You might remember the cute Hall family who won our Unfrozen Winner contest earlier this year. Check out their adorable snowman submission!
Levy & Son Service Experts sent the winners 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 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 begin to describe how much fun we had and how absolutely wonderful the whole thing was,” wrote Rebecca. “It was a vacation we could have never done on our own. Disney does cruising right!”
The Hall parents were sweet enough to send us their itinerary and some pictures from their incredible trip. If you want to a Disney Cruise, or just want to find out what it’s all about, check out the highlights from the Hall’s cruise.
Monday
We were on the ship for a couple days (Saturday and Sunday) and then docked in Tortola, British Virgin Islands. We scheduled a Catamaran and went out with 4 other families for several hours. It was my kids’ first time snorkeling and they loved it. We spotted turtles and stingrays – it was quite possibly the coolest experience of the whole cruise!
Tuesday
We went from Tortola to St. Thomas in the American Virgin Islands, where we got to snorkel even more, went swimming, and hung out 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 ported at Castaway Cay, Disney’s Cruise Line Guest-Only Island. The water was incredibly blue and had perfect visibility beneath, so of course we had to do more snorkeling! They hid Mickey Mouses you could find underwater, which was nice because there weren’t as many fish. They also had an adults-only beach which we enjoyed while Korbin and Brooke played basketball, pool, and shuffleboard. They had employees everywhere to help take care of the kids so we (Rebecca and Bradley) relaxed and enjoyed a daiquiri. It’s like a floating Disneyland!
Aboard
We get goosebumps remembering everything on the ship – it was all so fun and amazing! Disney Cruise Line has a “Midship Detective Agency” where you choose the mystery you want to solve and Disney gives you a card so you can keep track of all your clues. When you hold the card up to a painting, the painting comes alive – it talks to the group, tells you about the mystery you are solving, and gives you clues and directions. One mystery lasted two hours because we were chasing clues all over the ship.
They are always running 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 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, ice breakers, and more.
It’s really easy to find characters on the ship – you only have to wait a few minutes versus 30 or 40 at Disneyland. We saw about two each day, and one day we met five in a row! They also have multiple versions of the characters, including Captain Mickey, Traditional Mickey, etc.
The room was incredible! Ours included an ocean view room with a
really big porthole and window seat. The room was a perfect size and all four of us were comfortable and never felt squished.
Dining
You go between three restaurants. Enchanted Garden has cool flower lights on the ceiling that open and close and the colors change on the ceiling while you eat and Royal Court was extremely elegant and reminded me of Cinderella. The menu is very gourmet and they have a great selection. My oldest tried everything, even the escargot at the Royal Court. (He said it tasted like dirt!)
Animators Palette is animation-themed and they put markers on your table so you can illustrate a figure. They offer directions on how to draw a figure, then they collect the drawings and at the end of your meal, they animate your drawings on the wall. You have no idea it’s coming! They choreograph them to music and position them in Disney films. Our daughter is our artist so she put a lot of effort into hers and was ecstatic – the rest of us weren’t quite as proud
“Our family cannot thank Service Experts enough for this unbelievable experience,” Rebecca told us after they returned from the trip. “I get teary-eyed when I think about it all. Submitting an entry I never thought would go anywhere, learning we were a finalist, the nail-biting voting phase, the big reveal, researching and choosing which cruise, the anticipation of going and finally experiencing an unbelievable adventure. It was such an amazing time living it all. Thank you, thank you!”
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