Port Arrival Time, often shortened to PAT, tells you when you are allowed to arrive at the cruise terminal. It is assigned during online check in and is based on things like your Castaway Club status, stateroom category, and how early you complete your check in. Think of it as the earliest time you should show up. If you arrive before your PAT, Disney usually will not let you enter the terminal, and you may be asked to wait in your car or in a parking garage. In warm weather ports, this can mean sitting in the heat longer than you planned.
If you are using Disney provided ground transportation, such as the Disney Cruise Line bus from a resort or hotel, your experience is a little different. Guests arriving on Disney transportation are typically assigned earlier boarding groups automatically. Disney controls the arrival flow for these guests, which is why they are often moved through the terminal sooner.
Your boarding group, or BG, determines the order in which guests are actually invited to board the ship once they are inside the terminal and have completed security and check in. Boarding groups are usually called in numerical order over the terminal announcements. While your PAT and boarding group often line up fairly closely, they are not the same thing and do not always move together.
Delays can happen, especially if disembarkation from the previous sailing takes longer than expected. When that happens, boarding groups may be paused or slowed down, even if guests are already checked in and waiting inside the terminal. On larger ships, there can be dozens of boarding groups, sometimes up to forty, so movement can feel gradual on busy sailings.
No matter what your boarding group number is, one of the best ways to make the process smoother is to have your passport and other required documents ready before you reach the check in counter. Being prepared helps everything move faster and makes the start of your cruise feel far more relaxed.
