After spending a fun day at LegoLand (see my trip report here), we spent the night at a hotel in Port Canaveral and woke up ready for our first cruise. The boys’ excitement grew when my phone rang and it was none other than Mickey and Minnie Mouse calling to saying they can’t wait for our visit. We would be seeing them soon!
We stayed at the Residence Inn Cape Canaveral in Cocoa Beach. The suites are great for families and the free breakfast was a winner with the kids. We weren’t there long enough to use the nice pool but the kids enjoyed shooting baskets and running around outside while we anxiously awaited our shuttle time. We booked a hotel deal that included parking at the hotel for the length of the cruise and a free shuttle to and from the port.
The Disney terminal at Port Canaveral opens at 10:30. Since we were first time cruisers and booked our cruise after the paid-in-full date, the earliest available Port Arrival Time was 12:45. I was slightly confused about port arrival times vs. boarding group numbers so out of an abundance of caution (and perhaps some excess enthusiasm) we ended up getting to the port earlier than we needed to.
We arrived at the port around 11:15. Everything was well run and efficient. We got off the shuttle and were immediately greeted by porters who took our checked luggage, which would be delivered to our room later that day. We headed into the building after our bags were picked up. Security at the port is basically the same as airport security but with a shorter line. You put your carry-on luggage through the x-ray and yourself through the metal detector, and then you’re on your way.
The line for check-in wasn’t too long by this point and it moved quickly. At check-in you will turn in your cruise paperwork, show them your ID, have your pictures taken, and get your Key To The World key card, the first day’s Navigator, and your boarding group number. We were completely through security and check-in by 11:45. That meant we were there a full hour before our PAT but I knew actual time until boarding could be more or less depending on how quickly boarding groups were called.
While we waited in the terminal, we had the chance to take pictures with Minnie Mouse (Captain Mickey was alternating meet-and-greet shifts with Minnie) and to get the boys’ Oceaneer Bands for the kids club. We checked out the incredibly detailed ship model, watched Disney cartoons, read the Navigator, and made pressed pennies (which my boys love to collect!). The wait was ok but in retrospect, we would have been better off staying at the hotel longer and arriving closer to our PAT.
Finally our boarding group number was called. We actually got on the boat just before 12:30, which was 15 minutes before our port arrival time. I had heard that by 12:30 they basically open up boarding and that seemed to hold true. We walked through the giant Mickey ears and down a long hallway leading to the ship.
They were taking group photos before boarding if you wanted to stop. Since we had purchased the photo package and don’t have a lot of photos of the four of us together, we stopped and had ours taken (complete with bunny ears of course!).
After our picture, we headed towards the entrance to the boat. Someone outside the entryway asked our family name and then we were announced as we walked onto the ship and the cast members in the atrium clapped and cheered for us. It was a fun introduction to the ship. We were finally on board the Disney Magic!
