Solo-on-a-Scooter AbD DLR and DCL Alaska! (7/21-8/7/2012) - Page 18 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
Just a note on food on DCL ships. Our eldest DGrdS and his bride took a 5 day cruise on the Dream last week. Although I know he is a bit of a picky eater I told him how wonderful things were on the ships and that if he wanted something else, not on the menu, he should ask for it. Pretty much he was told "we can't do that!" I am very disappointed to hear that. Will report back after our NYC/Canada cruise on meals.
Thanks for taking us along on your adventures. Can't wait to hear more.
Great pictures from Skagway and the train ride! And glad to hear that dinner was once again good!
Thanks! It was a lovely day.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DawnK
Laurie, been kinda busy but finally got all caught up!! I love all the pictures. They are just beautiful. Sorry you didn't have a stellar dining experience!! But I am glad it would not prevent you from going again!!
Over-all, I loved the cruise. The food just wasn't as great as I was hoping. I'd definitely do it all over again.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dlandmom2
Great scenery today! Fascinating to see the light green growth on the hills and the reason behind it. I think this is definitely something I need to put on my to-do list!
I'll have to ask Evan about the flags...if he doesn't know what the "other" ones are, then I'm sure we'll dig around until we figure it out!
I loved learning all the facts about the landscape from the naturalists' talks.
The flags in the photo of the border crossing have been perplexing me... I've identified US, Canada, Alaska, British Columbia-- there's one that I don't know. Maybe it's just the railway flag? Anyone know?
Quote:
Originally Posted by KMB733
Beautiful pictures from the train trip! Sorry about the family on the train.
They were a real pain! I don't know why people would pay for the whole family to go on an excursion like this and then not pay any attention.
Quote:
Originally Posted by disneydani
What a great excursion, glad it was fully accessible....I love the shots from the ship as well. I can imagine the air must have felt so cool and crisp!
I am not much of a night-clubber myself so I would likely be skipping them as well for a comfy bed! Plus, I am sure you still were playing a bit of catch up from the hustle and bustle of BSM Tour.
danielle
The air was beautiful! Yes, cool and crisp. On that day, COLD and crisp! It felt wonderful after the piercing heat of L.A. Oh, those beds!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by lazanya
Wonderful updates Laurie! Beautiful scenery!!!
Thanks!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Grammy Grumpy
Just a note on food on DCL ships. Our eldest DGrdS and his bride took a 5 day cruise on the Dream last week. Although I know he is a bit of a picky eater I told him how wonderful things were on the ships and that if he wanted something else, not on the menu, he should ask for it. Pretty much he was told "we can't do that!" I am very disappointed to hear that. Will report back after our NYC/Canada cruise on meals.
Thanks for taking us along on your adventures. Can't wait to hear more.
Interesting! I was wondering if the food issues were just on the Wonder. We had NO problem getting replacements for the dishes we didn't like-- and no problems getting more than one entree, dessert, anything! I did have one unpleasant experience at Tritons for lunch one day when they had not a single thing on the menu that was vegetarian and they refused to come up with an option!! I was stunned and left. Later, I told the head server, and he was appalled. I'd say definitely ask for substitutions if you're not pleased with anything and if the server refuses, ask for the head server. It's definitely NOT DCL policy to be so rigid about the food offerings.
Weather: Cold and rainy. Very low clouds and fog. Extremely poor visibility.
Sorry so few photos from today, but it really was a delightful day!
The rain was coming down pretty hard this morning. It wasn’t windy, and I stayed dry on the veranda as we neared Juneau. The fog was so dense I couldn’t even see the shore, although I knew it wasn’t far away.
I was rewarded for my early venture into the cold air by the sight of about 10-15 Dall’s Porpoises bow-riding just below me. At first I thought they were orcas, but realized they were too small and were black-headed porpoises.
I had a latte at Outlook Café, but there was no view at all—just fog and clouds with brief glimpses of land. It wasn’t looking good for my excursion this morning, which was a tram ride up Mt Roberts. When Parrot Cay opened at 6:30 I went down for some muesli and then back to my cabin to get geared up to venture into Juneau. When I showed up for my 9am excursion the crew members were saying that we had some chance of a view, but it could also be completely blocked by fog and we had a choice of cancelling with a refund or still going out. I opted out, as at this point you could barely see the front of the ship when out on mid-deck. It was the right decision, since visibility was bad nearly all day and we were only in port until 2pm. The rain lessened for a while at 10am and I went into Juneau to roam around a little. No photos because of the misting rain and fog. It seemed a nice town, but honestly it was so foggy I could see very little. I was back on board by noon and decided to treat the rest of the day as a nice, relaxing day at sea—Rainforest room! Yay, finally, with so many people ashore I was able to get in and enjoyed a nap on the heated lounger in a much more peaceful atmosphere than I’d seen in there all week. I even spent some time in the mild sauna before resting on the lounger. I usually don’t like the sauna, but it felt wonderful today, since I’d been feeling chilled out in the rain.
I had a latish lunch at the Parrot Cay buffet, which was open until 3pm, and the headwaiter for my rotation, Ronald, came over and asked if he could make something special for me, since there wasn’t much on the buffet for vegetarians. I’d have been fine with the selection of salads and the butternut squash soup, but he disappeared for a while and then came out with a delicious, crisp stir-fry of asparagus, peppers, and onion. I don’t know if he really made it himself or asked the chef to do it, but it was very sweet of him and I ate it all. The food issues on this trip were definitely not service issues. I had the usual above-and-beyond service I've come to associate with DCL throughout the trip.
We departed Juneau while I was at lunch and I returned to my cabin. In the shelter of my veranda it was almost warm and the misty scenery reminded me so much of coastal Maine, since the higher mountains were invisible. I sat outside and read for a while as we sailed slowly along. What a lazy day! It was too bad to miss the excursion and seeing the sights of Juneau, but it was nice to just relax all day, too.
As I expected, I wasn’t hungry enough for dinner tonight. I went instead to the early show in the Walt Disney Theater. Tonight it was “Toy Story, the Musical”, a show I’d never seen, and it was delightful. They seem to have changed their policy from “no flash photography” to “no photography or videotaping of any kind”, so no photos from the show. After the show I went up to Outlook Café for a decaf and mini strawberry tartlet, then back to my cabin.
I was closing the curtains in preparation for bed when I noticed a spurt of water—a whale! Again, I didn’t have my camera in hand and didn’t want to stop watching for another sight of it. I did see the back appear above the water, and then another. I went for my camera and watched the water for about 30 mins, but no more sightings. It didn’t help that visibility was so bad. We were in the southern end of Stephens Passage and I’d read that this area has the greatest concentration of Humpbacks in Alaska in the summer. After that sighting, there were no more, but I liked thinking that they were probably all around the ship tonight.
Boy Laurie, you were given lemons and you made the most awesome lemonade of a day!!!! How awesome to have the head server get you a special dish and to remember that you would be seeking a vegetarian meal.
Whale sightings are so cool. So glad you got to see them even if there are no photos. You've got them captured in your mind's eye!
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
Boy Laurie, you were given lemons and you made the most awesome lemonade of a day!!!! How awesome to have the head server get you a special dish and to remember that you would be seeking a vegetarian meal.
Whale sightings are so cool. So glad you got to see them even if there are no photos. You've got them captured in your mind's eye!
More please.
It was a great day! Usually on the cruises I've hardly had contact with the head server, but Ronald was amazing. He knew that we'd had problems with the food off-and-on all week and always stopped by the table to see how we were doing. He'd offered to make me something special previously when I sent the Elmer's Glue gnocchi back and I just got one of the appetizers instead.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kenny
Porposes and whales! ...and relaxing on a lounger! Sounds like a great day!
That, to me, is a real cruise day!
Quote:
Originally Posted by shazza
An excellent day! Glad you got to see the show.
Definitely a fun show. Be sure to see it when you're on the Wonder, because it isn't on any of the other ships.
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
Wow, what a great day you had - despite all that fog.
Sometimes those unexpected and unplanned days turn out to be the best ones! Sorry your excursion was fogged out but you definitely managed to have quite a nice day. Glad you could finally make use of and relax in the Rainforest Room....a heated lounger is right up my alley!
Danielle
__________________
~Shoot for the moon, if you miss, you will land among the stars~
Skagway is so beautiful! And I really want to take the rail excursion if/when we ever get to Alaska. How beautiful! Again, your pictures are just gorgeous. Wonderful you had another nice dinner.
The railway is beautiful, and SO interesting!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Sorry about all the rain/fog, but you certainly made the most of it!
Wasn't hard to do!
Quote:
Originally Posted by KMB733
Sorry about the fog, but sounds like a wonderful day nonetheless!
I ended up almost being glad for the fog. I didn't want to have the cruise be over with no time to do the Rainforest room or read on the lounger!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Straitlover
Is there a problmen w/ your Photo site? I only was able to see one or two of your Skagway photos.
Sorry about that-- I think it's fixed now.
Quote:
Originally Posted by disneydani
Sometimes those unexpected and unplanned days turn out to be the best ones! Sorry your excursion was fogged out but you definitely managed to have quite a nice day. Glad you could finally make use of and relax in the Rainforest Room....a heated lounger is right up my alley!
Danielle
Oh, boy, mine too! I always think I'm going to read when I go in there, but am usually asleep immediately!
What a wonderful day in Juneau (even if you didn't spend much time actually in town)! Sorry your excursion did not pan out, but it definitely sounds like the back-up plan of the Rainforest Room was just perfect!
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
And glad to hear that dinner was once again good! 
I'll check back soon!
PassPorter Guide Author
Linear Mode
