Is There Really No Beer In Hawaii ? A Trip Report From The Perspective Of A Thirsty German Guy - Page 3 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
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Awesome TR. I so wanted to go on this very special cruise but alas it was not to be. We were on the 2008 Panama cruise from LA to FL and also had Ducky on our cruise. I was sorry he was not on our Alaska cruise last Sept. By the way, I have that same tshirt from Alaska. Seems as if we've been doing similar things but never at the same time in order to meet.
I'm sure you're already in Hamburg, or have a long trip ahead of you on Sunday, but just wanted to say have a great time at the Tom Petty concert!
__________________
Tanya
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I couldn't write the last part of my TR within the last week for several reasons:
Last weekend we made a short trip to Hamburg - we decided to go tho Helgoland, which is Germany's only off-shore island. The only chance to go there is by ship or by speed-catamarans. We would like to do it as a one-day-return-trip - so the catamaran is the only choice. You have to sail 2,5 hours on the river Elbe until its mouth in the North Sea - and another 70 minutes for the passage cross the ocean, which is known to be a rough one. There has been 579 pasengers on board - and believe me - they are running out the barf bags in those 70 minutes - it was like a never-ending rollercoaster ride - we did 5 cruises with DCL up to now - but we never has been in situations like those an last Saturday. On the island we had rain and heavy winds - normally you can hike there with wonderful sights to cliffs and the ocean - but last Saturday the only choice was to go to a bar or restaurant and have some beer (YES - there is beer on Helgoland ) - but not too much, cause of the trip back. It took the rest of the weekend, to recover from this highway to hell
The main reason for our trip to Hamburg was the concert by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers on sunday evening. He was one of the last missing acts on our personal list - and since last sunday we know, why we absolutely wanted to see him. Tom and his guys blew us away - it was one of the best concerts ever
During the week I was on a business trip to Munich, visiting a IT-Security conference - no chance to work on the TR
And of course there is the EURO2012 in Poland and Ukraine - the major football (soccer for the Americans) event of the year, which enforces me to watch 2 matches each day up to now
I promise to work on the TR on Sunday - in order to finish it up this weekend.
The dining and also the tablemates within the rotational system are an important factor on such a long cruise. If there is no good chemistry between the people, who are sharing a table for 2 weeks every evening, the whole cruise experience could suffer. But we are lucky guys - we found a table with 4 very nice persons - we talked a lot and had a lot of fun - and it was a real pleasure to meet Michele and Jim from Nashville and Glenda and Paul from Wales.
No need to talk about the dining experience?
5 additional kilograms at the end of the 2 weeks despite real much exercise the whole day through are talking the truth If we should mention some specific details, we would name the barbecues on Deck 9 and the desserts - yummy.
But what makes a Disney Cruise a Disney Cruise?
There are the sometimes little and sometimes real big specifics:
The Golden Mickeys are the real best way to celebrate a formal evening
The Pirates deck party is a highlight on every cruise – and we are surprised every time, when we watch our video at home, how loud and enthusiastic 2 calm Germans can scream, when Mickey is zip-lining from the stack of the vessel to announce his party in the sky
The character breakfast is the best way to start a day
Which ship is led by 2 captains – a nautical one and Captain Mickey?
Did we forget something?
Of course we did. We can’t come to an end, without mentioning the people on board, who are making a Disney Cruise a lifetime experience. Those always smiling faces, who are everywhere – and who makes you believe, that it is your personal cruise and they are only here, to make it perfect for you:
Vikash from Mauritius – our stateroom host, who was the best, we ever had
The dining room trio – Kingsley from Jamaica, Sammy from Mauritius and Geffrey from Philippines, who made a perfect job
The 2 nice girls from Thailand, with the unpronounceable names, who served at Diversions – ok – they are definitely not the fastest beer-servers – but the most friendliest ones on the whole planet - AND they serve beer
Now we are back to mother earth – and rethinking the whole trip, which was simply magical. We try to keep everything in mind, and we also try to keep this spirit within our hearts and souls. And hopefully in the near future, when Captain Mickey sets sail to some lovely places, our wonderful Marion from Small World Vacation will be as fast as always to bring us on board.
Aloha
from Petra & Peter & The Gang
PS: The most amazing thing of the whole trip was the fact, that this man tells the truth since 1962
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You have been busy! I love the latest update. Can't wait to get back on board for that food and the entertainment. You and Petra look wonderful on formal night! Golden Mickeys was my favorite of all the shows. I really hope I get seated at a table with a congenial group-- I've been lucky so far. The DCL CMs make the experience magical.
Wow, those are some great photos of you guys! Sounded like a wonderful cruise. Isn't the food just delicious? We gained weight too when we cruised with Disney. Oh well. Glad you guys had such an amazing time! Thanks for sharing! Tschuss!
Oh, and good to hear about the Tom Petty show! Although, I was pretty sure you'd have a great time for that anyway.
__________________
Tanya
Every click helps feed .6 bowls of food to rescued animals. Give a quick click every day and help animals in shelters! www.theanimalrescuesite.com
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.