When to arrive to Port

[Lici]

When should we arrive to the port for our cruise? I've read go early, go late...not sure what to do!

 

[JMHDisney]

You will get a lot of opinions on this. Some people like to get there as early as possible so they can have the most possible time on board. This means more lines. I prefer to arrive around 12:30, breeze through a mostly empty terminal before the WDW buses start arriving, and head straight on board. No lines, no stress. So it's really a question of, do I want every possible minute on board even if it means a fair amount of waiting around in lines, or do I prefer a more relaxing start to my vacation even if it means I lose an hour or two onboard? That's a personal decision.

Remember when you get on board is related to the port arrival time you pick at check in. If you get a late PAT, there is really no point in getting there super early as you won't get on board until after those with earlier PATs do.

 

[condorthb]

If you picked a later on-line check-in and get there super early, it could be packed while waiting for your onboard number.

 

[tinkerone]

You will get a lot of opinions on this. Some people like to get there as early as possible so they can have the most possible time on board. This means more lines. I prefer to arrive around 12:30, breeze through a mostly empty terminal before the WDW buses start arriving, and head straight on board. No lines, no stress. So it's really a question of, do I want every possible minute on board even if it means a fair amount of waiting around in lines, or do I prefer a more relaxing start to my vacation even if it means I lose an hour or two onboard? That's a personal decision.

Remember when you get on board is related to the port arrival time you pick at check in. If you get a late PAT, there is really no point in getting there super early as you won't get on board until after those with earlier PATs do.

i soooo agree with you! i never understood why people want to be there early when boarding doesn't start till (about) 11:30. open boarding is usually (about) 12:00 and the crowds are gone gone gone by 12:30 and you pretty much walk right on. at most you lose 1 hour but you don't have to fight the crowds.
i have read lots of reasons why you need to be there right away but i will never understand them. jmo and not meant to be a confrontation.

 

[KLB9]

To me arriving early just means waiting in the Terminal and standing in Lines. Even when you get on board the rooms are not open.

We stay at a hotel and spend the morning at the hotel pool, show up around 1-2 and walk straight on the boat and into the room.

 

[Justacruiser]

I like to get to the terminal about 10:30 and get parked and checked in. Around 11:15-11:30 the lines start getting longer and the remaining seats are taken. Like previous posters have said, the board starts around 11:30-12:00 so if you arrive at noon, by the time you hand off your luggage, and check-in you will be close to open boarding. You won't wait more than a few minutes.

We are Platinum so we get to board once they start boarding. For me, I would rather be waiting at the terminal ready to get on than be in a long to park and go thru the check-in.

 

[kiford]

I prefer to arrive around 12:30, breeze through a mostly empty terminal before the WDW buses start arriving, and head straight on board. No lines, no stress.

You also need to haul your carryon around until your room is ready at about 1:30. We are usually coming from WDW so take DCL transfers which get us there about 12:30. That gives me the opportunity to sleep in a little (not too much because they pick up your luggage at 8 am), have a leisurely breakfast, relax in the room and watch TV a bit and then go down to the pick up point. Then I'm not starving or tired by the time we board.

The two times we boarded early were in Barcelona because that's the time they picked us up from the hotel. We ended up sitting and reading in the Cove Café with our carry on bags. So there's no advantage IMO to getting to the ship early. If we'd left the hotel later, we'd probably have been sitting in our room watching TV or reading. I don't really relax until I can get to our room and start to unpack at least my carry on.