Embarkation, arrive early or late?

Embarkation, arrive early or late?


  • Total voters
    57
We are platinum, but I'm so tired of fighting through the people that crowd up to the front waiting for their number to be called. We are going to show up around 2 for our next cruise out of PC to see how we like that.
 
We arrived at the port shortly before 12:30 last Jan. for our Fantasy cruise, not sure if that is considered early or late. It worked out great, no waiting for anything. We were able to find a seat at Cabanas, there were a lot of people there, but it didn't feel crowded at all. We were able to go to our cabin right after lunch. Dd went with my dh to check out the kid's club and I went to guest services to add gc to our acct. Our luggage arrived and I was able to unpack and join my family at the club before the safety drill. We will arrive around the same time for our next cruise.
This was about our timeline as well and it was so easy. Now, when we take the DCL bus we prefer getting there early to enjoy the empty terminal, but on our own, 12/12:30 seems like a sweet spot.
 
I used to try to be the 'first in line'. There are definite advantages to boarding early. But if the line isn't moving yet, the crowds can really get to me. Definitely brings out the worst in me; not the way I want to start my (and my husband's) vacation.

My husband has no preference, so the last couple of cruises we've done, we've arrived after noon. There's no waiting, and no line, and we can walk right on the ship once we check in. While I still sometimes worry about 'what I've missed', it's a much smoother start.

I especially like a later arrival when sailing out of other ports besides Port Canaveral. Their waiting areas don't seem as nice as Disney's dedicated terminal, and tend to cause me more anxiety.
 
Do you think your answer would change if you were NOT sailing out of PC?
Galveston? Barcelona?

Curious...
 


We LOVE getting there early! The excitement of it all is so much fun for us. You get to meet lots of people before you even board. The terminal is cool to hang out in and people watch, if you don't want to explore or participate in anything. Getting there early has always yielded us a low group number, 2 or 3 usually, so we are on board quick. We are pros now, going for #7 and we have our backpacks ready with swim clothes and everything we need before rooms open at 1:30. We hit lunch first, lines are short and easy at that time and all the best seats are available, then straight to the pool where again, prime seats are available. You will have a hard time getting that the rest of the cruise unless you head out early. We change in the bathrooms, Disney keeps them spotless! And we are usually good to go until the rooms open. We've had tons of pool time, food and booze, so we are enjoying our vacation immediately. Then you can get to your room, clean up and change, and still have time to explore the ship, while people are still just boarding the ship. I couldn't imagine getting there late. I would feel we lost a day.
 
I prefer early. Last time we stayed at a WDW resort, and the DCL picked us up at like 1pm. We got to port around 2. We walked right on, but had to get in line for the character breakfast tickets before they ran out. The line was quite long. We missed the lunch time as a result and were starved. Never staying at a WDW resort pre-cruise with DCL transfers again.
 
We usually do early, but this cruise we are taking the bus from the French Quarter. We have done this before but it has been awhile so I don't remember whether I liked it or not. Our 7th cruise, so pretty relaxed, not worried about signing up for anything and would rather have our cabin ready. Couple of hours difference is not going to make it or break it for us. Plus, no worries about getting there etc.
 


We love being early. We are all so excited for the cruise so waiting longer sucks! LOL
 
Do you think your answer would change if you were NOT sailing out of PC?
Galveston? Barcelona?

Curious...

We are definitely likely to arrive later at non-PC ports. The waiting areas just aren't as nice and I have a lot of trouble claustrophobia when I'm in milling crowds.

We've sailed out of Galveston, Barcelona, and Vancouver.
 
We hate standing in line to check in, having to lug our carryon around and keep an eye on it and just basically having to wait in a public area until our room is ready. We've been early a couple of times (not by choice) and it was just a pain trying to eat in the restaurant with your bag. Also, given that I have to get up earlier to get there earlier, it's definitely not my preferred time. I like to get there about 12:30-1:00 so I can basically go to my room almost as soon as we board and there are no lineups in the terminal.
 
Early, the bottom line is I have paid to be on the ship, I want the maximum value I can out of it. We don't bring on liquids, so we check all of our bags except cameras. We love that there aren't many people in the check in line, that we can get a seat in the terminal, that the buffet isn't crowded, etc.
 
I planned to go later, but as part of our rental car deal (one way from Orlando to Port) we get a priority boarding.
Everything I have read, and heard from past Disney cruisers is that it's a total zoo getting on early. I always try avoid that kind of thing. We've got plenty of time and don't feel the need to maximize that first day. There will be plenty of food, whenever. We don't need to jump in a pool our first few hours onboard.

I need relaxation and chill. Not crowd insanity and anxious shovey people. I hang back. But that's my personality. Others dig it and go all in.
 
This is such an interesting (and relevant) discussion to me, because we are first time cruisers getting ready to do the Alaska cruise in 2 weeks. The earliest PAT that I could get is 12.

There was one activity I just couldn't fit into our Vancouver pre-cruise weekend - a food tour on Granville Island. I've been trying to decide for about a month now whether we should take the tour on embarkation day, which would put us arriving at the cruise terminal around 1-1:30.

This thread brings up so many good points on both "sides" of the early vs late debate. I am still unsure what to do and I'm probably overthinking the whole thing. Then again, this thread reassures me that I'm not the only one thinking about this issue!
 

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