A magical Mediterranean vacation COMPLETED - Page 65 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
Registered Message Board Members Get Our Free Newsletter! When you register you'll have the option to sign up for our weekly PassPorter Newsletter. It's chock-full of feature articles; news; tips; contests; photos; and special offers in our online store.
All caught up... back to the whisky tasting! I just got back from F&WF at Epcot and did the mixology with whisky. I was surprised at how they mixed up 3 cocktails with it and 1 of which was really very good! It had ginger beer, honey, and muddled pears. But straight up? Yeah, that's an acquired taste!
Wow, those sound like some interesting mixtures...
Quote:
I'm continuing drooling over all the food photos. I know that dessert wasn't what you wanted, but it sure looked tasty. And all that seafood! But I'm most impressed to hear the generous pour of amaretto in your hot chocolate!
These last series of photos are just stunning. They could be postcards, with the little villages.
Ok, it's not just me. I can't see what Mark spotted on the car ferry either.
Mystery solved now - more haste, less speed needed on my part when posting these... in fairness, I wasn't paying as much attention as I should've done, as I wanted to try and start writing up my trip report from our Paris trip yesterday while everything was still fresh in my mind!
Quote:
Lovely views of the islands and landmarks as you were coming into port. The waterways here are unbelievably busy.
They are and I think that's part of the reason why they're stopping the larger cruise ships from doing this route.
Awesome photos coming into port!!! Love the picture from the car ferry I love when people on shore or on other boats wave at the cruise ships - we always wave back
Awesome photos coming into port!!! Love the picture from the car ferry I love when people on shore or on other boats wave at the cruise ships - we always wave back
I thought it was so cool how many people waved at us as we made our way along.
Sunday 13 July – part four: I wonder how long it’ll be before we can go ashore
Then we were seeing the beautiful Giudecca church…
Being photographed again – this time from inside the church
It’s located on the island of the same name, which we cruised along past. I know St. Mark’s Square is the big draw, but you know what – this area was just as stunning as that is. There was just so much to take in along here – and to photograph of course.
This beautiful building was the Hilton….
… and then we were past Giudecca and there really wasn’t much more to photograph as we came into the cruise terminal.
We docked at 4:00pm, and it would be interesting to see how long it would actually be before we got the all ashore call…
Well, blow me down, I nearly died when Brent cheerfully announced just half an hour later than we were all cleared to go ashore! Well, so much for an all shore time of 6:30pm. All I can think is that Disney learnt a lot from their first overnight stop here, and really speeded things up, which is good going. Even better, the weather was still looking beautiful, so it looked as if we were all set for our gondola ride. The BBC and Accuweather were both saying that there would be a thunderstorm around 5:00pm and then again at 11:00pm. Hopefully they were right, and it would be fine in between….
We did call Mari and Raleigh to see if they wanted to go ashore any earlier, but they figured we’d eat on board first, which made sense, and outside of the counter service options on deck 9, the only thing open before 6:15pm was Cabanas at 5:30pm, so we agreed to meet them there.
We headed up at the appointed time…
… and couldn’t see them anywhere, then Mark spotted them inside, so we went in and grabbed some food, although in my case very little, as I was still full from lunch…
While we were up there eating, we saw Captain Robert with what we assume was his family. It was so nice to see him eating there and showed how down to earth he is. We’ve certainly seen more of him than any of our other captains.
When we headed out, I went to use the restrooms, and this is what I found!
Awww, that bathroom is adorable!!! That's just the type of thing I love Disney for
So am I right assuming that you are gonna miss the evening dinner rotation because you'll be ashore?
Doesn't it feel weird to be in port over night? Especially as it's your final destination? I don't know, it seems as it would feel like the vacation ends a day early, you know what I mean?
Registered Message Board Members Get Our Free Newsletter! When you register you'll have the option to sign up for our weekly PassPorter Newsletter. It's chock-full of feature articles; news; tips; contests; photos; and special offers in our online store.
People love to see the "Mickey ships"! It was the same way when sailing through the Panama Canal. Mobs of people on shore just to see us go through, waving and taking photos.
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.
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
PassPorter Guide Author
I can't see anything 
And all that seafood! But I'm most impressed to hear the generous pour of amaretto in your hot chocolate! 
I absolutely love how people react when they see a Disney ship! 
There was just so much to take in along here – and to photograph of course. 
Well, so much for an all shore time of 6:30pm. All I can think is that Disney learnt a lot from their first overnight stop here, and really speeded things up, which is good going. 
Linear Mode
