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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
We just booked on the 12 day Med cruise to Venice for June 2013. My head is spinning! So much to figure out before then! It will be myself and two DD who will be 11 and 6 then. I will take any and all pointers that you guys can dish out.
Specifically...
Should we aim to stay in Barcelona 2-3 days before or after the cruise? What is better for jet lag etc? Any recommendations for a hotel? Great, family friendly hotel in the middle of things?
What are the Barcelona's must-do's?
I have heard a lot about doing your own excursions specifically hiring a driver to show you around. Is it really cheaper?
Do the current passporter guides have these ports in it? Should I just wait for the new one to come out? When is that?
I know I have a lot to learn, but I figured this is the best place to start. I apologize for all the questions.
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
Never apologize for asking questions...that's what so great about this forum...someone always has an answer!
I can't give any first hand experience because I haven't taken this cruise (yet...are you accepting stow-a-ways???) but I know many folks on here have. The newest edition of Passporter Cruise edition has a Barcelona section in it. (Chapter 2, p. 104) so you can read all the reviews on there and choose something that's right for your family.
The good news is, you have time to get all your questions answered, and you are in good hands with your fellow passporters! Happy sailing!
Congrats on booking - that sounds like an amazing cruise!
Ok, with Barcelona, definitely get in a couple of days before. I'd suggest three days. We spent two days before our cruise in 2007, then went back a couple of years later for another couple of days and stopped off at Montserrat in 2010 to see that, so all in all, it took us about five days to see everything Barcelona has to offer.
As far as jetlag goes, the chances are you will be taking a red eye over here - that's always my favourite part of coming home... not! That means you'll be shattered on your first day. I usually try and stay awake to acclimatise myself as quickly as possible, but that's tough. Also bear in mind you may not have a hotel room to head for, as they may not be ready until mid afternoon...
We stayed at the hotel on the seafront - near the cruise terminal. I can't remember the name of it now, but I'd rather have had one in the center of the city, as that was a little way out.
Oh my goodness, must-dos in Barcelona...
- Cathedral (beautiful and very peaceful)
- La Rambla (the main shopping street - busy, but has an atmosphere all of its own)
- Casa Battlo (one of Gaudi's best)
- Sagrada Familia (a must-do, although as it's still being built, it's hard to appreciate what it will look like once it's done)
- Poble Espanyol (an open air museum with replicas of buildings from across Spain, this was fascinating - a lot of walking though)
- Museud'Historia de la Ciutat (this was the most amazing find, it shows the history of the city and you get to see entire streets of Barcelona underground - it doesn't get much coverage in guidebooks (at least the ones I have), but it is truly amazing!
- Olympic stadium (but then, I am a huge Olympics fan! )
Outside of Barcelona, don't miss Parc Guell, another of Gaudi's masterpieces, and Montserrat and its monastery is well worth a visit too. I've heard good things about Poblet, but have yet to make it there... oh well, another visit I guess...
As for doing your own excursions, we just used public transport. You do have to keep your wits about you for pick pockets, but just be sensible as in any big town or city.
Do the current passporter guides have these ports in it? Should I just wait for the new one to come out? When is that?
As for details of the port, if you're a member of the PassPorter Club, then there is a guide just to the Mediterranean ports, which will be exceptionally handy as you plan your trip.
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
The 9th (current) edition has Barcelona, Villefranche, Valletta, Naples, Civitavecchia, La Spezia, and Palma, plus the ports on the repos. We won't have detailed coverage of Venice, Piraeus, Mykonos, Kusadasi, or Dubrovnik until the 11th edition - but that'll be in plenty of time for your cruise.
__________________
Co-Author, PassPorter's Walt Disney World, PassPorter's Disney Cruise Line, and PassPorter's Disneyland and Southern California Attractions
1. Yes, I'd definitely try to stay in Barcelona. I'd suggest one night before the cruise, just to make sure you arrive well before your cruise departs. It also helps with the jet lag a bit and makes for a more relaxing start to the cruise. Then, after the cruise, I'd book 2 nights at a hotel in Barcelona to explore the city. It truly is a beautiful city and well worth a visit. When we visited Barcelona, we stayed at the Eurostars Grand Marina Hotel. The hotel was amazing and a short 5-minute taxi ride from the cruise pier away (we could see the Magic from our hotel room ). It's more of a business hotel, though (not sure about kid-friendly) and it's not exactely in the middle of things.
2. Barcelona's must-do's? The Gaudi apartments, Las Ramblas, and Sagrada Familia are my personal top three attractions.
3. I don't think hiring a driver to show you around Barcelona is cheaper. We did have one offer to take us around but we went with the hop on/hop off bus instead and were glad we did. There are three different routes, and we got a two-day ticket. We didn't just use the buses for the actual sightseeing but also to get around
If you have any more questions - ask away! I've been to all of the cities you mentioned (Barcelona, Nice, Venice) and I'm happy to help
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
so you can read all the reviews on there and choose something that's right for your family. 
PassPorter Guide Author
That means you'll be shattered on your first day. I usually try and stay awake to acclimatise myself as quickly as possible, but that's tough. Also bear in mind you may not have a hotel room to head for, as they may not be ready until mid afternoon... 
) 
! That should be a wonderful cruise.
Linear Mode
