LIVE - To Vero Beach and (then the) BEYOND -- January 29, 2023

[mac_tlc]

OK, here we go! We will be on the Beyond this Sunday, 1/29/23, with a two-day stop at Disney's Vero Beach Resort on the way. 

 

We flew down today from CT, just getting out before the snow started. We fly into Orlando since we have a house about 5 minutes from the airport. A one-way rental car will do the trick to get us to Port Everglades. Since we have a house down here, we really don't pack anything, just a personal item each. We almost always fly Spirit and use their Big Front Seats ! Its a great option if you don't need bags, can't beat the comfort. (OK, this is the cue for all the Spirit-haters to join in).

 

An advantage of having the house is we don't pack much, the disadvantage lately has been that I don't spend a lot of time thinking about what I need to bring before we leave CT. Today that became a real problem. When we got to Bradley airport, I remembered that I forgot our passports 😯. With not enough time to drive the 40 miles home and back to get them, we developed Plan B. Very luckily, our son lives about a mile from our house. A frantic, yet quick, call to him and he went to our house, got the passports and made a bee line to the nearest UPS Store, about a mile away. $96.60 later, they are (hopefully) on their way and we will have them tomorrow morning at 8am. Boy, I sure hope so.................. So, let's pretend that nothing happened this morning and we will continue the LIVE review...

 

We will pack tomorrow and leave Friday morning for Vero Beach. We have been Disney Vacation Club members since almost Day 1, but haven't been to VB in a while. We will have two nights in an Ocean View Studio room. Looking forward to going to the Italian Cousin restaurant in Sebastian...

 

We are in a Sky Suite on Beyond, so we can answer any Q's people have on the Retreat and the amenities. Due to the "current events" on the Celebrity board we will be making almost-nightly trips to the Oceanview Cafe to scope out what's there. Only Specialty restaurant we have planned is Eden on Day 3 but will probably do LeGrand Bistro for lunch. We did both on the Apex last year and they were wonderful. 

 

Other than that, we can be found at Cafe alBacio every day and some days multiple times. Will probably do some of the shows, make a few donations at the casino, and spend some time in The Club. 

 

As far as ports, we have no plans at Nassau or Costa Maya, although we usually go to Maya Chan. In Cozumel, we will head to Nachi Cocom as usual. Here's hoping the pool isn't too cold like last January.  Do not plan on getting off at Grand Cayman and, it seems, we will be spending time at the Pool Bar that day...

 

More later..

 

mac_tlc

 

 

 

 

 

[mac_tlc]

It’s looking positive for my delivery tomorrow!

 

 

[gotta cruise again]

Thank you for doing a Live report. We too are on this sailing and are also in a Sky Suite. Hope to meet y’all onboard!!

[vickykay]

Fingers crossed your passports arrive.   Reminds me of a similar experience.   We were flying from JFK to Rome and at the airport could not find my passport.  It’s a 4 hour drive from our home in upstate NY to JFK

(actually endless with the traffic on LI) so you can imagine how upset I was.  Fortunately I remembered last minute that In had changed handbags and found my original handbag in our carry one suitcase and four my passport in the handbag after frantic searching.

 

Looking  forward to following along.  We love Nachi Cocom. Have a wonderful cruise!

Edited January 26, 2023 by vickykay
Spelling

[mac_tlc]

Crisis averted! The Eagle has landed:

 

[miched]

Read on another thread that the pool bar was the only one open when in Grand Cayman.   I guess if you want a seat get there early.   Alcohol wasn’t  served in the Retreat area during that time either.  

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

 

 

Edited January 26, 2023 by miched

[countess5]

53 minutes ago, mac_tlc said:

Crisis averted! The Eagle has landed:

 

WOW! I have heard of this situation a few times. Because of that I have developed a list on a 3x5 card to check off before we leave. Things I need to bring, cords, electronics, money “passports” and other items with a separate 3x5 card for shutting the house down. 

 

The feeling you must of had in your stomach! 😩 🤮

 

Looking forward to following. We will watch you sail out! Please report back, we will board Beyond in February. 😄 🦅

 

Cheers! 

[mac_tlc]

52 minutes ago, miched said:

Read on another thread that the pool bar was the only one open when in Grand Cayman.   I guess if you want a seat get there early.   Alcohol wasn’t  served in the Retreat area during that time either.  

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

 

 

Yah, that seems like the new GC normal. We will grab a couple chairs in the Solarium and guess who will make the trek to the Pool Bar😜😜. 
 

mac_tlc

[mac_tlc]

17 minutes ago, countess5 said:

WOW! I have heard of this situation a few times. Because of that I have developed a list on a 3x5 card to check off before we leave. Things I need to bring, cords, electronics, money “passports” and other items with a separate 3x5 card for shutting the house down. 

 

The feeling you must of had in your stomach! 😩 🤮

 

Looking forward to following. We will watch you sail out! Please report back, we will board Beyond in February. 😄 🦅

 

Cheers! 

It was about three minutes of sheer terror, thankfully my son was nearby and around! 
 

On the flight down, I reluctantly started a list in a note on my phone. 😞. With the house in Orlando, we always come a few days early and get go buy “almost” anything we may forget 😬. 
 

mac_tlc

[Mcgeneseo]

I got a lump in my stomach just reading this....then had to go check that I had our passports in my carry on. We are also on this cruise, in a Celebrity suite. We leave at o'dark thirty tomorrow to fly from western NY to Ft. Liquordale. Staying at Margaritaville Hollywood Beach until we board Sunday. Hopefully we'll run into you somewhere!

[mac_tlc]

10 minutes ago, Mcgeneseo said:

I got a lump in my stomach just reading this....then had to go check that I had our passports in my carry on. We are also on this cruise, in a Celebrity suite. We leave at o'dark thirty tomorrow to fly from western NY to Ft. Liquordale. Staying at Margaritaville Hollywood Beach until we board Sunday. Hopefully we'll run into you somewhere!

Hope to see you next week! If a 60 something guy with glasses randomly walks up to you -- don't be alarmed 😄

 

mac_tlc

[mizLORInj]

Oy, I can feel the panic when you realized no passports!

 

GC we went to a part of 7 mile beach last time and it was beautiful.  But I also get staying onboard with fewer pax!

 

Love Nachi Cocum!    Have fun!!!

[clochette]

i double, triple check that we have our passports, now I might have to check even more after reading your review, but I can see how easy it would be to forget as you are not really packing

[NBliving]

We were on the Beyond Jan 8-15 in a Sky Suite and sure miss the wonderful people we met in the Retreat lounge and Luminae.  Smeliania (sp?) from Montenegro in Luminae was our assistant waiter and we really enjoyed getting to know her.  I hope you have a wonderful cruise!

[jzad]

Following along!  We get on when you get off 

[cw2go]

Boarding Feb 12th ~ Following along! 🚢

[MamaFej]

5 hours ago, mac_tlc said:

Hope to see you next week! If a 60 something guy with glasses randomly walks up to you -- don't be alarmed 😄

 

mac_tlc

A 60-something guy with glasses onboard a cruise ship? 

 

What are the odds? 😜

[wendyam76]

7 hours ago, Mcgeneseo said:

I got a lump in my stomach just reading this....then had to go check that I had our passports in my carry on. We are also on this cruise, in a Celebrity suite. We leave at o'dark thirty tomorrow to fly from western NY to Ft. Liquordale. Staying at Margaritaville Hollywood Beach until we board Sunday. Hopefully we'll run into you somewhere!

I know this was an autocorrect typo but it made me laugh! Especially as Fort Liquordale was followed by Margaritaville!

Hope you have a fab cruise and @mac_tlc so glad your passports arrived! 

[Mcgeneseo]

52 minutes ago, wendyam76 said:

I know this was an autocorrect typo but it made me laugh! Especially as Fort Liquordale was followed by Margaritaville!

Hope you have a fab cruise and @mac_tlc so glad your passports arrived! 

I went to law school in Ft Lauderdale and there was a fair amount of alcohol involved. And how can you not like Margaritaville?????

[GuyeCO]

Thoughts on Margaritaville Resort? Haven't stayed there, have always been curious..

[Mcgeneseo]

3 minutes ago, GuyeCO said:

Thoughts on Margaritaville Resort? Haven't stayed there, have always been curious..

I haven't either. I'm going to write a review and post it on tye Florida departure board by Sunday.

[mac_tlc]

Yesterday was packing day, which doesn’t take very long. I figured we would head over to Disney Springs for a late lunch but then I saw that there was a 4pm reservation available at the SciFi Restaurant in Hollywood Studios, so I jumped on it. It’s been tough to get in there since the restart.

 

 

Crowds were not bad, at least compared to December when we were there last. Finished the night watching Famtasmic, which is the best nighttime show, IMO. 
 

Later today it’s off to Vero Beach where there probably won’t be much beach—- only in the 60s today. Fun to watch the natives! 🧤🧤. 
 

mac_tlc

Edited January 27, 2023 by mac_tlc

[mac_tlc]

Made our way over to Vero Beach. Windy and a bit Florida-chilly. Here are a couple pictures of Disney’s Vero Beach Resort.

Main Building lobby 

 

Main Pool:

 

A few shots around the grounds:

 

Edited January 27, 2023 by mac_tlc

[countess5]

Looking at the weather forecast, going to be 80’S on Sunday but rain. Seventies on Saturday. Looking up! 

 

Cheers! 

[NBliving]

Thank you for taking us along pre-cruise.  I always like to see what other vacation opportunities are out there 😀