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!
Becht/Givens Service Experts sent the winners on a Disney Cruise and covered airfare for four. Bradley and Rebecca took their two oldest children, 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 even begin to tell you the amount of fun we had and how absolutely wonderful everything was,” wrote Rebecca. “It was a vacation we could have never made happen on our own. Disney does cruising right!”
The Hall parents were nice enough to give us their itinerary and some snapshots from their awesome trip. If you want to a Disney Cruise, or just looking to see what it’s all about, read on to see the highlights from the Hall’s trip.
Monday
We were on the water for a couple days (Saturday and Sunday) and then landed in Tortola, British Virgin Islands. We booked a Catamaran and went out with 4 other families all day. It was my son and daughter’s first time snorkeling and they had a blast. We got to see turtles and stingrays – it was probably the best experience of the whole cruise!
Tuesday
We sailed from Tortola to St. Thomas in the American Virgin Islands, where we were able to snorkel some more, swam, and bummed around on the beach. The water was actually that turquoise blue that you see in movies – truly picture perfect.
Thursday
We traveled all day Wednesday and then got off at Castaway Cay, Disney’s Cruise Line Guest-Only Island. The water was incredibly blue and had clear visibility below, so of course - more snorkeling! They had hidden Mickey Mouses you could hunt for underwater, which made up for not having as many fish. They also have an adults-only beach which we took advantage of while our children played with other kids. Castaway Cay had people everywhere to keep an eye on the kids so we (Mom and Dad) relaxed and had a daiquiri. It was basically a floating Disneyland!
Aboard
We get goosebumps thinking about everything on the cruise ship – it was all so fun and unforgettable! Disney Cruise Line has a “Midship Detective Agency” where you choose the mystery you want to solve and they give you a card so you can keep track of all your clues. When you put the card up to a painting, the painting comes to life – it talks to the group, 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 always playing first-run movies out around the pool so we got to see Jungle Book. We also got to experience the Aqua Duct, which is a large slide that zooms you up and down and swings you out above the boat!
The whole group went Goofy Golfing and they also have games like basketball, fooseball, and a Tween Club called Edge with things like scavenger hunts, get to you know you games, and more.
It’s really easy to find 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 met five in a row! They also have multiple versions of the characters, like Captain Mickey, Traditional Mickey, etc.
The actual room was awesome! We had an ocean view room with a HUGE porthole and window seat. Our stateroom was a really good size and all four of us were cozy and never felt smothered.
Dining
You rotate through three restaurants. Enchanted Garden has neat flower lights on the ceiling that open and close and the ceiling changes colors during your meal and Royal Court was very elegant and reminded me of Cinderella. The menu is very gourmet and they have a good variety. Korbin tried everything, even the 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 draw a figure. They give you a tutorial on how to draw a figure, then they pick up the drawings and at the end of your meal, they animate your drawings on these screens on the wall. You have no warning! They put them to music and position 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 polished
“We can't thank Service Experts enough for this amazing trip,” Rebecca said after they returned from their cruise. “I get emotional when I think about it all. Submitting an entry I never thought would go anywhere, hearing we were a finalist, the anxious voting round, the big announcement, researching and picking which cruise, the anticipation of going and finally experiencing an unbelievable adventure. It was such a wonderful time living it all. Thank you, thank you!”
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