The Trip of a Lifetime to Alaska – Land and Sea – Trip Report - COMLETE!! 4/13/12 - Page 21 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Day 7 – Friday July 1st – Seward and boarding the Radiance of the Seas! Part 2
We got to the port and I thought I was losing my mind again. I couldn’t find our passports (they were around my neck in my PassPorter pouch), and then I lost something else. I think they lady behind the counter thought I was nuts! Anyhoo, it was a breeze to get on the ship. There was hardly anyone in the terminal (which was an old dingy warehouse). We showed our passports and our Setsail printout (from RCCL). She handed us our Seapass cards (KTTW cards). Then it was thru security, and then you walked out of the building and had your pick of ships (just kidding). There was another ship there, so you had to know your ship! I think it was raining by now. Once up the gangway, they put your seapass card into a machine and took your picture, and then there was a photographer outside taking welcome aboard pictures. Then you were on your own! (no big greeting like Disney does).
I think we headed up to the Windjammer on Deck 11 to get some food. It was a buffet. We found a seat and got some food. I had bought the soda package for Matt and the kids for the trip, so they showed their cards and were able to get drinks. I just lived on iced tea and water. Once our tummies were full we headed to the room and surprise, our bags were there already (like I said, best $10 every spent)! We brought everything into the room, and I started unpacking. There was a lovely gift from Marisa so I had a glass of that! Matt decided he was going to go back to the hotel and use their free wifi in the lobby, as somehow last night his internet connection got all discombobulated and he was going to call his work’s IT dept to see if they could get it squared away (of course they couldn’t). So the kids and I set off to explore the ship. There was hardly anyone around. Not sure if it was because it was still early (probably around 2 or 3 and the ship didn’t sail until 9 PM) or because it was raining.
The other ship at the port
We stopped on the way back to the room at Café Latitudes (which is basically Starbucks but you can’t use a Starbucks card there). I got a Tazo tea, and the kids got hot chocolates. You have to pay for the drinks but the food is free (of course they didn’t want any food)!
I think Matt was back by the time we got to the stateroom again. I continued to put things away, then we went up on deck to play another round of mini golf and to register Matt and the kids for the rock climbing wall. You register once, and then they “punch” your seapass card so the next time you go, they know you have already filled out the paperwork. Alexa went up the wall this time.
We went back to the room, and I took Colin to the registration for the kids club. He stayed about 45 minutes, as they were playing soccer in the back room, which of course is his favorite. They weren’t open tonight, it was just orientation, so we left after that and got ready for dinner. Alexa decided she didn’t want to go to the “teen” club. She just turned 12 in May, and was feeling a bit uncomfortable (intimidated) being in the same room as kids who were 17, so she never ended up going, which was fine. She’s also very introverted, so that doesn’t help!
We had late seating (8:30) which ended up working out great. There was a mad rush for the dining room and it took us a good 15 minutes to get in there, but we discovered our table was right next to the entrance/exit. It ended up being fine. Thankfully we were at our own table of 4. Our server was Joao from India, and our assistant server was Victor (I think he was from Ecuador or South America). Tonight’s dinner was the Welcome Aboard menu. Matt and I had the prime rib, Alexa had sea bass (she was quite the eater on the cruise) and Colin had pizza and fruit (no surprise there)!
After dinner (sorry no pics) we were exhausted, so it was back to the stateroom and to bed!
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Sorry about the pictures not rotating correctly! I rotated them before I uploaded them, and they're still wrong. Then if I rotate them on Photobucket, they're still wrong! I give up!
Looks like you had the ship to yourselves! How do the staterooms compare with DCL? Too bad they didn't have an appropriate age-group club for Alexa. I don't know many 12-year-olds who would be comfortable hanging out with unknown older teens!
Looks like you had the ship to yourselves! How do the staterooms compare with DCL? Too bad they didn't have an appropriate age-group club for Alexa. I don't know many 12-year-olds who would be comfortable hanging out with unknown older teens!
I thought I took pictures of the stateroom but I guess not!
Anyhoo, they were small. We were in a E2 cabin, and I'm pretty sure if was about 175 square feet. Give or take. No split bath like Disney. The shower stall was actually very narrow, IMO. The balcony was probably about the same size. I believe the bed was King sized though, so I'd have to give a plus to RC on that one. There was a bed that came out of the ceiling over the king bed, and then the chair/loveseat folded out into a bed as well. Storagewise, there was a lot of shelving in the closets plus more above the TV and then on both sides of the desk. I'd say more than Disney. Problem was we had so many clothes from touring a week before that it was still tight (since it wasn't t-shirts and shorts but jeans, sweatshirts, etc.).
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Thank, Marnie. Yes, packing for a northern trip is a much more bulky proposition than an all warm-weather one! With the bulky jackets, mittens, hiking boots for four, that's a lot to store in a stateroom. The ship looks really nice.
Oh I can't wait to hear more about the cruise portion of your trip! It sounds like the boarding and first day were a bit cumbersome, but that it all worked out in the end!
I'm getting caught up again....I just can't believe the spectacular pictures that you got and I'm sure everything is even more beautiful in person!! It looks like the kids had fun your first day on the ship despite the rain!
It's too bad about Alexa not using the teen club, 12 really is a bit young to be in there. When we cruised one of my DD's was 16 and the other 18 (which is too old for the teen club) so they didn't use it either as the younger didn't want to go without her sister.
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Anyhoo, it was a breeze to get on the ship. There was hardly anyone in the terminal (which was an old dingy warehouse). We showed our passports and our Setsail printout (from RCCL). She handed us our Seapass cards (KTTW cards). Then it was thru security, and then you walked out of the building and had your pick of ships (just kidding). There was another ship there, so you had to know your ship! 
I think it was raining by now. Once up the gangway, they put your seapass card into a machine and took your picture, and then there was a photographer outside taking welcome aboard pictures. Then you were on your own! (no big greeting like Disney does).
so I had a glass of that! 
I rotated them before I uploaded them, and they're still wrong. Then if I rotate them on Photobucket, they're still wrong! 
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