Do a lot of people arrive to Port Canaveral late?

EW got to PC terminal at 2p Saturday (ship leaving at 4p), and didn't get on the ship until 330. Is that the norm (1 1/2 hours) when arriving so late? Are the crowds large in mid-afternoon?

I got to PC a few weeks ago at 11, and was on the ship before 12.

The problem is that Carnival keeps sending so many people those emails or calls to not show up until 1:30 or 2:00 or later. Those of us here on cruisecritic know to ignore that email and show up at 11:00 or earlier, but we are a very small percentage of cruisers. If too many people obey those commands to show up late, it will be very crowded then. I would never show up that late.

We arrived at 2:30. It was perfect. I loved walking on, checking in, and going straight to my room. We still had time for lunch and a trip back to the room before the safety drill.

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I've gotten there as early as 10, and as late as 3 and never had an issue. I will say that the unintended 3 pm arrival was a little nerve wracking, but we still made it on board with no issues at all. I've seen people still boarding about 15 minutes before sail away, but that's cutting it way too close for me.

Of the 3 times I've sailed out of Port Canaveral, the only time that I encountered insanely long lines from hell was when we arrived earlier (10-11am). It was on the Carnival Dream and the security line snaked out of the terminal and along the sidewalk. Inside, it looked like the line for a brand new ride at Disney in the middle of the summer! :eek:

For the other 2 times, we've arrived later (for the Sensation, we really pushed it, arriving after 3pm), but we walked right into the terminal, checked in, and went right onboard with no lines.

Whether it's Port Canaveral or other ports, we arrive later rather than earlier (2pm) and normally, we don't have to stand in line long, plus we can go straight to our stateroom to drop our bags off, instead of lugging them around the ship waiting for staterooms to be ready.

Always arrive close to 3 -- walk right on, go right to cabin.

Just curious....when you check in past 2pm, what time do you receive your bags in front of your cabin...when you check in at 11 am, what time are your bags delivered to your cabin.

If you have early seating dinner at 6 pm, and you check in past 2 pm, have you ever not received your bags before you left for dinner

Just curious....when you check in past 2pm, what time do you receive your bags in front of your cabin...when you check in at 11 am, what time are your bags delivered to your cabin.

 

If you have early seating dinner at 6 pm, and you check in past 2 pm, have you ever not received your bags before you left for dinner

We checked in at 1130am, and our bags were in front of our cabin by 145. We printed our bag tags in color...dunno if that helped.

[ QUOTE=DarthGrady;43492756]I've gotten there as early as 10, and as late as 3 and never had an issue. I will say that the unintended 3 pm arrival was a little nerve wracking, but we still made it on board with no issues at all. I've seen people still boarding about 15 minutes before sail away, but that's cutting it way too close for me.

Same here! We always arrive at 10-11 (we live 10 min from PC) but one time my stepmom and stepbrothers luggage got stolen the night before the cruise and we had to go shopping for clothes the next morning and didn't get on until 330! Didn't wait long once we got to the Port but it was close lol Missed the lunch buffet because they had to close all the food for the drill.

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Just curious....when you check in past 2pm, what time do you receive your bags in front of your cabin...when you check in at 11 am, what time are your bags delivered to your cabin.

 

If you have early seating dinner at 6 pm, and you check in past 2 pm, have you ever not received your bags before you left for dinner

Dont know how they sort the luggage, but it seems to me that the earlier you get there, the longer it takes to get your bags since they'll be at the bottom of the cages where they stack them. The one time we arrived earlier, our bags didnt make it to our room until we had already sailed away.

Im not sure about Port Canaveral but we always arrived around 10:30. Next trip we plan on arriving around 2-2:30, hoping to walk right on after spending the morning in the Everglades.

I got there at 1030 and was on the boat eating at 1130 and did not purchase FTTF, after they called the first 15 groups, they said everybody could get on

Im not sure about Port Canaveral but we always arrived around 10:30. Next trip we plan on arriving around 2-2:30, hoping to walk right on after spending the morning in the Everglades.

Are you boarding in Port Canaveral? If so, you're far from the Everglades. Are you perhaps referring to an airboat ride in Brevard County? If so, that's not the Everglades :D