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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Very good tip calculator, my hubby will be happy, because I tend to over tip alot.
Especially if they keep my tea glass full without me having to ask for more.
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Listen, I hate to come across as cheap, because I definitely am not. I am looking into a Disney Cruise, so obviously I'm not.
BUT, to me giving out envelopes for tips seems a little tacky to me. I mean, I know that just makes it easier for the guests and what not. But, a tip is supposed to be "optional," though nowadays, it isn't. And to give out envelopes seems to make it mandatory.
Furthermore, I was under the impression with all-inclusive, that it includes gratuities, etc. My real beef however is with the sheer amount. According to the calculator, my family of four would be tipping somewhere in the area of $45 a meal. So, we are basically paying for a meal with that tip. So, to say that meals are included is kind of shady, as you will be tipping what it would cost to just eat a meal.
Think about it. Let's assume that the meal itself is worth $80, that is still an over 50% tip. I do not mind tipping, I honestly don't. I just do not like the idea that it is "expected" or that there is a standard amount.
I think tipping on a cruise ship is much different than just a meal at a restaurant.
It shows me for a family of 5 paying 80 for the Dining Room Server, 60 to the Assistant Server and 20 to the Head Server- 160 dollars for 5 people and multiple meals. If I read correctly, your servers are your servers for all 4 nights. 160 by 5 is 32 each for 4 nights is $8 a night for each person.
Thats not unreasonable at all. I actually think its much less than I think they deserve!
Yes those tips are for the entire length of your cruise not per night. So if you take the amount and divide it by the number of nights it works out to be quite reasonable for the level of service you are receiving. Your servers are the same (except for dining in Palo's) each night.
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I think tipping on a cruise ship is much different than just a meal at a restaurant.
It shows me for a family of 5 paying 80 for the Dining Room Server, 60 to the Assistant Server and 20 to the Head Server- 160 dollars for 5 people and multiple meals. If I read correctly, your servers are your servers for all 4 nights. 160 by 5 is 32 each for 4 nights is $8 a night for each person.
Thats not unreasonable at all. I actually think its much less than I think they deserve!
Yes, but $8.00 X 5people = 40.00 a night for your party of 5. Do you really tip that much when you go out to eat for your party of 5?
I know for me , $8.00 a night would mean I was eating a 40.00 dinner & giving 20% tip. Are all the dinners really that good?
Yes, but $8.00 X 5people = 40.00 a night for your party of 5. Do you really tip that much when you go out to eat for your party of 5?
I know for me , $8.00 a night would mean I was eating a 40.00 dinner & giving 20% tip. Are all the dinners really that good?
That is not how the tips really work. Not 100% sure on Disney, but on most lines the money goes into a pool. You are not tipping on just the main meal. The same people who serve dinner are also serving breakfast and lunch. They're the same people who get off the ship and serve at any private island functions. They're working the midnight buffet and the deck parties.
So a party of 5 is tipping $40 for every meal they eat almost everywhere on the ship.
Your servers do serve elsewhere, whether it be at Topsiders/Beach Blanket Buffet or at the fast food restaurants, or on Castaway Cay.
You can chose to tip however you like, the Tipping Calculator is just a guideline to base it off of based on what is recommended. If you felt the service given does not warrant the amount the feel free to change it.
Tipping vs not or how much is a touchy subject because its personal and subjective.
I felt the service and the food I was served and given was worth MUCH more then what was Recommended and we tipped extra because of the extra work that we saw our servers giving us each meal.
Sure you might have a rough meal or serving team which doesn't do an amazing job and thats why its up to your discretion what you tip. They just give you recommendations its not a "rule" or "requirement" for that much.
I felt the fact I could order 2 entrees even 3 if I wanted to try more then one and the fact that it was Appetizer, Entree, Dessert, and Drinks that the meal was worth at least $40 plus during the day we had breakfast which was at least an $8-$10 meal , Lunch which we probably ate either at Topsiders or the fast food places which would probably cost you $10-$15 a person elsewhere.
So if you look at the averages:
Breakfast= $8
Lunch =$12
Dinner = $40
Your spending $60 a day per person on food on average (sometimes less if your in a port, some days more if your ordering room service, or snacking through the day)
Now your not paying for it of course, it was included in your Cruise fare but the serving staff has to still serve you regardless of what meal, or where its served, it may not be your server but your tipping them for the work they do all over the ship to make sure your happy and full
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Yes, but $8.00 X 5people = 40.00 a night for your party of 5. Do you really tip that much when you go out to eat for your party of 5?
I know for me , $8.00 a night would mean I was eating a 40.00 dinner & giving 20% tip. Are all the dinners really that good?
Yes they really are that good. If you don't want to tip that much, don't it is your choice. Me? I have a party of six and even $50 per person for the 4 night cruise well you wouldn't hear me complain much. They work long hard hours to satisfy some picky and particular guests.
Ok, I think I came across as cheap.........trust me I'm not (in my teens. I was a waitress & know what hard work it is), but if you are new to cruising, the tip chart seems to be for just the dinner servers. When explained above it make more sense & like everyone says "Isn't really enough"........
Ok, I think I came across as cheap.........trust me I'm not (in my teens. I was a waitress & know what hard work it is), but if you are new to cruising, the tip chart seems to be for just the dinner servers. When explained above it make more sense & like everyone says "Isn't really enough"........
I don't think you came across as cheap. It was a good question to ask. I was a bit overwhelmed when we added tips to our cruise cost last year... it raised the price of the cruise more than $150 . But it was a load off our minds and we ended up giving everyone more cash in their envelopes at the end of the cruise. As has been said, in most cases, the CMs to whom the tips are earmarked for, work very hard to make it a cruise to remember and even become almost like family by the end of the cruise. That's how it was with our 7 night cruise anyway. And, really, although I'm sure there are exceptions, the whole crew seems to bend over backwards for you.
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On our first cruise we tipped more than the desired amount. We couldn't ask for better servers. They are very polite and courteous and make sure your cruise is one you'll never forget. After you have been on a Disney cruise, no matter what the tips cost you want to book another cruise with DCL. Why, because a Disney Cruise is unlike any other, a little more expensive but well worth it.
Carol
Last edited by Carol G; 03-21-2009 at 12:46 PM..
Reason: typo
I agree with similar post - Disney indicated it's all a pool and recommends $12 per day per person. Disney allows you to prepay your tips so it's all taken care of before you go, so I just put it into my balance to pay before the trip, and then it's done. True, then it's not a tip based on performance, but I'd rather not worry about it on vacation.
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. But it was a load off our minds and we ended up giving everyone more cash in their envelopes at the end of the cruise. As has been said, in most cases, the CMs to whom the tips are earmarked for, work very hard to make it a cruise to remember and even become almost like family by the end of the cruise. That's how it was with our 7 night cruise anyway. And, really, although I'm sure there are exceptions, the whole crew seems to bend over backwards for you. 
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