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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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
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Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
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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.
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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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Interesting names of the buildings, which seem to be named after homes of the Queen?
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Oh wow..I had no clue what they meant.
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
My goodness, no wonder you said it was overwhelming - you saw a lot of rooms on your tour.
We really did...it was becoming a blur
Quote:
Originally Posted by SuperDave
And the room tours continue with so many of them! At this point I would start confusing them with each other! Nice photos of the Sandals Caribbean Resort.
I did. We had papers with each type of room and I tried to make notes but honestly I wasn't very good at it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lindawdw
That was a lot of rooms to tour in a day! Too bad the weather wasn't more agreeable.
YES! Beautiful place but so much to take in. I guess I rather be in Jamaica with rain than home though!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
From your room photos, I know that I would not mind staying at either Sandals. Too bad it was so rainy this day.
They really are nice destinations. They include so much compared to a lot of other places.
One thing bad about Sandal’s properties….they for the most part do not have elevators. Most of the buildings are 2 stories high, but a few are 3. I personally hate climbing stairs and it was taking a toll on me as the day went on.
We were still touring rooms when someone came and found us and said they were waiting on us to go to the next resort. All the other groups had been done touring for a bit but we still were not finished. I knew it felt like we were going slow, but it also seemed like we had a really long list of rooms to see.
We finished up quickly and met to head to the bus. Again, because of the bad weather we were given the option to skip it and stay back. Honestly…a nap sounded really good about now…but I knew I would regret it if I skipped it and this is what I was here for. There were a few more who opted out of the next resort.
We got on the bus and headed to Sandals Montego Bay, which is very nearby.
They were redoing the lobby here when we visited so part of it was boarded up. A friend of mine has been there since, and I have seen some of her pictures….it looks fabulous!
We stood around a bit by the bar as we waited to be put into groups. We ordered a drink while we waited as we were all pretty thirsty. They also handed us these leather necklaces with a small pair of leather sandals on them. Super cute!!!
We divided up and started touring. We got separated from Ellen and Marianne this time…which was fine….we are all big girls.
Again, this bathroom is dated…..in my opinion….but it was funny because someone else was talking about how gorgeous they thought it was and they hoped they had a room like this. And it’s not bad…it just not is what is “in” right now.
We came to a stop…..I think because the group in front of us was still in a room. So we chatted a bit and Jermaine started talking about when he was a kid he lived in Jamaica and these trees (we saw them all over and they had these fruit looking things falling off of them) had almonds and they would pick them and eat them….Really..that is an almond tree?
It had like a softer covering..kind of like what a walnut has before it is ripe…and then a shell and under that the almond. Jermaine and Chantelle started picking them and would bite off the covering to get to the shell.
I tasted one…yep it tasted like an almond….no wonder those buggers are expensive….they take a lot of work to get one little almond out. Here though they had trees all over and the orange things were fallen all over the ground too. You would have to be careful walking or you could twist your ankle on one.
We then wrapped up the tour and headed back to Royal Caribbean. We were supposed to actually tour one more resort today but we were so behind and with the weather playing with us all day, Sandals decided to take it off the table. A couple of girls did take one of the inter resort shuttles over there later to take a look, but I was too tired to do so today.
Back at RC, we got our room assignments. They called groups of people to go with leaders who would escort us to our rooms. It was clear I was not going to be near my friends this time either…which was ok…but the bummer was…they were all pretty close to each other and this time my room was pretty far out.
As I walked with the group to our rooms, the guide put all the first floor people in their rooms, then we walked up to the 2nd and he led them to their rooms…and then there was just me…..and up we went to the 3rd floor. YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING!!!!!!! I hate climbing stairs and I am on the 3rd floor. I seriously was thinking of asking to be moved. I don’t have a medical condition but I will admit with my weight, my knees are going bad…they are painful a lot these days…and then of course all my extra fluff makes me out of breath too….and I would have to climb up these steps just to get to my room UGH! I kept quiet and took the room, but I was not a happy camper.
And things were not all working right…no drain stopper for the tub…the shower head was too short and I had to squat to get under it, the water temp was impossible to regulate…it took a bit to warm up…like 5 minutes and then I had my choice of scalding or burn your skin off.
The door to the left is the closet, the door straight ahead is the toilet.
My friends were all near each other and had rooms near the walk out pools. I was a little jealous. However…my room had a great ocean view….I think I took a picture of it later and will post it when I come across it. I still liked their rooms a bit better and they were closer to everything.
We all got our suits on and headed to the pool. It wasn’t quite as fun as yesterday but we still had a good time.
We then headed to the gift shop and found some things to purchase. We went to pay with our room key and were informed we didn’t have charging privileges. UGH! We filled out the paperwork…but someone must have never turned it in. The gals were slow and not the brightest bulbs…but they did agree to hold our stuff and we could come back later to pay…but it took FOREVER for them to get it set aside with our names on it.
I went back to shower and get ready for dinner….Oh no! Time flew by and I was running very late. I messaged the girls that I was running behind…they said they would wait, but I told them that was ok. They were having a drink and would wait. I quickly got dressed and ran back to the gift shop to pay as we needed to do so before the night ended…and of course I was 3 floors up and far away…so it wasn’t an easy run back to the room and get money type of thing….I paid…again having the slowest girl in the world ringing me up….and met my gals to head to dinner. They were in good spirits but I felt bad running so late.
Ugh, your room really wasn't great, being that far out and that high up. I was hoping you'd throw open the door and be wowed by it, but not really.
Interestingly, I loved the bathroom you thought was dated - to me, I loved the huge tub and shower. The décor didn't bother me, I was sold on those two aspects!
Ugh, sorry your room was on the third floor and had a dated bathroom. But the club level alcohol and soda was a nice perk! How annoying that the room charging privileges weren't set up.
That was certainly a busy schedule they had you on this day! Sorry you were separated from your friends with your room assignment. I don't blame you for not being happy with the 3rd floor. It's a lot on the knees after such a busy day!
Ugh, your room really wasn't great, being that far out and that high up. I was hoping you'd throw open the door and be wowed by it, but not really.
Interestingly, I loved the bathroom you thought was dated - to me, I loved the huge tub and shower. The décor didn't bother me, I was sold on those two aspects!
It's really hard to keep hotel rooms up to date these days as styles change so much. I am learning to like the new modern looks but that style used to be a favorite of mine a few years back.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pamcarey
Ugh, sorry your room was on the third floor and had a dated bathroom. But the club level alcohol and soda was a nice perk! How annoying that the room charging privileges weren't set up.
The 3rd floor was the worst of it. It was hard for me to be positive when I had to walk up those stairs. LOL. I usually try to be positive about things, but that was one time that it bothered me and I had to keep reminding myself to let it go.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
Bummer that your room was so remote from your friends and everything else at the resort.
I know. If we all had been spread out then it wouldn't have been so bad but I felt way out away from them all.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lindawdw
That was certainly a busy schedule they had you on this day! Sorry you were separated from your friends with your room assignment. I don't blame you for not being happy with the 3rd floor. It's a lot on the knees after such a busy day!
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We got to the dock and it was practically underwater from all the rain. It was kind of weird and I would have thought Sandals would have something better than that.
We moosied over and took our time and took pictures.
And we walked in and found a table of people waiting for us. OH no!!!! Once again we didn’t know we were going to be seated in a group. I apologized over and over. They were all so nice and said it was ok….they had made their drink orders and soon appetizers were brought out. It was a bit weird as we couldn’t order them…they brought out a pre-selected plate of them and they were for 2. I didn’t understand why we each just didn’t get our own plate.
I am not super familiar with Thai food, so I got suggestions from friends and I think I had 2 different dishes combined into one…it was a little spicy hot, but it was very tasty.
We hadn’t done much with the group of people we sat with tonight so we all introduced ourselves and before we knew it we were all laughing hysterically and telling stories….the one guy (he and his wife own a business together) was just hysterical. He had the funniest jokes and he had an accent which just made them even funnier. His wife would just shake her head…she says she hears these jokes all the time and they are not funny anymore…which made them even funnier.
Ellen and I started getting silly and were taking really funny selfies and sending them to our co-workers. Then Lenora and Marianne joined in too. The co-workers were sure we were drunk…but we were completely sober. We just were having a good time.
We talked some more and noticed the restaurant was empty and we looked at the time…..we were now about 30 minutes past the time the last boat was supposed to leave….ooops. We were having so much fun we totally lost track of time. We quickly left and made our way to the dock and headed back to the resort. What a fun evening it had been.
When we got back, we found out friend Kim outside of a bar and we sat with her and talked a bit.
We decided to head inside one of the bars and get some drinks. We had such a fun bartender.
He asked us a little about each of us and what we like and said he would make us each a drink.
We had come in at the tail end of it and the DJ said he was moving back to the other bar to play music…OK then…we’ll go too.
We headed over and danced and laughed and just had so much silly fun.
The guys working there were just really fun and nice too. Some of them…there job is basically to have fun with the clientele. Fiddy was one of them and he was dancing with us and he was super fun. He said he works long hours though some days but his job is pretty fun.
We finally had to wind it down and head off to bed. Tomorrow was basically a free day during the day and Britney and I wanted to go snorkeling. We all said our goodbyes and Marianne and I talked a bit more before heading off to our rooms…me making the horrid climb to the 3rd floor and soon I was drifting off to sleep!
I love seeing all these pics and hearing about this wonderful place. I truly loved Jamaica and hope to go back one day. We too had staff whose job was solely to keep us (42 students) safe and happy. We even had our own private bartender and 2 chefs along with 2 guys who went every where with us. You wanted a specific souvenir - they got it for us, want to visit somewhere - we got there including a local club. And on the last day when no one wanted to go snorkeling one last time - he took me out and it was amazing. They really have their jobs because of us but they make the trip IMHO. Thanks for taking me back to those memories. So glad you were all having so much fun and that you were not left stranded at the restaurant (lol).
We did have so much fun that night. I am a terrible dancer but I still love to go out and dance with my friends.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
Sounds like you all had lots of fun this evening!
We really did.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cattailmarsh
I love seeing all these pics and hearing about this wonderful place. I truly loved Jamaica and hope to go back one day. We too had staff whose job was solely to keep us (42 students) safe and happy. We even had our own private bartender and 2 chefs along with 2 guys who went every where with us. You wanted a specific souvenir - they got it for us, want to visit somewhere - we got there including a local club. And on the last day when no one wanted to go snorkeling one last time - he took me out and it was amazing. They really have their jobs because of us but they make the trip IMHO. Thanks for taking me back to those memories. So glad you were all having so much fun and that you were not left stranded at the restaurant (lol).
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That sounds fabulous! I bet being a "fun maker" would be an awesome job!
I headed off to breakfast where I believe I met up with Lenora. I laughed at this sign…it tells us to keep off the grass…yet they have a seating area and a smoking section here.
Lenora debated on doing it, but she never has before and they warned us the water was rough today and probably not ideal for beginners. They also said it may get canceled since the water was so rough. I signed Britney and myself up and then wasted some time till it was time to come back and see if it would be running.
Marianne and Ellen went on an excursion of tubing down some river. After seeing their pictures and hearing them talk about it…I wish I had done that too.
The time came to go and Britney decided she might rather spend time at the beach on the island instead. I still wanted to go….but my mistake was I never took bonine! It should have registered in my brain…rough seas….means rocking…but it didn’t.
We arrived at out snorkel area and if we wanted to wear a life jacket…they didn’t have the typical snorkel kind and it was basically a full life jacket and we had to put it on really weird…like between our legs. But the water was deep and with it so wavy I just didn’t want to take a chance.
This was my first good snorkel trip to try my underwater camera out…sadly the snorkeling was not very good.
My feet were killing me in the flippers…painfully so. The water was throwing me around and make me feel sick..plus I kept getting gulps of it….on top of that…the waves had carried me away from the boat and I had to swim against them to get back. That was so exhausting.
I finally decided to just get back in the boat. My feet were in so much pain being squeezed by the flipper. Sadly, I was the only one and the rest still were snorkeling so I had to sit in the bobbing boat for about another 20 minutes. At one point one of the guys asked if I was feeling OK…I guess I looked bad too. I told him I was feeling a little sick…but I tried to play it off a bit. I just kept taking big gulps of air and prayed I wasn’t going to be feeding the fish….LOL.
Once we headed back I was feeling a bit better…probably because I knew I would be on dry land again. I know if I had taken bonine beforehand I would have not felt nearly this bad….so it was my own fault.
We got back and I located Lenora and let her know I was going back to my room for a bit and was going to take a nap. I was tired and feeling blah.
I found Lenora and she showed me pictures of all the drinks she had tried today. I was totally cracking up…there was like 5 or 6.
She had just ate and I ordered some food and also got some nachos that were there to start off on while I waited. The food hit the spot and I felt much better. I think we got in the pool a bit and then someone told us that high tea was about to happen and we decided to check it out.
I don’t like tea…but I figured I would give it a try. We were all in bathing suites and cover ups and sat down. One lady came over to me and told me I could not sit on the cushion with a wet suit. Um…ok….We were all in suits and we were not the only ones in suits….not sure why she narrowed in on me? The others all thought it was kind of weird too. She took my cushion and I had to sit on the chair without one…..strange.
We were served some goodies too…but it was weird as they had like one of each thing for each table…some tables had 4 people. There wasn’t even enough for some to try all the things.
But the bugs came out in full force and again it was super hot.
While waiting in line for the buffet we were being attacked by bugs. They had lights shining on the buffet, which then attracted more bugs and we were shooing them off left and right. They finally got smart after a while and moved the light to shine a different way and brought out a fan to blow the bugs away too. Why they didn’t think of this before I am not sure. It would seem obvious to me that with so many bugs around you would not want bright lights on the food.
Then they started giving out awards….some of our new friends were winners and it was exciting. I kind of started to zone out a bit when they started naming different “zones” and were not in any zone I or my friends live in……then we hear them talk about this agent from the west who probably had a really long flight here etc…..ELLEN! OMG! LOL!
After a little bit we were too hot to stay over there and dance so we headed out. Our buddy Fiddy said he was going to be in the staff talent show tonight so Lenora and I went and watched him. He was good…but over all the talent was not great and something I probably would not watch again.
He was guarding her door and was not about to let her in. We weren’t sure what to do and we were laughing so hard. We chased it away finally and then it got under someone’s room service stuff left outside and under a napkin. We were now worried someone would pick it up and get clamped!
We saw a staff member walk by and we told him about it and he must have thought we were all crazy. He came out and picked the guy up and relocated him.
Finally we all called it a night officially. We gave Kimberly some last hugs as she had to leave early and Ellen now could safely enter her room.
Marianne and I walked and talked on the way to her room.
We chatted a bit more and then I headed off to make the climb up to the 3rd floor! I couldn’t believe the trip was coming to an end. It was such a short trip but in just a few days time I had made some lifelong friends and it seemed like we have known each other forever.
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Pixie Dust
At this point I would start confusing them with each other! 
Nice photos of the Sandals Caribbean Resort. 
PassPorter Guide Author
I was hoping you'd throw open the door and be wowed by it, but not really. 
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