We pulled up to Port Canaveral for our first Disney cruise and Gracie, who was 2 at the time, saw the Disney Fantasy for the first time through the car window and said nothing. She looked at it for a very long time and then turned back to her window cling butterflies as if a twelve-deck cruise ship was not remarkable.
Alan and I looked at each other. I think we both thought the same thing: that we had paid a lot of money for this and we hoped she would be more impressed once we were actually on it.
She was. But not until she found the soft serve machine on the pool deck at approximately 12:20pm, at which point the Disney Fantasy became her favorite place on earth.
Embarkation day sets the tone for the whole cruise. Here is how we do it now, after three sailings and the kind of specific knowledge you only get from doing it wrong first.
Arrive Early at the Terminal
The terminal opens for check-in at around 10:30am for most sailings, and the ship starts boarding in waves based on your check-in number. Families with young children can often take advantage of special boarding assistance that puts you earlier in the line. Check the Disney Cruise Line app and the documents in your online account for the details on your specific sailing.
We aim to be at the terminal by 10am. This sometimes means leaving our hotel at an unreasonable hour with two toddlers, but it is worth it. Being in the first boarding wave means you walk onto a ship that is not yet crowded and you get first access to everything.
On our third sailing we were in the second wave by about 15 minutes and the difference was noticeable. The pool deck was busier, the soft serve machine had a short line, and the spots near the kid pool were already taken. Earlier is better.
What to Do in the First Two Hours
Your stateroom will not be ready until around 1:30pm or 2pm. This is always the case and it is worth accepting rather than fighting. Your luggage, which you checked at the terminal, will arrive at your stateroom even later, usually by 5pm or so. This is why the carry-on bag with a change of clothes and everything essential matters so much.
Here is where we go in those first two hours:
The Pool Deck. It is the least crowded it will be for the entire sailing. The kids’ pool area, the AquaDuck water coaster, the soft serve machines. All of it is available and all of it has shorter lines than it will have on sea days. We do the AquaDuck on embarkation day specifically because it is the one time Alan can ride it without a 45-minute wait.
Lunch at Cabanas. The main buffet is open for embarkation day lunch and it is a good way to get the kids fed with something familiar while you settle into the rhythm of the ship. It is busy but not overwhelmingly so in the first hour of boarding.
The Oceaneer Club check-in. This is something a lot of first-time cruisers skip and I think it is a mistake. On embarkation day, the Oceaneer Club usually has an open house period where kids can explore and parents can see the space. If your goal is to drop the kids at the club for Palo dinner on night three, walking them through the space on day one so it is familiar makes that evening much easier.
Walk the ship. Sounds obvious, but on our first sailing we spent embarkation afternoon doing too much one-thing-at-a-time and I missed getting a feel for the layout. On our second, we deliberately walked every main deck together, found the elevators, located the kids’ areas, found the theater, and then Alan and I both felt much less disoriented for the rest of the cruise.
When the Stateroom Opens
Go directly to your stateroom when you get the notification that it is ready. Before you do anything else, do the following:
Make sure the beds are in the right configuration. If you pre-requested a specific setup (two twins instead of a queen, for example, or the pullout sofa made up for a toddler), confirm it. If it is not right, call housekeeping while you have time before dinner to fix it.
Locate the life jacket drill materials. The ship does a muster drill on embarkation day. On newer sailings this is often digital rather than a physical assembly, but you still need to check in. Get it done early in the afternoon so it is not hanging over you.
Put your things away. This sounds very small. It is not small. On a cruise ship stateroom with two kids and multiple bags, the difference between having unpacked and organized versus living out of bags is enormous by day two. Take 20 minutes and put things where they belong.
Embarkation Dinner
The first dinner of the cruise is in your first rotational dining restaurant. You will have your assigned dining time (main seating for families with toddlers, please, I have been over this) and your server team for the week will meet you here.
After three sailings I have learned to pack one nice-ish outfit for the kids specifically for the first dinner. Not formal. Just not the swimsuit. The first dinner feels like an occasion and it is worth showing up for it a little dressed up, at least for the 20 minutes before Gracie has ketchup on her dress.
Get to the First Show
Most Disney cruises have a show in the Walt Disney Theatre on embarkation evening, usually a variety or welcome show. It is short, maybe 30 to 45 minutes, and it is a good way to end the first day with something fun the kids will enjoy. It is also less crowded than the shows later in the week because a lot of families skip it.
Gracie has fallen asleep in the Walt Disney Theatre twice. Both times she was vertical and then not. The shows are good and the kids are usually tired and it ends the day on a high note.
Resist Trying to Do Everything
This is the hardest embarkation day advice to take but it is the most important. The cruise is five days (or four, or seven, depending on your sailing). You have time. You do not need to ride every slide, attend every activity, and eat at every venue on day one.
The families I have seen visibly struggling by day three are often the ones who came out of embarkation day at a sprint. With toddlers specifically, embarkation day is long. There is a lot of stimulation. There are nap schedules to manage and new environments to adjust to.
Pick two or three things for the afternoon, have a good dinner, catch the show, and get the kids to bed at a reasonable hour. Day two will be better for it, and so will you.
