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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
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I can only address your 4th question, having done the med cruise in 2011 from Barcelona ( we didn't visit Venice ). In case you have not already selected a hotel, the Hotel Constanza was in my Passporter and I could not have been happier with it. We stayed there before and after our cruise.
When we returned from the cruise the only transport available was taxi and the line was very long. I think we waited around an hour maybe more. Now we hadn't rushed off the ship as we didn't anticipate that.if you have a hotel ressie it may be worth checking with them to see if they offer a shuttle.
We also had spent most of our cash in ports and didn't have enough for the cab and he wouldn't take a credit card. So make sure you keep some cash reserved for the cab. He did stop at an ATM for us after I made the motion of pushing buttons and said "euros!" He was the ONLY person we met in Barcelona who did not speak English ( or at least behaved that way ... Hmmm).
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Hi and welcome to the boards! We'll wave at you as we come off, as we're on the 7/5 cruise out of and back to Venice.
1.How to pack for a 12 night cruise with the challenge of staying in Venice for a few nights ahead of the cruise...
Firstly, plan on laundry while you're away. We're doing just over two weeks in total and we're planning to take nine days' worth of clothes with us. We know that will fit in the cases we can take, as we took a similar amount with us for our vacation last month. Think carefully about every single item you're taking and whether you really will wear it. Also think about whether you can wear things in different ways - i.e. will a nice pair of trousers with different tops perhaps do for a couple of nights on the cruise? That sort of thing...
2. Any major differences between the 7 night vs the 12 night that we should be ready for?
Hmmm.... well very different ports obviously! I can't think of anything. We did the inaugural 11 night Med cruise back in 2007 and we've done seven night cruises and really apart from the fact it's longer and it's different ports, I can't think of anything. Obviously things like tips and photo packages cost more because it's a longer cruise...
3. Best time to show up and how to navigate the Venice cruise port. We are staying on Murano, rather then Venice proper.
I would allow plenty of time to commute from Murano, although the last time we were in Venice (2001) the vaporetto boats were very efficient and ran to time. The timetables are all available online, as I've had a look at that, which will help you plan how long it will take. You should have a time to check-in at the port already booked, which gives you a time to arrive. As for the port itself, as we're only going there on 5 July ourselves for the first time, I can't help with that right now. From everything I've read, it seems pretty straightforward. You get yourself to Piazzale Roma and then you can take the People Mover (€1.30 each) or there are often shuttle buses. Whether Disney will run one, I don't know.
4. Ideas for transportation from the cruise port in Barcelona to a non-Disney hotel. I'd get a taxi. We got a taxi from the port back to the airport when we disembarked and, although there was a line, it wasn't that bad, and moved very quickly. I don't remember the price, as it was back in 2007, but it certainly wasn't that expensive, as I don't remember being shocked by it.
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I'd plan to do laundry at the ship and plan to mix and match. When I travel I try to choose clothes that can be interchangeable creating new outfits. Also I pack scarfs and other accessories for dressing up at night. A more fancy outfit for formal night that can be use with comfortable dressy shoes (I avoid heels at all costs when traveling). We try to pack clothes that we know we like and consider the number of days carefully not to overpack. At home we limit one luggage per person (usually small for shorter vacations and median for longer ones). That is important when you're taking time sightseeing and commute from a place to another.
You'll love Venice, it is beautiful and charming - as you'll be arriving earlier you'll have a good idea of how long it takes from where you're staying in Murano to Venice by Vaporetto - they've a timetable and when we went there it seemed that they follow it pretty closely. But I'd also consider a water taxi if you've a lot of luggage. Venice is a great place to "get lost"walking in narrow alleys and small bridges.
From Barcelona a taxi might be a better option for you from the port to the hotel. They've a hop on hop off tourist bus that runs to all major attractions!! Don't forget to buy tickets to Sagrada Familia beforehand once the lines there were huge!!!! Park Guell is also a must see !!!
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Last edited by ferrazalves; 06-14-2014 at 09:07 AM..
Our 11 night Disney Med cruise in 2007 was a lot more relaxing than the 7 night one we did last summer. The 7 night cruise didn't have a lot of down time, while the longer Med and Baltic cruises gave us 3 sea days that were definately needed. On the longer cruise you will actually be able to relax a bit and enjoy the Magic. The 7 day cruise went by so fast....
We have never had to wait more than about 10 minutes for a taxi at the port to our Barcelona hotel. I would recommend taking your time exiting the ship. I think the longer lines are for those people who disembark right away and need to get to the airport, etc. We don't rush to exit our stateroom or eat breakfast and find that the lines are much shorter at the exits and taxi stations.
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We are on the Magic the week before you. I have 2 daughters, who like to wear a dress to dinner. So to keep the suitcases small our plan is to change before dinner and what we wear to dinner we wear the next day in port. I have enough clothes to get me to the ship (we are leaving a week early) then I will do laundry ASAP when I get on the ship and before we disembark. I also bought a travel clothesline.
I found a time table for the vaporetto online. I think you will want line 3 and it runs to the Piazzele Roma.
We are on the Magic the week before you. I have 2 daughters, who like to wear a dress to dinner. So to keep the suitcases small our plan is to change before dinner and what we wear to dinner we wear the next day in port. I have enough clothes to get me to the ship (we are leaving a week early) then I will do laundry ASAP when I get on the ship and before we disembark. I also bought a travel clothesline.
I found a time table for the vaporetto online. I think you will want line 3 and it runs to the Piazzele Roma.
Hi and welcome to the boards!
If you're on the 5 July sailing out of Venice, maybe we'll see you on board, as we're on that too!
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Med Cruise 7/14/2014 Any tips appreciated!
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We'll wave at you as we come off, as we're on the 7/5 cruise out of and back to Venice. 
I can't think of anything. We did the inaugural 11 night Med cruise back in 2007 and we've done seven night cruises and really apart from the fact it's longer and it's different ports, I can't think of anything. Obviously things like tips and photo packages cost more because it's a longer cruise... 
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