A Christmas Ship Comes Sailing In (A Cam and Luke TR) Completed 2/18 - Page 16 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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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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Neither of us woke up today until the alarm went off. We immediately began to get ready as we had a Port Adventure in Grand Cayman. As soon as we had I together, we went to Cabana’s for a quick breakfast. Agus saw us and directed us to a nice table outside with a great view of Cayman. We didn’t take long to eat because we needed to return to the room as I had forgotten our map and my phone.
Our rallying point was Fathoms, and as we headed that way, we heard our cruise director announce that some Port Adventures had been cancelled due to rough waters. When we got up, we’d noticed that the ship seemed to be rocking a little more than the previous days.
Once we arrived at Fathoms, crew member Luke informed us that our Port Adventure had been one of those cancelled, and sent us to the Port Adventure desk. There we were refunded for the cancelled Nautilus Undersea Tour. I was disappointed about this, but we still wanted to go ashore. We eventually decided on the Grand Cayman Island Tour as basically anything else we were interested in had already debarked the ship.
We now returned to Fathoms to await our turn to board a tender boat for shore. Our rather large group was led out around 9:30. Once we were on the gangway it was clear that the seas were rough today. We could see the rising and falling of the tender boat beside the Magic. The crew worked carefully to get us all on board without injury, and they were quite successful. Of course, I found myself turning back to check out the Magic on our short voyage to Grand Cayman, which meant I took a few photos.
The boat ride was fairly short, arriving at the North Terminal. Here we were divided into groups for the island tour and the Dolphin Discovery. Finally, our island tour group was led a block or so to the tour buses. These buses are much smaller than school buses, but with comfier seats. Thank goodness, we lucked out with a great guide. He was informative, but also quite entertaining. He even pointed out every American restaurant, e.g. Dairy Queen, Burger King, and Wendy’s. He also made sure we noticed the cost of gasoline on the island. Considerably higher than our prices currently were or are. In the photo below the price is $5.19, but our guide told us with the exchange rate it was more like $7 something a gallon.
We also passed the Governor's Residence and shopping center along the way.
According to our guide, the governor doesn't want guests to his house to have to travel far in order to shop.
Ultimately, we were taken to Hell for a short 10 minute stay, and that was more than enough time. The kids along for the tour had a blast annoying their parents by saying Hell as frequently as possible. And this is Hell.
This is the price per gallon at a gas station right beside Hell.
There was an interesting older gentleman wandering around in a devil's garb, and we assumed that he and his wife were the owners of the Devil's Hangout, a souvenir shop. Basically, the shop is a shack about the size of those convenient store/gas stations we Americans are familiar with. It's claim to being the largest is probably true. We did go inside because Luke needed the restrooms, and I wanted to see about a postcard. I purchased two cards, one which actually explains the formation of Hell. I could pay using American dollars, but she could only give me Cayman change. So I have a cool coin to add to the scrapbook.
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Sorry about your tour being canceled! Glad you were able to rebook onto another one! Great pictures from Hell! Your story reminds me of our tour of the Hoover Dam, where they tried to get "Dam" into every sentence, appropriate or not!
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Just getting caught up. Sounds like you had a nice day at sea, and the professional pictures look great. Sorry that your excursion was cancelled, but glad to hear you were able to do something else. Love the pictures of Hell!
Bummer your excursion got cancelled but glad you still got to do something. Can't wait for the rest!
We were happy that at least something was still doable.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cubfancolleen
Too bad about the cancellation. Hope you enjoyed your stay in port.
We pretty much covered all of Grand Cayman with this tour.
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
Sorry your excursion got cancelled, but thank goodness you were able to get on another one.
I told Luke that I should have had a plan B as backup as it took us awhile to look through all the possibilities, and by that time some had already left the ship. But it worked out fine anyway.
Glad you were able to get on another excursion and had an entertaining guide. I guess Devil's Hangout is one gift shop you won't see in every port!
Devil's Hangout was a unique souvenir shop, for sure.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Sorry about your tour being canceled! Glad you were able to rebook onto another one! Great pictures from Hell! Your story reminds me of our tour of the Hoover Dam, where they tried to get "Dam" into every sentence, appropriate or not!
Kids are just too funny when it comes to curse words.
Quote:
Originally Posted by xwewhisper
Glad they were able to rework your excursion pretty easily and you got a fun tour!
We even saved a few dollars per person on the cost of the second excursion.
Love the pictures of Hell...we've never gone there, will have to remedy that just to say I've been!
We'll do something different, probably the excursion we missed, if we ever get back. But as you said, at least, we can say we've been there.
Quote:
Originally Posted by KMB733
Just getting caught up. Sounds like you had a nice day at sea, and the professional pictures look great. Sorry that your excursion was cancelled, but glad to hear you were able to do something else. Love the pictures of Hell!
Hell was just the beginning of our Grand Cayman tour.
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He also made sure we noticed the cost of gasoline on the island. Considerably higher than our prices currently were or are. In the photo below the price is $5.19, but our guide told us with the exchange rate it was more like $7 something a gallon. 
And this is Hell.
Disney Magic - Oct 2015
PassPorter Guide Author
Glad you were able to rebook onto another one! Great pictures from Hell! 
Your story reminds me of our tour of the Hoover Dam, where they tried to get "Dam" into every sentence, appropriate or not! 
]
We'll do something different, probably the excursion we missed, if we ever get back. But as you said, at least, we can say we've been there. 
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