Forums Closed
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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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Best wishes for a wonderful and magical new year!
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06-21-2005, 01:15 AM
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#1
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Community Rank: Explorer
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Near a Tower of Terror at the moment...
Posts: 13,884
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The Nassau question rears its ugly head!!!
We are looking at a 3 night (just can't bring myself to do 4 yet! ) Dec 8-11. It will just be me and DDs (9 and 7 then) and I am seriously considering not getting off the ship at Nassau. I have travelled the world, so I don't think it's that big of a deal, but I'm not sure how DDs will react. One has Asperger's and doesn't do strangers well, the other is bipolar and "crazy" situations can set her off, plus she uses a stroller as a wheelchair (chronic fatigue and it helps her regain control if she loses it). We are also doing this trip on a shoestring (doing 4 days on land, too), so I don't need to be spending money on excursions if I can help it.
*IF* I do OK on the cruise (I have leviathanophobia ), then we will surely do another, most likely a 7 day a few years down the road and we can do all the excursions they like. If I don't do OK, then they ain't gonna be no more cruises and DDs will have to wait until their hubbies can take them to the Bahamas!
Is there enough on the ship to keep us all entertained while in Nassau? Should I sign up for the rainforest and lose the kid's club pager? JK! Should we at least step off the ship to say we've been there? (I packed my teddy bear when I was 16 in a suitcase on a flight through Iceland so I could say he'd been there, OK??? )
Any opinions are greatly appreciated...this whole thing makes me nervous!
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06-21-2005, 03:09 AM
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#2
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Community Rank: Trailblazer
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: BURLESON TX (near Ft. Worth)
Posts: 5,589
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Re: The Nassau question rears its ugly head!!!
The one thing we did at Nassau that I really enjoyed was tour Atlantis resort. The resort is beautiful and really big. We walked around by the pool and looked at the aquarium(outdoors)we also got an ice cream but I can't remember the name of the little shop. The first time we went to Atlantis, the pool was open so they didn't allow us(non-guests)to go by the pool but when we went in March the pool was closed for the day(still a bit of daylight left)so we were able to walk all around. We took a taxi to the resort and it was $4.00 a person.
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06-21-2005, 08:42 AM
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#3
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Community Rank: Explorer
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: second star to the right
Posts: 13,308
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Re: The Nassau question rears its ugly head!!!
Never been on a Disney cruise, but on other cruise lines just getting off the ship and walking to anything in Nassau is a pretty good walk. When you dock, it looks like you are right there, but the way the pier goes around it makes for a long walk to actually get anywhere.
I have stopped at Nassau on several non-Disney cruises. We got off the ship a couple times and stayed on a couple times. Personally, I wouldn't get off. There will be plenty to do on board the ship. I would stay on and just relax - alot of people will get off and just swimming will be much more fun with less crowds.
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06-21-2005, 01:45 PM
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#4
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Community Rank: Navigator
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Davidsonville, MD
Posts: 6,563
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Re: The Nassau question rears its ugly head!!!
Having just been, stay on the ship and enjoy the day onboard. Nassau is pretty dirty and crowded. There is so much onboard that you will never discover all of it in three days. Especially if you want to get the most out of your cruising dollars.
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06-21-2005, 02:00 PM
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#5
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Community Rank: Passenger
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Victoria, Texas
Posts: 34
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Re: The Nassau question rears its ugly head!!!
I agree with Joan. Stay on the ship.
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06-22-2005, 02:11 PM
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#6
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Community Rank: Jetsetter
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Las Vegas
Posts: 2,584
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Re: The Nassau question rears its ugly head!!!
It's nice to hear folks saying it's good to stay onboard. DH wants to go scuba diving in Nassau when we go on our cruise; but DS & I will stay on board. We'll probably hang out together a bit, just mom-n-son bonding, then he can head to the kids club and me to the rainforest!
It's so nice to know there are choices!
Hey, does anyone know if they actually stamp your passport in Nassau? I might walk off just to get the stamp and then get back on, but if no stamp, no getting off the boat!!
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06-22-2005, 03:17 PM
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#7
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Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Connecticut
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 16,825
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Re: The Nassau question rears its ugly head!!!
No stamp at Nassau. Sorry!
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06-22-2005, 07:53 PM
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#8
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Community Rank: Navigator
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Davidsonville, MD
Posts: 6,563
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Re: The Nassau question rears its ugly head!!!
My kids were so disappointed they did not get their passports stamped. I feel that if we have to have them now, I want it stamped!
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06-23-2005, 12:32 PM
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#9
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Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Ann Arbor, MI USA
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 14,427
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Re: The Nassau question rears its ugly head!!!
[ QUOTE ]
Hey, does anyone know if they actually stamp your passport in Nassau? I might walk off just to get the stamp and then get back on, but if no stamp, no getting off the boat!!
[/ QUOTE ]
Actually, there's no passport stamping in any of DCL's regular ports of call. With so many people descending upon the port at once (often two or three 2,000-3,000 passenger cruise ships arrive in a port within a few hours), the cost and delays would be prohibitive. Instead, the cruise line "certifies" its passengers to the local immigration officials. As part of that process they send out a passenger manifest in advance of arrival in the port. That's a big part of the reason the cruise lines check passports/ID when you check in for the cruise.
Not surprisingly, the US is the most stringent about these matters. While they don't stamp passports, there is a customs/immigration process on board the ship before you visit the US Virgin Islands. Nobody can leave the ship until all passengers have been cleared (a representative of each family on board presents documentation for the entire group).
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06-23-2005, 08:59 PM
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#10
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Community Rank: Jetsetter
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Las Vegas
Posts: 2,584
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Re: The Nassau question rears its ugly head!!!
Sad to hear, but nice to know! Thanks!
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06-25-2005, 07:51 PM
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#11
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Living Seas wannabe
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Jacksonville, FL
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 31,940
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Re: The Nassau question rears its ugly head!!!
[ QUOTE ]
I agree with Joan. Stay on the ship.
[/ QUOTE ]
I agree as well - I just told mom that if she, dad and Jolene do a shore excursion, I want to stay on the ship and relax....
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06-26-2005, 10:24 PM
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#12
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Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Northern NV
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 12,516
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Re: The Nassau question rears its ugly head!!!
We only got off in Nassau for a couple of hours, and I wouldn't do it again, except to go visit the Atlantis. My kids didn't get off the ship with us,as none of them were interested, and I don't think they would have enjoyed it. We had a lovely afternoon in the spa, and don't worry about there being enough to do! There's more to do than you possibly can!
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