Is this feasible?

Hi, We will be taking our first cruise(carnival victory) from Port of Miami to Nassau. We are a party of 5, including my 2 year old, i am going to check in online before the curise day. I do have few questions regarding boarding time:

1) The departure time is 4pm on a mid october Monday from Miami. I will be in tampa the day before for a post-wedding event(i cannot avoid this) and planning to drive for Miami around 9am on the day of cruise departure. It is a 4 hr drive, and with 1 stop, we will probably reach around 1:30pm. My question is, how soon i need to be at the port?

2) I am planning to park my car in the Port parking. Will there be huge lines for parking garages?

3) How much time will it take to reach from Miami port parking to Carnival victory curise terminal, i am guessing there will be shuttles?

4) What is the last boarding time, we need to be on the Cruise? Keeping in mind going through security, does this happen during boarding cruise?

5) Since we are time bound, we can carry our checked luggages ourselves. Does the airport checked luggage allowed?

My main concern is the time, unfortunatley i cannot avoid the day before event in Tampa. I can leave early on the day of cruising from Tampa, like may be 7 or 8am if i need to be at the port early.

You should be on the ship by 2:30 if you have a 4 pm departure. I would drop luggage and everyone else at the ship's entrance, then you go and park the car. They can get in the check-in line and you can catch up to them. You go thru security, then check in, then board. I would leave earlier than 9am, if I were you.

Only bags that will fit through the scanner will be allowed as "carry-on". There will be porters to take your larger bags.

Passengers need to be aboard at least one hour before the given departure time. One should allow time to clear security and check in before boarding.

One does need to clear airport like security before boarding.

Up to two hours prior to departure you can check luggage at the terminal entrance before going through security and check in. You can also chose to carry on luggage.

Depending on the weekday, traffic may be an issue.

I'm a worrier and would try to get to the port as early as possible. 3pm is a pretty hard deadline. Cruise lines have little wiggle room. So arriving at the terminal at 3pm may well see you waving goodbye to the ship an hour later.

Do agree you need to leave Tampa by 7 AM and be on the ship by 2:30. Traffic will be heavier on a Monday.

Only luggage that can fit through the scanner -- think airport size scanner for carry ons -- can go on the ship with you. Anything bigger has to be checked.

You will have a lifeboat drill before the ship leaves Miami. That is usually held 45 minutes to 1 hour before the ship departs the port.

In your situation we would probably leave even before 7am! Better to be safer then perhaps having to wave at your cruise ship as she sails off into the blue while you watch from shore. You are talking about an approximate 300 mile drive the day of a cruise. Under most circumstances your time frames will be fine. But smart travelers allow for the unexpected and that can often happen on a long drive. Just one major accident on your route could leave you sitting in a traffic jam for an hour or more. A mechanical problem or a blown tire can also cause delays and then there is the traffic situation in the Greater Miami area. As to checking-in you would want to be at the counter at least 90 minutes before the scheduled departure.

Within the Port you should have few problems although traffic can cause some delays on busy Saturdays and Sundays. There does appear to be plenty of parking at the port although the actual distance from the garage to your ship will depend on which pier.

Hank

Thank you so much for your responses. I plan to leave by 7am. Worst case, if i don't check bag before 2 hrs, what are my options? Since the big check bags cannot fit in the scanner.