You might remember the precious Hall family who won our Unfrozen Winner contest earlier this year. Check out their adorable snowman submission!
Eveready Service Experts sent the Halls on a Disney Cruise and provided airfare for four. Rebecca and Bradley (Mom and Dad) took their two oldest children, Korbin and Brooke, on their Disney Cruise during mid-summer. Korbin and Brooke had never been on a cruise before and Rebecca and Bradley hadn’t been in about 10 years.
“I cannot begin to tell you all the fun we had and how truly amazing the whole thing was,” wrote Rebecca. “It was a vacation we could have never taken on our own. Disney does cruising right!”
The Hall parents were kind enough to send over their itinerary and some photos from their incredible trip. If you want to a Disney Cruise, or just curious what it’s all about, keeping reading for the highlights from the Hall’s vacation.
Monday
We sailed for a couple days (Saturday and Sunday) and then ported in Tortola, British Virgin Islands. We reserved a Catamaran and went out with a few other families for the day. It was Korbin and Brooke’s first time snorkeling and they had a blast. We saw turtles and stingrays – it may have been the coolest experience of the entire cruise!
Tuesday
We went from Tortola to St. Thomas in the American Virgin Islands, where we got to do more snorkeling, got to swim, and laid out on the beach. The water was truly that turquoise blue that they show on TV – truly perfect.
Thursday
We were on the ship all day Wednesday and then docked at Castaway Cay, Disney’s Private Island. The water was very blue and had clear visibility underneath, so of course that meant more snorkeling! They had hidden Mickey Mouses you could look for underwater, which helped make up for the fact there weren’t as many fish. They also have an 18 and older beach which we took advantage of while the kids played with other kids. Castaway Cay had employees everywhere to watch the kids so we (Rebecca and Bradley) relaxed and enjoyed a daiquiri. It was basically a floating Disneyland!
Aboard
We get goosebumps remembering 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 hold the card up to a painting, it springs to life – it speaks to you, tells you about the mystery you are trying to solve, and gives you hints and directions. One mystery took us two hours because we were running all over the cruise ship.
They are always playing 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 experience the Aqua Duct, which is a huge slide that takes you up and down and swings you out over the boat!
All of us went Goofy Golfing and Disney Cruises also have other games and a Tween Club called Edge with activities like scavenger hunts, get to you know you games, and more.
It’s really easy to meet characters on the boat – you only have to wait a few minutes versus 30 or 40 at Disneyland. We met about two per day, and one day we hit five in a row! They also have multiple versions of the characters, including Captain Mickey, Traditional Mickey, etc.
The actual room was amazing! Ours came with an ocean view room with a
really big porthole and window seat. Our room was a perfect size and all four of us were cozy 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 while you eat and Royal Court was very elegant and made me think of Cinderella. The menu is very gourmet and they have a good variety. Korbin tried everything, including 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 illustrate a figure. They give you a tutorial on how to draw a figure, then they pick up the drawings and at the very end of dinner, they animate your drawings on these screens on the wall. You have no warning! They choreograph them to music and put them in Disney films. Brooke is our artist so she put a lot of effort into hers and was elated – the rest of us weren’t quite as proud
“We cannot thank Service Experts enough for this amazing experience,” Rebecca said after they returned from their cruise. “I get emotional when I think about the experience as a whole. Submitting our picture to a contest I never thought would go anywhere, hearing we were a finalist, the nail-biting voting phase, the big announcement, reading about and selecting which cruise, the anticipation of going and finally experiencing an amazing vacation. It was such an amazing time living it all. We are so grateful!”
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