You might remember the adorable Hall family who were the winners of our Unfrozen Winter contest earlier this year. Check out their adorable snowman submission!
Comfortech Service Experts sent the Halls on a Disney Cruise and covered airfare for four. Bradley and Rebecca took their two oldest kids, Korbin and Brooke, on their Disney Cruise in July this year. This was Korbin and Brooke’s first cruise and Rebecca and Bradley had not been on a cruise in nearly 10 years.
“I can’t begin to describe how much fun we had and how seriously wonderful everything was,” wrote Rebecca. “It was a getaway we could have never done on our own. Disney does cruising right!”
The Hall family was sweet enough to send over their itinerary and some snapshots from their amazing trip. If you want to a Disney Cruise, or just want to find out what it’s all about, keeping reading for the highlights from the Hall’s trip.
Monday
We sailed for a couple days (Saturday and Sunday) and then ported in Tortola, British Virgin Islands. We booked a Catamaran and went out with a few other families all day. It was my children’s first time snorkeling and they were in heaven. We saw turtles and stingrays – it was probably the most fun experience of the entire cruise!
Tuesday
We sailed from Tortola to St. Thomas in the American Virgin Islands, where we got to do more snorkeling, swam, and laid out on the beach. The water was really 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 basketball, pool, and shuffleboard. The island had staff everywhere to watch the kids so we (Mom and Dad) hung out and enjoyed a daiquiri. It was basically a floating Disneyland!
Aboard
It gives me goosebumps remembering everything on the boat – it was all so fun and extraordinary! 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 place the card up to a painting, it comes alive – it talks to you, tells you about the mystery you are solving, and gives you signals and directions. One mystery took us two hours because we were chasing clues all over the ship.
They are always running first-run movies out near the pool so we got to watch Jungle Book. We also got to experience the Aqua Duct, which is a big slide that takes you up and down and swings you out above the boat!
The whole group went Goofy Golfing and the cruise also has other games and a Tween Club called Edge with events like scavenger hunts, ice breakers, and more.
It’s really easy to meet characters on the cruise – you only have to wait three or four minutes versus 30 or 40 at Disneyland. We got to see about two each day, and one day we hit five in a row! They also have several versions of the characters, including Captain Mickey, Traditional Mickey, etc.
The actual room was amazing! We had an ocean view room with a HUGE porthole and window seat. Our stateroom 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 neat flower lights on the ceiling that open and close and the ceiling changes colors throughout your meal and Royal Court was very elegant and put me in mind of Cinderella. The menu is very gourmet and they have an awesome medley. My oldest tried everything, even escargot at the Royal Court. (He thought it tasted like dirt!)
Animators Palette is animation-themed and they put markers on your table so you can illustrate a figure. They provide directions on how to draw a figure, then they collect the drawings and at the end of your dinner, they animate your drawings on these screens on the wall. It’s completely unexpected! They choreograph them to music and place them in Disney films. Brooke is our artist so she put a lot of effort into hers and was elated – the rest of us weren’t quite as accomplished
“Our family can’t thank Service Experts enough for this unbelievable experience,” Rebecca said after they returned from their cruise. “I tear up when I think about it all. 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 choosing which cruise, the excitement of going and finally experiencing a sensational vacation. It was such a fun time living it all. We are so grateful!”
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