You may remember the precious Hall family who were the winners of our Unfrozen Winner contest earlier this year. They won by submitting this precious snowman photo:
Parker Pearce Service Experts sent the winners on a Disney Cruise and paid for airfare for four. Rebecca and Bradley (Mom and Dad) took their two oldest kids, Korbin and Brooke, on their Disney Cruise in July this year. This was the first cruise for Korbin and Brooke and the first in about 10 years for Rebecca and Bradley.
“I can’t begin to tell you how much fun we had and how seriously 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 nice enough to show us their itinerary and some snapshots from their amazing trip. If you want to a Disney Cruise, or just curious what it’s all about, check out the highlights from the Hall’s vacation.
Monday
We were on the water for a couple days (Saturday and Sunday) and then docked in Tortola, British Virgin Islands. We reserved a Catamaran and went out with 4 other families for the day. It was my son and daughter’s first time snorkeling and they were in heaven. We saw turtles and stingrays – it was probably the most fun experience of the whole trip!
Tuesday
We sailed from Tortola to St. Thomas in the American Virgin Islands, where we got to do more snorkeling, went swimming, and laid out on the beach. The water was really that turquoise blue that you see in movies – truly picture perfect.
Thursday
We sailed all day Wednesday and then docked at Castaway Cay, Disney’s Exclusive Island. The water was incredibly blue and had amazing visibility underneath, so of course we had to do more snorkeling! They placed a bunch of Mickey Mouses you could find underwater, which made up for not having as many fish. They also include an 18+ beach which we took advantage of while Korbin and Brooke played with other kids. They had people everywhere to keep an eye on the kids so we (Mom and Dad) relaxed and drank a daiquiri. It was just like a floating Disneyland!
Aboard
I (Rebecca) get goosebumps thinking about everything on the ship – it was so much fun and unforgettable! The cruise has a “Midship Detective Agency” where you pick the mystery you want to solve and the cruise gives you a card so you can keep track of all your clues. When you put the card up to a painting, it actually springs to life – it speaks to the group, tells you about the mystery you are trying to solve, and gives you hints and directions. One mystery lasted two hours because we were chasing clues all over the ship.
They are constantly playing first-run movies out by the pool so we got to see Finding Dory, Big Friendly Giant, Alice Through the Looking Glass, and Jungle Book. We also got to go on the Aqua Duct, which is a huge slide that takes you up and down and swings you out across the boat!
All of us went Goofy Golfing and they also have games like basketball, fooseball, and a Tween Club called Edge with activities like scavenger hunts, get to you know you games, and more.
It’s really easy to meet 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 different versions of the characters, like Captain Mickey, Traditional Mickey, etc.
The stateroom was amazing! Ours included an ocean view room with a HUGE porthole and window seat. Our room was a really great size and all four of us were comfy and never felt smushed.
Dining
You rotate through three restaurants. Enchanted Garden has awesome flower lights on the ceiling that open and close and the ceiling changes colors throughout your meal and Royal Court was extremely elegant and reminded me of Cinderella. The meals are very gourmet and they have a good variety. My oldest 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 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 these screens on the wall. It’s completely unexpected! They arrange them to music and place them in Disney films. 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 accomplished
“We can't thank Service Experts enough for this amazing experience,” Rebecca wrote after they returned from the trip. “I get teary-eyed when I think about it all. Submitting our picture to a contest I never thought would go anywhere, finding out we were a finalist, the anxious voting round, the big reveal, reading about and choosing which cruise, the elation of going and finally experiencing a sensational vacation. It was such a wonderful time living it all. Thank you, thank you!”
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