Disney Cruise Port Arrival Time

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What is your Disney Cruise Port Arrival Time and why is it important?

The day has finally arrived. It’s time for your Disney Cruise! You are understandably really excited and just want to start your vacation.

However, the time that you actually board the ship is going to be dependent upon that all-important Port Arrival Time that you have.

Disney Cruise Lines does a great job of getting people off the ship so that the new guests can get on to the ship. But obviously not everyone can get on the ship at once!

This is why they have different boarding groups. Which boarding group you are in is determined by your Port Arrival Time (unless you are sailing Concierge or are a Platinum Castaway Cay Member).

How Do I Get a Port Arrival Time?

You get your Port Arrival Time long before you you arrive at the cruise port.

You need to log in to My Reservations on the Disney Cruise Website on the App on your phone

When Can I Check In?

• Pearl Castaway Club members & Concierge Staterooms: 40 days before sailing
• Platinum Castaway Club members: 38 days before sailing
• Gold Castaway Club members: 35 days before sailing
• Silver Castaway Club members: 33 days before sailing
• First Time Cruisers: 30 days before sailing

Check in opens at midnight EST.

Here are all the sections you will need to complete to be checked in.

A green tick mark will show once the section is completed.

Y

ou can Check In and as the final part of this process you get a port arrival time.

The more quickly you are able to Check In the more likely you will get an earlier port arrival time.

As part of the Check In online process you will be taken to a screen where you can pick your port arrival time.

The earlier you Check In, the more times that will be available.

As you would expect, the earlier times go the fastest!

Therefore, as soon as you are able to Check In, do it!

This might mean doing it at midnight EST when your window opens.

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What is a Port Arrival Time?

It is important to understand what we mean by Port Arrival Time.

This may seem like an obvious thing, but people get mixed up with the terminology.

Port Arrival Time is not the same thing as the time that the cruise port opens. And it isn’t the same as the time you Board.

For example, Port Canaveral Disney Cruise Terminal generally opens around 10.30 to 11 pm. You can arrive at the port earlier than that, but you won’t be allowed into the terminal to go through security until the port is actually open.

And you will be waiting outside. In the sun.

So aim to arrive 10 to 15 minutes before your PAT.

In San Diego for example, the Cruise Port also generally opens around 11 pm.

You will be standing in line until your Port Arrival time – and there is no shade at all and no where to sit down. You will be standing in a line, marked according to your PAT, and you will not be let into the terminal until that time.

When you check in online you will also get a Boarding Group number.

Usually the Boarding numbers are from 1 to around 30.

Concierge and Pearl Castaway Cay Members always get Groups 1 and 2.

So they can board first. Group 3 are the ones with the early boarding times on Check-In.

Disney will announce that they are about to start boarding. The very first guests to board will be the Family of the Day. This is a family picked at random to be the ones to board first.

Then they will board Concierge and Pearl Castaway Cay Members.

The numbers will be announced and you will join the line of others in that group to board. You will have to show your boarding card to the terminal staff so they will let you board.

It will be interesting to see how social distancing is maintained for cruise terminals. It is easy to see how certain ports will find this easier than others, simply because they have more space.

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Booking Disney Cruise Transportation – The Port Arrival Time/Boarding Group Advantage

There is one “secret” that will mean that you do not need a Port Arrival Time, and will therefore also get an early Boarding Group.

Booking a DCL transfer to the ship.

This is a very convenient way of getting to the port – and it means that you will not need a Port Arrival Time – you will be let into the terminal when you arrive at the port in the bus.

You will also get a low boarding Group, which is usually from Group 3 to Group 5. The actual number can vary from cruise to cruise but it will get you ahead of the crowd.