Embarkation

Embarkation:

Embarkation is the best day. You wake up, and next thing you know, it's time to get on the ship!

Here are some things to keep in mind:

• Fly in a day or two to make sure you don't miss the plane
• If you absolutely HAVE to fly in the day of, I suggest staying at an Airport Hotel the night before to make sure you don't accidentally oversleep
• Don't fly with a little commercial airline like Spirit or Frontier, they can be known to have delay-related problems

Tips for ground transportation:

When you get to the airport the terminal is closest to, you will need some sort of ground transportation to get from the airport to the port. It is one of the few things that are not included in your Disney Cruise. I suggest having the Disney transfers because if there is some sort of traffic delay, they can make sure the ship will wait for you. I have also heard great things about Cortrans and Happy Limo (Note: these are for Port Canaveral ONLY because Disney owns their own terminal there)

Arriving at the Port:

Port Canaveral is really amazing. The terminal opens at about 10-10:30 AM. Boarding begins at about 11:30-11:45 AM When you get there, if you drive, you will park in the garage and already be on the floor you need to be. If you take DCL transfers, you will have to take the escalator. There is a security checkpoint for both ways. It is like the airport, but much easier (you can probably relate it to TSA Pre Check). You don't have to take off your shoes or anything like that. Just remove metal objects (such as a phone). When you get to the main area, there will be signs directing you to new cruiser checkin, concierge, and different Castaway Club checkins. The line may look huge, but it goes really quick. When you checkin, they will take a picture of you for security reasons, to make sure you don't use someone else's card to get alcohol, or go to the night clubs that are for guests 18+. You will get your KTTWC (Key to the world card- DCL has a cashless system. All the members of your stateroom are hooked up to an account. You can grant charging to anyone on the online checkin.

Boarding the ship:

Yay! Boarding is one of the many highlights of your trip. Once you walk through the Mickey ears in the terminal, your vacation officially begins. They will have you tap your KTTWC once more that says that you are actually on the ship. Until 4PM, you can explore the ship, eat lunch, and relax.

Restaurants on Boarding day:

Once you board the ship, you will probably want some lunch. We were on the Fantasy, so here are the options for that ship:

Cabanas- Buffet on Deck 11 Aft.
Enchanted Garden- Deck 2 Mid.

Cabanas will probably be full of people, but the good thing is that there is outside seating by the pool and there is another outside entrance inside the restaurant.

Muster Drill- ALL GUESTS MUST GO TO

It is required by maritime law that all guests must participate in the muster drill. At 4 PM, the ships general alarm will sound. It is seven short blasts, followed by one long blast. Report to your muster station. If you do not know what letter it is, it is on the back of the stateroom door, and on your KTTWC. All of the lifeboats (on the Fantasy/ Dream at least) are on deck 4, also known as the promenade deck. The drill usually lasts 15-20 minutes and all guests are required to have their KTTWC. You do not bring the lifejackets!

Sail Away!

At 4:30 PM, you are invited to deck 11 to have the sail away party! Go! it is very festive and you get to watch the terminal get farther and farther away in the distance. I suggest going to http://portcanaveralwebcam.com to watch yourself sail away! I was able to see my family and I from the camera that is located at Fish Lips Bar & Grill right next to the port.