Port of Miami vs Port Canaveral

[bwolfe]

We are sailing out of Miami in a few weeks. We've been out of Canaveral several times. Anything appreciably different in Miami?

 

[2bluesandapink]

We were supposed to be cruising out of Miami for our next cruise but we ended up switching to Royal Caribbean to save some $$. Everything was much more expensive in Miami, airfare, hotels.....

 

[Qbie]

We've sailed out of Miami a couple of times. It's a very efficient port since there are usually many ships embarking on the same day. The terminal itself is a shared terminal so it's not as 'Disney' as Canaveral is. There's a couple of banners they throw up and that's about it. It's fine though and easy to get around

 

[SamFaniam]

We are sailing out of Miami in a few weeks. We've been out of Canaveral several times. Anything appreciably different in Miami?

The terminal is used by other lines, so there is some Disney decor, but not like PC. There are still character photo opportunities before boarding. There is plenty of seating available, this is actually better in Miami than PC. If you fly into Miami, it is a quick trip to the port. You can also fly into Fort Lauderdale, which is a little further, but may save money on airfare.

 

[belle032]

We just sailed out of Miami last month, but not on Disney. Flew into FLL on Southwest, stayed the night and then took an Uber to the Miami port the next morning. Embarkation was a total breeze. Less than 10 minutes from dropping off our bags with the porter to walking into the ship's atrium.

DCL might be a little different due to you needing to actually check in and get keys (our keys were already at our cabins), but the actual port terminal itself is easy to get through.

 

[grantclaire]

The actual sailing out of Miami is quite scenic! And if you are up early when you return the city lights are great to see.

 

[carolina_yankee]

The cruise terminal is bland because it's shared, but it was pretty spacious with plenty of seating in our experience. Disney does put up some convention-style signage and banners to put their stamp on the place. We were pleased with how efficiently everything moved. The only thing we hated was the shuttle to the airport at the end - our drop off location for United was nowhere near the United terminal and it took forever to a) figure out how to get there and b) walk there dragging our luggage. But that's the airport. I think we were dropped off between airport terminals and the signage just wasn't decent. It's also only a 20-30 minute transfer, so very close.

 

[cwis]

Found this the other day:
https://www.insider.com/boarding-process-check-in-cruise-ship-photos-2019-11
Disclaimer: never been cruising from Miami and I don't know if it's relevant to DCL. Certainly looks nicely done, though.

 

[Numtini]

Plenty of seating, USB chargers in some seating. Everything moved faster. (Granted, all those were impacted by it being a 2000 not 4000 passenger ship.) Not as Disney, but the only thing I really missed is you board onto the atrium balcony, not the atrium itself.

Someone mentioned that sailing out is more scenic. It's incredible on the port side. On the starboard side it's a lot of shipping containers

 

[TracyC.]

GPS connectivity gets lost in the port area, so for Uber drivers not familiar with the port (like our driver), we had to circle a few times before finding the correct turn for the terminal.
Also, I didn't realize we boarded onto the atrium balcony, so that took getting used to, and like the previous poster said, I really missed boarding in the atrium. It's just not as grand!
I think everything else has been mentioned!

 

[SamFaniam]

Someone mentioned that sailing out is more scenic. It's incredible on the port side. On the starboard side it's a lot of shipping containers

I found watching how they shifted all the containers around was just as fascinating as the cityscape.

 

[Pinkgurlshubby]

We cruised once out of Miami. Lots of hotel choices, we flew into FLL and had a car rental to Miami and stayed at Comfort Suites. Free shuttle to port and had a rental to go back. So first thing as other said it's a share terminal so there's some banners but it's not a DCL terminal but it was clean and lots of seating. Terminal staff were not as friendly as we were used to but were efficient at checking us in. PAT seemed to be just a suggestion as everyone arrived at the same time. Where time was lost was photo ops before boarding. We wanted Captain Mickey pics and had #4 cards. By the time the pics were done they were boarding like #18. Honestly couldn't care less it was our third DCL cruise, there was lots of food left at the buffet and the ship still leaves at the same time. For the sail away party we left half an hour after the show and horn blast which felt odd but sailing out of Miami was the only time we have seen dolphins swim close to the ship. Port if Miami is massive and well laid out and organised. I'd do it again..

 

[CarnotaurDad]

We actually find it much easier to cruise out of Miami and, as others have said, it is way more scenic. Especially if you are an early riser. I love watching the boat come into Miami early in the AM with all the buildings, lights, water, etc. It definitely isn't as "Disney" magical but it is very efficient and much closer to two airports than Canaveral is. JMHO