You might remember the precious Hall family who were the winners of our Unfrozen Winter contest earlier this year. Check out their adorable snowman submission!
BW/Cook Service Experts 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 earlier this summer. 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 explain how much fun we had and how truly amazing everything was,” wrote Rebecca. “It was a vacation we could have never taken on our own. Disney does cruising right!”
The Hall family was sweet enough to send us their itinerary and some pictures from their incredible trip. If you want to a Disney Cruise, or just curious 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 reserved a Catamaran and went out with 4 other families for the day. It was my son and daughter’s first time snorkeling and they were in heaven. We got to see turtles and stingrays – it was quite possibly the best 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 laid out on the beach. The water was really that turquoise blue that they show on TV – truly perfect.
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 below, 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 have an adults-only beach which we enjoyed while the kids played basketball, pool, and shuffleboard. Castaway Cay had staff everywhere to keep an eye on the kids so we (Bradley and Rebecca) hung out and had a daiquiri. It’s like a floating Disneyland!
Aboard
We get goosebumps reminiscing about everything on the ship – everything was all so fun and amazing! They have 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 place the card up to a painting, the painting springs to life – it speaks to the group, 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 always showing first-run movies out near 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!
All of us went Goofy Golfing and Disney Cruises also have other games and a Tween Club called Edge with events like scavenger hunts, ice breakers, and more.
It’s so easy to meet characters on the ship – you only have to wait a couple minutes versus 30 minutes or more at Disneyland. We met about two a day, and one day we hit five in a row! They also have several versions of the characters, including Captain Mickey, Traditional Mickey, etc.
The stateroom was amazing! We had an ocean view room with a
really big porthole and window seat. Our room was a really good size and all four of us were comfy and never felt squished.
Dining
You rotate through three restaurants. Enchanted Garden has cool flower lights on the ceiling that open and close and the ceiling changes colors while you eat and Royal Court was very elegant and reminded me of Cinderella. The food is very gourmet and they have a great medley. My son tried everything, even the escargot at the Royal Court. (He said it tasted like dirt!)
Animators Palette is animation-themed and they put markers on your table so you can draw a figure. They give you instructions on how to draw a figure, then they collect 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 worked really hard on hers and was thrilled – the rest of us weren’t quite as proud
“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 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 picking which cruise, the elation of going and finally experiencing an unbelievable trip. It was such an amazing time living it all. Thank you, thank you!”
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