ETA: I have also sailed out of Galveston and the information in this post applies to the Port of Galveston as well.
I recently received a request from a reader to write a post about the disembarkation process at Port Canaveral. There are indeed quite a few steps involved and being an ultra-planner myself, I am happy to help first time cruisers who would like to have at least an idea of what to expect with the disembarkation process.
The first dreadful sign that your cruise is coming to an end and you will soon be returning to the real world will happen on the second to last full day of your cruise when your stateroom host will leave the following items in your room:
Tip Envelopes
Read everything you need to know about tipping on a Disney cruise here.
Comment Card
You should fill this out and drop it in the box on your way off the ship the next morning.
Disembarkation Information Letter
Provides the basic information you need to know about the whole process. You can see a copy here:
Character Luggage Tags
Your tags will have a certain Disney character on them which will help you locate them in the cruise terminal building the next morning. You will use these if you will be claiming your luggage in the terminal the next morning (i.e. NOT doing onboard airline check in). They will also announce the luggage tag characters in groups once disembarkation begins, which indicates that those bags with the specific character tag are ready for pick up in the terminal.
Onboard Airline Check in Letter/Airline Boarding Passes/Airline Luggage Tags
You will get these only if you have signed up for onboard airline check in and DCL will take your luggage straight to the airport for you. You can read a copy of the letter here:
Onboard Airline Check in Instructions
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Before I get into more details, first let me tell you that on the last full day of your cruise, there will be a video showing on one of the TV channels that spells out (in major detail) the disembarkation process. It is a video of the cruise director telling you everything you need to know. They play this over and over, all day long, so you will definitely be able to find it if you are interested.
Luggage
Next, about the luggage situation. You have 3 choices with your luggage. The first is to carry ALL of your luggage off the ship yourself, which DCL calls “Express Walk Off”. If you do this, you do not need to use the character luggage tags that were left in your room. We have started doing this now that the girls are older and can carry their own stuff. It is nice to not have the pressure of having to have your luggage out the night before.
The second choice is what you need to do if you wish to claim your luggage in the cruise terminal building the next morning. To do this you must put your luggage in the hallway, right outside your room door, no later than 10:00 PM on the last night of your cruise. Be sure to put the character luggage tags on before you do this. We always leave 2 carry on bags with us so that we can put our toiletries and pajamas in them the next morning. Also, don’t forget to leave a change of clothes out to wear the next day so that you don’t have to wear your pajamas off the ship. Apparently this happens sometimes.
The third choice is what you need to do if you are participating in onboard airline check in (and thus taking DCL transfers to the airport). You need to put the airline luggage tags on your bags and put your luggage in the hallway, right outside your room door, no later than 10:00 PM on the last night. You will not see them again until you get to your home airport. You already have your boarding passes, so when you get to the airport the next morning, all you have to do is get off the bus and walk straight to security.
Breakfast
Now onto details about breakfast the final morning. You have 2 choices for breakfast, unless you are concierge, and then you have 3. Your first option is to go to the main dining room at your assigned time and be served by your servers one last time. If you have early dining, your breakfast will be about 6:45. If you have late dining, it will be about 8:00. You will go to the same restaurant where you dined the night before on the final night of your cruise. If you do this, they will ask you not to leave any luggage in your room when you leave for breakfast so that your stateroom host can start cleaning your room ASAP. This means that you will have to bring your carry-ons with you if you set your luggage out the night before, or all of your luggage if you plan to do Express Walk Off. There will be an area outside of the restaurant where everyone places their luggage while dining.
Your second choice is to go to the buffet restaurant, Cabanas, for breakfast. I am not completely positive about the restaurant hours, but I think it opens at 7:00 and closes at either 8:00 or 8:30. Be sure to check the night before. If you go right when they open, you can probably leave your luggage in your room and then go back and get it after you eat. If you are not going to be done eating by 8:00, you will need to take your luggage with you to the buffet, because they want everyone out of their rooms no later than 8:00 (more on this later).
If you are sailing concierge, you have a third option. You can order room service, but you will only be able to get cold items (fruit, cereal, pastries, etc). All other mornings you can order hot items like pancakes, waffles, bacon, omelets, french toast, etc. but not on the final morning. There will also be light breakfast offerings in the concierge lounge.
Important Times
Here are some important times that you may find helpful. Please keep in mind that they can change these at any time for any sailing, so PLEASE verify all of these times while you are on board instead of assuming that mine are correct. I have already mentioned some of them but I will repeat them so that they are all together:
10:00 PM the night before disembarking – all luggage must be in hallway unless you want to carry it off the ship
6:45 AM – Your breakfast time in the main dining room if you have early dining
7:00 AM – Buffet restaurant on the pool deck opens
7:00-7:45 AM – the most likely time range that the ship will be cleared by customs and an announcement will be made that those doing Express Walk Off may leave the ship. It could be later than this but not likely.
8:00 AM – You and your stuff must be out of your stateroom
8:00 AM – Your breakfast time in the main dining room if you have late dining
9:00 AM – If you are still on the ship, crew members will begin asking you nicely to leave
9:30 AM – If you are still on the ship, crew members will tell you to leave
Leaving the Ship
When you are ready to leave the ship, there may or may not be a line in the atrium. If there is, it should move pretty quickly. Your room key will be scanned one last time and there will be boxes as you leave for you to drop your comment cards into. You will enter the terminal and go down an escalator into the luggage room. If you put your luggage out the night before and need to get it (i.e. are not participating in onboard airline check-in in which case your bags are already on a truck headed to the airport), you need to remember which character was on your luggage tags. The room is very large and has sections labeled with a sign for each character. Go to that section and look for your luggage. They try to have all of your bags together in one spot so it should be quick and easy to locate all of your bags. There will be porters available with carts to help you with your luggage if you need them. Once you have all of your luggage, you (and your porter if you use one) will proceed to the customs line. We have never had to wait more than a few minutes but I am not sure if this is typical or not. After getting through the customs line, you will proceed to your chosen method of transportation: DCL bus to airport, taxi, car service, your own/rental car parked at port, etc. That’s it! You have now successfully disembarked and can hopefully start counting down the days until your next Disney cruise!
I hope that I have covered everything and that this helps you in planning your Disney cruise. If I have forgotten anything or you have any questions, please leave me a comment below.
If you are interested in the boarding process at Port Canaveral, you can read my post about it here.
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Great content once again! I really enjoy reading your posts. Just one correction…the breakfast time of 8 am should be for those who have the late (second) dining service the night before, correct???
Thank you so much for the correction Michelle! I just knew that with all of those times listed I was going to get something wrong. I’m glad you enjoyed the post and thanks so much for all of your comments and support! It means a lot to me!
Thanks for the great information. My family will disembark in Galveston this fall, but a lot of it applies there too. It was a good reminder of the process.
In 2013, we disembarked in Vancouver, and it was a good experience. It was a very easy process. I’m enjoying your blog!
I have actually disembarked in Galveston twice and will do so again in November! You are right, almost all of it is exactly the same. If you do have any Galveston specific questions, I would be happy to answer them (if I can!).
I’m so glad you are enjoying the blog!!!
Quick Question…. If I’d like to take a taxi do I need to arrange it before hand? Or will there be some at the terminal or someone there with a list of numbers to call? Thanks!
There should be plenty available at the terminal, but just in case, you may want to research some companies ahead of time so that you have some phone numbers to call if needed. But from what I understand, there should be a line of them cued up just like at the airport.
Question on the DCL shuttles that run from Port Canaveral to Orlando airport. Are there options on what time they take you back to the airport? Or are they set times? Just trying to figure out if we would have any time to look around Port Canaveral prior to heading back to the airport.
You don’t pick a time in advance for the shuttle, they just leave continuously from Port Canaveral to the airport between roughly 8:00 – 9:30. As soon as a bus fills up it leaves. If you want to explore Port Canaveral on your own, your best bet is to rent a car in Port Canaveral and return it at the airport.
Hi! If we are doing land and sea, hitting the WDW Resort and Parks after our cruise, will we need to take the DCL bus to the airport and transfer to Magic Express there? Or will we be able to take one directly to the resort hotel? Furthermore, do you know if we put our bags outside the room the evening before if they magically show up at the resort hotel?
I’m trying to wrap my head around how this works in our scenario. Thanks!
Hi Barb! You do not have to go to the airport. You can either sign up for Disney bus transfers straight from the port to any WDW hotel (I think it is $35 per person), or you can arrange for a private car transfer (which would most likely get you there sooner). In either case, if you put your luggage outside of your room the night before, you must still collect it in the terminal and take it to the bus/car yourself. To my knowledge they do not offer a service to take your luggage straight from the ship to a WDW resort. Here is a link that provides even more information that you would probably find helpful: http://www.disboards.com/threads/disney-cruise-disembarkment-to-wdw.3494190/
I booked UA flight at 11am from Orlando>New York>Hong Kong on my disbarkation day from Disney Dream (4D Bahamas). Can I disbark at 7.30am and arrange the private transfer at 8am from Port Caraveral to Orlando International Airport. Is it the fastest way to get all luggages by ourselves and arrange private transfer or use DCL? Please advise. Many thanks!
Hi Stella! The time that they begin the allow people off the ship varies for each cruise, usually around 7:45 but I have heard of it being as late as 9:00. I think 7:45 is more typical though. An 11:00 flight is kind of risky. Your best bet is to be ready at 7:30 (hopefully disembarkation will not be delayed for any reason), with all of your luggage with you, in the ship atrium with private transportation waiting for you at the terminal. I would even call your driver as soon as the ship pulls into port and confirm that he will not be late because if he is late, you could miss your flight. If you are the first one off the ship and your driver is waiting, you should get to the airport on time. You must carry all of your luggage off with you – having to claim it in the terminal would take way too long. You are not eligible for DCL transfers unless you change your flight because they require that your flight be at 11:30 or later. If it is an option to change to a later flight, I would consider it. Hope this helps!
ETA: I misspoke about not being eligible for the DCL transfers. You are not eligible for onboard airline check-in with a flight later than 11:30, but you could still take the DCL transfers if you are not doing onboard airline check-in. However, I would not recommend it as I think it would be much slower than private transportation.
Hi there,
I am looking to book a flight to LA on the day of disembarkment and have several options. However I would prefer an airline that I can check in onboard the cruise to make things easier.
Your attachment above shows that JetBlue are one of those airlines. Do you know whether these airlines change year on year? We are on the New Year’s Eve cruise to Bahamas and arrive back in on the 2nd Jan which is a crazy day at the airport so if I can use onboard check in – I will!
Thanks!
Hi Pam! Are you cruising out of Port Canaveral? If so, then JetBlue is still a participating airline. They don’t change very often, but they do appear to vary by city. For example, it doesn’t look like JetBlue participates in Miami:
https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/guest-services/air-ground-transportation/
Also keep in mind that you must use DCL transfers to the airport in order to use this service. Hope this helps!
Thanks – that’s great.
(Great site too 🙂
Thank you for all you advice. Do you have adventure vendors outside of Disney that you recommend? We are doing a western Caribbean cruise in sept and my son is dying to scuba dive . He is only 12 and not certified and Disney really didn’t have much to offer.
We don’t scuba so unfortunately I don’t have any recommendations. I’m sorry! I suggest using Trip Advisor to look for reputable scuba vendors.
The airline we are flying with SW does not participate in the onboard checkin. How do I go about getting our airline boarding pass? Do we do it the morning once we are at the airport or when?
You can get your boarding passes printed out at the airport. The bigger issue with Southwest is checking in 24 hours prior to get your boarding group (A,B,C etc). If you don’t check in until you get to the airport, you will be in the very last boarding group and one of the very last people to board the plane, so your seat options will be very limited and seating a group together virtually impossible. I suggest paying a little bit more for the early bird check-in (checks you in automatically at 24 hours prior and pretty much guarantees either the 1st or 2nd boarding group), or asking a reliable friend back home to check in for you right at 24 hours prior. Either way, you can print out your boarding passes at a kiosk once you get to the airport.
Thanks I think that is what we did last cruise, paid the extra on our return trip like you mentioned but just was not sure. Sure wish SouthWest would get onboard with this. They do it for WDW but not DCL, go figure..
We booked a flight out the next morning. Would a quick stop at universal be possible after embarking?
Hi Caren! I think a quick stop is definitely possible. You will just have to figure out how to get there. Either renting a car or hiring a car service are probably your best bet.
Hello-I have a question. Will the DCL bus pick you up at the Swan or Dolphin hotels?
Last I knew they would, but you should call DCL to confirm and make sure it hasn’t changed.
I love your blog so much. Do you have an estimate on how long it takes to actually get back to your car after disembarking, getting luggage, etc.? Say you leave the ship at 9am, I’m wondering what time it will be when we actually get on the road. We’re driving, so trying to gauge what time we’ll be on the road heading north.
Thanks!!
Hi Dana! So glad you’re enjoying the blog! I would say that on average, it probably takes 20-30 minutes from the time you walk off the ship to the time you drive out of the terminal. This is if the customs lines are of average length with no backups or delays, and assuming that you find your luggage quickly. If you carry all of your own luggage off the ship, you could probably shave 5-10 minutes off of that. 9:00 am is the latest you can leave the ship, but you can leave earlier than that if you want to. Express walk off (which means you carry all of your luggage off) usually begins between 7:15-7:45, and they usually begin calling the luggage tag categories around 8:15 or so. Hope this helps!
Our flight out isn’t until 5:30 pm. Is there something to do in Port Canaveral that is close to the port that will occupy the kids for a couple of hours? Also you said if you have a flight later than 11:30 you can’t use the on board flight check in, is that correct?
Hi Stacie! Your flight must be after 11:24 am in order to use the onboard airline check-in. If your flight is at 5:30 pm then you can use it as long as you meet the other requirements, such as purchasing DCL ground transportation to the airport. As far as things to do, you don’t really have any options unless you have a rental car (and if you rent a car and don’t use DCL transfers to the airport, you cannot do the onboard airline check-in). If you have a rental, then you could go to the space center or Disney Springs for a few hours. If you don’t have a rental car, you pretty much have to head straight to the airport. The Hyatt MCO inside the airport will rent you a hotel room for the day at a discounted rate, and they have a rooftop pool. That is probably your best bet.
Thank you! I just reserved a day room at the Hyatt. What a great idea!
Wow a lot or info great saved it on my pc for next year.. i read all the comments also but im not able to find the answer. im coming from outside the usa make my cruise and than need to go to wdw resort…
there is the option dcl busses or is it than magical express because im going to wdw resort ? not sure wich one i need now….
and is it the same as the airport are they waiting till the bus is full before the leave? that can take a while… any idea how long it will take from port canaveral to disney spring resort french quearter.
dont want to be to late in my hotel because i need to shop some and later on to the halloween party busy day;) thanks for your help…
Hi Judith! I’m on vacation right now so I will answer your question in detail when I return.
What a great blog! We are on a 4 day cruise in January and have the option to visit Disney World for one day only either on the day we disembark being a friday , or else the day before we get on the cruise which is a sunday ( we fly in from Australia the night before). Our kids are 6, 4 and 1 and will be travelling with my parents as well. We are then flying to LA for a week. My dad would like to visit the space centre on one of these days. If you had one day for Disney World with 3 young kids, which one would you do and would you do either before or after? or are we crazy to attempt it in one day?!
Hi Vanessa! I don’t think you’re crazy, but I think you should not go into it with super high expectations (like trying to do/see it all and ride every ride). If you set your expectations accordingly, you will probably have a great day. With kids that young, I would definitely choose Magic Kingdom. It has the most kiddie rides and with the castle and all, it feels the most Disney-like. Just don’t stress out about trying to do everything and focus on enjoying the things you do get to do. We just did the Ultimate Disney Classics VIP tour at Magic Kingdom (you can read about it on my blog or the WDW website) which would be perfect for kids your ages. It is a bit pricey, but would allow you a stress-free way to ride most of the rides in a 4 hour period. As for which day to go, I think either before or after would be fine. Some people like to go before because the parks do take lots of energy & stamina so they want to do it early in the vacation while they’re still fresh. Others like to do it after the cruise because it helps with the letdown of leaving the ship if you know you’re headed to the parks. If being at the parks at opening time is important to you, then you should go before the cruise since the day you leave the ship it will take time to disembark and drive so you couldn’t be there by opening. I hope this helps!
thanks so much for the advice!
Hi there! Just trying to time our shuttle we booked. We will have the late breakfast time of 8am. What time would you suggest we have our shuttle pick us up? I dont want to be sitting at the port for an hour waiting, but I also dont want to be rushed. 9:30? 10? I just have no idea how long the sit down breakfast and disembarkation will take.
Hi Courtney! The main dining room breakfasts on the last morning are pretty rushed. I think you will be done eating in 45 minutes easy, maybe less (they want EVERYONE off the ship by 9:00), and then it is just a matter of how long it takes you to collect your luggage in the terminal (unless you carry all of your luggage off, which would be faster) and get through customs. I think on average both of those things may take about 30 minutes combined. So, I would think about 9:15 would be a good time.
I would like to book a flight on south west at 11:50 am. Is tgat going to be to early?
No, that is fine. DCL recommends booking flights after 11:25 am when flying out of Orlando.
Thanks so much for this info! We have a 1:15 flight out of Sanford, which I believe is an hour away. Do you think this would be a problem? Is there a way to request an early debarkation time? I appreciate your help!
Hi Brittanee! That should not be a problem at all, and you shouldn’t have to leave the ship immediately that morning if you don’t want to. But, if you want to get off the ship as quickly as possible, you need to carry off all of your own luggage and be waiting in the atrium at 7:45, which is the earliest they would start letting people off. If you don’t want to carry all of your luggage off, then you could go to guest services and request the luggage tags that will be called first that morning. But like I said, a 1:15 flight should be no issue and you shouldn’t have to rush off the ship.
Love all of this very accurate information. I’d say the only important part of debarkation that was missed was if you’ve purchased the packages from Shutters (specifically the flash storage option). If you have, you MUST remember to stop at their table in the atrium to pick up your flash drive before getting off the ship, or you’re going to have a hard time getting that to you. Also, the night before debarkation, there’s a cut off time to choose photos & finalize your packages. I believe it’s also 10pm.
Thanks for the feedback Brittany! I’ll add that info to the blog post ASAP.
Hello, thank you for all the great info! I am wondering what time you are allowed to get on the ship the day of embarkation. If the cruise is set to leave at 4:30, what time do they start letting people on? Thank you!
Hi Cathy! It varies, but boarding usually begins around 11:45. I have a blog post about the entire boarding process here: http://www.disneycruisemomblog.com/disney-cruises-boarding-process-port-canaveral/
Hi,
I am planning to pick up friends from their cruise this coming Saturday. They are coming in to Port Canaveral at 8 am. Should I ask them to take late check out? Any tips about where I should wait for them ? Can I drive up to the terminal to load their bags? One of my friends cannot walk very far. Thank you!
Hi Rebecca! Everyone must be out of their staterooms by 8:00, so that is a good time for you to pick them up. I am not sure where you would wait for them, but there are port employees all over the place directing people where to go, so just ask one of them and they will tell you. There is a curb area close to the building where you could drive up and load their bags, but I’m not sure if you can park and wait there or not. Most likely, they will ask you to park and wait somewhere else, and then pull up to the curb once your friends arrive.
This is really helpful thanks so much. We are getting back into Port Canaveral from our cruise on Saturday 7:30am and will be on the late breakfast sitting. We don’t fly back in to the UK until the following evening (Sunday). We really want to find something to do on the Saturday but I am worried we won’t have enough time. I would specifically like to go to the Harry Potter studios, would this be do-able to you think? Or could you suggest something more suitable. We are travelling with our 7 year old daughter.
Thank you
Hi Nicola! I think you could visit Universal Orlando the day you disembark the ship and see all of the Harry Potter section that same day. We have gone twice and did it all in one day, but we just did the Wizarding World parts and did not attempt to go to the rest of the park or do any other rides. I think that would be a great thing for you to do on Saturday!
Amazing!! Thank you! Quick question about luggage. The second option you say you can pick up in the terminal. Is this at the airport terminal when you get home?
Hi Melissa! I meant the cruise terminal. They try to make it easier for you to walk off the ship, and then you can retrieve your luggage in the cruise terminal building where there are porters available to help you, if you wish. BTW I just glanced at this post and some of the information is outdated (they no longer hand out customs forms for example), so I will update it today.
Perfect!!! That’s what I was hoping! I read that and then the part about the character tags. Thank you!!!
I have been reading so many of your posts! Thank you for all the helpful information!
If we want to use the airport transfer can we also carry our own luggage off that morning or do we have to leave it out the night before??
Hi Elizabeth! If using DCL transfers back to the airport, you can still carry your own luggage off the ship. You will place it beneath the bus that you are directed to board and then you will retrieve it once you are at the airport. It’s very simple, we’ve done it many times!
Do you know if the bus has a cost attached? Or are there only costs for the car service and taxi’s?
Hi Elizabeth! The Disney Cruise bused cost $39 per person each way between the airport/WDW Resort and Port Canaveral.
My last question on this post, I promise.
I just read the debarkation letter and saw that the “Express Walk Off” they ask you to be somewhere by 7:00 AM. We have late dining and this is prior to our breakfast time, do we have to do express walk off at 7 AM or could we enjoy breakfast then do “Express Walk Off”?
I appreciate you!
No worries! I don’t mind answering questions! 7:00 is the earliest that anyone should line up for Express Walk-off. They typically let people begin leaving the ship about 7:30, and a long line will have formed by then. If you want to go to your later breakfast time, that’s fine. But, you will need to have all of your luggage with you, not in your room. They let people store their luggage at the entrances to the dining rooms. Then, after breakfast you can walk right off. Essentially, “Express Walk-off” means that you are leaving the ship with all of your luggage with you rather than setting it out the night before and then claiming it in the terminal. What time you leave the ship is totally up to you. Also keep in mind that Cabanas will be open for breakfast on the last morning although they do not advertise it. This would allow you to eat breakfast whenever you want.
Thank you so much for your quick responses!
Hi! I first want to say this post has helped me so much de-stress about debarkation so thank you. I do have a couple questions regarding rental car reservations though. What time do you suggest I reserve a rental car for pick up? We will be doing express check out but do not know our dining time yet and I know we need to take a shuttle to the rental car place. Do the shuttles start picking up at a certain time? Do you have a preferred rental car company? Also regarding embarkation, what time do you suggest we should drop off the rental car?
Hi Makayla! I have never rented a car in Port Canaveral before so unfortunately I will not be much help. I don’t know what time the shuttles will be able to pick you up after the cruise – you would have to ask the agency that you are using. I think that once you finish breakfast, it will probably take about 30 minutes to leave the ship and get through customs. Before the cruise, I suggest dropping the car off around 10:30 am. If you have more than 2 people, I suggest dropping everyone off at the terminal first, and then just have the driver return the car and ride the shuttle back alone, with no luggage. I have heard horror stories of families with all of their luggage having to wait for shuttle after shuttle after shuttle because they are full/almost full and can’t hold their whole group and luggage. I have even heard of people giving up on the shuttle in this circumstance and calling an Uber. If it’s just 2 of you, it should be fine to stick together, but you can still drop off your luggage at the terminal first if you’d rather not deal with it on the shuttle.