You may remember the adorable Hall family who won our Unfrozen Winter contest earlier this year by submitting a picture of their creative snowman. Check it out!
Stallion Heating Plumbing Air Conditioning sent the Halls 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 Korbin and Brooke’s first cruise and Rebecca and Bradley had not been on a cruise in nearly 10 years.
“I can’t even begin to describe the amount of fun we had and how seriously wonderful the whole experience was,” wrote Rebecca. “It was a trip we could have never taken on our own. Disney does cruising right!”
The Hall parents were kind enough to send us their itinerary and some photos from their incredible trip. If you’re thinking about going on a Disney Cruise, or just curious what it’s all about, check out the highlights from the Hall’s experience.
Monday
We were on the water for a couple days (Saturday and Sunday) and then landed in Tortola, British Virgin Islands. We scheduled a Catamaran and went out with four different families for several hours. It was my son and daughter’s first time snorkeling and they had a blast. We saw turtles and stingrays – it was quite possibly the most fun experience of the whole cruise!
Tuesday
We traveled from Tortola to St. Thomas in the American Virgin Islands, where we were able to snorkel some more, got to swim, and bummed around on the beach. The water was actually that turquoise blue you always see in pictures – truly picture perfect.
Thursday
We sailed all day Wednesday and then got off at Castaway Cay, Disney’s Cruise Line Guest-Only Island. The water was so blue and had amazing visibility underneath, so of course that meant more snorkeling! They placed a bunch of Mickey Mouses you could find underwater, which made up for not having as many fish. They also had an 18+ beach which we enjoyed while the kids played games. Castaway Cay had people everywhere to watch the kids so we (Rebecca and Bradley) relaxed and drank a daiquiri. It’s like a floating Disneyland!
Aboard
We get goosebumps thinking about everything on the cruise ship – it was so much fun and extraordinary! The cruise has 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 place the card up to a painting, it springs to life – it speaks to you, tells you about the mystery you are working to solve, and gives you hints and directions. One mystery went on for two hours because we were chasing clues all over the boat.
They are constantly playing first-run movies out around the pool so we got to enjoy Finding Dory, Big Friendly Giant, Alice Through the Looking Glass, and 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 over the boat!
The whole group 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 very easy to find characters on the cruise – you only have to wait three or four minutes versus 30 or 40 at Disneyland. We saw about two per day, and one day we hit five in a row! They also have different versions of the characters, such as 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 smothered.
Dining
You alternate three restaurants. Enchanted Garden has neat flower lights on the ceiling that open and close and the ceiling changes colors while you eat and Royal Court was very elegant and put me in mind of Cinderella. The menu is very gourmet and they have a great selection. My oldest tried everything, including escargot at the Royal Court. (He told us it tasted like dirt!)
Animators Palette is animation-themed and they put markers on your table so you can sketch a figure. They offer 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 arrange them to music and place them in Disney films. My daughter is our artist so she worked really hard on hers and was so excited – the rest of us weren’t quite as proud
“Our family cannot thank Service Experts enough for this once in a lifetime opportunity,” Rebecca said 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, learning we were a finalist, the nail-biting voting stage, the big reveal, planning and selecting which cruise, the excitement of going and finally experiencing an amazing adventure. It was such a fun time living it all. Thank you, thank you!”
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