My Cruise Booking Story (A vent and it is long) - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
I am usually not the complaining type. But...yesterday I feel like I was thrown under the bus by the AAA travel agent that was helping me book a cruise.
I have been thinking for a looong time that it would be nice to get away during the girls spring break. It would be so nice to see the sun instead of the gray clouds and snow here in Ohio!
So, I have been doing my research. As any good passporter would do! I looked at numerous cruise lines and finally found one I was happy with. And no it is not a Disney Cruise. There were no sailings at the time I was looking for with Disney.
Anyway...I had priced things myself online. It was reasonable. I was looking at airfare and found an okay price out of Cleveland.($289 to Miami, not bad)
But since I have never booked a cruise before I went in to AAA to have them help me. Mostly with choosing the right deck and stateroom since there are 4 of us going on the trip.
Let's just say I can't stop thinking about the whole encounter.
First of all I was supposed to meet this travel agent at 1:30. I got there and she was still with another client. I think it was around 2:30 that I finally got to meet with her. That is red flag #1 and I should have left right then.
So, we finally meet. I was telling this nice travel agent that if she couldn't get me a good price on airfare that I would just wait and get it on my own. That didn't go over well as she went on and on about the travel insurance and how I wouldn't be covered if I booked the airfare myself. I mean on and on about if my flights were delayed and I missed the sailing and on, and on, and on.(Red flag #2, which I didn't notice as a red flag! )
Essentially, she scared me into getting the whole package there and spending about $700 more than I wanted to spend. And that was basically on airfare alone!! The airfare, which I don't even know what carrier or what time at this point, was $469 per person! Yes, it makes you sick doesn't it?
I hope that I picked the right stateroom because I feel like that is what I went there to get help with and I didn't get any help at all!
I honestly feel like I got taken advantage of. I can't stop thinking about the whole thing. It is even making me feel NOT excited about the whole trip now.
I am really trying to just let it go. What can I do about it now? It is all said and done at this point. Just being able to tell this to all of you, really makes me feel better. I know this was a long posting! Sorry! I just needed to tell my story to a few of my friends! Thanks for listening!
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.
Sorry you had such a bad experience.
My advice would be to use a cruise agent in the future.
Can I ask what line/ship you are going on, and maybe I can give you some insight into that ship?
yep, I belong to AAA only for the other discounts and the tow that I need every 10 years or so.
An AAA agent at a travel fair basically wouldn't answer my questions unless I would make an appointment with her. Sorry, you can sell me here just like you can there.
I'm so sorry you had this happen to you. I would go to the supervisor and let
them know that you aren't happy with the service. Then if they won't help you
I would cancel your trip with that travel agent and go to another one.
My first experience with our AAA travel person wasn't that great either....
I waited close to 2 hours for her (after having to come back 3 times) and
I just talked with her boss. I didn't like to do it, but sometimes that is
the only way they know something is wrong.
Oh I'm so sorry to hear you had such a bad experience. I'd definitely try to talk to a supervisor. Honestly, if you're not feeling excited about this trip the way it is right now, I'd cancel it and try again with a different travel agent. Not sure if you can cancel without a penalty, though.
I know how angry you gotta feel right now but if you end up keeping this package, try not to let the bad experience ruin the anticipation and the trip itself! Here's some pixie dust headed your way
My advice would be to use a cruise agent in the future.
Thanks for the advice and I totally agree!
Thanks to everyone for the pixies and just the encouragement. I was really upset over the whole thing! I still feel a little miffed, but I am getting excited for the trip.
Thanks again! I knew you would all understand where I was coming from!
At the very least, by talking to a supervisor, you can get another agent who you may mesh with better (even if it's just because it's not the one who didn't listen). Or, because of the way it was handled, they may be willing to let you transfer it to another agent without penalty. If they don't, or the supervisor doesn't take care of your concerns, then THAT's what will tell you what kind of agency they are.
About This Page: 
My Cruise Booking Story (A vent and it is long)
I looked at numerous cruise lines and finally found one I was happy with. And no it is not a Disney Cruise. 
There were no sailings at the time I was looking for with Disney. 
It was reasonable. I was looking at airfare and found an okay price out of Cleveland.($289 to Miami, not bad)
I think it was around 2:30 that I finally got to meet with her. That is red flag #1 and I should have left right then. 
)
Yes, it makes you sick doesn't it? 
*Ginger*
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
PassPorter Guide Author
Linear Mode
