We stayed at Universal prior to our cruise this past April. Our transportation picked us up at our Universal hotel at 10am, which got us to Port Canaveral around 11am. We waited in traffic for a while, but the check-in process inside the terminal was fairly quick. We were on the ship by 12, then went to the buffet for lunch. While we were eating, they announced that cabins were ready so we were able to go check it out and drop our bags. We also found our luggage in the hallway while heading to our cabin. So IMO, timing worked out perfectly for us.