You may recall the adorable Hall family who were the winners of our Unfrozen Winner contest earlier this year. They won by submitting this precious snowman photo:
Service Experts sent the family on a Disney Cruise and paid for airfare for four. Mom and Dad (Rebecca and Bradley) took their two oldest kids, Korbin and Brooke, on their Disney Cruise earlier this summer. Korbin and Brooke had never been on a cruise before and Rebecca and Bradley hadn't been in about 10 years.
“I can't begin to describe all the fun we had and how truly unbelievable the whole experience was,” wrote Rebecca. “It was a trip we could have never made happen on our own. Disney does cruising right!”
The Halls were nice enough to send us their itinerary and some pictures from their incredible trip. If you want to a Disney Cruise, or just want to find out what it’s all about, keeping reading for the highlights from the Hall’s cruise.
Monday
We sailed for 2 days (Saturday and Sunday) and then landed in Tortola, British Virgin Islands. We had reservations for a Catamaran and went out with a few other families all day. It was Korbin and Brooke's first time snorkeling and they had a blast. We saw turtles and stingrays Ð it was quite possibly the coolest experience of the whole trip!
Tuesday
We went from Tortola to St. Thomas in the American Virgin Islands, where we were able to snorkel some more, went swimming, and hung out on the beach. The water was actually that turquoise blue that you see in movies Ð truly picture perfect.
Thursday
We sailed all day Wednesday and then got off at Castaway Cay, Disney’s Exclusive Island. The water was so blue and had clear visibility beneath, so of course - more snorkeling! They hid Mickey Mouses you could look for underwater, which made up for not having as many fish. They also have an adults-only beach which we lounged around on while Korbin and Brooke played with other kids. Castaway Cay had people everywhere to keep an eye on the kids so we (Mom and Dad) hung out and enjoyed a daiquiri. It was just like a floating Disneyland!
Aboard
We get goosebumps reminiscing about everything on the cruise ship Ð everything was so much fun and extraordinary! The cruise has a “Midship Detective Agency” where you select the mystery you want to solve and Disney gives you a card so you can write down all your clues. When you put the card up to a painting, it comes to life Ð it talks to the group, tells you about the mystery you are trying to solve, and gives you signals and directions. One mystery took us two hours because we were going all over the cruise ship.
They are always running first-run movies out by the pool so we got to watch Alice Through the Looking Glass, Jungle Book, and Big Friendly Giant. We also got to go on the Aqua Duct, which is a big slide that shoots you up and down and swings you out across the boat!
The whole group went Goofy Golfing and they also have other games and a Tween Club called Edge with things like scavenger hunts, get to you know you games, and more.
It’s very easy to find characters on the ship Ð you only have to wait a couple minutes versus a half-hour or more at Disneyland. We got to see about two each day, and one day we met five in a row! They also have different versions of the characters, including Captain Mickey, Traditional Mickey, etc.
The actual room was awesome! We had an ocean view room with a HUGE porthole and window seat. The room was a really good size and all four of us were comfy and never felt smothered.
Dining
You rotate through three restaurants. Enchanted Garden has awesome flower lights on the ceiling that open and close and the colors change on the ceiling while you eat and Royal Court was extremely elegant and reminded me of Cinderella. The menu is very gourmet and they have an awesome selection. My oldest tried everything, including escargot at the Royal Court. (He said it tasted like dirt!)
Animators Palette is animation-themed and they leave markers on your table so you can draw a figure. They offer instructions on how to draw a figure, then they pick up the drawings and at the end of your dinner, they animate your drawings on the wall. You have no warning! They arrange them to music and put them in Disney movies. My daughter is our artist so she did really well with hers and was so excited Ð the rest of us weren’t quite as accomplished
“We can't thank Service Experts enough for this amazing trip,” Rebecca said after they returned home. “I get emotional when I think about the whole experience. Submitting our picture to a contest I never thought would go anywhere, hearing we were a finalist, the nail-biting voting round, the big reveal, researching and selecting which cruise, the elation of going and finally experiencing an unbelievable trip. It was such a wonderful time living it all. We are forever grateful!”
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