You may recall the charming Hall family who were the winners of our Unfrozen Winner contest earlier this year. They won by submitting this precious snowman photo:
Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning sent the family on a Disney Cruise and paid for airfare for four. Rebecca and Bradley (Mom and Dad) took their two oldest children, Korbin and Brooke, on their Disney Cruise during mid-summer. This was Korbin and Brooke’s first cruise and Rebecca and Bradley had not been on a cruise in nearly 10 years.
“I cannot begin to explain how much fun we had and how absolutely unbelievable the whole experience was,” wrote Rebecca. “It was a trip we could have never taken on our own. Disney does cruising right!”
The Hall family was kind enough to send us their itinerary and some snapshots from their incredible trip. If you want to a Disney Cruise, or just looking to see what it’s all about, keeping reading for the highlights from the Hall’s trip.
Monday
We sailed for two days (Saturday and Sunday) and then docked in Tortola, British Virgin Islands. We scheduled a Catamaran and went out with 4 other families all day. It was my kids’ first time snorkeling and they were in heaven. We got to see turtles and stingrays – it was probably the coolest experience of the entire cruise!
Tuesday
We sailed from Tortola to St. Thomas in the American Virgin Islands, where we were able to snorkel some more, went swimming, and bummed around on the beach. The water was truly that turquoise blue that you see in movies – truly perfect.
Thursday
We traveled all day Wednesday and then ported at Castaway Cay, Disney’s Exclusive Island. The water was so blue and had clear visibility below, so of course we had to do more snorkeling! They had hidden Mickey Mouses you could find underwater, which made up for not having as many fish. They also include an 18+ beach which we took advantage of while the kids played games. The island had staff everywhere to help take care of the kids so we (Bradley and Rebecca) laid out and had a daiquiri. It was just like a floating Disneyland!
Aboard
I (Rebecca) get goosebumps remembering everything on the ship – everything was all so fun and extraordinary! The cruise has a “Midship Detective Agency” where you choose the mystery you want to solve and Disney gives you a card so you can write down all your clues. When you place the card up to a painting, it springs to life – it talks to the group, tells you about the mystery you are working to solve, and gives you hints and directions. One mystery lasted two hours because we were running all over the boat.
They are constantly playing first-run movies out near the pool so we got to enjoy Finding Dory, Big Friendly Giant, Alice Through the Looking Glass, and Jungle Book. We also got to ride the Aqua Duct, which is a large slide that shoots you up and down and swings you out across the boat!
All of us went Goofy Golfing and the cruise also has other games and a Tween Club called Edge with events like scavenger hunts and more.
It’s really easy to find characters on the ship – you only have to wait a couple minutes versus 30 minutes or more at Disneyland. We got to see about two a day, and one day we hit five in a row! They also have different versions of the characters, such as Captain Mickey, Traditional Mickey, etc.
The stateroom was awesome! We had an ocean view room with a
really big porthole and window seat. Our stateroom was a really great size and all four of us were comfy and never felt smothered.
Dining
You go between three restaurants. Enchanted Garden has cool flower lights on the ceiling that open and close and the colors on the ceiling change while you eat and Royal Court was really elegant and reminded me of Cinderella. The menu is very gourmet and they have a great selection. My son tried everything, even escargot at the Royal Court. (He told us it tasted like dirt!)
Animators Palette is animation-themed and they put markers on your table so you can sketch a figure. They offer a tutorial on how to draw a figure, then they collect the drawings and at the very end of dinner, they animate your drawings on big screens. You have no idea it’s coming! They choreograph them to music and put them in Disney movies. Our daughter is our artist so she worked really hard on hers and was elated – the rest of us weren’t quite as accomplished
“We can't thank Service Experts enough for this unbelievable trip,” Rebecca told us after they returned home. “I get emotional when I think about it all. Entering a contest I never thought would go anywhere, hearing we were a finalist, the stressful voting round, the big win, reading about and choosing which cruise, the excitement of going and finally experiencing an unbelievable trip. It was such a fun time living it all. We are so grateful!”
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