Ahoy there, Jenny!
Welcome onboard here at planDisney! “Yo ho, yo ho a pirate's life for you!“ The X marks the spot on a
Bahamian voyage. Hope that you are already counting down the days until setting sail with Captain Mickey!
The
boarding times vary for cruises leaving Port Canaveral. So much depends on when the ship is cleared to sail. For that reason, I try to choose the earliest possible Port Arrival Time because once the Check-In process is completed, our family will then be in one of the earliest boarding groups and among the first Guests welcomed aboard.
Generally, the earliest time that Guests can walk onboard the ship is around 11:30 A.M. to 12:00 P.M. I looked back at my photos from our recent Disney Dream sailing, and the time stamp showed us boarding at around 11:40 A.M. as part of Boarding Group 1.
As for when the ship sets sail, that time also depends on various factors during
Embarkation Day. The Disney Cruise Line website says that the ship’s scheduled departure time may be as late as 7:00 PM as part of efforts to support enhanced shipboard cleaning. However, I am happy to report that back in November on the Disney Dream, we set sail right around the usual time: 5:00 P.M.
If you can think of more questions about
Port Canaveral, The Bahamas or Disney cruising in general, we hope you will chart a course back to planDisney. Our merry band of pirates “ARRRe” here to help!
Fair Winds and Following Seas,
Sherry