You may 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 earlier this summer. 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 truly amazing everything was,” wrote Rebecca. “It was a trip we could have never made happen on our own. Disney does cruising right!”
The Hall family was kind enough to send us their itinerary and some photos from their incredible trip. If you want to a Disney Cruise, or just curious what it’s all about, read on to see the highlights from the Hall’s cruise.
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 four different families for several hours. It was my children’s first time snorkeling and they loved it. We saw turtles and stingrays – it may have been the coolest experience of the whole cruise!
Tuesday
We traveled from Tortola to St. Thomas in the American Virgin Islands, where we got to do more snorkeling, got to swim, and laid out on the beach. The water was actually that turquoise blue you always see in pictures – truly beautiful.
Thursday
We traveled all day Wednesday and then ported at Castaway Cay, Disney’s Private 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 find underwater, which made up for not having as many fish. They also had an adults-only beach which we enjoyed while the kids played with other kids. The island had employees everywhere to help take care of the kids so we (Bradley and Rebecca) hung out and drank a daiquiri. It was just like a floating Disneyland!
Aboard
We get goosebumps thinking about everything on the boat – it was all so fun and unforgettable! They have 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 running 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 go on the Aqua Duct, which is a large slide that takes you up and down and swings you out over the boat!
All of us went Goofy Golfing and they 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 a half-hour or more at Disneyland. We saw about two a day, and one day we got five in a row! They also have different 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 colors on the ceiling change during your meal and Royal Court was very elegant and made me think of Cinderella. The food is very gourmet and they have a great variety. My oldest tried everything, including escargot at the Royal Court. (He thought it tasted like dirt!)
Animators Palette is animation-themed and they leave markers on your table so you can draw 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. You have no idea it’s coming! They put them to music and put them in Disney films. 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 wrote 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 stressful voting round, the big reveal, planning and selecting which cruise, the excitement of going and finally experiencing an amazing vacation. It was such a wonderful time living it all. Thank you, thank you!”
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