PAT question

Yes a lot of people go really to wait. But if you show up on your scheduled time, you can sail right into the boat.

 

It's just like the Fast pass system. Show up on your time and you can walk right on, show up early and the CM (cast member) makes you wait for your time.

 

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This is true, and is the whole purpose of the PAT system. Depending on the crowds, you may be kept outside briefly if you arrive too early. The fire Marshal is very strict about the number of people permitted in the terminal. Of course, once boarding starts, this is not an issue as people are rapidly moving out of the terminal to the ship.

People don't realize that there is very little to do in the terminal, and most of what you can do (kid registration) can be accomplished more efficiently on board. There is very little seating, so you'll either be standing or sitting on the floor/carpet much of the time. If your PAT is before 12:30, show up at the PAT. It will save waiting and hanging out in the terminal, and you'll be boarding the ship at the same time as if you had arrived an hour or more earlier! Surely there are more comfortable places to wait than in the terminal....like at the hotel. If your PAT is after 12:30, show up at the terminal about 12:30. By this time the crowds have thinned and DCL is nearing "open boarding" time, (typically between 1 and 1:30) when they no longer use boarding numbers. Once open boarding is announced, you can board as soon as you have checked in. True. the crowds and lines are better on the classic ships, but the waiting is the same!

Yes a lot of people go really to wait. But if you show up on your scheduled time, you can sail right into the boat.

 

It's just like the Fast pass system. Show up on your time and you can walk right on, show up early and the CM (cast member) makes you wait for your time.

 

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UNLESS your PAT is prior to 11:30 (when boarding usually starts). You're not just waltzing right onto the ship when you arrive if your PAT is 10:30.

UNLESS your PAT is prior to 11:30 (when boarding usually starts). You're not just waltzing right onto the ship when you arrive if your PAT is 10:30.

True within limits. If your PAT is 10:30 or if you are one of the groups who is not required to have a PAT, you'll arrive at 10:30 to find quite a line of people needing to go thru security and check in. Depending on where you are in that line, it might take until boarding starts to get your KTTW card. On the other hand, you might be the first person into the terminal (we were, once!) and be sitting around for close to an hour until boarding starts.

In our experience, boarding starts when the ship is ready. This is usually 11:15-11:30 although we've seen it be a few minutes earlier and a few hours later. Of course the late boarding happened when the previous cruise did not have a normal disembarkation.

If you are standing around the terminal with nothing to do, you can do your child registration and get their bands while in the terminal. However, this line is typically quite long. If you wait and do this on board (any time up to the first time you wish to drop off the child), you'll usually find no line at all.

True within limits. If your PAT is 10:30 or if you are one of the groups who is not required to have a PAT' date=' you'll arrive at 10:30 to find quite a line of people needing to go thru security and check in. Depending on where you are in that line, it might take until boarding starts to get your KTTW card. On the other hand, you might be the first person into the terminal (we were, once!) and be sitting around for close to an hour until boarding starts.

 

In our experience, boarding starts when the ship is ready. This is usually 11:15-11:30 although we've seen it be a few minutes earlier and a few hours later. Of course the late boarding happened when the previous cruise did not have a normal disembarkation.

 

If you are standing around the terminal with nothing to do, you can do your child registration and get their bands while in the terminal. [b']However, this line is typically quite long.[/b] If you wait and do this on board (any time up to the first time you wish to drop off the child), you'll usually find no line at all.

But, if you're hanging around waiting anyway (with no place to sit) you may as well wait in that line and get it done.

My suggestion, don't rush. Take your time and enjoy the pixie dust. Even for things as simple as a cruise terminal, Disney finds a way to sneak some in.

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But, if you're hanging around waiting anyway (with no place to sit) you may as well wait in that line and get it done.

Agreed, but we've seen people not want to get out of that line to board. If you have nothing else to do, by all means, check in the kids. But don't remain in the terminal to do it--it is quicker on board!

No doubt, DCL has the best looking cruise terminal I've ever seen. But I wouldn't choose to hang out there if I had other options.

disney has lots of pixie dust, but the lack of chairs in the cruise terminal isn't part of it..

before this cruise, we were always the first group boarding and had to hang around there an hour every time.

as it happened, we were concierge, so there were some places to sit - though not enough for everyone in concierge - we were there first so we sat.

but why should my kids have to stand when an older concierge person comes along when all the seating is gone.

But of course my kids will always stand in that scenario (that's how they were raised). Though all disney has to do is put in more seating.

I don't know why disney thinks seating is unsightly or something like that.

and in the non-concierge part of the terminal there is practically no seating at all.

pixie dust or no pixie dust, beautiful terminal or not, that's not very user friendly of them.

and some of us don't have children to check into the clubs - we're old - the same reason we need a place to park our derrieres

You said it, Beth.