A Christmas Ship Comes Sailing In (A Cam and Luke TR) Completed 2/18 - Page 26 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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.
Love the Pirate costumes!! Sounds like a great Pirate Night!
Disney does pirate night in excellent fashion.
Quote:
Originally Posted by roaminggnome
Love the pirate costumes. Your cooking class food looked delicious and the day on the beach looked awesome. Sounds like a marvelous trip so far.
It was a wonderful way to spend a December day when back home it was cold.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Linnynad
WTG LUKE!!!!! That AquaDunk is intense, I'm in his club with....yeah, I did it, ONCE and to me....that was enough!!!
Your cooking excursion looked so awesome. I would love to do that one, but we will have to skip that as the kids aren't allowed, nor would they want to.....the rest of Playa Mia looked fun too.
After Luke's comments on AquaDunk, I knew better than try it. Too bad there isn't some kind of cooking class offered that kids could be involved in, too.
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.
What awesome pirate outfits. Heck skip grumbled about wearing a pirate themed t-shirt.
Back on our first cruise in 2006, we didn't think we really wanted to wear costumes, so we went with island apparel. But then we felt kind of left out. So both of us were willing to dress up this time.
The cooking class looked like so much fun and glad all your courses came out so well! I'm really looking forward to this in April! Chef Luis seems like a great instructor and a lot of fun as well!
The beach and pool time seemed like a good way to wind down aft er the class! Do you have to bring your own towels from The Magic or are they provided here? Sorry, about missing your transportation back, but at least you got an upgrade on the replacement!
A very nice meal at Lumeire's and seems like a fun time at the Pirate's party. The two of you looked so good in your gear!
__________________
October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
The cooking class looked like so much fun and glad all your courses came out so well! I'm really looking forward to this in April! Chef Luis seems like a great instructor and a lot of fun as well!
The beach and pool time seemed like a good way to wind down aft er the class! Do you have to bring your own towels from The Magic or are they provided here? Sorry, about missing your transportation back, but at least you got an upgrade on the replacement!
A very nice meal at Lumeire's and seems like a fun time at the Pirate's party. The two of you looked so good in your gear!
Chef Luis makes the experience worth doing! For each excursion, Disney had towels in the assembly areas for guests to use. For this one I picked up two towels for each of us. When you reboard, you just drop the towels in laundry bins.
By the way, if you get the recipes for the same dishes, would you mind to forward those on to me?
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.
What Time Is It??? Day 9, Part 1: Friday, December 12, 2014
I first woke up at 8:30 and got my laptop out to read a book. At some point I went back to sleep with my laptop still on my lap. When Luke started stirring, I figured it was around 9:30 or 10:00. But NO! It was 11:20. At sea days are perfect for sleeping in, and we must have needed the sleep. I traveled to the hall over from us and stared a load of laundry.
Then we got dressed and headed up to Deck 9 to Cabana’s in search of lunch as breakfast was long gone. No clue what we ate as I didn’t put that in the notes, and it’s too long ago for my memory to access it. We ate at leisurely pace though, and then returned to our stateroom so I could start a second load of laundry and move the first to a dryer. When I first went to the launderette, only one washer was available and no dryers. When I returned, one dryer just had five minutes left on it and the lady who had clothes in it was there already to get her freshly dried clothes. A washer was also available, so I started the second load, and then the dryer was open for my first load. I rejoined Luke in the room where I started packing stuff we wouldn’t need for Saturday or Sunday. Finally, both loads were done, and I could add them to the suitcases.
With that chore completed, Luke and I went to the fitness center to complete a 5K walk on the treadmills. When we finished our walk, we even tried out some of the weight machines. I hadn’t brought the camera with us, so I failed to get pictures of this area. Walking while watching the ship cut through the ocean was amazing. A whole lot different from walking our neighborhood. Before heading back to the stateroom to get ready for dinner, we checked our Pirate Night photos at Shutters, all of which turned out very well.
We got back to the stateroom right at 4:00, so I took a shower, followed by Luke. Tonight was Semi-Formal Night. Luke was in his suit and I had another new dress to show off. We were ready by 5:00. I added a few more things to the suitcases. Then we left at 5:15 in order to get some photos before dinner. This didn’t take nearly as long as we thought it would. The line was very short.
So we moved up to Deck 4 and found a comfy couch to wait and people watch. Luke took a picture of me looking fairly somber, and then he asked a lady if she’d take a picture of us with one of the Christmas wreaths, and she kindly did.
By the way, these were taken with Luke's Nokia Lumia smartphone.
Rather than sitting back down, we walked through Shutters to the line waiting to get in Animator’s Palette. Agus gave us each mats to draw a character on. Mine was simple, but Luke’s was cool. Later in the meal, it was so neat to see our artwork on the big screens. I it!
A photographer came by and took a semi-formal night photo of us at the table. This is now on the opening page of the scrapbook for this cruise.
So what did we eat tonight? First course – Soup/Salad: Both of us chose Macaroni & Cheese Baked Potato Soup. This was probably my favorite soup/salad. By the way, we skipped out on appetizers tonight. I didn’t write why in my notes, and now I can’t even guess. Second course – Entrée: Tonight was my favorite entrée, too, Oven-Roasted Pork Tenderloin with creamy cheese polenta and wild mushrooms. Luke had the Fettuccini with Parmesan Crusted Chicken, which he found to be excellent. Third course – Dessert: We both chose the same dessert tonight because for me it was the chocolate and for Luke it was the ice cream. Warm Chocolate Lava Cake with vanilla ice cream. And it was another favorite, reminding me a bit of the Irish lava cake at the Food & Wine Festival. Another excellent meal, with lively conversation and the fun of being an imaginer if only temporary.
Our next adventure took us back to the stateroom to change into comfortable clothes for tonight’s show. We had an hour, so I packed a few more things. Trust me, I do not like to pack last minute as it puts me into a panic. At 8:15 we headed to the Walt Disney Theater where we joined Paul and Connie again. The only ugly moment of the cruise occurred this night as we waited for the show to begin. A very inebriated lady, claiming to be a lawyer, and her mother were loudly griping about teachers. So you appreciate how loud they were, their seats were right behind us, but we were in the last row of the first tier of seats, and they were in the first row of the second tier. We were separated by a pretty wide aisle. It began in the specific as it seemed loud lawyer lady was having issues with her son’s special needs teacher. But it quickly moved to disparaging all teachers who according to her were idiots who earned too much money for doing absolutely nothing. We were all the laziest people ever and really didn’t have any brains. When she said that all teachers were idiots, Luke rose from his seat turned around to face her and gave her a piece of his mind, though I was proud of him for keeping his voice calm. He did comment on how much I used to work to which she said, “Did your wife never sleep or do anything else?” He defended me saying that sometimes it seemed that way. Then he sat back down, and we heard no more from the angry woman or her mom. The show tonight was Villains tonight. Though it was good, it was not my favorite, especially since we had a real life villain sitting right behind us. At the end of the show as we were saying good bye to Paul and Connie, the mother came to us, thanking us for serving in thankless jobs and said she was sorry we’d overheard their griping. Sort of a backhanded apology, but we accepted it and moved on.
On our way back to the room, I stopped at the DVC desk for a goodie, a Steamboat Willie DVC pin for both of us. Then we climbed the steps to Deck 6 and shut ourselves in for the night. No surprise, I packed a bit more, and then climbed in bed to finish up my notes. By 11:00 I had run out of steam. Goodnight!
I only managed 2 photos this entire day as the camera never made it out of the stateroom. I don't know what I was thinking!
I want to only say that I thank God for all the teachers that took all their selfless hours to educate me the many years I attended both school and college. So many of them were absolutely awesome and were such great motivators in my life. Some, I struggled with in the beginning, but now I know we're pushing me for they knew I had potential and showed me I could achieve all things if I just pushed myself hard enough too. So, thanks for being a teacher. I,for one, am very grateful!!!
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.
Chef Luis makes the experience worth doing! For each excursion, Disney had towels in the assembly areas for guests to use. For this one I picked up two towels for each of us. When you reboard, you just drop the towels in laundry bins.
By the way, if you get the recipes for the same dishes, would you mind to forward those on to me?
Will do! Do they have them specifically written out for you during the class or are you just instructed how to cook and prepare dishes step by step?
__________________
October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
Glad you were able to sleep in a bit and have a nice relaxing day! Nice photos of the two of you and sounds like you had a nice dinner at AP! Too bad you had to endure the stream of drunken nonsense from that woman! Good for Luke and giving her his two cents and shutting her down for the night! Didn't help you enjoy the show at the theater, but hope it wasn't too much of a distraction for the two of you!
__________________
October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
With the glaring exception of that rude woman, another wonderful sea day. Bravo to Luke for speaking to her and for keeping his cool as he did. You look lovely in your new dress. Great photos of the two of you.
You two looked great, as usual! And seems as though you really made the most of your sea day. Isn't it funny how the ship's motion can keep you lulled to sleep for so long?
So sorry about the encounter in the theater. Good for Luke for speaking up (gallant to defend your honor). As in ALL professions, there are good teachers and some not so good. But I don't think any teacher has ever gone into the profession for reasons other than wanting to teach and make a difference. Many school systems are so broken, and many parents so difficult, that I think it can eventually get the best intentioned teacher feeling burnt out. But it's no excuse for this woman's behavior. I am a social worker, another oft-disparaged profession, so I know what that's like. Thank you, though, for your many years of teaching. I know you made a difference for so many young adults as they passed through your class.