You might recall the adorable Hall family who won our Unfrozen Winner contest earlier this year. Check out their adorable snowman submission!
Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning sent the Halls on a Disney Cruise and covered airfare for four. Mom and Dad (Rebecca and Bradley) took their two oldest kids, 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 even begin to describe all the fun we had and how absolutely incredible 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 sweet 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, check out the highlights from the Hall’s cruise.
Monday
We sailed for two days (Saturday and Sunday) and then ported in Tortola, British Virgin Islands. We had reservations for a Catamaran and went out with four different families for several hours. It was my children’s first time snorkeling and they had a blast. We got to see turtles and stingrays – it was probably the coolest experience of the whole cruise!
Tuesday
We traveled from Tortola to St. Thomas in the American Virgin Islands, where we were able to snorkel some more, got to swim, and hung out on the beach. The water was actually that turquoise blue that you see in movies – truly beautiful.
Thursday
We sailed all day Wednesday and then ported at Castaway Cay, Disney’s Exclusive Island. The water was very blue and had perfect visibility beneath, so of course we had to do more snorkeling! They hid Mickey Mouses you could look for underwater, which was nice because there weren’t as many fish. They also had an adults-only beach which we enjoyed while Korbin and Brooke played with other kids. The island had staff everywhere to help take care of the kids so we (Mom and Dad) hung out and drank a daiquiri. It was just like a floating Disneyland!
Aboard
We get goosebumps remembering everything on the ship – it was all so fun and amazing! The cruise has a “Midship Detective Agency” where you pick the mystery you want to solve and Disney gives you a card so you can record all your clues. When you put the card up to a painting, it actually springs to life – it talks to you, 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 cruise ship.
They are constantly showing first-run movies out around the pool so we got to watch Big Friendly Giant, Alice Through the Looking Glass, Jungle Book, and Finding Dory. We also got to experience the Aqua Duct, which is a large slide that takes you up and down and swings you out above the boat!
All of us went Goofy Golfing and Disney Cruises also have games like foosball, basketball, and a Tween Club called Edge with things like scavenger hunts and more.
It’s really easy to see characters on the boat – you only have to wait a couple minutes versus 30 or 40 at Disneyland. We saw about two a day, and one day we got five in a row! They also have several versions of the characters, including Captain Mickey, Traditional Mickey, etc.
The room was awesome! Ours included an ocean view room with a large porthole and window seat. Our stateroom was a really great size and all four of us were cozy 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 ceiling changes colors while you eat and Royal Court was really elegant and made me think of Cinderella. The food is very gourmet and they have a great variety. My oldest tried everything, even 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 sketch a figure. They give you a tutorial on how to draw a figure, then they pick up the drawings and at the very end of dinner, they animate your drawings on the wall. It’s completely unexpected! They arrange them to music and place them in Disney movies. Our daughter is our artist so she worked really hard on hers and was thrilled – the rest of us weren’t quite as proud
“We can't thank Service Experts enough for this unbelievable vacation,” Rebecca told us after they returned home. “I get teary-eyed when I think about it all. Submitting our picture to a contest I never thought would go anywhere, hearing we were a finalist, the nail-biting voting stage, the big reveal, reading about and selecting which cruise, the excitement of going and finally experiencing an amazing trip. It was such a wonderful time living it all. Thank you, thank you!”
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