Best/Favorite Time to Arrive at Port

[Mini-haha]

 

We are cruising of port Canaveral on Harmony in Feb.  What is the best time to arrive at the port where you dont have to sit around waiting to board but also avoiding long lines?

 

Do you have a favorite time to arrive and why so?

[cruisinghawg]

10 AM, might as well get be the first!!

[Clarea]

1 hour ago, Mini-haha said:

 

We are cruising of port Canaveral on Harmony in Feb.  What is the best time to arrive at the port where you dont have to sit around waiting to board but also avoiding long lines?

 

Do you have a favorite time to arrive and why so?

 

If you arrive around 1:30pm, staterooms will be open so you can drop your carry-ons and the buffet will be much less crowded.

[Norwich Cruiser]

4 hours ago, Mini-haha said:

 

We are cruising of port Canaveral on Harmony in Feb.  What is the best time to arrive at the port where you dont have to sit around waiting to board but also avoiding long lines?

 

Do you have a favorite time to arrive and why so?

We normally get to Port Canaveral or any other port for that matter about 10.30am and are then usually on board by 11.00am.

We then make any specialty dining reservations that we may require.

The lunch venues normally open about 11.30am so are never crowded.

After lunch we then explore the ship even if we’ve sailed on it before and check out our MDR dining table.

Maybe then have a cocktail on deck and by then it’s about 13.00 and the staterooms usually open about then.

Sometimes we’ve been lucky and our luggage has already been delivered so we unpack and then go soak up the sun on the pool deck.

Our early arrival avoids any crowds and it seems to us as though you get an extra day.

[Saturngrl]

My last cruise out of Port Canaveral was on Oasis in 2017.  We arrived about 10:00 and had to wait to board the ship until 11:00.  Seats in the port waiting room were full and it was standing-room only. We went straight to the Solarium Bistro before the crowds hit there for lunch.  Then carried our carry-ons around the ship until the cabins were ready shortly after 1:00 p.m.

 

Unless you are Diamond, Platinum, have a suite or purchased the Key,  you may want to stick to your assigned check-in time to avoid the crowds and waiting. 

[ZiggaZagga17]

5 hours ago, Norwich Cruiser said:

We normally get to Port Canaveral or any other port for that matter about 10.30am and are then usually on board by 11.00am.

We then make any specialty dining reservations that we may require.

The lunch venues normally open about 11.30am so are never crowded.

After lunch we then explore the ship even if we’ve sailed on it before and check out our MDR dining table.

Maybe then have a cocktail on deck and by then it’s about 13.00 and the staterooms usually open about then.

Sometimes we’ve been lucky and our luggage has already been delivered so we unpack and then go soak up the sun on the pool deck.

Our early arrival avoids any crowds and it seems to us as though you get an extra day.

Each and every cruise we do this!

 

The only thing I will add is that if it's a hot climate we will have pool attire in our carry on and go straight to the pool whilst the 1st day madness goes on - not always, but from time to time!

 

Oh and having a higher tier, I'll just got to the line that's the shortest when boarding - it can sometimes save time too!

[jakeil7]

It really depends on your group, you carry on size, and your setup.

 

if you are a easy going, slow morning group, 1pm. You get there and by the time you are on the ship, rooms are open so you can toss your bags directly in your stateroom. This also applies if you are driving in or have tourist type plans in the departure port.  For standard rooms, this is my suggestion. 

 

If you have a full suite or the Key, 11am. You are there after check in starts, typically board directly, and you can go directly to the suite/concierge lounge/key drop off to stash your bags (not sure if this applies to non-SL ships). Have lunch at CK or similar. When you are done with lunch, go to your room. 
 

if you have a large group, meet for brunch and then head for the ship

 

if you have kids, hang out at the hotel pool, and head to the ship to arrive by 1. 
 

If you HAVE to be the first person on (helpful to get exact times for reservations), 10am. 
 

 

[jalves]

I'd suggest 11:30 at the earliest to avoid crowds and waits.  Lots of people try to get to the port early so the terminal gets crowded.  Once they open boarding the crowd dissipates.  By 11:30 you should be able to move through the terminal quickly and get on board.  

[Palmetto Pilot]

I get there as early as possible. I'd rather wait at the terminal than anywhere else. 

[Drock20J]

We like to get to the parking around 10:30, so we are walking to the terminal at 11, then we can go ahead and board around 11:30, eat lunch and explore, by then the room are open and we are IN BUSINESS!

[jakeil7]

9 minutes ago, Drock20J said:

eat lunch and explore, by then the room are open and we are IN BUSINESS!

Do you find that you can explore while carrying your carry ons around?

[Clarea]

5 minutes ago, jakeil7 said:

Do you find that you can explore while carrying your carry ons around?

 

All depends on the carry-ons. 

[jakeil7]

1 hour ago, Host Clarea said:

 

All depends on the carry-ons. 

Why I asked. I can’t imagine exploring with anymore than a backpack. Do I overpack?! 😝

[Drock20J]

33 minutes ago, jakeil7 said:

Why I asked. I can’t imagine exploring with anymore than a backpack. Do I overpack?! 😝

That is precisely what my carry on is. Also, we bring an umbrella Stroller for my daughter and use that as a pack-mule.

[CruiseWendy]

I'm a fan of getting there at 10:30, pack a book, swim suit, order a drink, get lunch before the crowds. etc. I don't need to get to my stateroom right away. Vacation begins earlier and the crowds are less.

[Tulsacoker]

about 90 minutes prior to departure... 

[Drock20J]

Tried that once... ended up getting there 15 minutes to departure...talk about STRESSED!

[Tulsacoker]

The stress makes the second day on more relaxing 

[taglovestocruise]

1 pm, no lines, no crowds, staterooms open, overwhelming lunch crowd has dissipated. 

[fredflint]

we found that about 2 PM works out really well.

[davelinde]

We drive to Canaveral (we live near MCO) and usually try to leave here around 9ish.

We park off site and so arriving a bit before 10 gets us to the ship some time between 10 and 11 (parking shuttles are random).  I've found that that boarding can vary a LOT.  We've arrived at 10:30 and basically walked on to the ship and we've arrive at 10:30 and waited an hour in various lines.

 

Once on board we stake out a table and begin the cruise.  We read, play cards, eat, drink and repeat until rooms are open.   Then we drop our carry on and unpack if the bags are there or go back to a table if they are not.

[tangogulf]

We usually cruise from our home city (Sydney AU) so we usually arrive at the terminal 12:30 - 1:30pm. Usually things have quietened down by this time and we usually breeze through check in, cabin is usually ready and we can go have lunch!

 

When cruising from other than our home city depends on Hotel check out time. This year we did a cruise out of Honk Kong so checked out by 11am and arrived at the terminal by 11:45. A little bit of a wait before we were able to board but it was fine. 

[MississippiMom]

13 hours ago, jakeil7 said:

Do you find that you can explore while carrying your carry ons around?

A rolling carry on is super easy to take along while exploring.

[bearette]

Around 1pm-3pm I have arrived and 90℅ of the time I have no line and walk right on.It  was cutting it to close, but twice we arrived 30 minutes before sailaway.  We walked right in took about 2 minutes, but I wouldn't recommend that because I was so worried we weren't going to make it!

[jakeil7]

9 hours ago, MississippiMom said:

A rolling carry on is super easy to take along while exploring.

Just for others in this thread That might be newbies - I, personally, have found that exploring with a rollable suitcase is troublesome. They cause issues in crowds and can be a pain when moving up and down stairs. However, exploring has many different definitions so, as always, YMMV