Our adventure began bright and early in the morning. My husband was driving us and dropping us directly at the port. It was about a two hour drive and our boarding time was anytime after 11 a.m. I like to budget in time for traffic, accidents, etc. and I like to be EARLY! So my goal was to be in the at 8:30 a.m. SUCCESS! We managed to fit 6 people and alllllll of our luggage and carry-on bags in my Sorento.
The drive was very easy and we didn’t really hit any traffic. We were to the port by 10:45 a.m. I didn’t get any really good pictures of the Baltimore Port drop off area as we were very rushed! Since we were being dropped off, we were in a line of cars, and the porters were waiting to take our luggage right away. One note…porters generally do not work for the cruise line, but rather the port itself. I always tip them $1 per bag that I’m checking with them. They load the bags on carts that are driven to the ship. They are then delivered to your stateroom sometime throughout the afternoon.
Once our luggage was taken care of, we took our carry-ons with us into the terminal. What do I pack in my carry-on for a cruise? Normally, a bathing suit, deodorant, prescription meds, passport, wallet, ID, any valuables and electronics. We then got into the security line. This is where they check your ID and booking information. The carry-ons do go through a scanner. We were able to bring a 12 pack of bottled water with no problems at this specific port. After security, we headed to the cruise check-in line.
Here are a few pics from inside the terminal.
At the counter, they gave us our first CRUISE COMPASS! This had all of the general information we needed for our boarding day.
We also received a paper with all of the Officers onboard and other useful information.
We also received information about the various Adventure Ocean Kid Clubs onboard.
MUCH MORE TO COME!
Up next…Grandeur of the Seas, Windjammer Buffet, and more!