Introduction
This is a guest blog series by Stephen Aleksza about our
Disney Cruise Line (DCL) cruise on the Disney Fantasy in September/October of
2014. Our Halloween on the High Seas cruise
had a western Caribbean itinerary that included: Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Falmouth,
Jamaica, and Castaway Cay. This was our
first Disney cruise, but somewhere around our 13th cruise
overall. Our previous cruises have been
on Princess (Platinum), Celebrity, and Norwegian. We enjoy Disney stuff, but I
would not say that we are Disney fanatics.
Our last trip to the Magic Kingdom was over ten years ago. I am big
pre-trip researcher so I figured that I would share some of my research and
contribute my own information through this series.
Part I – Arrival through Embarkation
General Information
I found this site as one of the best for general DCL prep
information. http://disneycruiselineblog.com/.
Another site was the DIS boards. This site was a bit
overwhelming with information. However,
it was critical to find information on the fish extender group.
Arrival
We drove to the terminal.
Before we embark, we like to stop at a local store and pick up some fresh
flowers for the room, soda, water, and other forgotten or last minute
essentials. We stopped at the Publix Super Market at Merritt Island (Store
#893, 1850 N Courtenay Pkwy Merritt Island, FL 32953). The store was before the bridge to the terminal but very
close. It was an easy on and off from
A1A. It had everything we needed and
gave us a place to situate our stuff prior to arriving at the terminal.
We had an 11:00 to 11:15 port arrival slot and we arrived
around 11:15. We had a bit of a
wait to drop off our luggage. I would say that it took around 15 minutes to get to the luggage drop off. In looking at the
line as we waited to check in, I would plan to arrive at 12:00 next time. From 12:00 to 12:30 there was no line.
Luggage drop off was super easy and similar to other cruises. A luggage porter meets you and helps with the
luggage. I dropped off my wife and child
and went to park. I decided to park
right at the terminal. I did a lot of
research on where to park. For speed and
convenience we followed the advice from this blog post and parked at the terminal (http://disneycruiselineblog.com/2012/06/parking-at-port-canaveral-and-the-cheaper-alternatives/). While the most expensive option by 40% or more, we would
choose it again. It was SUPER EASY and covered
from the blazing Florida sun. I prepaid
for the week ($120) and drove up to the 3rd floor of the parking deck and
parked. I was then able to walk across
the sky bridge into the terminal. This
took about 5-10 minutes vs. driving off site, parking, shuttle, etc.
Check-in and Embarkation
Check in was the not the Disney experience I was expecting. It was crazy. There were people and lines everywhere. It took forever to check in and get on to the boat. I estimate that it took 1 to 1.5 hours to get from luggage drop off to being on the boat. This was not waiting for our boarding group to be called. This was just getting through the lines.I would also encourage you to check your party in all as one group. My wife and daughter checked in and then I went to check in. They had been told this wouldn’t be a problem, but it was. Our plan was for them to check in while I parked the car and then head to the Children’s Registration area to get our daughter’s wristband. Wrong idea. It messed everything up and my daughter and wife had to check in again.
Just as we were about to get on the boat we heard a cast member say they were sorry for the delay and that it was because they were having computer issues. It would have really helped our perception of the check-in process if they were making frequent announcements communicating the problem. I can understand when a mess happens and you are doing your best. Up to that point, I just figured the check-in process was a mess.
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| We made it through the line and about to get on the ship! |
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| Most of the people you see are in a circular line wrapped around itself waiting to get on the ship. |
When you get on the ship, you enter right into the main
atrium where they ask your family name and then announce your arrival with the cast
members clapping. That was a really nice
touch. With the cabin not ready until
1:30. We still had a couple minutes so
we went to Cabana’s for lunch.
Post 1 - Embarkation
Post 2 - Cabin
Post 3 - Ports
Post 4 - Fish Extender
Post 5 - Ship and Cruise
Post 1 - Embarkation
Post 2 - Cabin
Post 3 - Ports
Post 4 - Fish Extender
Post 5 - Ship and Cruise
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