Port Arrival Time - Arriving early

[maui2k5]

We cruise out of Miami this Oct and have an 11:15am PAT group 5. We are staying the night before at the Courtyard Marriott by the Miami airport. My plan was to leave the hotel around 10-10:30am using Lyft/Uber and just wait outside the terminal building until we are allowed in at 11:15am.

Will that work or are we not even allowed to be dropped off at the port before our arrival time?

 

[Primerz]

I actually don't know...but what if everyone who was supposed to get on the ship arrived early? I see the potential for chaos so it wouldn't surprise me if that's not allowed.

 

[greensombrero]

The port of Miami has a number of terminals and worse case they might not want you clogging up right outside and you’d need to walk down a bit to wait. It’s a big area and at least when I sailed out of there it wasn’t set up where anyone could stop you from being dropped off.

 

[maui2k5]

The port of Miami has a number of terminals and worse case they might not want you clogging up right outside and you’d need to walk down a bit to wait. It’s a big area and at least when I sailed out of there it wasn’t set up where anyone could stop you from being dropped off.

That’s all I’m wanting to know… I’m not trying to clog up the waiting area but rather arrive as close to our PAT as I can.

 

[mmouse37]

I have cruised out of Miami 3 times since January most recently this past July. Two of those times we stayed at the Courtyard Marriot pre cruise. Once we took an Uber and once we went back to the airport to meet the DCL bus. One time we stayed at the EB Hotel and took DCL transfers from there.

All that said, each time we arrived there were people from all different PAT's waiting outside in a line. It is sort of a self-governing line where people who arrive ask the people on the line what time is your PAT and people fell in line that way. Never saw them turn people away. The people who work outside of the terminal are so NOT DCL people. They do not actively direct people where to go, the signage was awful to. You have ask people who work there where to go and what's going on. This past July they split the people getting off the bus to those that needed testing went to the left and those who did not need testing went to the right. It could have changed again so do ask where to go. This last time we took the DCL transfers from the airport so we could get there early but had to wait with a one year old out in the heat for over an hour until they had the testing set up. Thank goodness that is all ending this weekend.

It was very easy to hop on the Courtyard shuttle back to the airport to meet the DCL bus. We were on the first bus out at around 10:20 am. Transfers cost $21 pp each way. We left the Courtyard on the 9:45 am shuttle back to the airport.

DCL uses terminal C.

MJ

 

[auntlynne]

Sailed Disney from Miami in April. We arrived within 5 minutes of our PAT (Can’t remember if before or after). A worker walked by and asked for people who were in the time slot before us. Very soon came back and got people for our time slot. Anyone there early just had to stand in line. Very civilized. (At the time, we were doing testing at the port.)

I took Lyft to the port from that Courtyard last December. Either Google maps or the Lyft app can tell you the estimated travel time. It was a little more expensive to use Lyft than the $12 shuttle offered by Courtyard (sign up when at hotel), but I was able to get in an SUV (Lyft) - but not the van for the shuttle. A sedan from Lyft might have been cheaper.

More than I remembered. But still easier. The fewer transfers and steps on cruise morning just makes for a more relaxing day.

This would have been the same for 4 people. Well, a better tip, but base fare would not have changed.

 

[maui2k5]

Thanks for the replies. Another PAT/Boarding question. We have an 11:15-11:30am PAT in group 4 and wondered how long after the PAT window opens that they would call our group?

 

[iannovich]

We sailed out of Miami on the Dream a week ago today. We had an 11am arrival, but nobody asked what our PAT was when we dropped our bags and proceeded to the parking garage.

When we were upstairs in the terminal they asked for our boarding group (3) and gave us an area to go to where other BG3 passengers were located. They were trying to keep boarding groups relatively together to facilitate boarding. From when they had the Family of the Day board until boarding group 3 was called was probably 8-10 minutes.

 

[maui2k5]

We sailed out of Miami on the Dream a week ago today. We had an 11am arrival, but nobody asked what our PAT was when we dropped our bags and proceeded to the parking garage.

When we were upstairs in the terminal they asked for our boarding group (3) and gave us an area to go to where other BG3 passengers were located. They were trying to keep boarding groups relatively together to facilitate boarding. From when they had the Family of the Day board until boarding group 3 was called was probably 8-10 minutes.

Thank you very much for this - exactly what I was wondering. What time did you arrive at the port? Meaning how soon before 11am (assuming before)?

 

[iannovich]

Thank you very much for this - exactly what I was wondering. What time did you arrive at the port? Meaning how soon before 11am (assuming before)?

We arrived at 1045ish. We were driving down from Port Canaveral and had just gotten off the Wish that morning. It was the soonest we could manage to get there.

 

[gzmtlock]

Just did Dream out of Miami earlier this month. Was in boarding group 3, PAT of 11:30. Arrival was very similar to what auntlynne shared. Arrived via Uber a bit before 11 am, no problems getting dropped off. Got into the terminal before 11:30, not many folks there. But then everything backed up. Something delayed boarding; the terminal pretty much filled up. Family of the day didn't board until about 12:30, they then went through boarding groups pretty quickly. I was on board by 1-ish.