what should our strategy be for a 12:00 pm PAT

uandmfan

Mouseketeer
Joined
Aug 2, 2014
Hi all,

I tried to follow the advice on the board and get an early PAT, but as first time cruisers, it wasn't possible. So we will arrive around noon.

What should our strategy be? Go straight to lunch? Where should we go? I've heard that the buffet can be very busy at that time? Go to the pool first and then eat? but then it's getting late (we have the early dinner seating).

Any advice would be appreciated!

Thanks :)
 
Our first cruise, we went straight to Cabana's to eat lunch but it was absolutely insane with luggage everywhere, people saving tables, trays not being cleared. This time, we picked a later PAT and we are going to stop for brunch before we board. I hear the lines for the slides may be shorter. The good thing about your later arrival time is your room should be ready by 1:30 and you won't have to lug any bags all over the place. :)
 
BTW, we've only been on one cruise so I don't really know anything. That was just our experience with the buffet lunch the first day. I'm certain others have much more valuable information. LOL
 
One of the MDR will also be opened for lunch, so you don't have to go to Cabanas. You will be shown to a table and then order off of a menu. We usually eat at Cabanas, but will be trying out the MDR for lunch on our cruise in March. We usually chose a PAT around noon. We've never had a problem finding a table at Cabanas on the Fantasy, but did when we were on the Wonder several years ago.
 


Hi all,

I tried to follow the advice on the board and get an early PAT, but as first time cruisers, it wasn't possible. So we will arrive around noon.

What should our strategy be? Go straight to lunch? Where should we go? I've heard that the buffet can be very busy at that time? Go to the pool first and then eat? but then it's getting late (we have the early dinner seating).

Any advice would be appreciated!

Thanks :)

First question, how soon is your cruise? If it is this weekend or something, you are right you have to plan for your Noon PAT. If it is 6 months from now, you can keep checking back, you may well be able to get an earlier time between now and then.

Look at the bright side for a Noon, PAT, by the time you get through security and check-in, they will probably be doing open boarding or be close to it. So you won't have to wait much once you finish check in.

Another question is how many people you have and how much carry-on luggage you will have? If you have a lot of people or not much carry-on luggage, then it isn't much of a problem and you can do other things more earlier before you go to your cabin. If you have like 2 adults and 3 kids and a lot of check-in luggage, you will want to get to your cabin ASAP.

Other things to consider is counter-programming. You are correct Cabanas will be busy for lunch, UNTIL 1:30. When we got on board we put all our carry-ons on a deck near the pool with one adult. The rest of us went off to make dinner seating changes, book alcohol tastings, check the kids in to the kids clubs etc. Then, just before 1:30 we met back up, grabbed our carry-ons and headed to Cabanas for lunch. Sure enough, at 1:30 they announced that the cabins were available and the Cabanas EMPTIED. So we ate a leisurely lunch with no crowds. Then, we went down to the cabins and the hallways (which had been jammed with people waiting for the "rope to drop" at 1:00) were now empty and we got to our cabin easily and had plenty of time to unpack and relax before the safety briefing and the sail away party.

You are right this is a bit close to early dinner (which we also had) but honestly, we ate more at lunch than at dinner, the appetizers and main courses really aren't that big. Plus, you can always find food later, you won't go hungry.

We also took advantage of a free breakfast buffet at our hotel, which we ate in the mid-morning, so we weren't too starving at 1:30.
 
My cruise is in February. How do I look to see if earlier PATs have opened up? The problem is there are 4 cabins. So there are 6 adults and 2 kids. We will probably have 2-3 carry on bags.

The pool until 1:30 might be a good idea if the kids aren't hungry. I sort of like the idea of a buffet, but on the other hand, going to an MDR isn't so bad either.

This information is all very helpful! Thank you!
 
Also, I just called the hotel and the shuttle to the port is at 10:30 am. But we have a noon PAT. My parents were supposed to take the shuttle since they booked the park and cruise package. Can they arrive that early? Or should we skip it and take cabs or something?

We have little kids, do they need car seats in cabs? Now I'm starting to worry about the logistics!

Thanks :)
 


One thing to consider is that you don't need to treat something as a "carry-on" just because you carried it on the plane. We bring a backpack with our swimsuits and things we can't do without (medication, camera, wallets, passports) and check our airplane carry-on at the port along with our "checked" luggage. It makes it much easier to move about the ship and enjoy the time until the cabin is ready. Plus you don't have to "rope drop" your cabin and can more easily follow Anchors Away's counter-programming suggestion.
 
My cruise is in February. How do I look to see if earlier PATs have opened up? The problem is there are 4 cabins. So there are 6 adults and 2 kids. We will probably have 2-3 carry on bags.

The pool until 1:30 might be a good idea if the kids aren't hungry. I sort of like the idea of a buffet, but on the other hand, going to an MDR isn't so bad either.

This information is all very helpful! Thank you!


If you go back into your Online check-in, where you entered in your information, and chose your PAT, you can see the available PAT times. People do change them, especially close to the end as they finalize travel plans (all PATs are frozen like 3 days before you sail). So you might still be able to snag earlier times. Even if it is just one group at first, take it. You might get the others in a few days, and nothing stops you from getting on together at the latest time if you want to all get on together and you couldn't all get the earlier PAT.

With 6 adults and 2 kids, you have a lot of flexibility with your carry-on bags that some people don't have. Find one person in your group who just wants to relax in the shade, get them a good seat on some deck (near the pool or elsewhere) and pile up all your bags with that person until 1:30. They get to sit and relax, the rest of you can explore the decks unencumbered.

As for the kids, late breakfast is good. Snacks in your carry-ons is good. You can carry on drinks and packaged food, not open food, or homemade food. So you should be able to fill a small backpack with granola bars and peanut butter crackers or whatever food you feel acceptable to hold them over until 1:30. Hopefully, they will be having fun exploring with you and won't notice.

Also, with a big group like that, make sure you all pre-load the Navigator app, so that once you get on-board you can give each other your contact info and chat with each other. This makes meeting up on the ship much easier for a big group like yours. Depending on the age of your kids they can have it too. Most devices that are Wi-Fi capable can run the app: An older smartphone that no longer has a wireless plan, an iPod touch, etc.
 
Also, I just called the hotel and the shuttle to the port is at 10:30 am. But we have a noon PAT. My parents were supposed to take the shuttle since they booked the park and cruise package. Can they arrive that early? Or should we skip it and take cabs or something?

We have little kids, do they need car seats in cabs? Now I'm starting to worry about the logistics!

Thanks :)

Great question. Yes, you can arrive early. Most of the time (unless the building is really crowded) they will let you into the building and you can go through security and check in, but your boarding time is linked to your PAT, not your check-in, so you would still have to wait until they call your boarding number or go to open boarding. For that reason, we don't normally recommend people come early, since they will just have to wait anyway, but in the case of your parents, if they have to come on the shuttle earlier, no problem. They will just have to wait inside the terminal for their boarding number.
 
Perfect, thanks!

Is there somewhere we can arrange to meet inside? We'll take cabs closer to the PAT time I think. Is there a good landmark to meet at? We won't have cells that work in the US.
 
There is a huge model of the ship ( the Magic, I think) in the middle of the check in area. They usually have a character here also that you can get your pic taken with. If your parents arrive early, I'd suggest they go find a chair to sit in, there aren't a lot, so if they are going to be waiting awhile they might want a place to sit. Then when it gets closer to your meeting time they could wait for you by the ship model. Most of the chairs are all in one area, so it wouldn't be hard to find them there either. The really huge crowds are usually gone by noon, so it shouldn't be that hard to find them.
 
Perfect, thank you so much! I have so many good ideas from this discussion and am much more confident that it will all work out :)

We may even let the kids board in their bathing suits so we can go straight to the pool for an hour. They would probably like that. I like the idea of eating while there's a rush for rooms and then going to the room a bit later. I wouldn't have thought of that!
 
You can take pictures with Mickey (or Minnie they switch at 12) while you wait to board.

Our second cruise we hit Cabanas before the rush. On our last cruise we went to the MDR for seated lunch. On our next cruise we plan on going to the MDR again, it was more relaxed and it's nice to be served.
 
Also, If you guys are by the pool and hungry before you wish to deal with the crowds in Cabanas you're able to get pizza, wraps, chicken fingers, burgers, fries, salads, fruits and ice cream at the quick service windows by the pool. We did this for the kids one year when we 1st got on board.
 
Perfect, thank you so much! I have so many good ideas from this discussion and am much more confident that it will all work out :)

We may even let the kids board in their bathing suits so we can go straight to the pool for an hour. They would probably like that. I like the idea of eating while there's a rush for rooms and then going to the room a bit later. I wouldn't have thought of that!

We did that on our last cruise. There are public bathrooms close to the pools, so you can always change into clothes if your checked luggage/room isn't ready. We've also gone to the Oceaneer's club after lunch because it's open house then so everyone can go in and play/check it out.
 
Maybe just going to the pool and eating there is the way to go. we'll have lots of chances to check out Cabana's right? It seems like it would be relaxing and then once they swim, we could go to the open house and then get our rooms? We have signed the kids up for the kid's club online and I think we can finish the process at the port??
 
Yes you can eat breakfast, lunch, or dinner(not on the last night) at Cabanas so lots of chances. Since you have already pre-reg for the kids club you can finish it at the port or just go to the club to finish. We've always just gone to the club to do it, so don't know how it's done at the port. It doesn't take long at all.
 
Don't sweat it. You get there when you get there. You will be thrilled to be on the ship. Those first few hours on the ship speed by, you won't be looking for things to do. Being organized enough to hit the pool or slides is better left for experience cruisers lol. The staff will sort of herd you towards Cabanas where you will have an awesome lunch and you will be so busy looking at the view and taking pics, it will be time to go to your room before you know it. Also, just for an FYI, we have been early for our port time every cruise and have never had to wait once. I think they are just a guideline so people don't all show up at 8 am :) I have noon boarding and my shuttle is dropping us at 11:00, not worried in the least. Trust me, take this worry completely off your list.
 

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