You may 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:
Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning sent the winners on a Disney Cruise and covered airfare for four. Rebecca and Bradley (Mom and Dad) took their two oldest youngsters, Korbin and Brooke, on their Disney Cruise earlier this summer. This was Korbin and Brooke’s first cruise and Rebecca and Bradley had not been on a cruise in nearly 10 years.
“I can’t even begin to tell you how much fun we had and how absolutely incredible the whole experience was,” wrote Rebecca. “It was a trip we could have never taken on our own. Disney does cruising right!”
The Halls were nice enough to give us their itinerary and some photos from their amazing trip. If you’re thinking about going on a Disney Cruise, or just looking to see what it’s all about, check out the highlights from the Hall’s trip.
Monday
We were on the ship for two days (Saturday and Sunday) and then ported in Tortola, British Virgin Islands. We had reservations for a Catamaran and went out with a few other families for the day. It was Korbin and Brooke’s first time snorkeling and they were in heaven. We got to see turtles and stingrays – it was probably the most fun experience of the whole trip!
Tuesday
We traveled 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 you always see in pictures – truly beautiful.
Thursday
We sailed all day Wednesday and then ported at Castaway Cay, Disney’s Exclusive Island. The water was so blue and had perfect visibility below, so of course - more snorkeling! They placed a bunch of Mickey Mouses you could hunt for underwater, which made up for not having as many fish. They also have an adults-only beach which we enjoyed while the kids played with other kids. They had employees everywhere to help take care of the kids so we (Mom and Dad) relaxed and had a daiquiri. It was just like a floating Disneyland!
Aboard
I (Rebecca) get goosebumps remembering everything on the cruise ship – it was so much fun and extraordinary! The cruise has a “Midship Detective Agency” where you pick the mystery you want to solve and they give you a card so you can record all your clues. When you hold the card up to a painting, the painting springs to life – it talks to the group, tells you about the mystery you are solving, and gives you hints and directions. One mystery took us two hours because we were chasing clues all over the boat.
They are always running 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 large slide that shoots you up and down and swings you out across the boat!
The whole group went Goofy Golfing and the cruise also has games like basketball, fooseball, and a Tween Club called Edge with activities like scavenger hunts and more.
It’s very easy to meet characters on the ship – you only have to wait a few minutes versus a half-hour or more at Disneyland. We saw 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 incredible! Ours came with an ocean view room with a large porthole and window seat. Our stateroom was a really great size and all four of us were comfy and never felt smushed.
Dining
You go between 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 put me in mind of Cinderella. The food is very gourmet and they have an awesome medley. Korbin tried everything, even the escargot at the Royal Court. (He thought it tasted like dirt!)
Animators Palette is animation-themed and they give you markers on your table so you can sketch a figure. They provide directions on how to draw a figure, then they collect the drawings and at the end of your dinner, they animate your drawings on the wall. You have no idea it’s coming! They arrange them to music and place them in Disney clips. Our daughter is our artist so she put a lot of effort into hers and was so excited – the rest of us weren’t quite as accomplished
“We can't thank Service Experts enough for this amazing experience,” Rebecca told us after they returned from their cruise. “I get teary-eyed when I think about it all. Submitting our picture to a contest I never thought would go anywhere, learning we were a finalist, the anxious voting phase, the big announcement, reading about and picking which cruise, the elation of going and finally experiencing a sensational trip. It was such a wonderful time living it all. We are forever grateful!”
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