Forums Closed
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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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Best wishes for a wonderful and magical new year!
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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.
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06-23-2005, 05:50 PM
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#1
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Community Rank: Trekker 
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Mooresville, NC
Posts: 1,985
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Dh wants to cruise...questions
First what exactly is the tip situation. I have heard that anyone & everyone gets tipped? Who gets tipped, why & how much & about how much total would that add to your cruise?
Second, the prices for school break-time cruises is SO much higher than other times. Is it horrible to have my kids (both good students...one high honors in middle school) miss a week of school for a cruise? We would not be able to afford the school-break prices so that would be the only way we could go.
TIA
Elise
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06-23-2005, 06:43 PM
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#2
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Community Rank: Trekker
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Arizona
Posts: 1,037
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Re: Dh wants to cruise...questions
I take my kids out of school for our vacations....we just work extra hard to get most of their work done before we leave and buckle down straight away when we get home to finish. And it's law, no fussing, whining or argueing about it period.
To us it's worth it to not spend the extra cash on peak periods, have low crowds and choose a more pleasant weather season to vacation in.
We've not experienced a problem yet...I let the teachers know WAY ahead of time and they seem to not mind if they have a heads up.
I would do it if I was you, espcially since your children seem to be doing really well to begin with. No worries!
Heather
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06-23-2005, 09:01 PM
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#3
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Community Rank: Jetsetter 
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Las Vegas
Posts: 2,584
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Re: Dh wants to cruise...questions
And think of the learning experience that Disney is! They're actually going to another country when they go on the cruise, so it's a great opportunity. Even WDW itself is a great place to learn.
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06-23-2005, 10:13 PM
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#4
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Community Rank: Adventurer 
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Lancaster, PA
Posts: 888
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Re: Dh wants to cruise...questions
I've taken DD out of school for our Disney vacations and its not a problem. We just fill out an educational leave form (fancy way to say family vacation) and touch base with her teachers.
There is a form that you get towards the end of the cruise that lists who gets tipped and has a suggested amount based on a formula. You can fill it out, take it to Guest Services. They can charge it to your room key/credit card and give you tickets that you slip into envelopes they provide. Or you can place cash into the envelopes. These are given out on the last day of the cruise.
The bars add auto-gratuities to the bar tab, you have the option of adding a bit more. It is also charged to your room key. You don't need cash on board and I believe most of the areas like bars and ship board stores don't take cash. It all gets charged to your room key and then you pay at the end of the cruise either in cash or its automatically charged to your credit card.
Hope that makes sense. The Disney cruise is wonderful so I hope you decide to go.
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06-24-2005, 07:13 AM
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#5
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Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Connecticut
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 16,825
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Re: Dh wants to cruise...questions
Here is the suggested tip chart as seen on page 291 of the 3rd edition PassPorter's Field Guide to the DCL:
Crew Member/Service per night 3night 4 night 7 night
Dining Room Server ~3.75 $11.00 $14.75 $25.75
Ass't Server ~$2.75 $8.00 $10.75 $18.75
Head Server ~$1.00 $2.75 $3.75 $6.50
Stateroom Host/Hostess ~$3.60 $10.75 $14.50 $25.25
There are also tips for Palo servers (while your $10.person charge is meant to cover the gratuity I usually find the service so incredible that it warrants an additional amount), room service ($1 - 2/person), Baggage porters ($1-2/bag) and Shore Excursion Tour Guides ($1 - 2/person).
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06-24-2005, 09:19 AM
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#6
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Community Rank: Jetsetter
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Tennessee
Posts: 2,576
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Re: Dh wants to cruise...questions
Tips usually work out to be around $10 pp per day. HTH
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06-27-2005, 03:47 PM
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#7
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Community Rank: Trailblazer 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: BURLESON TX (near Ft. Worth)
Posts: 5,589
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Re: Dh wants to cruise...questions
I've been on 2 Carnival cruises and they automatically charge gratuity. On our cruise in March, our room was charged $30.00 a day. We did not use the table service restaurants, only the buffets. Does Disney automatically charge gratuity?
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