You may remember the charming 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 provided airfare for four. Rebecca and Bradley (Mom and Dad) took their two oldest kids, 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 can’t even begin to explain all the fun we had and how absolutely unbelievable the whole thing was,” wrote Rebecca. “It was a vacation we could have never done on our own. Disney does cruising right!”
The Hall parents were kind enough to show us their itinerary and some photos from their awesome trip. If you’re thinking about going on a Disney Cruise, or just curious what it’s all about, keeping reading for the highlights from the Hall’s vacation.
Monday
We were on the water for a couple days (Saturday and Sunday) and then landed in Tortola, British Virgin Islands. We had reservations for a Catamaran and went out with four different families all day. It was Korbin and Brooke’s first time snorkeling and they were in heaven. 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 got to do more snorkeling, got to swim, and hung out on the beach. The water was actually that turquoise blue that you see in movies – truly perfect.
Thursday
We traveled all day Wednesday and then docked at Castaway Cay, Disney’s Cruise Line Guest-Only Island. The water was so blue and had amazing visibility below, so of course we had to do more snorkeling! They hid Mickey Mouses you could hunt for underwater, which made up for not having as many fish. They also have an 18+ beach which we lounged around on while our children played with other kids. The island had staff everywhere to watch the kids so we (Rebecca and Bradley) relaxed and had a daiquiri. It was basically a floating Disneyland!
Aboard
I (Rebecca) get goosebumps reminiscing about everything on the ship – everything 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 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 trying to solve, and gives you hints and directions. One mystery lasted two hours because we were running all over the ship.
They are continually running 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 experience the Aqua Duct, which is a large slide that shoots you up and down and swings you out across the boat!
We went Goofy Golfing and Disney Cruises also have other games 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 three or four minutes versus a half-hour or more at Disneyland. We saw about two each day, and one day we hit five in a row! They also have multiple versions of the characters, like Captain Mickey, Traditional Mickey, etc.
The room was amazing! We had an ocean view room with a HUGE porthole and window seat. Our stateroom was a perfect size and all four of us were comfy and never felt squished.
Dining
You alternate three restaurants. Enchanted Garden has neat flower lights on the ceiling that open and close and the colors change on the ceiling during your meal and Royal Court was really elegant and put me in mind 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 put markers on your table so you can sketch a figure. They offer a tutorial on how to draw a figure, then they pick up the drawings and at the end of your dinner, they animate your drawings on the wall. It’s completely unexpected! They arrange them to music and put them in Disney clips. Our daughter is our artist so she put a lot of effort into hers and was elated – the rest of us weren’t quite as polished
“We can't thank Service Experts enough for this amazing vacation,” Rebecca wrote after they returned from the trip. “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 stage, the big reveal, researching and picking which cruise, the anticipation 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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