Port of Miami and PATs for multiple staterooms

[Clojel]

Hi all, so online check-in was last night and it was basically a hot mess. We're traveling concierge but with 3 non-concierge staterooms. The first stateroom got checked in at 2:45 am (!!!) and got an 11:30 PAT. The next one at 4 am and got 12. The last one at 5 am and got 12:15. I know that Disney's advice is to just arrive at the latest person's PAT but we have to check out of our VRBO in Miami at 11 am...so we don't really have any place to go in between 11:30ish and 12:15. So, I have a few questions: 1) does anyone have recent experience with showing up early to port? and 2) if we arrive early, we'd be arriving by uber most likely, so what would happen if they turned some of our group away? Do they actually have to get back in an uber and go somewhere else? Or do they still just drop their checked luggage and wait outside with their carry-on until it's time to go in? and 3) what are the odds that the 2 groups with the later PATs would be able to upgrade to an earlier PAT as we get closer to sail date? I've heard some people on here post that they've had success with that but when I spoke to Disney they said that was unlikely. Curious to hear others' experiences with all of this. This is my fourth Disney sailing but my first time dealing with a PAT!!

 

[Mickey4us]

When we went in August, we had a PAT of 11:30. We had to return our rental car by 10:30, and from what I had heard, we would have to wait until closer to our PAT time to get the shuttle to port. However, we got to Budget about 10ish and they put us on the next shuttle...and arrived at port about 10:45. We were told to just go get in line and after concierge boarded, they started calling PAT times. We only had to wait about 20 minutes before we were called to board. My guess is that depending on how full your sailing is, you might have to wait, but probably not turned away!

 

[Clojel]

When we went in August, we had a PAT of 11:30. We had to return our rental car by 10:30, and from what I had heard, we would have to wait until closer to our PAT time to get the shuttle to port. However, we got to Budget about 10ish and they put us on the next shuttle...and arrived at port about 10:45. We were told to just go get in line and after concierge boarded, they started calling PAT times. We only had to wait about 20 minutes before we were called to board. My guess is that depending on how full your sailing is, you might have to wait, but probably not turned away!

Good to know. Nobody in my group minds waiting….just didn’t want to be stranded at the port with nowhere to go!!

 

[catsrgr8]

We sailed out of Miami 2 weeks ago and I think they let everyone go through security, even if they were early because I didn’t see anyone waiting outside. Then everyone just waited in a really big waiting area until they called each boarding group. Overall it was a really quick and smooth process for us!

 

[mmouse37]

I sailed out of Miami 3 times over the last several months. Each time we arrived there was a self-governing line meaning people went up to the line and asked those on line what their PAT was and the newcomers got into the appropriate space in line. It was all very civil.

The line was outside along the building. We always arrived around 11 am

MJ

 

[princesscinderella]

We arrived early at the port for our Jan 2nd cruise and I don’t think anyone looked at our port arrival time to get through security or check in. The only time they looked at it was when they were boarding by group number there was a cast member making sure that you were in the group by that had been called. You would just wait inside the port building seats until your group is called. We had zero wait through security or check in.

 

[Clojel]

Great! Thanks everybody!! As I said, everyone in my group is content to wait until their respective boarding groups to board...we were just hoping that we could all arrive together at some time that was "within" the bounds of all the different PATs we ended up with!