A Magical voyage across the pond LIVE UPDATE 9/30 - Page 4 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 great that Mari and Raleigh will join you for part of the cruise! I will say that I found Saint John and the Reversing Falls underwhelming.
Good to know.
Quote:
I hope you're doing an excursion to Hopewell Rocks or something interesting along the Bay of Fundy. I wrote an (unfinished) TR about my travels in that area a few years ago, but unfortunately the pictures are probably gone now due to darn Photobucket.
Now you mention it, I think I remember that trip report. It's so annoying about Photobucket, isn't it?
Bob and I have done two Disney cruises from NYC. We've been to Halifax NS twice, St. John NB, PEI, and Sydney/Cape Breton Island NS (Bob's favorite). We enjoyed Hopewell Rocks at St. John, Peggy's Cove at Halifax, City tour of Halifax with a tour of the area when Titanic victims are buried, Anne of Green Gables area outside Charlottetown PEI, the Highland Village and Alexander Graham Bell Historic Site on Cape Breton's Island. All were fabulous. Looking forward to "traveling" with you after the fact and seeing all of your adventures.
Bob and I have done two Disney cruises from NYC. We've been to Halifax NS twice, St. John NB, PEI, and Sydney/Cape Breton Island NS (Bob's favorite). We enjoyed Hopewell Rocks at St. John, Peggy's Cove at Halifax, City tour of Halifax with a tour of the area when Titanic victims are buried, Anne of Green Gables area outside Charlottetown PEI, the Highland Village and Alexander Graham Bell Historic Site on Cape Breton's Island. All were fabulous. Looking forward to "traveling" with you after the fact and seeing all of your adventures.
Oh wow, it all sounds wonderful. I know we'll be seeing some of the Titanic sights and we're planning on our own tour of Halifax.
I have used Google to chase some of the references to sight seeing spots you have mentioned so far. This looks to be a most interesting adventure. It was good to read the HP spot references especially the Jacobite train.
I have used Google to chase some of the references to sight seeing spots you have mentioned so far. This looks to be a most interesting adventure. It was good to read the HP spot references especially the Jacobite train.
This will be quite a trip with two cruises covering nearly three weeks! Seems like you have it figured out with the weather and just to deal with it as the North Atlantic can be quite turbulent with the storms coming from the Eastern USA into the maritimes and to Europe. Glad it will be only four days crossing the Atlantic.
One thing to mention is when you get into Cork ( as you said you've never been here, but I was) is a sight you'd never expect to see in Ireland and I was shocked to see it and has something to with the jet stream! Something you expect to see in warmer climates like Florida and California but not Ireland. I will let you know if you want or leave it a surprise if you'd rather have it this way!
__________________
October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
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.
This will be quite a trip with two cruises covering nearly three weeks!
It should be!
Quote:
Seems like you have it figured out with the weather and just to deal with it as the North Atlantic can be quite turbulent with the storms coming from the Eastern USA into the maritimes and to Europe. Glad it will be only four days crossing the Atlantic.
Me too... and don't remember me about the possibility of storms... I'm trying to think positive!
Quote:
One thing to mention is when you get into Cork ( as you said you've never been here, but I was) is a sight you'd never expect to see in Ireland and I was shocked to see it and has something to with the jet stream! Something you expect to see in warmer climates like Florida and California but not Ireland. I will let you know if you want or leave it a surprise if you'd rather have it this way!
Oh come on, you've piqued my curiosity now - I have to hear more!
Pre-trip report – part four: potential shore excursions..
Now we knew we’d have travelling companions on one of our two cruises, but we were still over a year out before we’d be setting sail. What to do in the meantime, because of course, I couldn’t just sit still and do no planning… well, could you?
I decided to take an early sneak peek at what excursions might be available, as there were details for some of our ports of call on the Disney Cruise Line website, and I figured I might as well copy them into a document, so I could reference them. After all, by the time Disney had completed their ports of call for 2017, shore excursions for these ports of call would just disappear from the website, as there would be no point in having them on there, and would only re-appear just before booking opened next year. I’d rather have more of a chance to think about what we might want to do.
We’ll board at Dover, and we won’t be doing anything there before we board with Disney. Dover is literally on our doorstep. We’re about 40 minutes’ drive away, so I think I can safely say that we’ve pretty much been there, done that when it comes to excursions in the local area, and if we haven’t, we can do it later at a much cheaper rate.
Our next port of call is Portland on the southern coast of England. It’s located right on the English Channel, but the main reason for stopping there is because it’s within reach of Stonehenge. You notice I didn’t say “easy reach”, because it’s not… it’s quite some way away. We’ve been to Stonehenge more times than I can remember, so that’s not something we’ll be doing. Instead, we’re thinking of going our own way, and perhaps renting a car and going over to the Donkey Sanctuary, which we love. It’s only an hour and 20 minutes’ drive away, so it’s do-able, as we’ve got six hours there.
We’ve been to the Donkey Sanctuary many times, and one of the reasons I used to adore it there was to see my darling adopted donkey Gareth, but sadly he died in October 2017. Whether we still end up going back remains to be seen. It will depend on how I feel about going back there after his death, which as I write this, we haven’t done yet, so we’ll see how we do. If not, there are plenty of other places we can explore locally.
One thing I have already read about is that we should be on deck an hour before the ship arrives here, as apparently they have a brass band and gun salute for ships coming in, which should be something worth seeing.
The next day we visit Cork, and this is one port of call where there were no details of shore excursions on the website, so at this stage, I’m none the wiser. You may be amazed to hear this, but we really haven’t explored Ireland at all. We’ve literally spent the day in Dublin, and that’s it. It is on our list of places to visit, so we will get there one day….
I started out with my trusty Dorling Kindersley guidebook to Ireland, and I saw Blarney Castle is near Cork. I can imagine that’s going to be on all the excursions, and sure enough when I did a search of Cork shore excursions, that option came up quite a lot. I’m sorry, but I have no desire to visit the castle, and certainly no desire whatsoever to “kiss the blarney stone”. I think I already have the gift of the gab.
It looks as if there’s a fair bit to do in Cork itself, and nearby Cobh – at first I thought they were one and the same thing, but apparently not… Kinsale is somewhere else my guidebook recommended, and I saw some tours that incorporated two of the three. Some tours seemed to take in Cork and a distillery, which is another option, but to be honest, there was nothing that immediately jumped out at me, so it’ll be interesting to see what Disney offerings there are in due course…
I did manage to find out where the Cork cruise terminal is, and it looks as if it’s right in the middle of Cork, so exploring the city on foot may be an option…
The next four days will be spent at sea, so no shore excursions for us, but hopefully the weather will allow us to enjoy some on-board experiences… fingers crossed!
Our first stop when we get Stateside is in Sydney, Nova Scotia. Now I’m going to confess here and now that frankly a lot of our ports of call are completely and utterly new to me. I know nothing about them, so finding out will be fun! After all, isn’t that what exploring the world is all about – making new discoveries?
I tend to enjoy sightseeing trips when we cruise, so when we go to destinations like the Caribbean, we can easily reduce our options, as the “sit on a beach” or “go snorkelling” excursions aren’t something we tend to be interested in.
I learnt quickly that Sydney is obviously somewhere associated with Alexander Graham Bell, given one of the options is that you can visit the Alexander Graham Bell Museum. Other options allow you to explore the Cabot trail, one of North America’s most scenic drives, visit Fortress Louisbourg, a restored 18th-century French settlement recognized as a Canadian National Historic Site, or see the Highland Village, a 50-acre living-history museum overlooking the Bras d’Or Lakes. Then again, we could go on the lobster 101 excursion, where you sit down to a fresh meal of lobster, ½ pound of mussels, potato salad and coleslaw or you can take a puffin tour by boat. Of course, you can always just explore Sydney as well… or take an underground coal mine experience. Decisions, decisions…
The next day, we head for Halifax in Nova Scotia, and thankfully we get two bites of the cherry here, as we also make a stop here when we head out of New York City and over to Quebec City, and frankly, it’s probably just as well, judging by how many excursions take my fancy. There are nearly 20 on the “long list” (what I start with before making a short list ).
Options here seem to revolve around Peggys Cove (no apostrophe apparently ) with one option also taking you to the Fairview Lawn Cemetery, the final resting place for 121 passengers of the Titanic. I’m not sure I’d feel about that. Actually, I do. As I write this, I’m getting chills down my spine, so I guess I’d be a bit creeped out… The lobster lunch and maple sounds good as well. You get to sample lobster (if we plan these excursions right, we could end up with a daily dose of lobster ) and then see the processing of Acadian maple syrup. That sounds interesting…
There’s obviously a fair amount to see in Halifax itself, with various options including a hop on, hop off bus tour, a duck tour (that’s going to be a winner with Mark, I can tell you now… ), a pub tour and even a top 10 tour.
Another option is Lunenberg, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, that is apparently one of the prettiest coastal towns in Canada. You can also go out on a tall ship sailing, although that might be a bit too much work for me As I say, there’s certainly lots to see here, and we’ll be back on the next cruise to see a bit more.
It’s interesting to see there is one option to visit the Bay of Fundy and that includes tastings at “various vineyards” may just make the short list. However, I also notice there are more Bay of Fundy options the next day, so we may be better just waiting…
Next: what might be the options for Disney’s new ports of call?
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.
You certainly have a lot of options for excursions! I think Kinsale has a number of castles, estates and old fortifications that may be worth doing especially from someone like you and Mark who have the lifetime membership for the Trusts in England! I think it's a good idea to stay on the ship in Dover to just enjoy the amenities on the ship such as the spa and perhaps some good meals as well!
I won't leave you in complete suspense regarding my comment but won't give it completely away but you should get it with a fairly big hint. One word....Coconuts!
__________________
October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
I love the Cabot trail, its one of the prettiest drives in Canada, I have visited Fort Louisbourg twice and really enjoyed it. You are right there is so much to do in Halifax, wonderful museums, the duck tour is quite well done. I personally liked Lunenberg much more than Peggy’s cove. What ever you choose I am sure you will enjoy it, and the people in that area are so friendly and warm.
About This Page: 
PassPorter Guide Author
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
I know we'll be seeing some of the Titanic sights and we're planning on our own tour of Halifax. 
Seems like you have it figured out with the weather and just to deal with it as the North Atlantic can be quite turbulent with the storms coming from the Eastern USA into the maritimes and to Europe. 
Glad it will be only four days crossing the Atlantic.
Something you expect to see in warmer climates like Florida and California but not Ireland. I will let you know if you want or leave it a surprise if you'd rather have it this way! 
Whether we still end up going back remains to be seen. It will depend on how I feel about going back there after his death, which as I write this, we haven’t done yet, so we’ll see how we do. If not, there are plenty of other places we can explore locally. 
Kinsale is somewhere else my guidebook recommended, and I saw some tours that incorporated two of the three. Some tours seemed to take in Cork and a distillery, which is another option, but to be honest, there was nothing that immediately jumped out at me, so it’ll be interesting to see what Disney offerings there are in due course… 
or you can take a puffin tour by boat. Of course, you can always just explore Sydney as well… or take an underground coal mine experience. Decisions, decisions… 
) with one option also taking you to the Fairview Lawn Cemetery, the final resting place for 121 passengers of the Titanic. I’m not sure I’d feel about that. Actually, I do. As I write this, I’m getting chills down my spine, so I guess I’d be a bit creeped out… 
), a pub tour and even a top 10 tour. 
However, I also notice there are more Bay of Fundy options the next day, so we may be better just waiting… 
Linear Mode
