We flew into Orlando airport the night before our cruise and stayed at the Staybridge Suites across from the airport. Checked out of the hotel next morning at 10 am and started driving towards Port canaveral. Hurricane sandy had just hit the bahamas the week before so we had been praying for calm waters. And indeed the water was calm.
We reached the port at 10:50 am and parked in the parking lot opposite the terminal on floor 3. Walked on the bridge towards the terminal. We did the check-in and received our key to the world card. There were already a lot of people waiting when we arrived there and so we were given boarding position 4. They let in groups of 30-40 people at a time.
Mickie and Minnie were available in the waiting area for photo ops, that kept our 3 yr old occupied. We also registered him for the oceaneers club during the wait.
Cabin was in an excellent location. Try to get a cabin close to the elevators, its a large ship so there's a lot to walk. Our cabin was close to the midship elevators and that was the best place to be. There was noise only on the first day with kids running past the cabins, rest of the cruise was very quiet.