Cruise Report - Disney Magic Western Caribbean 4 - 11 Oct - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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.
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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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Cruise Report - Disney Magic Western Caribbean 4 - 11 Oct
I wish I had the time to write the long reviews as some have but it is back to the real world and I am writing this review from work. Shhhh! Don't tell anyone!
Needless to say, our cruise, our week, our vacation was wonderful! Here are some of the highlights and my thoughts and tips. I hope this helps future travelers.
To provide a little background...there was 7 in our group. My family of 4 and my
mother, stepdad, and a family friend.
Getting to the cruise ship...
1. Arrived at Orlando Airport and proceeded to Budget Car Rental to get our 12 passenger van. They didn't have one and jerked us around for almost an hour. Luckily the Disney counter was right next door. We went and talked with them and within 5 min we had cancelled with Budget and were on the bus to the Polynesian where we met the rest of our group and stayed for the evening before the cruise.
2. Character breakfast at O'Hana. The tropical, family theme is a great kick-off to the cruise. I would highly recommend.
3. Took the Disney shuttle over to the ship. I balked at the price at first - now I am an avid believer. Sure a rental car might be a little cheaper but will they do all the work with the luggage? Nope! TAKE THE DISNEY SHUTTLE!
On board activities....
4. Sign up early for the beer and wine tasting events.
5. We had late dinner seating so we would typically go to the 6:15 show, then run down to Diversions for the family comedy act at 7:30 which ended right before dinner.
Staterooms...
6. Rooms have inadequate power outlets if you are going to need to recharge more than one camera, cell phone, laptop, etc. Pack a power strip.
7. Take a clear plastic shoe holder for over the bathroom door. Next time I am taking two. This was a big help.
9. If you are snorkeling - take a couple of dinner or breakfast rolls with you to feed the fish.
10. Kayaking Adventure (Key West) - huge fun but more work than Passporters book let on due to some stormy seas. Need to be in good physical shape. Guides were good.
11. Aquaboats (Grand Cayman) - don't miss! This was a blast! Take extra disposable underwater cameras. Definitely worth the money and I would do it again!!!
12. Dolphinaris (Cozumel) - Getting to the place is a goat rope. Getting into the water is another one. Once in the water though, the place has a great program set up. The pictures afterwards are another goat rope. This place would definitely benefit by asking Disney to come in and address some of their logistical issues before and after. Expensive but you get a full hour and it is a beautiful setting with good interaction with the dolphins.
13. Parasailing (Castaway Cay) - I wouldn't do this again. They said the winds were bad so we would have to ride tandem. Okay, but we didn't get double the time up there. Hooked up and sent up, about 5 min., up in the air about 5 min. Winched back in about 5 min. Very short for $75 pp. The dunking was nice and the guides were pleasant and knew what they were doing. Safety was well handled.
WOW Moments!
Out of respect for the family mentioned here, I will only say that a very serious medical emergency occured on Castaway Cay with a toddler about 18 months. I was WOW'd by how quickly the lifeguard responded, how quickly another lifeguard came, and how quickly medical personnel responded. All within about 3 min. I was also wow'd by the guest on the beach that formed a prayer circle. I am still a little shaken by it but also moved by everyones response!
Dining - every meal was a pleasure and the highlight of our day. Our servers - Jozsef from Hungary and Sel from Turkey were the best. If you get them, please sit back and enjoy! You are in good hands!
Jake at Guest Services. I went to ask a question about something and he asked what room I was in. I told him but also mentioned that the last digit (4) was missing off the door. He seemed stunned but I laughed and told him it was okay with me. It helped me spot my door easier. By the time I came back from excursion that day, the door was fixed. Darn you Jake! LOL!
Next cruise - 2010. Can't wait! If you are going soon - have fun!
Thanks for the review!! Glad you had a great time!
I too had the same problem with the parasailing in 2006. I think they overbook the boat...as there was no way that everyone who had signed up to go single would have been able to in the time frame Going tandem with a stranger is not all that fun
My daughter and I went together so it wasn't too bad. She was yelling at them to dunk us and I was yelling at them not to. In the end, they dunked our feet. We both were happy!
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Going tandem with a stranger is not all that fun 
for the tips!
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