"But the ship doesnt leave until 4pm. Why do you need to be there early?"

[imgoingtodisney]

Talking w/SIL the other day. She asked why would we need to be at the port early if the ship didnt leave until 4pm. Couldnt understand why we would fly down the day before. Told her boarding begins at noon, DISmeet at the terminal, Palos ressies, etc. And she's cruised before!

 

[eye R.N.]

Me, I like knowing if there is trouble with a plane (like our last flight to Orlando), or the baggage goes somewhere else. That there is time to get it resolved before I get on a ship.

I like having the unpacking done before dinner.

I like taking my time eating lunch, getting the reservations I want, and spending some time in the hot tub, before the ship sails.

Besides, I want every minute I can get on the ship.

 

[tkd lisa]

My inlaws good friends took a 2 week Panama Canal cruise out of Tampa last year. They booked a package deal, and had a flight out of Indianapolis the morning of the trip. Their flight was delayed and they missed the ship. They had to fly down to the first port of call and pay about $200 a night for two nights waiting on the ship to catch up with them, in a place they didn't speak the language and were afraid to leave the hotel in case they got lost.

Now there are lots of things I would have done differently from them (i.e. stayed in Tampa until closer to the time the ship was supposed to arrive in port so that I would have spoken the language, etc.), but flying in the night before was the ultimate thing that I will ALWAYS do.

We're taking the 10 day Xmas 2004 cruise and planning on bringing the in-laws. The first thing MIL asked me about was "What if we miss the ship like Dan and Sandy did?" I explained that we will come in the night before and that we will pick them up at the airport. I even offered that we could stay in Port Canaveral instead of Orlando that night if she would be more comfortable. She said she'll be fine as long as she's in the right state the night before the cruise (LOL).

 

[Verandah Man]

Besides, I want every minute I can get on the ship.

Amen to that!!!!!

 

[abitjaded]

Or, you could miss the first couple of days of your honeymoon because the airport in Denver was closed due to a blizzard. At least we had planned staying in Puerto Rico for a couple of days first, so we did not miss our cruise departure. ( We also lost a first day in Egypt due to ANOTHER blizzard.) Because we are again cruising in January, I think we will go a COUPLE days before the cruise begins, just to be safe.

Carla

 

[gassmandy]

We always get to the port early and are at least one of the first 5 groups in line............we just enjoy the anticipation and excitement. It's fun to talk to people in line. Vacations end too fast so it's always fun to get a head start and make it last that much longer.

 

[jlawall]

This summer we arrived right at 12 noon to board the ship and it was a great idea. We ate lunch, made our ressies, unpacked and swam all before the boat drill. It was like having an extra day at sea. I highly recommend it.

 

[floridaminnie]

Plus there's the life boat drill and the buffet!

 

[max123]

I agree, having the whole day on the ship is great. We were apart of the first 200 or so to board for the 8/16 Western.

Although we couldn't access our stateroom until 1:30pm, we made our ressies, had the DD signed up at the Lab and had a leisurely lunch on deck 9.

It was so much less rushed.

We flew in to MCO the afternoon before and just chilled out at the Hyatt pool.

I do not like to start my vacations out in stress mode, I would worry about the plane being late, luggage being lost etc....

I were on the 3rd DCL bus out of the airport and through the check in line before 11 am.

The characters came into the terminal to amuse our DD, it was just a relaxing start to a absolutely wonderful vacation!

 

[KYCruiseCrazy]

it's better to be early then late. you can have lots of fun before the boat drill at 4 pm. if it's your first time onboard you can get lots of great pictures of the ship. and ofcourse you get all the ressies in. just remember that the shore excrusions can be booked 60 days before your cruise if you contact DCL. thanks
john

 

[PMelhorn]

 

[wonderbound]

You don't want to miss one second of the Magic!

 

[hughiedeweylouie]

If you want, look at an earlier thread of mine for our almost missed cruise description. But the jist of it was our flight (the day of the cruise) couldn't leave Virginia due to poor visibility. We missed our connecting flight. Got to Orlando very late. And we were the LAST ones on board. They pulled out as soon as we got on the ship. Talk about stress!
This time we're flying in early the day before so if something happens I can either catch another flight or drive all night and make it to the ship in time.

 

[mytmouse]

Originally posted by imgoingtodisney
Talking w/SIL the other day. She asked why would we need to be at the port early if the ship didnt leave until 4pm.

She could arrive later, but it would be a LONG swim!!!!

G

 

[MickeyB426]

I'm guessing your SIL must be your husband's sister.

 

[jrabbit]

On our first cruise, we were at WDW beforehand. We decided to go to one of the parks before we left for the ship. Didn't get to the ship until 2:30 or 3:00. We had lunch in Orlando before leaving there, and then had lunch on the ship again (didn't know there would be food waiting for us ).

We just needed to sign the kids up for the club and lab, that took a little while, didn't want to do the spa or Palo so didn't have that to worry about. Before we got settled down and able to find our way around the ship it was time for the safety drill, spent a little time at the sail away party, then having to get unpacked and dressed for dinner (eating again already are we?). Made for a very rushed, fairly stressful time - duh!!

Since then we have arrived early at the port and waited in line OFF of the ship. Spending time waiting in lines before boarding is much, much, much better than waiting in line ON board. Just like the parks, the earlier you can enter, the more stuff you can get done in a shorter period of time. You spend just a little time taking care of the things "you gotta do" once on board, then you can get to the serious business of partying and enjoying your vacation.

Having to fly to Florida, we will always be "in state" on the day before we sail. The stress of missing the ship because of flight delays are not worth it. Like "Denver" said, they can have blizzards that last for days so from areas like that I would plan accordingly (and leave town earlier )