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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
Hi everyone, DBF and I booked our first cruise it wasn't totally planned, my friend is on board now and got a good deal (I guess their version of a Bounce back offer) and booked for us.
It's on the allure of the seas, for January 2018. Now, being a Passporter you all can appreciate my obsessive planning and detailing.
Is there anywhere to look to get details? If not for this ship then for cruising in general?
Or, anyone who's travelled on RC that has any tips or advice will be very much appreciated. Which restaurants are worth the extra charge, drink plans, etc.
We love Royal Caribbean! We have been on that ship before and it is amazing. Definitely book the evening shows online as soon as you can. I know there are some cruise message boards such as Cruise Critic but I can't remember the others. The only extra charge meal on the ship we did was Johnny Rockets. We ate at the buffet for breakfast and lunch if it was a day at sea and in the main dining room for dinner. We don't drink alcohol so did the Royal Replenish package I think it was called where you get a refill cup for soda and can get bottles of water and most non alcoholic drinks such a pina colada. What ports are you visiting?
We also love Royal Caribbean and the Allure is our absolute favorite ship!!!!! She is stunning and has so much to offer!! What specifically are you interested in knowing?
We are foodies and we always book a dining plan on this class of ship. We are traveling in January also on Allure's sister ship, the Harmony. 150 Central Park is an amazing restauraant and totally worth the upcharge by itself IMHO.
OH MY GOSH!! I could tell you so much more!! Please ask away or feel free to PM me with any questions!!! This is one of my favorite subjects!!
We love Royal Caribbean! We have been on that ship before and it is amazing. Definitely book the evening shows online as soon as you can. I know there are some cruise message boards such as Cruise Critic but I can't remember the others. The only extra charge meal on the ship we did was Johnny Rockets. We ate at the buffet for breakfast and lunch if it was a day at sea and in the main dining room for dinner. We don't drink alcohol so did the Royal Replenish package I think it was called where you get a refill cup for soda and can get bottles of water and most non alcoholic drinks such a pina colada. What ports are you visiting?
Thank you! We leave from Ft Lauderdale, then Nassau Bahamas, St Thomas & St Maarten, then back to Ft Lauderdale.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tara O'Hara
We also love Royal Caribbean and the Allure is our absolute favorite ship!!!!! She is stunning and has so much to offer!! What specifically are you interested in knowing?
We are foodies and we always book a dining plan on this class of ship. We are traveling in January also on Allure's sister ship, the Harmony. 150 Central Park is an amazing restauraant and totally worth the upcharge by itself IMHO.
OH MY GOSH!! I could tell you so much more!! Please ask away or feel free to PM me with any questions!!! This is one of my favorite subjects!!
Have a blast!!
Thank you! I'm glad to know you like the ship.
I don't even know what I want to know. Picture someone who's never been to Disney before and all the stuff they should know. I know nothing about cruises, nothing about how any of it works at all. Total 100% newbie. So, the more information you have, the better off I'll be lol.
Good to know about that restaurant. We may have to go and treat ourselves
Location: Panhandle of Florida - The Emerald Coast
Concierge Level: 4
Posts: 894
Post Thanks / Like
Likes (Given): 0
Likes (Received): 13
Thanks (Given): 0
Thanks (Received): 7
Pixie Dust (Given): 0
Pixie Dust (Received): 1
We're sailing on The Allure next month, so I'm tagging along this thread to learn all I can. This will be our second time doing a cruise. The first was on The Enchantment of the Seas, much much smaller.
I've booked our shows. And I've got us on the "My Time" dining so we can be more flexible and not locked into a time slot. Since we're heading to St. Maarten and St. Thomas, I'm having a hard time figuring out which excursions to do! We'll also stop at Nassau, but not even bothering to get off the boat there. We did Atlantis the last time and our DS wasn't impressed. According to him, Big Kahunas in Destin is far more fun. lol
Thank you! We leave from Ft Lauderdale, then Nassau Bahamas, St Thomas & St Maarten, then back to Ft Lauderdale.
Thank you! I'm glad to know you like the ship.
I don't even know what I want to know. Picture someone who's never been to Disney before and all the stuff they should know. I know nothing about cruises, nothing about how any of it works at all. Total 100% newbie. So, the more information you have, the better off I'll be lol.
Good to know about that restaurant. We may have to go and treat ourselves
Well, first of all, the Allure is an absolutely gorgeous, mammoth ship! You guys picked yourself an amazing first cruise and I am willing to bet it hooks you! What do you like to do?
There is no lack of activities. There is Bingo, Scrapbooking, pool games, barbecues on sea days, just to name a few. The casino is fabulous. The restaurants are fabulous. We think my time dining and a few specialty restaurants are the way to go but we are foodies, so that may not interest you.
If it does, let me know and I can describe the restaurants. We have eaten at all of them. We love the neighborhoods on the Allure. Central Park is gorgeous!! The Boardwalk is very cool and the Aqua shows there are not to be missed!! The shows in the Royal Theater are spectacular!!
I am also happy to give you copies of the cruise compass. Just let me kmow if you want it!
Registered Message Board Members Get Our Free Newsletter! When you register you'll have the option to sign up for our weekly PassPorter Newsletter. It's chock-full of feature articles; news; tips; contests; photos; and special offers in our online store.
Thank you! Yes we're kind of foodies too. When we do Disney we do the regular dining plan (not quick service) and go to a few 2 Credit ones too. We do have the My Time dining on board, but I'm really interested to hear of the other restaurants on board. Particularly the fancy one, forgot the name.
We like a little but of everything. Not shopping, but touring/exploring. We'd be more into a physical excursion than sitting on a beach.
I'd love the cruise compass too, thank you!
Do you know the average cost of drinks on board? Bottled water, soda and/or cocktails? Trying to figure which, if any, drink packages would be worth it for us.
Also. the card on ship - I'm thinking it's like your room key at WDW. But do you put money into it first (like, deposit $500 and you have that on the card) or just keep racking up charges and pay at the end?
Lastly, the room is "ocean view stateroom with balcony". It says cabin 8278 but don't know if that's good or bad
Thank you! Yes we're kind of foodies too. When we do Disney we do the regular dining plan (not quick service) and go to a few 2 Credit ones too. We do have the My Time dining on board, but I'm really interested to hear of the other restaurants on board. Particularly the fancy one, forgot the name.
We like a little but of everything. Not shopping, but touring/exploring. We'd be more into a physical excursion than sitting on a beach.
I'd love the cruise compass too, thank you!
Do you know the average cost of drinks on board? Bottled water, soda and/or cocktails? Trying to figure which, if any, drink packages would be worth it for us.
Also. the card on ship - I'm thinking it's like your room key at WDW. But do you put money into it first (like, deposit $500 and you have that on the card) or just keep racking up charges and pay at the end?
Lastly, the room is "ocean view stateroom with balcony". It says cabin 8278 but don't know if that's good or bad
Thanks for all your help and advice!!
I am off on Wednesday so I will get you the cruise compasses. That will give you a general idea of what's offered on board. I always buy the drink package on board. I love wine, champagne and martinis so it is well worth it for me. It also includes fresh squeezed orange juice, bottled water and Starbucks!! The drink package covers wine up to 12 buck a glass and you are just charged the difference if you like a fancy brand. for example, the only drink I ordered that I had to pay for was Conundrum wine, which I love!! I paid 1.10 extra per glass. All of the mixed drinks, martinis and beers are covered in the drink package. The cost comes out to 48 bucks a day so only you can decide if it is worth it for you. The average drink costs around 9.00. While I did not necessarily have 5 alcoholic beverages a day,( although sometimes I did ) I did get lots of Starbucks,, orange juice and water every day!!
We have not stayed in that particular stateroom but I think that any balcony stateroom is a good one!
Your stateroom key is your charge card and your room card. The only place on the ship where cash is accepted is the casino. You can pay your balance off every day if you want to by going to guest services. You can also put cash down on your Sea pass card if you wish. On our last cruise, I won tons of money in the casino and paid our bill off.
We the itinerary you picked!! St. Maarten and St. Thomas are beautiful!! Nassau is meh but Atlantis is cool for a day trip. We love to snorkel and scuba so we tend to pick excursions that are beach based. The day trip to Orient beach in St. Maarten is our favorite and we have done it several times. Our favorite St. Thomas excursion is the champagne sail to St. John. Great crew and beautiful diving!! I can't help you with anything more active than that
Lastly, I will get my info together on the restaurants and post that! We adored 150 Central Park and the Chef's Tavle on this ship the best, but I will give you what info I can on all of the restaurants!!
You really are going to have a wonderful time!!
We are also cruising in January on the Harmony of the Seas, which is the sister ship to Allure.
__________________
Last edited by Tara O'Hara; 10-11-2016 at 08:39 AM..
Registered Message Board Members Get Our Free Newsletter! When you register you'll have the option to sign up for our weekly PassPorter Newsletter. It's chock-full of feature articles; news; tips; contests; photos; and special offers in our online store.
Location: Panhandle of Florida - The Emerald Coast
Concierge Level: 4
Posts: 894
Post Thanks / Like
Likes (Given): 0
Likes (Received): 13
Thanks (Given): 0
Thanks (Received): 7
Pixie Dust (Given): 0
Pixie Dust (Received): 1
You can go to cruisecritic.com and actually pull up reviews of cabins on the Allure. That's what we did and found that a few had reviewed ours, I'm at work, but I think ours is #8236. You can find deck plans, reviews of the shows, the ships and all kinds of neat stuff about the Allure on there.
The size of the ship is a tad intimidating but DS is over the moon about it! We didn't do the beverage package for us, but we did do the soda package for DS last time, and again this time. DH & I found that we can order a bottle of wine, have a nice glass with our dinner and they'll bring the bottle back the next evening for us, regardless of eating in the main dining or a higher end restaurant.
I do know that we won't be heading to the Windjammer for lunch when we board. That place gets PACKED!! We'll do one of the others instead.
These are not the exact compasses from my Eastern Caribbean cruise but they are identical. I am working on the menus from the retaurants for you!!
The link doesn't work? It takes me to a place asking if I want tomboy the web domain.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mamasann
You can go to cruisecritic.com and actually pull up reviews of cabins on the Allure. That's what we did and found that a few had reviewed ours, I'm at work, but I think ours is #8236. You can find deck plans, reviews of the shows, the ships and all kinds of neat stuff about the Allure on there.
The size of the ship is a tad intimidating but DS is over the moon about it! We didn't do the beverage package for us, but we did do the soda package for DS last time, and again this time. DH & I found that we can order a bottle of wine, have a nice glass with our dinner and they'll bring the bottle back the next evening for us, regardless of eating in the main dining or a higher end restaurant.
I do know that we won't be heading to the Windjammer for lunch when we board. That place gets PACKED!! We'll do one of the others instead.
Thank you! I didn't know of that site, will have to check it out.
Do you remember the out of pocket cost for a soda or water on board? Trying to see if it's worth it.
The link doesn't work? It takes me to a place asking if I want tomboy the web domain.
. Sorry about that!! That was a link I had when I researched my cruise. I will get mine scanned in! In the meantime, try royalcaribbeanblog.com and search for cruise compass. A list should pop up. In any case, I will be happy to send mine to you as well!!
I agree that cruise critic is also a great website!!
Registered Message Board Members Get Our Free Newsletter! When you register you'll have the option to sign up for our weekly PassPorter Newsletter. It's chock-full of feature articles; news; tips; contests; photos; and special offers in our online store.
About This Page: 
it wasn't totally planned, my friend is on board now and got a good deal (I guess their version of a Bounce back offer) and booked for us. 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
She is stunning and has so much to offer!! What specifically are you interested in knowing? 
) I did get lots of Starbucks,, orange juice and water every day!!
. Sorry about that!! That was a link I had when I researched my cruise. I will get mine scanned in! In the meantime, try royalcaribbeanblog.com and search for cruise compass. A list should pop up. In any case, I will be happy to send mine to you as well!! 
Linear Mode
