Port arrival time question

[Disneymom8181]

Hello! We booked our first Disney cruise last minute, and are sailing out of Miami on December 6th. Our port arrival time is 12:30-1. I read on some older threads that open boarding may begin at 12:30, so with a 12:30 port arrival time, we may want to arrive at 12. Is this the case in Miami? Also, we are flying in the night before and staying at a hotel near the airport. If we arrived early to the port, are there things to see/do? Our check out time is 11, and our hotel offers a free shuttle to the port, which we plan on utilizing. If not, any ideas of how to spend an hour or so with our luggage? Thanks in advance!

 

[JoeFromSeoul]

Miami port is not far from downtown Miami...you just have to cross a bridge but it isn't really walking distance unless you are energetic and have no children in tow. Cruise Critic says that there is free wifi in all eight cruise terminals. There are some places to get a bite to eat and food trucks frequent the area when cruise ships are in port. Like pretty much every port and airport these days, there is no place to leave your luggage until you check in. You may be able to check in early, your boarding number should still be determined by your PAT.

 

[NS8VN]

The terminal DCL uses at PortMiami is much smaller than the DCL terminal at Canaveral and it has been reported that you often can't enter the terminal before your PAT in Miami. Google Maps shows a Starbucks and a restaurant or two on the island. Don't forget that the free shuttles will be running on a schedule and you might get stuck on one running earlier than 11, so be prepared to possibly be spending more than an hour with your luggage.

Good luck, enjoy your cruise!

 

[lizabu]

There’s isn’t much around the port. If your hotel is making you Check out at 11 I’d probably ask if there’s a late check out available and if they say no I would just go to port. They open the doors around 11 and they might not let you on the ship but what else are you supposed to do? You might get to meet Mickey while you wait. And look over your cruise navigator. You give your bags to a porter when you arrive so the only bags you need to deal with are whatever you’re carrying on.

 

[panda123]

Most hotels offer to hold luggage at the bell desk for free. What time do the shuttles to the port run until?
Perhaps you could catch a later shuttle and spend your morning doing other things in Miami with your luggage held at the bell desk until it's closer to your PAT time.

 

[dad of 3 addicted to DCL]

Like you, our first cruise was out of Miami. The port itself is pretty utilitarian, not a lot to do or see. At the time, though, we were so overwhelmed that it didn't matter much. If you roll in to the terminal around 11:30 or so, the time until you're called for boarding will pass quickly. I recommend giving yourself enough time so that you don't feel rushed. We drove down from VA to Daytona the day before and from Daytona to Miami the day of. Yeah, lots of fun there. Florida is REALLY long. Anyway, take it easy and most importantly - enjoy your cruise. If you're like us, you'll be hooked from the beginning.

 

[Manuel Acosta]

Hello! We booked our first Disney cruise last minute, and are sailing out of Miami on December 6th. Our port arrival time is 12:30-1. I read on some older threads that open boarding may begin at 12:30, so with a 12:30 port arrival time, we may want to arrive at 12. Is this the case in Miami? Also, we are flying in the night before and staying at a hotel near the airport. If we arrived early to the port, are there things to see/do? Our check out time is 11, and our hotel offers a free shuttle to the port, which we plan on utilizing. If not, any ideas of how to spend an hour or so with our luggage? Thanks in advance!

You can check in at the Miami Cruises by 11:00 AM, the cruise lines prefer customers arriving a little late because many times at 11:00 AM there is still the disembark process.
For shuttles to/from Port of Miami you can see:
Express Shuttle at https://www.ExpressShuttleMiami.com/
and Quick-Shuttle at https://www.Quick-Shuttle.com/
Both companies operate from Port of Miami and have excellent service.