool!

We were on the Oasis of the Seas a few years ago, a very huge ship, and they didn't have set port arrival times. Their process was very quick, and I'm wondering why DCL has to do this when RCCL doesn't.

Size of terminal. PC is adequate for the Magic & Wonder (they're smaller ships). The Dream and Fantasy have more people onboard. Many people were arriving at port opening (sometimes up to 2 hours prior to port opening) in hopes of being first on, or getting port upgrades. The terminal cannot handle the numbers of people who were trying to get in when the terminal opened. So DCL started the Port Arrival Times to help even out when people are arriving.

That being said, once the actual boarding starts (about 11:45 - 12:00) the terminal frees up fairly quickly. I would say, if you arrive at your scheduled arrival time, you'll be onboard pretty quickly. Be aware your actual boarding number (which you receive when you check in at the port) is tied to your arrival time. It's possible, even if you are able to enter the terminal prior to your arrival time, you will see others who arrive after you (at their correct arrival time) boarding before you.

 

[Zandy595]

I didn't know that DCL did this until now. We ended up with the 12:30-1pm arrival time for our June Fantasy cruise because we booked late. We usually like to get to the port as early as we can and I'm a little worried about how late we will get on the ship.

I'm interested in finding out how the process goes on the Fantasy. (Hopefully it's a quick process) or I'm not going to be a happy camper until I get my drink by the pool!

We were on the Oasis of the Seas a few years ago, a very huge ship, and they didn't have set port arrival times. Their process was very quick, and I'm wondering why DCL has to do this when RCCL doesn't.

Because DCL's terminal isn't big enough for 4000 guests to show up all at once. When the Dream was new and they didn't have the staggered arrival times the terminal got extremely crowded, to the point that it was unsafe. They started not letting people in the building until boarding started and the crowd thinned, but of course people weren't happy about being kept outside. Unless they build a bigger terminal, this is the only way to control the crowd. It seems to be working quite well.

 

[candlemakerw/twins]

Thanks for the advice. Will be interesting. We just booked recently and 1pm port arrival time was the earliest available. Hate to miss lunch on the ship!

 

[p17blo]

When I cruised in January I was assigned a boarding time of 2pm. I turned up at 2pm and the terminal was very quiet, I was seen almost immediately and allowed to board straight away. I know a lot of people like to get on early to make the most of things, but personally I would prefer to get on as late as possible.

Paul

 

[mmouse37]

I and I'm wondering why DCL has to do this when RCCL doesn't.

As we all know DCL guests seem to be a little more...let's say "passionate" then other cruise line guests. When the Dream first came out the amount of people who were at the terminal when it opened was overwhelming with everyone wanting to be there early that it caused fire code issues in the terminal.

Here are some pics from the Dream MV and you can see how crowded the terminal was...wall to wall people. the new system is really working well now.







MJ

 

[bajadahl]

yikes!!! You sure they didn't plan it that way so all the adults would need a stiff drink the moment they got on the ship!

 

[kcashner]

The above pics are a good dose of reality, but a few more words might help.

As above, the terminal doesn't open till 11. So, if the poster who suggested showing up at 10 does that, he/she won't even be allowed into the area until 10:45--detour to McDonald's or arrive later!

If you show up before your scheduled arrival time, it is up to the CM whether you will be allowed into the terminal or have to wait a while--this is to keep the occupancy within the fire regulations. However, getting in early won't help you because your boarding time is tied to your scheduled port arrival time (not your actual time.)

The times DO go more quickly than they are scheduled. Boarding starts at 11:45. If you arrive at 12:30 on the classic ships or 1:00 on the new ships, you will walk right in, register, and walk on. By then the crowds are have boarded and the terminal is relatively quiet! The WDW bus traffic will arrive at 1:30-2, so there will be a brief rush at this point.

Finally, if you are on DCL transportation from MCO or WDW, you will not have to wait to enter the terminal. I've been held on a bus for about 10 minutes (presumably to let the crowd thin a bit), but once off the bus you will walk into the terminal. If coming from MCO, you will have already checked in and be ready to board as soon as your number is called (and you got the number at MCO).

AND finally, lunch is served until 3:30 (when everything closes for the safety drill). The venue you would have preferred may not be open, but you won't go hungry.

 

[DisneyCruisin']

Thanks for the advice. Will be interesting. We just booked recently and 1pm port arrival time was the earliest available. Hate to miss lunch on the ship!

You will be fine. We had the same arrival time back in March on the Magic. We walked in, filled out the medical survey, checked in and were on the ship in less than fifteen minutes. The terminal was quiet. We walked right on, took our luggage to the room as it just become 1:30 and headed to lunch at Parrot Cay. The hustle and bustle had died down big time. We had a quiet lunch with our friends and headed back to the room for a second and our luggage had already appeared. I did a quick unpack, stowed the luggage and we headed out to check out the ship and make a dining change. We did the muster drill, headed to the Sail Away party and then back to the room to get ready for early dining. It was so much more enjoyable than dealing with a crowded terminal and craziness at lunch. It's our plan from now on!

 

[CruzTerri]

RCI purposefully re-built their Ft. Lauderdale Cruise Terminal to accommodate the number of passengers for both the Oasis and Allure. Disney has not yet updated their PC Cruise Terminal to accommodate the number of guests on the Dream and Fantasy.

Keep in mind that while one may have a later arrival time, cabins aren't open until 1:30 PM. So if you embark at that time chances are you could go right to your cabin to drop off any carry on stuff and head to a late lunch without all of that stuff to weight you down.

Good Luck.

 

[scrapycruiser]

We are a family of 24, staying at the Marriott in Cape Canaveral before the cruise. The shuttle taking us to the port is picking us up at 11:15 ( not my request ). We are platinum and can board anytime but the rest of my family are 1st time cruisers. I am concerned that when they do their online registration they'll end up with 1:00 or later port arrival times. If the shuttle drops us off at 11:30 does that mean they'll have to wait outside of the terminal ?? What should we do ??

What is the latest port arrival time that one might get ??

 

[kcashner]

We are a family of 24, staying at the Marriott in Cape Canaveral before the cruise. The shuttle taking us to the port is picking us up at 11:15 ( not my request ). We are platinum and can board anytime but the rest of my family are 1st time cruisers. I am concerned that when they do their online registration they'll end up with 1:00 or later port arrival times. If the shuttle drops us off at 11:30 does that mean they'll have to wait outside of the terminal ?? What should we do ??

What is the latest port arrival time that one might get ??

I think the latest arrival window is 2:30-3:00 (you actually get a window, not a time). I've never heard of anyone having to wait more than 15-20 minutes outside before being allowed in. If your shuttle leaves the hotel at 11:15, you will arrive at the terminal about 11:30 (remember that the shuttle will have to unload the luggage and you'll hand it off to the porters along with a tip. Our shuttle driver instructed us to SEE each of our bags to be sure they went to the porter). So you might be in line to enter at 11:30 or a little later. With boarding starting at 11:45, they should be allowed in shortly after that regardless of schedule arrival time.

As soon as boarding starts, people start to enter the terminal without waiting. It is just a matter of getting the first few boarding groups onto the ship.

It sounds like you can't move the shuttle time (if you could make it even 15 minutes later, it would be totally smooth), but knowing that your family might have to wait 15 minutes or so before entering the terminal isn't a big thing for most people. They also might have a short wait after checking in, but at least it is cool and seats become available quickly.

Our experience was that with a boarding card 8 we were ON the ship 18 minutes after the "family of the day" was announced--boarding goes very quickly.