You might recall the sweet Hall family who were the winners of our Unfrozen Winter contest earlier this year. Check out their adorable snowman submission!
Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning sent the family on a Disney Cruise and covered airfare for four. Mom and Dad (Rebecca and Bradley) took their two oldest children, Korbin and Brooke, on their Disney Cruise during mid-summer. This was the first cruise for Korbin and Brooke and the first in about 10 years for Rebecca and Bradley.
“I cannot begin to explain how much fun we had and how seriously unbelievable everything was,” wrote Rebecca. “It was a getaway we could have never done on our own. Disney does cruising right!”
The Hall parents were kind enough to give us their itinerary and some photos from their incredible trip. If you’re interested in taking a Disney Cruise, or just looking to see what it’s all about, check out the highlights from the Hall’s experience.
Monday
We sailed for 2 days (Saturday and Sunday) and then ported in Tortola, British Virgin Islands. We booked a Catamaran and went out with a few other families for the day. It was my son and daughter’s first time snorkeling and they loved it. We got to see turtles and stingrays – it was probably the most fun experience of the entire cruise!
Tuesday
We traveled 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 actually that turquoise blue that they show on TV – truly picture perfect.
Thursday
We traveled all day Wednesday and then ported at Castaway Cay, Disney’s Cruise Line Guest-Only Island. The water was so blue and had perfect visibility below, so of course - more snorkeling! They hid Mickey Mouses you could hunt for underwater, which was nice because there weren’t as many fish. They also have an 18 and older beach which we took advantage of while our children played games. They had staff everywhere to keep an eye on the kids so we (Mom and Dad) laid out and drank a daiquiri. It’s like a floating Disneyland!
Aboard
I (Rebecca) get goosebumps remembering everything on the ship – everything was so much fun and extraordinary! They have a “Midship Detective Agency” where you select 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 comes alive – it speaks to the group, tells you about the mystery you are working to solve, and gives you signals 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 Finding Dory, Big Friendly Giant, Alice Through the Looking Glass, and Jungle Book. We also got to ride the Aqua Duct, which is a huge slide that zooms you up and down and swings you out across 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, ice breakers, and more.
It’s so easy to meet characters on the boat – you only have to wait a couple minutes versus 30 minutes or more at Disneyland. We got to see about two per day, and one day we met five in a row! They also have multiple versions of the characters, like Captain Mickey, Traditional Mickey, etc.
The actual room was incredible! We had an ocean view room with a
really big porthole and window seat. Our room was a really great size and all four of us were comfortable and never felt squished.
Dining
You go between 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 really 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 give you instructions on how to draw a figure, then they collect the drawings and at the very end of 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 movies. Our daughter is our artist so she did really well with hers and was ecstatic – 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 from their cruise. “I get teary-eyed when I think about the experience as a whole. Submitting our picture to a contest I never thought would go anywhere, hearing we were a finalist, the anxious voting phase, the big win, researching and picking which cruise, the anticipation of going and finally experiencing an amazing trip. It was such a wonderful time living it all. We are forever grateful!”
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