You might remember the adorable Hall family who were the winners of our Unfrozen Winner contest earlier this year. They won by submitting this precious snowman photo:
BW/Cook Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning sent the family on a Disney Cruise and covered airfare for four. Mom and Dad (Rebecca and Bradley) took their two oldest youngsters, Korbin and Brooke, on their Disney Cruise in July this year. This was the first cruise for Korbin and Brooke and the first in about 10 years for Rebecca and Bradley.
“I can’t even begin to tell you all the fun we had and how absolutely amazing everything was,” wrote Rebecca. “It was a trip we could have never taken on our own. Disney does cruising right!”
The Halls were kind enough to send us their itinerary and some photos 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 trip.
Monday
We sailed for 2 days (Saturday and Sunday) and then docked in Tortola, British Virgin Islands. We reserved a Catamaran and went out with 4 other families for the day. It was my children’s first time snorkeling and they were in heaven. We saw turtles and stingrays – it was quite possibly the most fun experience of the whole cruise!
Tuesday
We went from Tortola to St. Thomas in the American Virgin Islands, where we got to snorkel even more, got to swim, and hung out on the beach. The water was truly that turquoise blue that they show on TV – truly incredible.
Thursday
We sailed all day Wednesday and then ported at Castaway Cay, Disney’s Cruise Line Guest-Only Island. The water was incredibly blue and had perfect visibility underneath, so of course that meant more snorkeling! They placed a bunch of Mickey Mouses you could hunt for underwater, which helped make up for the fact there weren’t as many fish. They also had an adults-only beach which we enjoyed while the kids played basketball, pool, and shuffleboard. Castaway Cay had employees everywhere to keep an eye on the kids so we (Mom and Dad) hung out and enjoyed a daiquiri. It’s like a floating Disneyland!
Aboard
We get goosebumps reminiscing about everything on the boat – everything was so much fun and unforgettable! 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 keep track of all your clues. When you place the card up to a painting, it springs to life – it speaks to you, tells you about the mystery you are trying to solve, and gives you signals and directions. One mystery lasted two hours because we were going all over the ship.
They are constantly showing first-run movies out by the pool so we got to enjoy Jungle Book. We also got to experience the Aqua Duct, which is a large slide that shoots you up and down and swings you out over the boat!
We went Goofy Golfing and they also have games like foosball, basketball, and a Tween Club called Edge with events like scavenger hunts, ice breakers, 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 met about two per day, and one day we met five in a row! They also have several versions of the characters, including Captain Mickey, Traditional Mickey, etc.
The room was incredible! Ours came with an ocean view room with a HUGE porthole and window seat. Our room was a perfect size and all four of us were comfortable 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 on the ceiling change during your meal and Royal Court was very elegant and reminded me of Cinderella. The meals are very gourmet and they have a good medley. My son tried everything, even the escargot at the Royal Court. (He thought it tasted like dirt!)
Animators Palette is animation-themed and they put markers on your table so you can sketch a figure. They provide directions on how to draw a figure, then they take the drawings and at the end of your meal, they animate your drawings on the wall. You have no warning! They choreograph them to music and place them in Disney movies. My daughter is our artist so she put a lot of effort into hers and was thrilled – the rest of us weren’t quite as accomplished
“Our family can’t thank Service Experts enough for this once in a lifetime opportunity,” Rebecca told us after they returned from their cruise. “I get teary-eyed when I think about the experience as a whole. Submitting our picture to a contest I never thought would go anywhere, hearing we were a finalist, the stressful voting stage, the big announcement, researching and choosing which cruise, the elation of going and finally experiencing an unbelievable vacation. It was such an amazing time living it all. Thank you, thank you!”
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