Oh NO! I forgot to complete check-in early and got a Boarding group 20, Arrival window 1:15 for boarding!

[jenwann]

Anyone who has gone recently, how late will I actually get on-board to go to a buffet for lunch? I can't believe I forgot to finish check-in early! And this will be my 10th DCL cruise!

 

[lorimay]

Once they start calling boarding groups it will go fast. Sometimes they call two groups at one time.
You will be on in time for lunch.

 

[lorimay]

I believe someone said, they were group 3 and were called within 5 minutes or so of group 1.

 

[TRTRguy]

So your port arrival time is 1:15? That is being strictly enforced now. You will have to arrive at the terminal at 1:15 take your covid test and should be on board around 2.

 

[cvjw]

Wow. Must be a lot of people on your cruise. We sailed 10/16 and had a PAT of 11:30. I checked everyday to see if I could get an earlier PAT. The day before we sailed, PAT of 11:30 was still available.

That being said, we arrived at 11:25, dropped off our bags, paid to park, took our covid tests and waited for the results. The results came in 45 minutes. It was another 15 minutes checking in and going thru security. We were boarding group 6. When we got to the terminal, groups 1-9 could already board.

 

[Chrissy-Mickey]

Reports so far indicate that it takes about 45 minutes from PAT to get the test results. After that, the actual boarding goes fast.

 

[stkgator]

For our September cruise, the boarding group was meaningless as once you cleared the Covid test, you proceeded directly through passport check, security and then boarding without delay. The only time you waited is if you wanted a photo taken prior to boarding.

 

[queenofeverything]

If you drive to the port, do you take your covid test in your car and wait in your car for the results? If so, is that in the parking garage?

 

[stkgator]

If you drive to the port, do you take your covid test in your car and wait in your car for the results? If so, is that in the parking garage?

Yes. Test results will show up on your Safe passages portal indicating that you are cleared to board.

 

[lanejudy]

Anyone who has gone recently, how late will I actually get on-board to go to a buffet for lunch? I can't believe I forgot to finish check-in early! And this will be my 10th DCL cruise!

How are you getting to the port? PAT seems to be a moot point if taking DCL transfers. If using other transportation they won’t let you in until PAT (or close). Just keep checking to see if an earlier time opens up.

 

[Cheburashka]

How are you getting to the port? PAT seems to be a moot point if taking DCL transfers. If using other transportation they won’t let you in until PAT (or close). Just keep checking to see if an earlier time opens up.

I just sailed on the Magic last weekend, and took the Disney transfer bus to the cruise port. When I got to the port building entrance, they did look at my PAT form and note the time before letting me in. People who were too early were waiting outside in a short line. There didn't seem to be a dedicated line or entrance for the transfer bus people. We were just dropped off at the front of the building, pointed towards the porters for luggage, then towards the front door, at which point we became like anyone else who had just arrived at port. I saw others from the transfer bus enter the same way, so it wasn't just me.

This was at the Miami port, and might be a different procedure than at Port Canaveral.

 

[mmouse37]

We had a PAT of 11:45 but didn't arrive at the port until noon. That was boarding group 4 I think. It took 50 minutes for our test results to come back. Then we had to wait online by the ears for at least 20 minutes until we got onboard. We ate at Animators for our embarkation lunch.

We had 1200 pax onboard on Dream on Sept. 27.

 

[Cheburashka]

For our September cruise, the boarding group was meaningless as once you cleared the Covid test, you proceeded directly through passport check, security and then boarding without delay. The only time you waited is if you wanted a photo taken prior to boarding.

This was my experience at Miami in late October, too. The PAT was how they spaced people out. Once I was in and tested negative, I had to wait for the area to enter the ship to open (I had an 11am PAT so was among the first, & it seemed that concierge had their own separate entrance). Once it opened, everyone in the room just went through. It wasn't a very full room, though, compared to how it used to be pre-Covid, probably because of the PATs required to enter the terminal.

 

[stkgator]

Either the ships are fully booked (unlikely) or DCL is doing a better job of spacing out passenger arrivals (likely). For our Sept Dream cruise, the majority of the PAT slots where still available almost to the cruise departure date. On our Nov Fantasy cruise, the only PATs currently available are just before the scheduled departure time.

 

[luvtovacation12]

We booked later for our last cruise in Oct and the checkin window had been open for like 15 days already. So, I was only able to get 2:30. I kept checking back and as the cruise got closer, earlier times opened and I was able to move up. We ended up getting 12:30 slots.

 

[mevelandry]

Anyone who has gone recently, how late will I actually get on-board to go to a buffet for lunch? I can't believe I forgot to finish check-in early! And this will be my 10th DCL cruise!

It will be fine… You are likely to arrive and get on the ship right away… without any wait. A little less people at the buffet.

(Once we’ve tried late check-in we did not go back.)

 

[hlrubin507]

How do

Wow. Must be a lot of people on your cruise. We sailed 10/16 and had a PAT of 11:30. I checked everyday to see if I could get an earlier PAT. The day before we sailed, PAT of 11:30 was still available.

That being said, we arrived at 11:25, dropped off our bags, paid to park, took our covid tests and waited for the results. The results came in 45 minutes. It was another 15 minutes checking in and going thru security. We were boarding group 6. When we got to the terminal, groups 1-9 could already board.

How do you check for an earlier PAT? I can’t figure that out!

 

[stkgator]

How do

How do you check for an earlier PAT? I can’t figure that out!

I think you can only see it on the DCL website. Go to "My Reservations" > "Pending Review" > "Port Arrival TIme"

For the Nov 11 Fantasy departure, currently the only available PAT is 02:45-03:00.

FWIW: I never did see a PAT earlier than 11:45 available for this cruise.

 

[lanejudy]

This was at the Miami port, and might be a different procedure than at Port Canaveral.

That probably makes a difference.