Forums Closed
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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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Best wishes for a wonderful and magical new year!
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11-15-2002, 04:36 PM
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#1
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Community Rank: Adventurer 
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: IL
Posts: 760
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Any great cruises for families?
We're interested in taking our family on a cruise possibly next winter. With 3 kids, Disney Cruises are not economically feasible [img]images/icons/frown.gif[/img] We were thinking Cozumel/Mexico area for beaches and a little bit of history with shore excurisions to some ruins. We're also a very active family and would like to do fun things on board. We're trying to avoid the casino/bar scenario. Any experienced family cruisers out there?
[ 11-15-2002, 04:38 PM: Message edited by: Cameron's mom ]
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11-15-2002, 04:59 PM
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#2
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Community Rank: Trailblazer 
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: jacksonville, fl usa
Concierge Level: 3
Posts: 5,790
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Re: Any great cruises for families?
First, I would rule out Carnival. I felt it was more of a party atmosphere, and less family-oriented. Royal Caribbean has a nice mix of family/adults on it. The new Voyager class ships were built with families in mind, even.
How many nights were you looking at for the cruise?
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11-15-2002, 05:00 PM
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#3
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Community Rank: Legend 
Join Date: Mar 2001
Posts: 17,365
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Re: Any great cruises for families?
Hey there!! I hear your pain - we have 3 kiddos, too and are facing the same issues with DCL! [img]images/icons/frown.gif[/img] And while we've not taken the kids on any of the cruises we've been on, I'll tell you that Royal Caribbean does it up right for familes! We've sailed the Western and Eastern Caribbean and based on what you are looking for, certainly the Western Cruise itineray is the one you want! While RCCL's ships do have the casino/bar scene, you'll find them VERY family oriented with excellent children's programs. Many of the ships have Rock Walls to climb, ice rinks, rollerblading - super for active families!! Cabins will be smaller than the DCL, but they do have some family suites on many ships.
Based on what you are looking for, I'd personally steer clear of the Carnival line (reputation for being a big party ship). I've personally not cruised Carnival, but I don't know anyone who would choose to sail with them again after a first cruise.
HAVE FUN!
WHERE IS CINDY?!?! She knows it all!!
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11-15-2002, 05:04 PM
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#4
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Community Rank: Legend
Join Date: Mar 2001
Posts: 17,365
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Re: Any great cruises for families?
Quote:
Originally posted by Dadtojbj:
WHERE IS CINDY?!?! She knows it all!!
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<font size="2" face="Comic Sans MS, Arial">Ack! Well obviously the cruise post radar went off and she beat me to the post! LOL!! |
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11-15-2002, 07:25 PM
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#5
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Community Rank: Legend
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Florida Big Bend
Posts: 17,133
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Re: Any great cruises for families?
I would highly recommend contacting Jean, our Resident TA. She is well-versed on DCL as well as all of the other cruise lines as she cruises several times a year.
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11-16-2002, 07:15 AM
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#6
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Community Rank: Legend
Join Date: Mar 2001
Posts: 17,365
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Re: Any great cruises for families?
Just was chatting with a good friend last night who has a family of 6 actually - they need 2 cabins no matter what (unless the go the suite route), but she was telling me that they just booked a spring cruise on RCCL and she was overwhelmed at how many activities they have for families and kids. RCCL has a pretty slick website that you may want to peek at! |
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11-16-2002, 08:44 AM
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#7
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Community Rank: Explorer 
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: Connecticut Shoreline
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 8,250
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Re: Any great cruises for families?
While I do not have any children, my DH and I have traveled on Princess Cruise lines many times, and the newer ships (Grand, Golden, Sea, Ocean, etc.) have wonderful programs for children. As a teacher, I had to check out the special areas set aside for children. If you have younger children, the Grand and Golden Princess even have a special pool (very small, but in the shape of a whale!) for the younger set. The Western Caribbean 7 day cruise leaves from Fort Lauderdale (you save money here, buy not having to fly farther south to pick up your cruise!) and usually goes to Grand Caymen, Cozumel and Costa Maya as well as a couple of days at sea and a visit to their own island, Princess Cays. Princess Cays is beautiful and also has a special play area for children. The web site for Princess is www.princess.com .
Good luck with your planning. What ever cruise line you choose, (and again, I agree, avoid Carnival) I am sure you will love it. In any case, call 1-800-Princess and order a brochure!
KathyL [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img] |
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11-20-2002, 11:38 AM
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#8
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Community Rank: Adventurer
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: IL
Posts: 760
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Re: Any great cruises for families?
Thanks for the posts! I'll check out the websites. We were thinking a 4 day cruise because we've never done it before. The rock walls and rollerblading sound fun. Thanks for the info.
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11-21-2002, 10:16 AM
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#9
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Community Rank: Legend
Join Date: Mar 2001
Posts: 17,365
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Re: Any great cruises for families?
Hey! You might want to surf around on Cruise Critic for some additional info! GOOD LUCK! |
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11-21-2002, 02:24 PM
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#10
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Community Rank: Scout 
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: VERMONT
Posts: 4,201
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Re: Any great cruises for families?
I'm just editing out my misinformation! Sorry! Hope you find exactly what you are looking for.
[ 11-21-2002, 02:54 PM: Message edited by: TINKN ]
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11-21-2002, 02:37 PM
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#11
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Community Rank: Trailblazer
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: jacksonville, fl usa
Concierge Level: 3
Posts: 5,790
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Re: Any great cruises for families?
Quote:
Originally posted by Cameron's mom:
Thanks for the posts! I'll check out the websites. We were thinking a 4 day cruise because we've never done it before. The rock walls and rollerblading sound fun. Thanks for the info.
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<font size="2" face="Comic Sans MS, Arial">Carnival, Norwegian, and Royal Caribbean all do 4-night itineraries on the Western Caribbean route (most likely stopping in Key West and Cozumel). Carnival and Norwegian 4-nighters sail out of Miami, while Royal Caribbean sails out of Ft. Lauderdale. Royal Carribeean does have one 4-night cruise yearly that sails out of Miami (on the beautiful Brilliance of the Seas). Next year's is scheduled to depart on Nov. 10th. Hope this helps. |
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11-21-2002, 03:58 PM
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#12
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Community Rank: Adventurer
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: IL
Posts: 760
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Re: Any great cruises for families?
Wow, what great info Cindy! You just gave me the information I needed to begin narrowing down my search. I've found that you need to know where and when you're going specifically to get any quotes and I hadn't been able to get that far. I think the Royal Carribbean seems like the one us and we wanted to take the kids to Cozumel. Thanks so much for you help! [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]
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11-21-2002, 04:08 PM
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#13
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Community Rank: Trailblazer
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: jacksonville, fl usa
Concierge Level: 3
Posts: 5,790
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Re: Any great cruises for families?
A few more tidbits for you. I noticed you were interested in rock climbing and inline skating. If that is going to be a big decision-maker for you, you'll probably want to stick with that Nov. 10th Brilliance of the Seas sailing. While it doesn't have an inline track, it does have the rock climbing wall and plenty of other sports related areas.
The two ships which sail out of Ft. Lauderdale throughout the year are Monarch of the Seas and Enchantment of the Seas. Neither of these have as many "sports" features as the newest RCCL ships.
Here is a link to Royal Caribbean's ships . Check it out for info on all three. Hope this helps. |
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11-29-2002, 09:27 PM
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#14
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Community Rank: Adventurer
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: IL
Posts: 760
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Re: Any great cruises for families?
[img]images/icons/cool.gif[/img] sounds like the ship for us! Thanks for simplifying the search for us.
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