Perfect time to Arrive at your Cruise?

[tinkerone]

lovetotravel,

You may have some difficulty finding a car service that will pick you up early. I've called a number of them trying to get a 9:00 pickup and they are telling me that because they are picking people up from port and taking them to the airport, they won't do a pickup before 10 or 10:30. Still looking...

i'm having the same problem. i thought it would be easy but not so much. i had never thought about them having to pick up at the ship first so it came as a shock to me. not sure i want the bother of the rental car option though. i think i'll just be happy being there for lunch .

 

[mocha1193]

Thanks KSDisneyDad for the information on the characters I didn't realize they were at the port so I really appreciate this board & finding out great tips for our upcoming trips.

 

[lovetotravel07]

Thank you for all the helpful replies. And, for coming to my defence when you thought necessary!

 

[Rogillio]

First cruise: 11:30 am

Second and all subseqent cruises: 1 pm


On our first cruise we were very excited and anxious and could not wait to get there....even if meant sitting around the crowded terminal and waiting in line. By our second cruise we knew getting to the terminal early just meant sitting around waiting till it was time to board so we waited and avoided the rush and got there a little later and it was nice to have the terminal to ourselves when we got there.

~Mike

 

[Audrey9505]

If we don't get there until around 12:30 will the characters still be in the terminal for pictures?

 

[Madamx]

We're driving to the terminal but since we come from such a distance (Canada) we'll be staying in a hotel the night before. We thought about it and came to the conclusion we'd rather sit around at the terminal in the morning than at our hotel. We're not "TV people" so we'd literally be sitting in our hotel room staring at the walls, I'd rather stare at the ship and terminal walls, lol.

 

[poeticdiabetic]

We are going to drive to the terminal from the Atlanta area (kennesaw.) We're leaving at around 1 AM, so we'll be in the area approx. 8 AM or so. We will be at the terminal when it opens. (We'll be at Walmart for about an hour and we may even go to the beach and take pictures.)

For my wife, getting there as early as possible is the best-case scenario. She will take pictures of everything- inside, outside, on the grounds... she's our personal papparazzi. So when it opens up, we'll be there, cameras flashing!

 

[Tinkerbellcrafter]

Earlier in the thread, someone mentioned that you could get boarding papers at your WDW resort. We do not have a land and sea packaged booked but are staying at AKV using DVC points prior to the cruise and driving ourselves to the terminal. Can we check in for the cruise there (at AKV ) without having a land and sea booked?

 

[lisamarch]

poeticdiabetic - when you say you are stopping at Walmart, is there one near the port?

 

[lovetotravel07]

What do you all buy at Target, Walmart, etc. for the cruise?

 

[poeticdiabetic]

poeticdiabetic - when you say you are stopping at Walmart, is there one near the port?

There's a Walmart on Clearlake Road off Hwy. 528. I mapquested it and found out where it was.

We're kinda weird as a family that we like walking around Walmart, trying to compare the differences between the Walmarts there and at other places to visit. For instance, we went to the Walmart off Turkey Lake Road. We were pleasantly surprised at how much Disney stuff they carried. So we're hoping that the Walmart closer to Port Canaveral carry Disney stuff, too. If they do, that's where we'll be buying our little Disney trinkets, T-shirts, etc.

 

[lisamarch]

I want to buy things I don't want to fly with, including: blankets (check other posts for the cruise ship comforter washing cycle), beach toys (pail and shovel) for CC, and whatever I forgot and realized I forgot during our 4 prior days at WDW.

 

[KSDisneyDad]

What do you all buy at Target, Walmart, etc. for the cruise?

We buy a case of water (or two for longer cruises) that we check curbside at the port. My DW doesn't care for the bottled Evian that they sell on-board (at $35 a case!). She also doesn't care for the tap water even though it's purified. We like to have bottled water available for the room and for excursions.

We may also pick up some things we didn't pack (sunscreen, etc.) as well as some adult beverages to carry-on.

 

[mocha1193]

That sounds like the perfect plan. I think we are going to try & arrive that early too. I don't think my son will have any objections. LOL