Please note that I am a newbie, but happy to share my experiences....
I use a compass to get pretty close and then use this method to get a bit closer ... i usually use just 30 seconds, and I find stars in the north are easier for RA.....and as long as it is around 5 degrees either side of 0dec, I am happy....I use Cartes du Ceil to tell me that...last night I used Procyon...I do a quick DEC check in the east....I don't bother doing DEC with WCS, it seems a lot of work, for not much improved result given that I do the CCD Drift align......
http://www.astrophotoinsight.com/node/568
It just seems that WCS likes to be better aligned to get accurate and prevent overshooting which is a pain...I only correct half the error that WCS suggests and this prevents overshooting in WCS...
I am happy to put a checklist together, with all the usual caveats....I am only a beginner so beware!
Alex