justme0729
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 11, 2014
Our port arrival time is 12:30 but we are taking a shuttle from Orlando to port canaveral at 9:30. Will they let us check in early? What time do you think we will board if they do?
This is what I was going to point out. The staggered PATs are an effort to keep the terminal from being too crowded. When everyone comes before their PAT it defeats the purpose. We try to get there just a little before our picked/assigned time. I know there may be times when it can't be helped because of shuttles or whatever. Since your boarding number is attached to your PAT it really doesn't help to be there too early.Impact is just that you will have to wait longer to be called, in a crowded terminal, full of people who showed up at 1030 - or sooner! - with much later PATs but showed up hoping to board earlier, and still board in the same order (sorry cynical rant
You will be ok to check in early. Have a nice cruise!
This is what I was going to point out. The staggered PATs are an effort to keep the terminal from being too crowded. When everyone comes before their PAT it defeats the purpose. We try to get there just a little before our picked/assigned time. I know there may be times when it can't be helped because of shuttles or whatever. Since your boarding number is attached to your PAT it really doesn't help to be there too early.
The port does not open until 10:30 and it takes about 45min to an hour from the airport to the port. Yes you can check in early but that does not mean you will get onto the ship any earlier.
I would call DCL and see if you can bump your PAT time up a bit.
They don't start boarding anyone until about 11:30-12pm.
If our PAT is 12:30, would we get on the ship at about 12:30 or later?
Now, have people likely been given lower Boarding Groups than what was assigned based on their PAT? I'm sure that sometimes the CM will pixie dust them - people on here have reported getting the number being given out at their arrival time regardless of PAT - but if it happens it is at their discretion. And being loud and pushy is probably not going to help your cause.
If our PAT is 12:30, would we get on the ship at about 12:30 or later?
Agreed! My first cruise i booked just 45 days before sailing and got a later PAT. I was flying in the morning of and taking the DCL bus to the terminal. My flight arrival was early and I was on the first bus out of MCO. I didn't ask for anything but the CM at check-in gave me boarding number 2. Lots of pixie dust there.