Ahoy, Joe! Welcome back to planDisney and thanks for bringing us another Disney Cruise Line question. I’m always excited to help out a fellow Virginian as they get ready to set sail where magic meets the sea.
Based on your last question, it appears that you will be staying at the
Walt Disney World Resort prior to your upcoming sailing with Disney Cruise Line and have added
ground transportation to pick you up from your hotel and take you to
Port Canaveral on embarkation day. Once you have added ground transportation, then that will already be noted on your Disney Cruise Line reservation and you will not need to select a Port Arrival Time when you complete the online check-in process. However, you do still need to complete the rest of the online check-in process, including uploading your
travel documents and recent photographs of everyone in your sailing party, to ensure smooth sailing on embarkation day.
Usually, you will receive instructions the day before embarkation about exactly where and when to meet at your hotel to board your transportation to the port. Your will also receive exact instructions about what to do with your luggage, but they typically have you put the Disney Cruise Line luggage tags on your suitcases, leave them in your hotel room for bell services to pick up, and then they are magically delivered to your stateroom onboard the ship later that night without you having to do anything. Just remember to keep all of your embarkation day basics with you in the bags that you will be carrying aboard the ship, so that you have all of the essentials prior to the luggage delivery onboard, which can take a few hours the first night. The ride from Disney World to Port Canaveral takes approximately one hour and then you will be directed to check-in at the port. As part of check-in, they will give you a boarding group number, which determines when your party can step onboard the ship.
I hope that clarifies what you can expect on embarkation day. If you have any other questions, we are always willing to help here at planDisney. Happy sailing!
Catherine