We were inspired by Samantha Brown's Carnival cruise so away we go! - Page 23 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
Hey guys! Thanks for all the comments! I did feel so sorry for Eric that day! But, things are looking up the next day for sure!
I've just been bombarded at this new job and then last weekend we decided to head over to TN to go to Dollywood!
So, I will try to get an update in over this coming weekend!
Thanks for hanging around!
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
Registered Message Board Members Get Our Free Newsletter! When you register you'll have the option to sign up for our weekly PassPorter Newsletter. It's chock-full of feature articles; news; tips; contests; photos; and special offers in our online store.
Chrissy - I am not sure how I missed your PTR and TR but I rectified it today and read all 23 pages Love the ship, sorry that Eric got so sick through, I am happy to hear that he does start to feel better so at least he can enjoy the rest of the cruise. What a trooper through, getting off the ship in PR and trying to enjoy.
Can't wait to hear more and congratulations on your new job, that is great news.
Great TR so far! We did the Freedom May 2-8 and LOVED it as it was our first cruise. We didn't do Eastern though, but I have plans to book the exact cruise you are writing about for May 2011. I can't wait!!!!
You guys have been so wonderful to hang around and be patient to read on! I have a few updates for you guys! I hope to get our third day in for you guys by the end of this Memorial Holiday. Plus, I have no concrete plans for next weekend either which means another update could come your way!! YAY!
Happy Memorial Day and thanks to all those who serve, have served or have a loved one who is serving in the Armed Forces!
ON WITH THE SHOW....
Tuesday March 30th, 2010: Our third full day.... in port 7am-6pm
We got up early this morning. Eric's parents wanted to walk around downtown St. Thomas. I have been there several times so I went along as a tour guide and just because I love going into St. Thomas.
We docked at St. Thomas at 7am this day. We had went to bed around midnight the night before. Eric was in bed long before that due to his medications making him drowsy
I had decided to order room service to be brought in. Eric was up and at 'em this morning. He said that he felt so much better and he had not had any symptoms of the virus since going to the Medical bay. He looked MUCH better today as well. He got up and I ate breakfast this morning in the room. I ordered us both coffee in case he wanted some. He stuck with water and I dont blame him!
We sat on the balcolny and decided what the plans for the day were. I decided to get dressed and explore town with his family. We had to be back around 1130am so that we could change clothes and take the excursion we had booked over to St. John, Trunk Bay at 1230pm.
We got ready and headed off the ship around 9am. Eric took his last round of medications and set the alarm for four pm. He wanted to be able to get off the ship for at least an hour or so so that he could go to paradise point which was next to the cruise dock.
I took my cell phone and left it on with instructions for him to call if he needed to. I set off with his parents to head into dowtown St. Thomas.
I think I saw someone recently say they were taking this cruise so I'll try to give some good details for you so that you know what to expect in St. Thomas
One good thing about this port is that it docks you in a really nice touristy spot. Its called Havensight mall. It has a lot of shopping and a walkway that will lead straight into downtown St. Thomas. The path is about 3/4 a mile but its a really nice walk into town.
Me and Eric's parents got off the ship and walked around the shopping center. All the stores were still closed at this time in the Mall area. Eric's dad decided he was going to walk over to a Kmart he spotted from the balcolny of our room to get a razor replacement. His razor had quit that morning and he needed to replace it.
What he thought was right next to the ship area was a good 1/2 mile to 3/4 mile walk. If I had wore a pedometer this day I was sure I had walked nearly 3 miles that morning!!!
Once we reached Kmart he found the replacement and bought us all waters because it was already becoming very hot and we still had a good little walk into town. FYI, you can take a cab into dowtown. One way was about 10 dollars ish.
We walked back to the mall area and the stores were still closed so we decided to walk into town.
Along the way we stopped for some shots of us with our cruise ship in the back group. It was actually a really nice breezy walk. I really enjoyed it!
Once we reached dowtown St. Thomas, we decided to walk through the open air market. I found a wonderful purple handmade necklace that I bought there with matching earrings.
Here is downtown St. Thomas....
We moved into the main street area where all the shops were located. We browsed a few shops and I took pics for Eric along the way. We stopped in several stores but I never bought anything else. I quickly became preoccupied with my camera. It wouldn't open all of a sudden. It would come on and say error and never fully open. I was so frustrated because I was trying to document pictures for Eric to see.
It was nearing 1130 at this point. We really needed to catch a cab back over to the ship. We walked back to the open air market where I had seen was a cab spot. We found a van that was heading back over to the ship area. We were loaded into the van with two others. I remembered it was about a 5 minute ride and I gave him 4 dollars which covered a tip and my portion.
We made our way back onto the boat and went back to the room. Eric was just waking up from a nap and I had him take a look at my camera. He hit it hard on the side and it opened right up. I mustve hit in in my purse with something that made it stick. But, thank god it was working again for the St. John excursion.
I quickly changed into a suit and ate a quick snack of fruit and yogurt. It was nearing noon and was time to head down. I hated to leave Eric there but I promised to take as many pictures as I could of Trunk Bay and promised him one day we would return, just the two of us!
We got down to the dock and there were signs and we quickly found our execursion. It was so hot there in the sun and there was no shade at all. We finally heard them calling us over to the sign of our excursion. The lady quickly annouced no snorkling on this excursion today. The winds were too high and made it rough for snorkling in Trunk Bay. I had no intentions of snorkling but his parents had brought their own gear. She offered a partial refund to us and said that we could opt out or go with the partial refund. We decided to go with the partial refund.
She redirected us to another waiting area. I will say that the one thing about this excursion is you spend a lot of time in transit and waiting. We waited at the second check point for another 20 minutes. The boat finally arrived and we found we were on this boat with several other execursions to the island.
Here is a view leaving on the boat...
We were seated inside which is not good for me because I get easily sea sick. The sea was very rough on the way over. Very rough seas making for a very rocky boat. About half way over I got very sea sick. I had taken my bonine but it was not enough. I quickly ran out to the back of the ship and sat with fresh sea air hiting my face and I quickly recovered. I decided to stay put there until the boat stopped at St. John.
I took a few pics while outside....
We arrived at St. John in about 40 mins from the time we loaded to the point of unloading.
We were redirected to open air buses that were taking us to Trunk Bay where our execursion was a beach day. We had two hours on Trunk Bay.
The day was partly cloudy and HOT but it was absolutely beautiful. Trunk bay was very nice. They had restrooms and changing rooms along with showers. They had a little food bar and convience store where I bought a trail mix bar and water. We quickly made our way down to the beach and boy was it just amazing!!!
We found a place to put our towels and I quickly got the camera out to take as many pics as I could for Eric. I nearly cried because I hated he was missing such a beautiful place.
It was beautiful teal water and when the sun shone, you could see right through the water forever.
There was beautiful formations out in the ocean and it was just a warm and gorgeous day.
Eric's mom waded out into the water but quickly found out that warning of rough waters were very true.
I still laugh when I see her in my head. She walked out and then all of sudden she was gone. Rolling, rolling backwards. Her visor came off, her sunglasses came off and when she finally stood up she had so much sand in her hair and skin and bathing suit it was really funny. She was stunned however, as I wouldve been.
I was actually concerned at first but we laughed about this tumble for days after this
We then decided it was best to stay out of the water for the most part and headed down the beach.
We snapped a lot of beautiful shots along the way.....
We then made our way back to the towels and we layed out in the sun for about 30 minutes. I was quickly gaining a beautiful tan that I would die for right now
I took some hilarious self portraits to show eric
The time passed so quickly, I couldn't believe it was time to go back. We went to the showers and showered off the sand and quickly got back into our coverups and back on the bus.
I snapped these shots of the park on my way out to show Eric...
The driver stopped along the way back and we took so pretty shots of the beaches.
Once we got back to the boat we had to quickly load because it was time to head back.
We sat on the outside on the back of the ship for my sake this time and it was a WONDERFUL SPOT! It was out of the sun and they played a carribean cd and with the wonderful wind. I nearly fell asleep.
Insert, funny story....I can't help that I laugh at other misfortunes but I really am laughing with them its just they never are quite laughing
We were seated next to the bathrooms on the boat ride. They had metal doors. This guy came over to use the restroom, once he was finished he came out and tried to close the door. It was being a stubborn door because every time he thought it was shut it would swing back open. He tried a bout 6-7 times. By this time I was giggling and so was Eric's dad. The guy must have sensed this and just stalked away as the door blew wide open. It stayed that way for a few minutes while he cooled off. He finally came back about 4-5 minutes later and reshut it this time and it stayed. I don't think I had laughed that hard in days and we sure could use it after having Eric so sick. Me along with Eric's dad just kept on laughing.
So, anyway we got back around 530pm about 30 minutes later than we shouldve. So, they were just loading the last few people on the boat and they had waited on us because they knew our excursion was running late WHEW....
We got on the ship and headed back to the room. Eric was waiting on the balcolny and said he had been released off the ship around 4pm.( more on that later).
We no sooner got into the room and go changed that we began to sail away.
We watched it sail away and then decided to get changed for dinner. Eric said he felt so much better. He wasnt hungry just yet but he said he was feeling 80 percent.
We got showered and changed into our dinner clothes. We decided to walk around the ship and look at our pictures so far from dinner,etc. We actually bought our first formal night pics this night.
Eric was feeling much better and I was so relieved that he was back to his old self.
We took some pictures before dinner and then headed to our normal nightly meal. I do remember Eric had only soup and an appetizer of fruit since his stomach was still not 100 percent. I had the best meal of all nights that night. It was braised beef and was wonderful!!!!
We then decided at 1030ish to call it a night and go to bed so Eric could get some more sleep.
Up next: Eric's side of the story of his day spent in St. Thomas on the ship....
Loved the update - and can't wait to read about Eric's day! The pictures of Trunk Bay are lovely! Man you're making me want to go on a cruise so much!!