Marvel Day at Sea and Vero Beach Pre-Trip

This will be the 3rd time we surprise her. Maybe one day she will catch on LOL

This is the first one we went on, still one of my favorite videos!!! We had just told her we were getting on the ship

https://www.facebook.com/jmed1117/videos/10155194832050531/

I'll tell you what, if it is anywhere near as awesome as Tiana's it is going to be AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But I will provide a full report.

If it is half a great as Star Wars Day at Sea, It is going to be amazing!!!

Well y'all the long wait is over!! We head to Jacksonville tonight!!! I am all packed, Joe packed last night and I have to get Blondie packed once we get her to school this morning.

I got a spray tan last night, if you can't tone it, tan it!!! Nails will be this morning and then a couple more errands and I will be ready to roll.

We are going to be leaving earlier than I anticipated so I will be searching for a yummy place to eat tonight in Jacksonville. We normally eat at 4Rivers but I want to try something new. We will see how that goes. I am also very excited to get some Guacachips. If you are friends with me on Facebook, you may have seen them from our trip last month. I look for them everywhere, I'm about to breakdown and order them from Amazon...

Plans are to get up pretty early to head to Vero, I know the room won't be ready but I want to spend as much time there as we can. Blondie was upset that she didn't have time to get her toes done so I booked her a pedi at the spa there. It's an Ice Cream Pedicure so she gets a Mickey Bar during. Because of her age, I have to be there with her but it is after lunch, only about 30 minutes and I will give us some time out of the sun

Oh and I did make a special playlist. Blondie STILL has no clue (I am doing so good) so for our trip to Miami I am going to be playing songs and scores froml the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) I've also added in Will Smith's Miami, Bobby Darin's Beyond the Sea and Frankie Ford's Sea Cruise. Hopefully she picked up on it!

I'll share a little with you all until Sunday and then report back when we get home.

Vero Beach. Wow, wow, wow!!! I hated to leavw this morning. It was amazing. Totally in love and ready to go back! Heading to the port now. Lots of pics on our Facebook page!

I had a nice long recap here yesterday but I guess I never hit save So here I go again... Going to give a quick run down of the cruise and then go a little more in depth with Vero and the cruise.

It was good and a little sad.

Joe slept A LOT. But he worked a lot leading up to this trying to get stuff done. Ah, the joy of being your own boss. I guess he really needed the rest.

Blondie had the privilege of self check in and out and also access for the first time to The Edge. She meet us for dinners and that is about it. She goes to get breakfast herself, has lunch by the pool, goes to movies, meet and greets and activities by herself or with friends. She LOVES the Navigator App!! (we did not loose her on Castaway this time!!)

Me? Well I went to a couple shows, had A LOT of cocktails at various locations, I've fallen in love with the Quiet Cove ("G Wayne's Living Room") and just relaxed. I've had a rough spell lately and this has been great. I miss hanging out with everyone "all day" but we are all having fun.

Lows

*Marvel Day at Sea* We LOVED Star Wars day at sea so you can imagine how excited we were about this. Well, it fell flat. We've decided SW is more of a multi-generational event with lots more interest. Tons more guests in costume, better meet and greets, more "happening" around the ship. Don't get me wrong, a majority of our meets were FANTASTIC. {THOR} He may have made me blush lol. The dinner was delicious and themed better than SW. Other than that it was meh. We would do SWDAS again but skip this.

*Dinner* We have felt rushed the entire time. Every night has been a blur. I didn't feel the instant connection with our servers and still haven't. A couple nights they have taken our full orders including dessert from the beginning. I've never been in a position where I didn't feel like we should tip "extra" until this cruise. The guys were perfectly nice but just all seemed a bit off

*Rapunzel's *big sigh* It was nice but kind of meh. This was our first night and very rushed. While she was at our table another guest came over and pulled her away for a pic with her daughter. When she came back around near us Joe asked if she would take a pic with me. Her answer, "one and quick". The stage show was a trio and all they did was play music on a flute and guitars and it was so quiet you couldn't really hear it. The guys from the Snuggly Duckling were great and food was good.

*Palo* yes, Palo made the low list, only for service. We sat about 10 min before our server showed up. It picked up from there but still seemed off a bit.

*Boarding* We like to give a different and fun name when we board, we went back and forth for about 20 minutes deciding. When I got to the CM she asked and I told her we were agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and could not reveal our real names as I went to tell her our "code" name she literally grabbed my lanyard that was around my neck, looked at at my Key to the World Card and said "What is your family name" 1. Never grab something on me, it really pisses me off. 2. Lighten up honey this is supposed to be fun. I said to her thanks for ruining my entrance and starting the cruise off bad. Maybe that's what set the cruise off wrong.

Highs

*Rosalina* we met her on our first Disney cruise in 2015 and just loved her. She works in the shops. We were walking around or 1st day and there she was, she recognized me immediately!!! Talk about tears!! When Blondie went to see her I cried again!! She's given her 4 pins and countless hugs. She has been with DCL for 18 years!! She is a gem! When we got back from CC there was a letter and 5 more pins. Blondie wrote her a note and I cried when we delivered it.

*Quiet Cove* G Wayne is my man! Funny, polite, quick with a drink. I'm not a sit in the sun by the pool person but I could be. I would have liked a little upbeat music but it is "quiet" sooooooo. I sat at the pool, in the chairs overlooking the ocean and at the bar. All just perfect.

*Bambang* just his name... but seriously, he makes coffee in Cove Cafe, Starts my day right!!!

*We were about 3 hours late to CC because of the wind and seas but it was one of our best days there to date. Beautiful weather, yummy food, and spectacular views from Heads Up bar. It was our first time at Heads Up and the view of the ship is breathtaking!!

*Margaret not only did she keep our room tidy but she kept an eye on Blondie, everytime I would go to the room, she would tell me of her comings and goings lol

*O'Gills snacks and trivia. I think I ate all the guac. I love that place, the vibe, music, everything.

*Tangled Musical* You really can't go wrong with a Disney Cruise Show. (oh wait the Golden Mickeys) The show was really well done, I loved Max and Mother Gothel stole the show, that voice!!! But no Pascal...

Not sure what it was but Joe agreed, it was all just a bit off this time. Maybe a couple days will let me think it over. I'll add more to this in a few days, I can't wait to talk about Vero Beach Resort!!!!!

I did find him the next night at dinner, Marvel Day at Sea so no show. He is on top of the stage... I will have to see if he showed up in any of my pics.

Ok, on to Vero Beach!

There is not enough space and time for me to brag on this place. WOW. Just wow. The nearly 24 hours we spent there were fantastic from beginning to end! From the first CM we spoke to at the security gate to the last one we said goodbye to, wow.

So Friday night we stayed in Jacksonville and the plan was to get up early to head to Vero Beach, we knew the room wouldn't be ready but we would have time to spend at the beach/pool/miniature golf etc. We arrived around 10, the CM at the security gate was so welcoming and friendly. We got our parking pass and pulled up to go check in. The lobby isn't overwhelmingly large but it is big and open enough to take a little gasp of air when you walk in. Soft beachy colors, natural light, the amazing smell of orange groves.

I sent Joe and Ab to look around while I got us checked in. We all got 1st time buttons and Blondie got a crown. Rooms were not ready as expected but she had us park at the main building as she thought those rooms would be ready fastest. We parked and headed down to the beach. It is so lovely there. Beach was wide and very clean.

Blondie had an appointment at the spa for an Ice Cream Pedi so we didn't jump right into the water activities. Instead we played miniature golf, explored the resort, played cornhole, laid in hammocks and took the Peter Pan tunnel under the main road to the lake which had sports courts and a nature trail/ butterfly conservatory. It was a great little path! Blondie was scared there would be snakes and gators but we didn't see any!! We ate and excellent lunch at Wind & Waves Market and I enjoyed a few drinks from Wind & Waves Bar.

We headed back for the spa, she got the full treatment including a Mickey Ice Cream bar and she got to keep the bottle of polish. We signed Blondie up for the kids program. I think it was $30 for DVC members and it included crafts, games and dinner.

The room was ready shortly so we grabbed bags from the car and rested for about 30 minutes and then out to relax in hammocks and get fruity cocktails! We dropped Blondie off to attend the kids activities, it was a small group and she was by far the oldest but she got to help out alot and she loves helping with younger kids so she had a blast. Joe and I headed to the Green Cabin Room for pre-dinner cocktails and appetizers before heading to Wind & Waves Grill. Everything we had was fantastic!!!

Right after we picked Blondie up with was Campfire time. We laughed, sang, danced and made smores before walking down to the beach to enjoy the full moon over the ocean. HOW BEAUTIFUL!!!! It was getting late and we had a long day and an early morning ahead of us.

Coming up, we head to Miami to board the Magic!!!

Pics took FOREVER to load.... enjoy

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