Cruise TRs are like wedding thank yous, aren't they? Updated 8/13 *Completed* - Page 6 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
Great pictures from CC! Glad you enjoyed the stingray adventure! Sorry it's all coming to an end!
Yeah, reliving it has really made me want to go again!
Quote:
Originally Posted by mcc0313
What a great last two days, the spa sounded heavenly and your excusion with the stingrays over at CC looked like a great way to spend the morning. Love the pictures from your dinner, the more TR's I read from people's cruises the more I want to just book one, the whole trip sounds like a wonderful experience.
You should book one! Cruising is absolutely wonderful!
Quote:
Originally Posted by pamcarey
Great day at CC!! I'm going to be doing the Stingray Adventure in 2 1/2 weeks! Can't wait!
Have a great time!
Quote:
Originally Posted by OhToodles!
Finally all caught up! Sounds like you've been having a great time! Sorry it's almost over though.
We did have a great time, thanks!
Quote:
Originally Posted by ilovedisney247
Great update . . . your "dino" looks like a turkey to me! The photos of CC are beautiful! I'd be printing the close up flower shots to hang on the wall!
Thanks! I take close-up (Macro) photos all the time! You should see my flower pics from Hawaii....we went to a botanical garden, so there were quite a few!
Well, this is it. The end of my TR. And just in time, too - I leave in a week for WDW! I'm not writing about our final day because we simply went to the airport, flew home and went to bed. We had a looooong wait at the airport, but managed to kill the time by shopping at the Disney Store and KSC store (I know, like we hadn't just been to both in person!).
We're Disney people. I know you all know that - most of you are as well! And while we're a "bit much" about it, we're not fanatical (she says as family members roll their eyes, I'm sure!). We have neighbors and family members who shake their heads when we tell them where we're going, but they only hear "Disney" and not the finer details.
Recently, DD mentioned to our neighbor that we'd been to Downtown Disney on our trip to Newport Beach last month. She heard "Disney" and commented that she knew we couldn't pass up going there (in a good way - they're great neighbors). DD quickly set her straight that it was DTD, which was just stores and such (and beignets!), and not the parks. This led to a conversation about how often we go to Disney. When we break it down, here's what I told her:
- We go to DLR every December. We consider that a weekend trip (4 days at the parks) and so don't count it as "Vacation".
- We're going to WDW in August and haven't been for 18 months and it was 15 before that for the kids first trip.
She asked, "What about your cruise?" Ha! I didn't even consider it a "Disney" trip. It just happened to be a cruise owned by Disney. We went to non-Disney places like Key West and Mexico. And that leads me to my final thoughts:
We chose DCL for a few reasons, but mostly (for me) there are 2 things that cause me to spend the extra money on Disney: 1) Disney service (they've worked hard to protect that brand and work hard to make sure it continues), and 2) Castaway Cay! I cannot say enough about Castaway Cay!
When people question "Is Disney worth it?" I try to answer honestly and truthfully. I feel that the Florida intineraries are "worth it" because I adore Castaway Cay. And I tell people that. I would consider other lines, if Castaway Cay is not an option (Mexico, Alaska, Europe).
But I loves me some Disney and can't imagine my life without my Disney fix in some form or another. And we're very fortunate that in this day and age, we're still able to give our kids these experiences!
Great TR!! Loved all the wonderful pics and all the details. We just booked a 4 night on the Dream for next May. I hope we enjoy it as much as you all seemed to.
And those are the two reasons that convinced us to pick DCL for our cruise, now that we have finally decided to go on one. Thanks so much for the TR...it was really great.
Great TR! I enjoyed reading and it gave me some great info for our trip in March! The pictures were great to look at as well. I have a question if you could help me out, please. If we decide not to do an excursion at one of the ports, for instance at Cozumel, are we able to get to the beach within walking distance?
Great TR! I enjoyed reading and it gave me some great info for our trip in March! The pictures were great to look at as well. I have a question if you could help me out, please. If we decide not to do an excursion at one of the ports, for instance at Cozumel, are we able to get to the beach within walking distance?
I'm sorry...I don't know the answer to that. There were beaches right there, but I'm not sure if they were public. However, it may be a strong argument for you to look at the other dolphin experience at Chaakannab (I know I didn't spell it right). I believe that Colexismom did that one? They have a day experience that includes more than just dolphins (swimming and beach time, etc). You may be able to go there and just do beach stuff. I've heard bad things about trying to get places in Mexico by simply hailing a cab, so I would definitely stick to an excursion (even if it's through the place directly and not Disney) or something within walking distance.
Grand Cayman had a lot that was right within walking distance - maybe not swimming beaches, but the picture we have by the anchor (after our submarine ride) was on a beachy area. We saved our beach time for Castaway Cay, doing a really early stingray excursion and then spending the rest of the day on the family beach.
PassPorter Guide Community Rank: Legend Extraordinaire
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Jacksonville, FL
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 31,940
Post Thanks / Like
Likes (Given): 2
Likes (Received): 7
Thanks (Given): 0
Thanks (Received): 1
Pixie Dust (Given): 0
Pixie Dust (Received): 0
The coast of Cozumel is what is referred to as "Iron Shore" - Cozumel is a former coral reef that has been exposed and it really doesn't have sandy beaches like other Caribbean Islands. I always recommend that folks wear water shoes in Cozumel since the coastline can be very rough and rocky.
About This Page: 
Sorry it's all coming to an end! 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
PassPorter Guide Author
Waiting to eat with Goofy - DLR May 2010
Disney Magic - Oct 2015
Linear Mode
