As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
Thank you to each of you who were a part of this community. You made it possible.
And a very special thank you to our Guides (moderators), past and present, who kept our forums a happy place to be. You are the glue that held everything together, and we are forever grateful to you. Thank you aliceinwdw, Caldercup, MrsM, WillCAD, Fortissimo, GingerJ, HiddenMickey, CRCrazy, Eeyoresmom, disneyknut, disneydani, Cam22, chezp, WDWfan, Luvsun, KMB733, rescuesk, OhToodles!, Colexis Mom, lfredsbo, HiddenMickey, DrDolphin, DopeyGirl, duck addict, Disneybine, PixieMichele, Sandra Bostwick, Eeyore Tattoo, DyanKJ130, Suzy Q'Disney, LilMarcieMouse, AllisonG, Belle*, Chrissi, Brant, DawnDenise, Crystalloubear, Disneymom9092, FanOfMickey, Goofy4Goofy, GoofyMom, Home4us123, iamgrumpy, ilovedisney247, Jennifer2003, Jenny Pooh, KrisLuvsDisney, Ladyt, Laughaholic88, LauraBelle Hime, Lilianna, LizardCop, Loobyoxlip, lukeandbrooksmom, marisag, michnash, MickeyMAC, OffKilter_Lynn, PamelaK, Poor_Eeyore, ripkensnana, RobDVC, SHEANA1226, Shell of the South, snoozin, Statelady01, Tara O'Hara, tigger22, Tink and Co., Tinkerbelz, WDWJAMBA, wdwlovers, Wendyismyname, whoSEZ, WildforWD, and WvuGrrrl. You made the magic.
We want to personally thank Sara Varney, who coordinated our community for many years (among so many other things she did for us), and Cheryl Pendry, our Message Board Manager who helped train our Guides, and Ginger Jabour, who helped us with the PassPorter-specific forums and Live! Guides. Thank you for your time, energy, and enthusiasm. You made it all happen.
There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
And we are no longer charging for the Live Guides. If you have a subscription, it's yours to keep for the lifetime of the Live Guides at no additional cost. The Live Guides will stay online, barring server issues and technical problems, for all of 2019.
That said, PassPorter is not going away. Most of the resources will remain online for as long as we can support them, and after that we will find ways to make whatever we can available. PassPorter means a great deal to us, and to many of you, and we will do our best to keep it alive in whatever way we can. Our server costs are high, and they'll need to come out of our pockets, so in the future you can expect some changes so we can bring those costs down.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support over the years. Without you, there's no way us little guys could have made something like this happen and given the "big guys" a run for their money. PassPorter was consistently the #3 guidebook after the Unofficial and Official guides, which was really unheard of for such a small company to do. We ROCKED it thanks to you and your support and love!
If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
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Hello to all! Hope planning is going well for everyone....my question, I am looking for a cruise budget sheet....does anyone have one that they have used trying to get my costs in order and wanted to make sure I did not forget anything!
Also I know everyone spends differently on cruises but what did your ship bill run and what did it include? Be sure to tell me if it was a 4-night, 7-night etc!!
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
Besides the one in PassPorter's Disney Cruise Line guide?
I'm afraid I have to plead the 5th on actual amounts, but let's just say that after a 15-night cruise, it was up there.
General items charged to my shipboard account were -
Shore Excursions
Merchandise from Treasure Ketch
Internet Cafe
Bingo
Spa
Shutters
Gratuities
Palo (dinner, tea & brunch)
wine package at dinner (split cost with another couple) and
my bar tab for al-key-hol
Don't forget cash for room service tips. and postage on Castaway Cay
__________________
Lynn
Yes, I am a Disney Addict... and I'd rather be cruising!.
I spent @ an additional $175-$200 in shipboard charges on a 4-night cruise......
.......I split the cost of tips with my roommate, limited myself to only 1-2 drinks per day, and didn't buy anything at Treasure Ketch. Also, we did excursions on Castaway Cay (Snorkeling, bikes and Stingray), but not in Nassau, and split the cost of 2 professional photos at Shutters.
Other than shipboard charges and airfare - we also spent money on rental cars, a hotel for the night before the cruise, and food before and after leaving the ship.
I imagine that it will be more when DH and I go in August because we'll be paying the entire tip bill, and probably having more than 1 drink per day........
Duh! I found the worksheet in the passporter last night! very helpful...dh and I were trying to budget and it does add up QUICKLY! We are over $1000 (including tips) so far. But that also includes MNSSHP costs as well...I am so surprised how fast it snowballs!
Tips $336+
Misc tips $50
MNSSHP (tix and parking) $250
Photos $85 (maybe less)
Souvies $200
Adult Bev $100
Rasual $85 (may skip this)
Palo $30 (hoping for brunch)
Cigars in Port $25 (1-3 only)
Key West $40 (pie and drinks in port)
Food on the road $150 Gas for car $100
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Cruise Towels
Can anyone give me a estimate of cost of buying towels on the cruise.
Example: Castaway Cay Beach towel, Disney Cruise towels & etc. Each of my grandkids want towels & I need to add them to our worksheet & my budget
Cruise Towels
Can anyone give me a estimate of cost of buying towels on the cruise.
Example: Castaway Cay Beach towel, Disney Cruise towels & etc. Each of my grandkids want towels & I need to add them to our worksheet & my budget
I was surprised by how fast it added up, but they had Jim Shore figurines in Treasure Ketch because he was onboard and doing a signing. Wound up with a total of $580 when everything was totaled up for a 4 night cruise.
__________________
Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah...Tip for Today!
Proud DVC Member since December 2010
Home Resort: Bay Lake Towers
Diagnosed Sleep Apnea June 2012
It does add up fast. On average, we spent about $100 a day.
But, my hubby, he likes him some beers.
It just depends on your extra spending. Good luck with the budget. I've never been good about that. I just save money and bring it along. And if I have any left over when I get home, well I consider myself lucky!
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It's usually only excursions and photos - and even the photos, sometimes it's just the gangway shots, sometimes it's just the one good group shot. On a three-day DCL to Bahamas and Castaway Cay, if I spent $400, that was a lot.
But then again - I'm not much of a drinker, and on non-DCL cruises, if I'm in the casino, I spend maybe $20. I'm the type of person that doesn't want a big surprise at the end, having known from experience (I had someone borrow $100 from me on a non-DCL cruise just so they could settle their acct and get off the ship!)
My honeymoon was different, but even then we limited it to just over $1K for a seven-night cruise, with four ports of call. Multiply two people times four excursions, and it's really not that much....
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
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I found the worksheet in the passporter last night! very helpful...dh and I were trying to budget and it does add up QUICKLY! We are over $1000 (including tips) so far. But that also includes MNSSHP costs as well...I am so surprised how fast it snowballs!
guess I need to save more!!!!!!!!!!
*Ginger*
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