Carnival actual boarding times?

[icklemonster]

Hi, we are sailing out of Port Canaveral on Liberty on Sunday Jan 11. The ship is due to depart at 16:00. They have given us a boarding time of 12:30 - 14:30. I've never sailed with Carnival before so I'm just wondering what time boarding actually opens and closes?

 

We are spending a couple of nights at Disneyworld before and I'm wondering whether we should spend the morning in one of the parks then head over to the ship to maximise our Orlando experience (we're travelling from the UK).

 

It looks like it takes about an hour from Disney to Port so thinking if we set off at around 12.30 we'll be there by 14:00. I'm just thinking if we hit some traffic on route (is this a bad route for congestion on a Sunday?) and don't make the 14.30, is boarding actually still open until after that?

 

Also if we decide against the above, then we'll want to board earlier than 12.30?

 

Any advice would be appreciated :)

[donaldsc]

Bad idea. If you get to the ship after the 14:30 boarding time, they may not let you on board for security reasons. Any delay on your trip from Disney to the port may cause you to miss the cruise.

 

DON

[icklemonster]

So 14.30 is the final allowed boarding time for everyone? With other lines we have sailed you have been able to board closer to the departure time. I know the boarding times they usually assign you are just for crowd control but in fact you can often board from about 11am to 1 hour before departure. Is this not the case with Carnival?

[Keith1010]

Best to post this on the Carnival Board.

 

I would not cut getting to the port too early.

 

Things can happen on the way such as a vehicle breaking down.

 

Keith

[icklemonster]

Thanks, I'll hunt out the Carnival board :)

[Corby114]

2:30PM is too late for you to arrive at Port Canaveral. If there is traffic on 528 ( Beachline Expressway) or a serious accident you are screwed. I would leave the Orlando area around 11:00AM and reach the port around 12 Noon. If everything works out you should be onboard around 1:00PM giving you time for a nice lunch and time to explore the ship prior to the sailaway at 4:00PM.

[alsjokers]

I second that, having lived in Orlando just getting from the parks to the expressway can take 20 minutes never mind the ridiculous traffic on the i4 expressway.

 

 

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[Bonnie J.]

You can usually board around 11:30 even thought they say 12:30. When you get on board go the buffet for lunch. Plan at least an hour+ to get to the port. How are you getting there? Are you renting a car then turning it back in at the port? I have read here of different ways to get to the port. I know there are shuttles to the port from Orlando. Try searching here on cruisecritic for ways to the port. Or someone here may be able to give you different ways to get there.

[icklemonster]

Thanks so much everyone for the advice We'll avoid WDW that morning then.

 

I posted on he Carnival board (as suggested above) and was given the idea of going to the Kennedy Space station. I love the Kennedy space station idea - DH is an engineer and bit of a geek so he would really enjoy going there, if even for a few hours. The prices look a lot more favourable too for a short visit compared to WDW.

 

We have a 2 year old DD who is bound to have jet lag so we'll be up ridiculously early (hence the reason for wanting something to do in the morning or she'll go crazy stuck in a hotel room) so figure we can set off super early and arrive for when it opens at 9am, then stay until just before noon. It says on Google 27 minutes commute to the cruise port, so think I'd feel comfortable with that.

[icklemonster]

You can usually board around 11:30 even thought they say 12:30. When you get on board go the buffet for lunch. Plan at least an hour+ to get to the port. How are you getting there? Are you renting a car then turning it back in at the port? I have read here of different ways to get to the port. I know there are shuttles to the port from Orlando. Try searching here on cruisecritic for ways to the port. Or someone here may be able to give you different ways to get there.

 

 

We are hiring car which we have to drop off at the cruise port. Some nice people on the Carnival board recommended some tips on getting there, and I have just emailed our travel agent to check where we are returning our car is not going to add too much extra time to our journey! :)

[kelkel2]

I second that, having lived in Orlando just getting from the parks to the expressway can take 20 minutes never mind the ridiculous traffic on the i4 expressway.

 

 

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I also agree with this.

You should not be getting to Port that late. Boarding typically starts at 11:30ish and lines can get really long. Traffic can be really heavy in the area and if you get stuck on an expressway behind an accident or something of that nature you really aren't giving yourself enough time to get to the port. Not to mention traffic can get really heavy around the port itself with more than one ship in Port that day. Lets say there are 2-3 large ships in port. Thats 6-8 thousand people trying to get on ships. It's a lot of people moving into an area in a short amount of time.

It's just not worth the risk. Plus if you are late, Carnival does not have to allow you to board and generally they can't allow it. Once they have turned in the Manifest over to the officials there's nothing that can be done, even if the ship is still in Port and has not set sail.