Ahoy there, Tegan.
Welcome back to planDisney. Thanks for bringing more great questions for us. I’m happy to help you get ready for your sailing on the
Disney Wonder.
As I’m sure you’re aware, your PAT (port arrival time) is different than your actual boarding time. It’s hard to predict what time you will actually be onboard since various factors come into play, such as the time it takes to go through security and scanning your carry-on items, the crowd size of your sailing, and delays in debarkation of prior sailing etc. In my personal experience, the time it took from our PAT to being onboard ranged from 20 minutes (in Barcelona) to around 45 minutes (in Port Canaveral during Thanksgiving week). Most Guests prefer to grab the earliest PAT as possible to allow more time onboard during Embarkation Day. Because of this, it can take longer for boarding groups to be called earlier in the day.
Side note: There are several photo opportunities at the port terminal that may add to the time it takes to get on the ship. I remember during our first few sailings, we wanted to take advantage of family photos on Embarkation Day, but we have since skipped these photo ops. Since this is your first time sailing with
Disney Cruise Line, you may want to take advantage and capture the special moment!
Table service on Embarkation Day typically ends around 2PM, though times may vary so I recommend checking the
Disney Cruise Line Navigator App or at Guest Service once you’ve boarded. Our family always try to do a sit-down lunch on Day 1 since we prefer to dine at a relaxing pace without having to worry about our carry-ons. After the hustle and bustle of getting to the cruise terminal, going through security and finally being on the ship, it’s nice to begin being pampered with a sit-down lunch to kick off your Disney cruise vacation!
I hope this information is helpful for you, Tegan. I wish you and your daughter a magical first time sailing on the Disney Wonder! If you have more questions, please don’t hesitate to stop by
planDisney again.
Hope to “SEA” ya real soon,
Kiki