You might remember the charming Hall family who won our Unfrozen Winner contest earlier this year. Check out their adorable snowman submission!
Boehmers/Cronin Emery Home Services by Enercare sent the winners on a Disney Cruise and provided airfare for four. Mom and Dad (Rebecca and Bradley) took their two oldest youngsters, 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 cannot begin to describe all the fun we had and how seriously magnificent the whole experience was,” wrote Rebecca. “It was a trip we could have never made happen on our own. Disney does cruising right!”
The Hall family was sweet enough to send over their itinerary and some photos from their amazing 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 sailed 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 the day. It was my kids’ first time snorkeling and they loved it. We spotted turtles and stingrays – it was probably the most fun 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, got to swim, and hung out on the beach. The water was really that turquoise blue that they show on TV – truly picture 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 very blue and had clear visibility underneath, so of course we had to do more snorkeling! They placed a bunch of Mickey Mouses you could hunt for underwater, which made up for not having as many fish. They also include an adults-only beach which we took advantage of while the kids played with other kids. The island had people everywhere to help take care of the kids so we (Mom and Dad) laid out and enjoyed a daiquiri. It was basically a floating Disneyland!
Aboard
I (Rebecca) get goosebumps reminiscing about everything on the cruise ship – it was so much 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 write down all your clues. When you hold the card up to a painting, it actually comes alive – it talks to the group, tells you about the mystery you are solving, and gives you hints and directions. One mystery lasted two hours because we were chasing clues all over the cruise ship.
They are always showing first-run movies out near the pool so we got to see 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 zooms you up and down and swings you out above the boat!
All of us went Goofy Golfing and Disney Cruises also have 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 three or four minutes versus a half-hour or more at Disneyland. We got to see about two per day, and one day we met five in a row! They also have several versions of the characters, like Captain Mickey, Traditional Mickey, etc.
The stateroom was awesome! Ours included an ocean view room with a
really big porthole and window seat. The stateroom was a really good size and all four of us were comfortable and never felt smushed.
Dining
You rotate through three restaurants. Enchanted Garden has cool flower lights on the ceiling that open and close and the ceiling changes colors during your meal and Royal Court was very elegant and made me think of Cinderella. The menu is very gourmet and they have a good medley. Korbin tried everything, even the escargot at the Royal Court. (He said it tasted like dirt!)
Animators Palette is animation-themed and they give you markers on your table so you can illustrate a figure. They give you 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. It’s completely unexpected! They put them to music and place them in Disney movies. My daughter is our artist so she worked really hard on hers and was so excited – the rest of us weren’t quite as accomplished
“Our family can’t thank Service Experts enough for this unbelievable trip,” Rebecca said after they returned home. “I get emotional when I think about it all. Entering a contest I never thought would go anywhere, finding out we were a finalist, the anxious voting phase, the big reveal, planning and picking which cruise, the anticipation of going and finally experiencing an amazing trip. It was such a wonderful time living it all. We are forever grateful!”
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