25 Days on the Disney Magic to Europe - Page 12 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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.
How did DCL handle the pin sales for the repo? I remember reading about the problems on the first Panama cruise. Did they figure out a better distribution method?
They surely did find a better way. Like the Eastbound Panama cruise, an order form is left in your cabin. You mark up how many of each pin you want and drop them off. For pins in shorter supply than demand, a lottery is held to distribute them. For pins in long supply, they ended up in the onboard shops and sold out promptly.
Quote:
And another "merchandise" question... Any special items in the ship's shops specific to the destinations?
Yes indeed! There is a set of merchandise from each of the three major countries on the cruise (France, Itlay, and Spain). I didn't notice any that were specific to the ports of call (other than the pins, which were probably Chinese), but I didn't look all that hard.
Quote:
You said you'd have trouble fitting your purchases into your suitcases for the trip home. Any of the ports especially good for shopping?
Actually, it was just our dirty laundry we had trouble packing. Afraid I'm not the one to ask this question of. We aren't big shoppers, and the few things we did fancy were obviously not going to make it home in our luggage.
We did see one guest carrying a six-foot model of the Tower of Pisa onto the ship -- I still wonder how he managed to fit that into the overhead compartment for his flight home!
We did see one guest carrying a six-foot model of the Tower of Pisa onto the ship -- I still wonder how he managed to fit that into the overhead compartment for his flight home!
Oh my goodness, I'd forgotten about that - that was quite a sight!
Thanks for all the shopping info, Bruce! I'm glad the pin problems have been resolved. That sounds like a very fair and low-stress system. I'll start saving now for the Panama repo pins!
I'm sorry your trip is over. I'll miss the reports.
[quote=Zazu;1638339]There's a free breakfast buffet that comes with all rooms at DLP resorts. It's overpriced, overcrowded, and overcooked.
Oh, the ugly American head rises swiftly! How can a free buffet be overpriced? Second, you're in Europe. European fare is different from American fare, and this includes buffets. Having been to DLP a couple of times I know just what to expect for breakfast - pastry, bread rolls (love the taste of those), or croissants, a selection of meat (usually ham and salami), selection of cheeses, yogurt, cold ceral, variety of juices, plus hot coffee, tea, or hot chocolate. Very filling. Pity the Newport has gone down so much. Was very nice when we visited, with none of the hassles of checking in that you experienced. Walter
There's a free breakfast buffet that comes with all rooms at DLP resorts. It's overpriced, overcrowded, and overcooked.
Oh, the ugly American head rises swiftly! How can a free buffet be overpriced?
A fair question (if a harsh charge). I consider a free buffet to be overpriced if I would gladly pay for the same thing. Were there but a single table-service restaurant at DLP that served an "English Breakfast", we would have paid to dine there and been glad of it.
Quote:
Second, you're in Europe. European fare is different from American fare, and this includes buffets. Having been to DLP a couple of times I know just what to expect for breakfast - pastry, bread rolls... or croissants....
Yes, we're aware of the "Continental Breakfast". But as first-time guests we based our expectations on the descriptions on the web site and brochures. What we found was not how it was advertised to us. It was also inadequate for SWMBO, whose diabetes requires some substantial protein at that hour of the morning. Had we known, we'd likely have brought our own breakfast makings.
And surely you weren't meaning to suggest that Nescafe was a just substitute for coffee?
Quote:
Pity the Newport has gone down so much. Was very nice when we visited, with none of the hassles of checking in that you experienced. Walter
Let's hope they manage to recover from their present status before their reputation sullies the rest of the resort.
I read this report when it was first written but now have special interest in it since I will be doing the Eastbound Transatlantic. Thanks for your great report!
I must be missing something HUGE but i got a stupid question, aren't the Disney cruises shedualed for 2010? and lasted i checked this is 2009, i'm sure i'm missing something but just had to ask.
I must be missing something HUGE but i got a stupid question, aren't the Disney cruises shedualed for 2010? and lasted i checked this is 2009, i'm sure i'm missing something but just had to ask.
This thread is a report (posted in 2007 and last read in early 2008) of the last Transatlantic Disney repositioning cruise that took place that year.
The next Transatlantic repostioning cruise is scheduled for next April.
Hi Bruce, thanks so much for writing about this trip! I am dying to hear about it because my son is a cast member on-board with you and he always is too busy to write or call home...... I will especially appreciate hearing that you got across the ocean safely. Thanks again, from a concerned mom!
Hi Bruce, thanks so much for writing about this trip! I am dying to hear about it because my son is a cast member on-board with you and he always is too busy to write or call home...... I will especially appreciate hearing that you got across the ocean safely. Thanks again, from a concerned mom!
Just to clarify - this was actually from the repo cruise in 2007, it's not from the current cruise (April 2010).
How lucky that your son is a CM on board! I've always thought that would have been a great "just out of college" job! Alas, FAR too late for me now! Hpoe you have word from him soon that all is well!
Hi Bruce, thanks so much for writing about this trip! I am dying to hear about it because my son is a cast member on-board with you and he always is too busy to write or call home...... I will especially appreciate hearing that you got across the ocean safely. Thanks again, from a concerned mom!
Welcome to the boards!
While this is an old thread, another PP board member is currently on the repro cruise and she's doing a trip report:
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
PassPorter Guide Author
I must be missing something
Linear Mode
