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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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We are considering a Christmas cruise on Carnival during the Christmas break this year. Our group will consist of 2 seniors, 6 people in their 40's, 3 teens and an 8 year old. Wondering if anyone has undertaken similar cruises with families and what was good and maybe not so good.
Or even if you've cruised during the holidays how did you enjoy it /
We have cruised 7 times with our family- 1 senior, 3 kids and spouses, and 4 grandchildren. We have done Christmas as well as non holiday cruises, all on Royal Caribbean. We have always had a blast!! I'll be happy to asnswer anything specific you are wondering about.
We have cruised 7 times with our family- 1 senior, 3 kids and spouses, and 4 grandchildren. We have done Christmas as well as non holiday cruises, all on Royal Caribbean. We have always had a blast!! I'll be happy to asnswer anything specific you are wondering about.
I have only cruised once before with Disney but this time it's a Carnival cruise that is being considered. The Carnival ships seem to dwarf the Magic in ports. My BIL is concerned that it will be crowded on a ship with that many people esp. at Christmas. I didn't find the Magic to be crowded at all even at capacity. Will the same hold true for the larger ship?
Did your family mostly go separate ways and meet for dinner ? Do you get adjoining rooms if so what are the plus- minuses of that ?
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We have cruised three times with a multi-generational group (family!), all times on Royal Caribbean, and had a blast each and every time. One thing we did was make certain everyone knew they could do what they wanted, and not all activities had to be all-group inclusive. What was important was eating dinner together, and typically watching shows together too.
Ideas on what to do in ports, or even during the day, were thrown out there for the group as a whole and everyone pretty much went with those who had similar interests. And even then, we often bumped into others doing our own thing. It worked out perfectly!
I will add, one of our groups had 17 people, and Royal Caribbean's limit for group portraits was 12 at that time (not sure if it still is). We talked with the photographer about this, and he agreed to do our entire group in the portrait. He just asked us to wait for a break in the long line of people since it would take him a bit longer to set us up for the shot.
Last year hubby and I took my folks on their first Disney cruise. I know it's not exactely what you're planning but since my folks are quite different from my hubby and me, we had to deal with a few "multi-generational" issues as well. First of all, I think the most important thing is to realize that you simply cannot spend every minute of every day together, even on sea days. Talk about this beforehand! It's easiest to agree on a few things the whole group (or "sub-groups") can do together (dinner, of course, but also breakfast or lunch, a show or movie, games in the afternoon etc.). It also helps to be aware what will be available on the ship to see what could be fun for everyone.
What we did is make sure my folks had enough time to rest during the day. We often went our separate ways in port since we had different interests. It should be a good mix of spending time together and being able to enjoy what the ship and ports have to offer.
Also, communication is key! It's easiest if every member of your group speaks out about what they want to do during the cruise.
About the crowds: Well, if you're cruising during Christmas break, yes, every cruise ship is gonna be full! We've only ever cruised with Disney so I can't tell if other ships feel more crowded. From what I understand, Disney ships offer more space per guest than other cruise lines, though.
The public facilities on ships are sized proportionally to the number of passengers. There will be some differences between how much space a given ship/line allocates to various activities - maybe less theater space, less kids space, and a casino on Carnival, but there have to be enough tables in every dining room. Since every ship on every line is designed to be comfy when sailing full, and every line aims to be 90% or more of capacity at all times, crowding isn't a huge issue. It'll be somewhat greater when the ship is closer to 100%, so it'll be noticeable to a veteran cruiser, but the difference between normal and crowded is actually pretty small.
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DH and I have done a "family cruise" with our extended families on Princess. Each person/family pretty much made their own plans during the days and we would typically meet up for dinner each evening. Of course you often would run into others during the day, which was great but nothing was ever planned. A cruise is nice because there is always something for everyone to do regardless of their ages. While we have never cruised over the Christmas holiday, we have sailed many times on a "sold out" ship. Most cruise ships are set up so that even if they are sailing at full capacity, you won't feel overly crowded. Even the dining rooms tend to have multiple smaller groupings of tables so you don't feel like you are in a banquet hall. The only times I have ever felt somewhat crowded on a cruise ship are the day you leave and on occassion when the ship is in port if they have to tender you off the ship. Even then, they do have the system down pretty good.
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