Welcome aboard planDisney, Kevin!
Your wonderful
Disney Cruise Line vacation is nearly here! Thanks for reaching out to ask about embarkation day logistics. I’m not sure which port you’re sailing out of, or which ship, as several have a sail date matching yours. All the same, the policies and guidance are consistent for Disney Cruise Line Guests.
Your
Port Arrival Time (PAT) was selected during Online Check-In and appears on your Port Arrival Form, an important document that you should bring with you to the port either electronically (email or digital wallet) or printed. This time assigned to your travel party is the time you’re allowed to enter the terminal, which will be verified during the security process. There are often crew members outside the terminal to organize Guests into queues based on this time. This means you may certainly arrive at the physical location of the port before that time but please know you won’t be able to enter and be fully checked in for boarding until that designated time. You can log onto your reservation and see if earlier times have opened up by navigating the online-check in process again, but it may not be possible so close to your sail date.
Depending on your travel logistics, you may choose to bring your vehicle to the port early and keep your luggage in the vehicle while you get lunch in the area. If sailing out of
Port Canaveral, Florida for example, there are many wonderful waterside restaurants for a fun lunch to get you into vacation mode. The
brand-new port of Fort Lauderdale, Florida is also centrally located for a seaside meal before you embark. While your hotel requires check-out at 11:00 A.M. per your question, you may inquire about a late check-out or explore their amenities while they hold your luggage for a bit longer until you head to the terminal.
Given your sail date, it’s unfortunately too late to add
Disney Ground Transportation, but please know if you’ve already paid for and arranged that personalized transport, your assigned Port Arrival Time from online check-in is not as relevant. Disney will contact you the night before you sail to finalize details on when they’ll pick you up. With Disney at the helm, you don’t need a different port arrival time, as their timeline for drop-off allows for these group arrivals per their schedule.
I know everyone is anxious to board the beautiful ship, so I hope you can enjoy just a few more hours relaxing around your hotel or the port area before it’s your turn to board. In my experience, your 2:45 P.M. Port Arrival Time should be very efficient from security through physically boarding the ship before all the fun sail-away activities and required safety drills. Please be sure you've installed (and updated) the
Disney Cruise Line Navigator App prior to boarding so that you can magically
flip into "onboard mode" and see every detail for your cruise itinerary upon boarding.
Thank you for thinking of planDisney with your important question. Wishing you an amazing cruise!
Bon voyage,
Amy