Feature Article: Our Favorite Part of a Disney Cruise - A Disney Cruise Line Review - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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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.
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Feature Article: Our Favorite Part of a Disney Cruise - A Disney Cruise Line Review
Our Favorite Part of a Disney Cruise - A Disney Cruise Line Review by Cheryl Pendry
Someone recently asked the question on the PassPorter message boards: "What's your favorite part of a Disney cruise?"
Now, while some people could answer it immediately, and apply it to each cruise they'd been on, I struggled a lot more with this, and that got me thinking. What ARE the favorite parts of a Disney cruise? To date, we've been fortunate enough to take six different cruises with Disney. We've been on all four Disney ships. Each Disney cruise has been very different from the others, and that's probably why I struggle to highlight just one favorite part that's the same for all of them.
Our first Disney cruise was a three-night "get your feet wet" cruise on the Wonder all the way back in May 2004. What was our favorite part of that cruise? Probably for me it was Castaway Cay. I'd heard that there was a Disney-owned piece of paradise on an island, and how right everyone was! I found Serenity Bay, open to adults only (always appealing to me, as we don't have children!), an absolute dream. As the name suggests, it was just so peaceful and beautiful, and exactly what I imagine paradise to be-- white sand and clear blue sea.
We had to wait another three years to take our next Disney cruise, which was the Magic's first ever foray into the Mediterranean. As it was the inaugural cruise, my favorite part of that was being the first Disney cruisers to ever visit these ports of call. Some ports really welcomed us, including having a band to greet us when we went ashore in Sardinia, as well as at Villefranche in France. I guess it helped that we had a stunning itinerary, including La Spezia for Florence, Naples for Pompeii and Sorrento (both of which we were able to visit on our tour), Sicily, Marseilles, and Civitavecchia for Rome, even if we did choose to stay on board, given we'd already previously spent four full days in the city. It was another four years until we got our feet wet again, this time with two Disney cruises in the space of just a few months. The first was another three-night, this time on the Dream, and my favorite part of this cruise were all the new amenities we were able to discover on board. In particular, we loved Remy, the new adults-only dining experience, where we had a truly magical dinner in the superb Gusteau Room all on our own! Another favorite for us was the amazing Tropical Rainforest, adding in floor to ceiling views from those relaxing hot stone chairs, hot tubs to soak in and take in the views, along with superb showers, and saunas. I can't think of any better way to relax!
A couple of months later, we headed out on the Alaskan cruise on the Wonder, and the best part of this cruise was, without doubt, the absolutely amazing scenery that we saw over the seven nights. From icebergs to clear blue oceans, and vivid greenery in the surrounding countryside, there was always something to see as we cruised along, and plenty more in our various ports of call. It really was a photographer's paradise, and that worked perfectly for me, as I love being able to take photos. Out of all our Disney cruises, this is the one I will always remember for the scenery along the way.
By now, we were fully hooked on Disney cruise, and a year later, we had to try out the Fantasy, with its seven night itineraries. Once again, it was the ship that took centre stage for us, as we explored all the changes that had been made since the Dream. Having a week to enjoy it meant we didn't have to rush through everything, and we were able to sample new delights, like Palo brunch on board the Dream class of ships, and the brunch at Remy, even if that didn’t delight us as much as we'd hoped. Perhaps my favorite part though was celebrating my 40th birthday on board, even if it was hampered by a tropical storm at Castaway Cay, and rough seas later on that spoilt my appetite for dinner at Remy.
Our most recent cruise was around the Eastern Mediterranean on the newly revamped Magic, and this time what enchanted me the most were the changes to the ship, especially the changes to Animator's Palate, and the addition of the wonderful Keys lounge, the perfect place for adults to hang out in the evening. My other favorite part was our serving team, the first time I can honestly say we'd gelled 100% with our servers, and wow what a difference it makes to your cruise! Of course, the ports of call in Greece and Turkey were pretty impressive too, although by the time we reached our final set of ruins, which were the most impressive, we had perhaps seen more than our fair share of these...
While we had different favorite experiences on each of our Disney cruises, there were things that were generally just as good on each of them. With the exception of a bad dinner at Palo on our most recent cruise, usually that delivers for both dinner and brunch for us, and we've also been fortunate enough to share the majority of our cruises with good friends. Some of those friendships have been formed before we've taken to the sea, while others have been created on board. Our most recent cruise brought that full circle, as we sailed with a couple we'd first met on our inaugural Mediterranean cruise all the way back in the summer of 2007, and what a wonderful time we had with them.
On hindsight, perhaps there is a common theme linking all the Disney cruises together: making and enjoying friends on board, be it with other passengers or the amazing band of Crew Members on board each ship. I think friendship was indeed my favorite part of each of my Disney cruises.
What do you think? Please add your own comments, experiences, or news related to this article in this thread! Reader feedback is welcomed and encouraged.
Cheryl,
Loved reading this! We, too, have 6 Disney Cruises under our belts and someone's question prompted me to consider this topic as well. Our favorite part of a DCL vacation? The ease! Williams Family: What's The Best Part of a Disney Cruise? The Ease!
Thanks for all of your writing!
Cheryl,
Loved reading this! We, too, have 6 Disney Cruises under our belts and someone's question prompted me to consider this topic as well. Our favorite part of a DCL vacation? The ease! Williams Family: What's The Best Part of a Disney Cruise? The Ease!
Thanks for all of your writing!
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