Check in for cruise question

[disnee9]

I watched a video that showed people staying at the Hyatt Airport were checked in at the hotel for the cruise and then they rode the bus to the port. They were then able to just go through security at the port and were good to go when their number was called. No checking in at the port because the hotel had taken care of that step..

Does this same procedure hold true when you stay at a Disney resort like Pop Century ?? Or is that something special for the Hyatt ??

 

[JoeFromSeoul]

With online check in, it seems that dropping off luggage and going through security is about the only thing anyone does at the port these days. The check in process of taking security photos and issuing key cards is a thing of the past.

 

[dreamer17555]

They do check your documents still at port. Its pretty quick- and no, if staying at a WDW resort you still have to show your documents at port.

 

[auntlynne]

A good video person would have followed the instructions of No Filming in the Check-in area. Hence the appearance of just walking in and on.

Those with higher loyalty levels also have the advantage of shorter check-in lines at the port. Nearly no line most times at Port Canaveral. Not the same for Silver & Gold level loyalty (under 10 cruises). I would show you a photo, but no filming.

Your experience from Pop should be easy - your Boarding Group may be behind the guests at the Hyatt, but maybe not significant. Bus riders have had the advantage of lower Boarding Group assignments for years.

If you are okay with extra travel time from WDW (more than Hyatt), possibility of stops at various WDW resorts to collect other guests (that depends on number of guests traveling from resorts), most likely paying less for lodging - and having the big pools at Pop, you should be okay.

We stayed at the Hyatt for convenience - we had an arrival after midnight. Was choosing between in-airport and close by - but opted for path of least resistance: collect our luggage and walk to hotel room. No calling for rideshare (hotel shuttles ended at midnight), waiting in FL humidity and then needing to shuttle back in morning to catch DCL bus for airport arrival guests (not the same as airport Hyatt guests). It was a luxury; not our standard procedure (as though we actually have a routine - we do not - it varies to meet our needs and wants).

 

[dreamer17555]

I am just adding on that we took DCL transport for our Feb sailing out of PC... and by the time we got there they had already been calling boarding groups for awhile (They were at number 15) so that low boarding group didn't mean much and friends with a lower status who checked in right at midnight and drove to port were on well before us.

 

[kiford]

Regardless of where you are coming from, you still have to check in at the port; you do not check in at the hotel. You do an online check-in a month or so earlier where you upload your photo and passport and other info, but everyone does that, and everyone then has it checked at the port. There may be one or two other things you do when checking in at the port (e.g., retake your photo because it wasn't deemed acceptable, add payment info if you changed that or didn't do it, link your magicband), but not everyone needs to do that. IIRC, there's a first-time cruiser line, Silver/Gold line, Platinum/Pearl line and Concierge line. So repeat cruisers may have a shorter line, but everyone still checks in.

You may have seen the check-in at the Hyatt for the bus. They do check your info there to make sure you have everything complete before you get there, but it's not technically checking you into the cruise. That's still done at the port. You will get there relatively early, so the lines will likely be short (the same is true of coming from a WDW resort), so you're in quickly.

 

[Dug720]

I am just adding on that we took DCL transport for our Feb sailing out of PC... and by the time we got there they had already been calling boarding groups for awhile (They were at number 15) so that low boarding group didn't mean much and friends with a lower status who checked in right at midnight and drove to port were on well before us.

Were you on DCL transport from MCO or from a WDW resort?

I had thought that more recently the busses from WDW resorts were leaving at 8-8:30 and getting to the port early.

 

[dreamer17555]

Were you on DCL transport from MCO or from a WDW resort?

I had thought that more recently the busses from WDW resorts were leaving at 8-8:30 and getting to the port early.

From a Walt Disney World resort.

 

[Dug720]

From a Walt Disney World resort.

Ugh. Sounds like the advantage is no longer there. That stinks.

Oh well. Not really an option to change in November. The Hyatt is more than All Star Music, and I don't drive so getting to Port Canaveral for a pre-night would be a challenge.

 

[kiford]

We took DCL transfers from AKL in January. We had to meet at 9:30, and the buses boarded around 10:15 a.m. and probably left around 10:30 a.m. We were boarding group 4, and they were just calling group 5 when we got through check-in and into the terminal. I think we were boarding about 11:40 or so, which surprised me a bit as when we went in September, we were boarding group 6, and they didn't even start boarding until a little before noon. That time we were coming from the MCO Hyatt and ended up sitting in the terminal for about 1.5 hours before boarding. I would personally have preferred a later bus and spent that extra 1.5 hours either sleeping in or having breakfast or sitting around in my room on a more comfortable surface. Those terminal chairs are not meant for long-term seating.

I suspect that the time you get picked up and the time they start calling boarding numbers is entirely dependent on the number of people coming from the resorts, which resorts and whether they need to pick up at multiple ones, and when they decide to start the boarding.

 

[Dug720]

We took DCL transfers from AKL in January. We had to meet at 9:30, and the buses boarded around 10:15 a.m. and probably left around 10:30 a.m. We were boarding group 4, and they were just calling group 5 when we got through check-in and into the terminal. I think we were boarding about 11:40 or so, which surprised me a bit as when we went in September, we were boarding group 6, and they didn't even start boarding until a little before noon. That time we were coming from the MCO Hyatt and ended up sitting in the terminal for about 1.5 hours before boarding. I would personally have preferred a later bus and spent that extra 1.5 hours either sleeping in or having breakfast or sitting around in my room on a more comfortable surface. Those terminal chairs are not meant for long-term seating.

I suspect that the time you get picked up and the time they start calling boarding numbers is entirely dependent on the number of people coming from the resorts, which resorts and whether they need to pick up at multiple ones, and when they decide to start the boarding.

It definitely sounds like they're backing up the timing on the busses from the resorts. In May 2022 it was meet at 8 and on the bus by 8:30 leaving Disney property after another pick up or 2 by 9.

 

[lanejudy]

I had thought that more recently the busses from WDW resorts were leaving at 8-8:30 and getting to the port early.

Pick up time may largely depend on the number of guests at your resort. If your bus has 3 stops, that first pick-up may be 8 or 8:30 but the last stop could be an hour+ later then even later to actually get on the road to Port.

 

[Dug720]

Pick up time may largely depend on the number of guests at your resort. If your bus has 3 stops, that first pick-up may be 8 or 8:30 but the last stop could be an hour+ later then even later to actually get on the road to Port.

We had 2 other stops and were on the road by 9:00. That was the norm on the re-start. Now it seems the staying on-property benefit is gone - possibly in favor of the Hyatt at the MCO if the reports of super early and given boarding group 1 are accurate.