Unfrozen Winter Winners Enjoy Their Disney Cruise

You may remember the charming Hall family who won our Unfrozen Winter contest earlier this year by submitting a picture of their creative snowman. Check it out! 

BW/Cook Service Experts sent the family on a Disney Cruise and provided 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. 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 tell you the amount of fun we had and how truly wonderful the whole experience was,” wrote Rebecca. “It was a vacation we could have never taken on our own. Disney does cruising right!” 

The Hall parents were kind enough to send over their itinerary and some pictures from their awesome trip. If you’re interested in taking a Disney Cruise, or just want to find out what it’s all about, keeping reading for the highlights from the Hall’s experience. 

Monday

We were on the water for two days (Saturday and Sunday) and then ported in Tortola, British Virgin Islands. We booked a Catamaran and went out with a few other families all day. It was Korbin and Brooke’s first time snorkeling and they loved it. We spotted turtles and stingrays – it may have been the most fun experience of the entire trip! 

Tuesday

We sailed 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 really that turquoise blue that they show on TV – truly picture perfect. 

 

Thursday

We sailed all day Wednesday and then ported at Castaway Cay, Disney’s Private Island. The water was very blue and had amazing visibility underneath, so of course - more snorkeling! They had hidden Mickey Mouses you could find underwater, which made up for not having as many fish. They also had an adults-only beach which we took advantage of while Korbin and Brooke played basketball, pool, and shuffleboard. The island had people everywhere to watch the kids so we (Bradley and Rebecca) relaxed and had a daiquiri. It’s like a floating Disneyland! 

Aboard

It gives me goosebumps thinking about everything on the boat – it was all so fun and extraordinary! They have a “Midship Detective Agency” where you pick the mystery you want to solve and the cruise gives you a card so you can keep track of all your clues. When you place the card up to a painting, the painting springs to life – it talks to you, tells you about the mystery you are working to solve, and gives you clues and directions. One mystery lasted two hours because we were running all over the cruise ship. 

They are always playing first-run movies out by the pool so we got to see Big Friendly Giant, Alice Through the Looking Glass, Jungle Book, and Finding Dory. We also got to go on the Aqua Duct, which is a big slide that shoots you up and down and swings you out over the boat! 

We went Goofy Golfing and they also have games like basketball, fooseball, and a Tween Club called Edge with activities like scavenger huntsand more. 

It’s very easy to meet characters on the ship – you only have to wait three or four minutes versus 30 minutes or more at Disneyland. We saw 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 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 comfortable and never felt smothered. 

Dining

You rotate through 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 very elegant and made me think of Cinderella. The food is very gourmet and they have a great medley. Korbin tried everything, including escargot at the Royal Court. (He said it tasted like dirt!) 

Animators Palette is animation-themed and they give you markers on your table so you can draw a figure. They offer directions 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. Brooke is our artist so she put a lot of effort into hers and was thrilled – the rest of us weren’t quite as polished 

“We can’t thank Service Experts enough for this once in a lifetime vacation,” Rebecca told us after they returned from their cruise. “I tear up when I think about the experience as a whole. Submitting an entry I never thought would go anywhere, hearing we were a finalist, the nail-biting voting stage, the big reveal, planning and selecting which cruise, the anticipation of going and finally experiencing an amazing vacation. It was such a fun time living it all. Thank you, thank you!” 

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