To Alaska and Beyond! Updated 4/28 x 3 and it's COMPLETE!! - Page 14 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
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So neat about the humpbacks. I never had any real desire to go to Alaska, but if the opportunity arises I think a cruise is definitely the way to go! I'm enjoying reading your trip very much.
All caught up now. Oh my gosh - how cool are the whales! I would've been grinning ear to ear with a tear or two. Gorgeous - simply gorgeous!
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A few more pics and notes as we made our way back towards the main dock and tenders to the ship.
As you make your way closer back to the cannery, they have a great photo op, this is one of my favorites of the entire trip:
We bid a fond farewell to the cannery:
As we approached the ramp to the tender loading area, Aaron noticed a giant tank full of crabs. I am totally freaked out by crabs- it's a long story that goes back to my toddler hood and let's just say, that fear has never gone away. Yet, in a strage twist of irony- one of my favorite tv shows is Deadliest Catch. And I come to Alaska where crabs are just about everywhere. Go figure. Anyhow, these particular crabs were Dunegoness and their creepiness factor ranked right up there- the heebie jeebies came right out. The boys both dared me to go up to the tank. So I tried:
I made funny little noises that amused the guy who ran the crab shack. These bad boys were fresh- they pulled them out of the tank, into the pot and served up for $23.95.
The tender angels were around because we were the last ones to make it on to the tender sitting right there. It was a quick ride over and I got another great pic of the ship. I could take a million pics of that ship I loved her so much.
We were positively starving so we went right to lunch at Windjammer. Today they had the most fabulous brisket at the meat station and there was a coffee tiramisu that caused me to nearly slide out of my chair after tasting.
The boys wanted to go back to the room and rest. It was nearly 2:30 and I wasn't quite in the mood for that, so I threw on my suit and decided to head for the Solarium- the adults only pool. On certain ships, its open to families for periods of time- and kids could be there from 3-5, so I told the kids to come down at 3:00 if they wanted.
Kevan decided to come with me and have a drink at the bar.
The Solarium was one of my favorite places on deck. For one thing, it's indoors and it's extremely peaceful.
Me at the entrance
View of the fountain bridge from the entry part of the pool
My only complaint about the Solarium pool is that it was waaay too cold for me to swim in. I could barely stand in it, it was so cold. But it could have been me, I am pretty picky with that kind of stuff- for some reason, unless the water is fairly warm, I just can't get in.
One of the things I found really neat as well was the entry part of the pool- it's a small stair step down.
I could have stayed there all day- it was extremely quiet and tranquil- there were bird noises being piped in and the sounds of the fountains were incredibly relaxing. I liked Quiet Cove on DCL but I LOVED the Solarium!
OMG, that indoor pool area looks AMAZING! That's perfect for an Alaskan cruise - well, except for the too-cold water (I don't like cold water either). I love your trip report!!!
That was a nice photo op picture. I wouldn't like cool water either. But the Solarium does sound and look peaceful... just the right atmosphere for a cruise.
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That's perfect for an Alaskan cruise - well, except for the too-cold water (I don't like cold water either). I love your trip report!!!
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