What's your typical/ideal Embarkation Day routine?

[leannak]

BBC sounds awesome! Where is the best place to get a drink ASAP upon boarding? We will have our kids in tow (so prefer not to head into the adult only area) and we aren’t concierge. Is there a good place that is open and doesn’t typically have a long line? They don’t have alcoholic beverages in Cabanas, do they?

 

[bcwife76]

When we first get on we either head to the open restaurant for lunch or up to Cabana's. Then if it's nice head to the pool for the girls to swim. If they're not in the mood then we head down to the kids club to get the locks on their bands and up to Edge for DD 11 to get the sticker on her card. Once the room is ready we'll dump our stuff then continue doing around the ship. If the luggage starts to arrive we'll unpack. After the muster drill we open our sail away prosecco (might already be open before the muster drill if we feel like it lol) Sometimes head up to the sailaway party but if not head back to the room to finish unpacking and finish off that prosecco.

 

[hcox31]

We head to cabanas first (although once we did animator's lunch and it was quiet and lovely).... but my oldest loves the buffet, so we eat there. Then we head to the kid club open houses to let them blow off some energy. Once rooms are ready, we head to our room and wait for our bags to arrive and unpack. Muster Drill. Then we head up to the sail away party where I get my DOTD. Then back to the room to sail away and watch the port go by, then early seating.

 

[BCV23]

I love these threads.

We go straight to Animator's for lunch. Love looking through the Navigator as we enjoy a quiet lunch. If we want to add or change a Palo reservation, we head there next and then go to the cabins. Unpack our carryons, and by then the other luggage has usually begun to arrive. On recent cruises, we also order the Prosecco as our platinum gift and All Hands on Deck as we unpack. Muster drill and then back to the cabins for sail away while we enjoy the wine, cheese and fruit.

Ahh....wish we were doing it today!

 

[Buzzster]

I tried a new routine on our most recent trip. We boarded and went to Animators Pallet for lunch. So much less crowded and a truly civilized way to start our cruise. After that, a little time in Satellite Falls. By that time, our stateroom was open. As it happened, our luggage was already there. I second the unpack immediately if possible. This makes it feel like you are finally on vacation. On a whim, I booked the Champagne Tasting at 2pm. It was GREAT and really got the fun started...

 

[kiford]

We go to Guest Services or wherever you are supposed to go for tastings and book those first (our upcoming cruise will be the first time we've been able to book them online so we may not need to do this now) then head up to the stateroom and unpack the carry on bags. Check the excursion tickets to make sure they're correct (I have had to have changes made previously). Then lunch. Then we just wander the ship for a bit even if it's a ship we've been on previously, there's always little changes or things we've forgotten. Sometimes we might do the ship tour as you always learn a little something. Depending on when we get luggage, we'll unpack - sometimes it comes before the drill, sometimes after. Do the drill after first checking the life jackets to make sure there's no damage and that we remember how they go on. If we're on the Dream/Fantasy, we'll go and get a glass of champagne either during the sail away party or just after and watch us pull out of the port or if we're on the Magic, we'll have a bottle of champagne waiting in our stateroom and sit on the balcony watching us pull out. Then either the pool or show during early dining time and then get ready for dinner.

Nothing particularly special. We do like to watch the ship pull out of port - that's my favourite part of the first day no matter what port we're in.

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

We have only had 2 cruises, but our 2nd one established what I think will be our normal routine going forward -

Wake up in the hotel and have a leisurely morning.
Head to a restaurant for an early lunch and beverage (11 or 11:30am) - we went to Kelsey's at PC and it was great!
Be pulling into the parking deck around 12:45pm, and go through security and check-in.
Board with no wait at all.
Head directly to the room and open a beer that we have carried on.
Sit on veranda and watch activities at the port.
Unpack carry-ons and suitcases once they arrive.
Check out kids clubs. Go to fitness room to check out activity schedule & sign up for things. Maybe order something from room service.
Muster drill.
Watch sail-away from veranda.
Show (or else wander around the ship) and then dinner.

We don't enjoy crowds. This was a really pleasant and calm way to start our vacation. We will definitely go this route again. I have no problem sacrificing 90-120 minutes of ship time to have a more relaxed start.

 

[BlueRibbon]

I have to say Embarkation is my favorite part of the cruise! As folks have mentioned before, the anticipation, and excitement leading up to it cannot compare. Embarkation youtube videos are so exciting!

With that said, we typically get there as early as possible in relation to our PAT time. After boarding, we head straight to Cabanas for lunch. We've been there when it's packed to the gills but it's still fun! Afterwards, we enjoy walking around the ship trying to find something we haven't dwelled on too much before, then off to the room.

Sailing away party is a must - not so much for the party but hearing that "3-2-1 <When you wish upon a star horn>" is such a joy to hear!

 

[Cruise Diva]

We go to the concierge dinning room for a leisurely lunch. After lunch we go up to the concierge lounge to meet with the concierge staff, and then it is down to our stateroom to meet with our stateroom host and unpack. Once we are unpacked we can really start to relax and enjoy the cruise.

 

[leannak]

Is the opening night show good across ships? I think I might prefer to hang out on deck or out veranda and watch us pull out of port. Hmmm.

I think I read that there is something like a bon-voyage drink? Is this a special thing or just the drink of the day?

 

[Rob1872]

Is the opening night show good across ships? I think I might prefer to hang out on deck or out veranda and watch us pull out of port. Hmmm.

We've always been able to watch us leave the port and still have time to get ready for 1st seating dinner. You don't need to choose between watching the ship leave and the opening night show.
The opening night show will vary depending on your itinerary and ship.

 

[cedricandsophie]

We are platinum and get on early. We have older kids so they are on their own, we get a table in the Cove, get lunch usually at the grill and bring it to table. Hang by Cove pool. If on the fantasy we get a couple runs in on the Aqua Duck. When the rooms open we take our carry on bags to room and unpack those, we have been lucky to usually get our bags early. I like to unpack as quickly as possible. After the drill, we watch the show. Then we go back to the Cove and hang out until it’s time to get ready for the show. My husband and the kids like the shows so they get ready first, then I take my time, meet up after the show and usually head to the piano bar while the kids look for characters. We all meet up at late dinner.

 

[MomOTwins]

BBC sounds awesome! Where is the best place to get a drink ASAP upon boarding? We will have our kids in tow (so prefer not to head into the adult only area) and we aren’t concierge. Is there a good place that is open and doesn’t typically have a long line? They don’t have alcoholic beverages in Cabanas, do they?

There is a little lounge overlooking the main atrium that I like lot, and there are places to get alcohol on the pool deck so you can get something there and carry it in to Cabanas. Just one clarification: if by the "adult only area" you mean the little "district" area with various lounges, that only becomes adult-only later in the evening since during the day they do family activities there. But I don't recommend that for a first-thing-on-board drink since it is a little out of your way.

Is the opening night show good across ships? I think I might prefer to hang out on deck or out veranda and watch us pull out of port. Hmmm.

I think I read that there is something like a bon-voyage drink? Is this a special thing or just the drink of the day?

While shows vary across ships and itineraries, I think all the shows are worth seeing especially on a first cruise. Shows are only 45 minutes and are after the main "sail away" so you will have plenty of verandah time before and after. I suspect the bon voyage drink and drink of the day are one and the same. Either way, those things all just taste the same to me--sugary fruity pre-mixed, watered down things--so if you want an actual cocktails made from scratch order something else.

 

[Weedy]

Is the opening night show good across ships? I think I might prefer to hang out on deck or out veranda and watch us pull out of port. Hmmm.

I think I read that there is something like a bon-voyage drink? Is this a special thing or just the drink of the day?

If sailing out of Port Canaveral sail away is usually 4:30
The first show is 6:15 if you have late seating 8:15
**shows may vary by 15 minutes
Or if you have early dinner 5:45 your show will be 8:30
It depends on what cruise you’re on as to what the show is. In my opinion all are good.
Go to Disney Cruise Line Blog and you can see Navigators from past cruises. The show schedule for the main Disney shows is usually the same and you can decide if you want to see the first nights show
https://disneycruiselineblog.com/personal-navigators/

 

[mocodis]

We are Platinum, but like boarding later so we can just walk on with no lines. we first join our friends and decide where to go for lunch, usually Cabanas. We then walk around the Wonder to see what has changed. Then it is muster and sail away. And lets not forget the opening night show at the Walt Disney and always nice to meet our servers on the first night.

 

[mickeymom22]

We get to the terminal as early as possible and get a low boarding number. We look over the Navigator and get excited about all the activities. We also take some pics with the characters. Once on board, we always eat at Cabana's. Last cruise we purchased the drink of the day and that made it really feel like we were on vacation! We walk around and look at all the different areas...lounges...kids area...nursery...teen area...

We head to our room and chillax. Mandatory life boat drill. We always head to the front of the ship to watch it leave the port!

Love...love...love!

 

[leannak]

I know the muster drill isn’t terrible, but anyone have any tips for making it “better”? Ex. Have a cocktail before going. Can my little one bring a stuffed animal? (Are there any big no-no’s besides arriving late?)

And yes, I will play close attention and do take it seriously.

 

[Pinkgurlshubby]

We like to be in PC the night before, wake up early and clean up, pack, get some food and coffee in us, I quit smoking 10 years ago so scratch that morning ritual off the list lol. Basically as others put it, try to get early PAT, if we have a rental I drop everyone off at the port and take the car back and shuttle back to port, stand in line for the gates to open. If we are lucky we are one of the first ones in line. When the porters come we give the luggage and when the gates open we go through security. I love the escalator ride to the terminal. Then check in and see about guest services to sign the kids up and if there is anything else we needed to button up. May see about an upgrade if the line isn't too busy.
Once on board it's to the buffet and when that is done it's a tour of the ship and visit the kids clubs with the kids. We like to go hang out at the pool deck and first cruise we learnt that first items in the carry on are swim suits and lotion. Once the rooms open we stay close and check up. If the luggage arrives before the muster we unpack, it not then it's after. By then it's time for the sail away and get ready for dinner. Also note that from the moment you embark it is 5 o clock somewhere

 

[Southern Pirate]

We check in then have a seat to wait for boarding. After boarding we go to our room and drop off our bags then it is off to one of the mdr's for lunch. After lunch we head to the lounge to confirm our activities and then up to the hot tub to relax and wait for the ship to sail.

 

[over50visits]

When we made platinum, just about the only real perk was the meal at Palo (more so as they keep raising the price). But another good one for us is the #1 boarding number. We show up early enough (9:30 or so) to enjoy the crowd anticipation in the terminal...

....but for us the best part is going to Cabanas and getting a window table. We just love having Cabanas all to ourselves (or so it seems for about 15 minutes), and watching the port life from our table. We get to interact with our first crew members, as the waiters there aren't yet incredibly busy as they will be after a while. Every one of them has an interesting story, and it's fun to find out where they're from and what their family is like. It's a relaxing lunch, and we feel the ship come to life.

The timing is good, by the time we are finished the room is filling, so we are able to move on to let others enjoy the setting. We still enjoy watching the port life, so we'll find seats near the outside of the ship (on the newer ships usually near the coffee shop) and again it's fairly quiet and the view is wonderful. We know the ships, we already have our Palo reservations, so we don't have anywhere we need to go. We wait for the room access time to arrive, unpack, go to the drill, then the bustle starts with the sail away party.

Relaxing, invigorating, and transitions from the shore life to the leisure at sea.