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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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14 days until we leave for our cruise. I am strongly considering booking another cruise while onboard. I would be looking at booking for October of 2008. Does anyone have any tips for doing this? I have heard you can transfer to a travel agent when you get back? Lastly, if I book onboard and then purchase trip insurance when I get home, if I have to reschedule the cruise can the trip insurance also be changed?
You don't have to purchase the insurance right away when you book. I know we had until right before we made our final payment to decide whether or not we wanted to purchase it. So you can rebook on board without deciding about insurance until after you get home.
I went on my cruise in 2006 rebooked on board for a date in 2007 then when they announced the Repositioning Cruises i was able to switch to the 2008 date. I had purchased insurance so it was transfered along with my reservation.
When i originally booked on board I got home and transferred it to my Travel agent. SO i got the discount on the new cruise, the onboard credits Disney gave me, and the onboard credits my TA gave me for booking with her.
Hope that helps
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I don't have any professional or personal experience with it, but I think that if you tell them who your agent is when you book it, she/he will be credited at the time. But make sure you get the correct agency. For instance, "my" agency is Austin Adventure Travel, but all the bookings appear as my host agency, Dugan's Travels. But yes, you can transfer the booking. And the insurance will also transfer if you rebook.
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It varies as to which cruise you're on and when you're booking, but it's usually a discount and sometimes an on board credit. You're not going to get the same perks for a Christmas cruise as you would for a late September cruise.
Oh my goodness - you are leaving in just a couple of days!
In case you are reading this one, yes - book on board, hopwever if you purchase insurance later make sure that you do not fall under the pre-existing conditions caluses. That may require that you purchase within a certain amount of days from deposit - depending on who the insurance is with. Your TA should be able to let you know about that specifically.
Also, if you do notify DCL of who your travel agent is, be sure to let your TA know what you did so that they can follow up. Also, many agencies get discounted (group) bookings with DCL, so it is a good idea to see if you can get in on one.
Like Amy mentioned above, you can save a good deal of money. I always suggest that my clients book on board and then we pull them into our group for added discounts. It's a great way to save for some excursions! LOL
Our family will also be on the Sept 15 Eastern Caribbean cruise and I plan to inquire into a reservation for next year. I will probably look into pricing the trip I'm interested in on the DCL web site before we go to get an idea of the cost they are giving right now online and then see if there is a difference on what is quoted onboard. I understand they do give you a discount for booking onboard, so lets see how much of a discount is involved?? In any case, this is also our first cruise so here's hoping all goes well with the weather and everyone on board has a most magical experience!!!!!
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Our family will also be on the Sept 15 Eastern Caribbean cruise and I plan to inquire into a reservation for next year. I will probably look into pricing the trip I'm interested in on the DCL web site before we go to get an idea of the cost they are giving right now online and then see if there is a difference on what is quoted onboard. I understand they do give you a discount for booking onboard, so lets see how much of a discount is involved?? In any case, this is also our first cruise so here's hoping all goes well with the weather and everyone on board has a most magical experience!!!!!
I called Disney Cruise Line yesterday to ask a totally unrelated question and the agent I spoke with was VERY friendly. I told her that this was our first cruise and she said to be sure and check out the rebooking online as they usually give a 10% discount off the prices listed on the website. Let us know if that's true....
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We got a 10% discount off the current cruise price when we rebooked on board plus $200 onboard credit for the new cruise. We'd rebooked for the same type of cruise (7 night) and for the same time of year (mid-January), so I don't know if that had anything to do with the amount of "goodies" we got for rebooking. I seem to remember hearing that the most benefit comes from rebooking the same length of cruise at the same time of year, but I suppose I could be wrong on that. What am I saying? Me wrong??? Heaven forbid! Oh, alright, it has happened once or twice in my lifetime.