You might remember the charming Hall family who were the winners of our Unfrozen Winner contest earlier this year. They won by submitting this precious snowman photo:
Matz-Rightway sent the family on a Disney Cruise and covered airfare for four. Rebecca and Bradley (Mom and Dad) took their two oldest children, Korbin and Brooke, on their Disney Cruise in July this year. Korbin and Brooke had never been on a cruise before and Rebecca and Bradley hadn’t been in about 10 years.
“I can’t even begin to describe how much fun we had and how truly amazing the whole thing was,” wrote Rebecca. “It was a trip we could have never done on our own. Disney does cruising right!”
The Hall family was nice enough to show us their itinerary and some photos from their amazing trip. If you’re interested in taking a Disney Cruise, or just curious what it’s all about, keeping reading for the highlights from the Hall’s experience.
Monday
We were on the ship for a couple days (Saturday and Sunday) and then ported in Tortola, British Virgin Islands. We scheduled a Catamaran and went out with 4 other families for several hours. It was Korbin and Brooke’s first time snorkeling and they were in heaven. We saw turtles and stingrays – it may have been the coolest experience of the entire trip!
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 really that turquoise blue you always see in pictures – truly perfect.
Thursday
We were on the ship all day Wednesday and then docked at Castaway Cay, Disney’s Private Island. The water was incredibly blue and had clear visibility below, so of course we had to do more snorkeling! They hid Mickey Mouses you could look for underwater, which made up for not having as many fish. They also had an adults-only beach which we took advantage of while the kids played games. They had employees everywhere to keep an eye on the kids so we (Mom and Dad) laid out and had a daiquiri. It was basically a floating Disneyland!
Aboard
It gives me goosebumps remembering everything on the cruise ship – it was so much fun and extraordinary! They have a “Midship Detective Agency” where you choose the mystery you want to solve and Disney gives you a card so you can write down all your clues. When you put the card up to a painting, it springs to life – it speaks to the group, tells you about the mystery you are trying to solve, and gives you clues and directions. One mystery lasted two hours because we were running all over the cruise ship.
They are continually showing first-run movies out around the pool so we got to watch Alice Through the Looking Glass, Jungle Book, and Big Friendly Giant. We also got to ride the Aqua Duct, which is a big slide that zooms you up and down and swings you out above the boat!
We went Goofy Golfing and the cruise also has games like foosball, basketball, and a Tween Club called Edge with events like scavenger hunts, ice breakers, and more.
It’s so easy to see characters on the ship – you only have to wait a couple minutes versus a half-hour or more at Disneyland. We got to see about two each day, and one day we met five in a row! They also have different versions of the characters, like Captain Mickey, Traditional Mickey, etc.
The actual room was amazing! Ours included an ocean view room with a HUGE porthole and window seat. The room was a really great size and all four of us were cozy and never felt smothered.
Dining
You go between three restaurants. Enchanted Garden has awesome flower lights on the ceiling that open and close and the colors change on the ceiling during your meal and Royal Court was very elegant and put me in mind of Cinderella. The meals are very gourmet and they have a good variety. My oldest tried everything, even escargot at the Royal Court. (He thought it tasted like dirt!)
Animators Palette is animation-themed and they leave markers on your table so you can draw a figure. They give you a tutorial on how to draw a figure, then they take the drawings and at the end of your dinner, they animate your drawings on these screens on the wall. You have no idea it’s coming! They put them to music and position them in Disney clips. Brooke is our artist so she did really well with hers and was ecstatic – the rest of us weren’t quite as accomplished
“We can't thank Service Experts enough for this once in a lifetime vacation,” Rebecca told us after they returned from their cruise. “I get teary-eyed when I think about it all. Submitting an entry I never thought would go anywhere, hearing we were a finalist, the stressful voting phase, the big reveal, researching and selecting which cruise, the anticipation of going and finally experiencing an amazing adventure. It was such an amazing time living it all. We are so grateful!”
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