You may remember the charming Hall family who were the winners of our Unfrozen Winter contest earlier this year. Check out their adorable snowman submission!
Epperson sent the winners on a Disney Cruise and paid for 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. This was the first cruise for Korbin and Brooke and the first in about 10 years for Rebecca and Bradley.
“I cannot begin to describe the amount of fun we had and how truly unbelievable the whole thing was,” wrote Rebecca. “It was a getaway we could have never made happen on our own. Disney does cruising right!”
The Halls were nice enough to give us their itinerary and some photos from their awesome trip. If you’re thinking about going on a Disney Cruise, or just want to find out what it’s all about, check out the highlights from the Hall’s trip.
Monday
We were on the ship for two days (Saturday and Sunday) and then docked in Tortola, British Virgin Islands. We booked a Catamaran and went out with four different families for the day. It was my children’s first time snorkeling and they loved it. We spotted turtles and stingrays – it was quite possibly the most fun experience of the whole cruise!
Tuesday
We sailed from Tortola to St. Thomas in the American Virgin Islands, where we got to do more snorkeling, got to swim, and hung out on the beach. The water was actually that turquoise blue you always see in pictures – truly perfect.
Thursday
We traveled all day Wednesday and then got off at Castaway Cay, Disney’s Exclusive Island. The water was so 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 helped make up for the fact there weren’t as many fish. They also include an 18 and older beach which we lounged around on while the kids played with other kids. The island had people everywhere to watch the kids so we (Mom and Dad) hung out and drank a daiquiri. It was just like a floating Disneyland!
Aboard
We get goosebumps reminiscing about everything on the ship – everything was all so fun and amazing! Disney Cruise Line has a “Midship Detective Agency” where you pick the mystery you want to solve and Disney gives you a card so you can keep track of all your clues. When you place the card up to a painting, it actually comes to life – it talks to the group, tells you about the mystery you are working to solve, and gives you clues and directions. One mystery took us two hours because we were chasing clues all over the boat.
They are continually running first-run movies out by the pool so we got to enjoy Big Friendly Giant, Alice Through the Looking Glass, Jungle Book, and Finding Dory. 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 basketball, fooseball, and a Tween Club called Edge with events like scavenger hunts and more.
It’s really easy to find characters on the cruise – you only have to wait a few minutes versus 30 minutes or more at Disneyland. We saw about two per day, and one day we got five in a row! They also have multiple versions of the characters, like Captain Mickey, Traditional Mickey, etc.
The room was awesome! We had an ocean view room with a
really big porthole and window seat. Our room was a perfect size and all four of us were comfy and never felt smushed.
Dining
You alternate three restaurants. Enchanted Garden has cool flower lights on the ceiling that open and close and the colors change on the ceiling during your meal and Royal Court was really elegant and put me in mind of Cinderella. The food is very gourmet and they have a good selection. Korbin tried everything, even escargot at the Royal Court. (He said it tasted like dirt!)
Animators Palette is animation-themed and they leave markers on your table so you can sketch a figure. They offer a tutorial on how to draw a figure, then they take the drawings and at the very end of dinner, they animate your drawings on big screens. You have no warning! They put them to music and place them in Disney movies. Brooke is our artist so she did really well with hers and was elated – the rest of us weren’t quite as accomplished
“We can't thank Service Experts enough for this once in a lifetime trip,” Rebecca said after they returned home. “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 stage, the big reveal, planning and selecting which cruise, the excitement of going and finally experiencing an unbelievable vacation. It was such an amazing time living it all. Thank you, thank you!”
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