You might recall the cute Hall family who won our Unfrozen Winter contest earlier this year by submitting a picture of their creative snowman. Check it out!
Freschi Service Experts sent the Halls on a Disney Cruise and provided airfare for four. Rebecca and Bradley (Mom and Dad) took their two oldest kids, Korbin and Brooke, on their Disney Cruise during mid-summer. This was the first cruise for Korbin and Brooke and the first in about 10 years for Rebecca and Bradley.
“I can’t even begin to tell you all the fun we had and how absolutely incredible the whole thing was,” wrote Rebecca. “It was a vacation we could have never taken on our own. Disney does cruising right!”
The Hall family was sweet enough to give us their itinerary and some pictures from their awesome trip. If you’re interested in taking a Disney Cruise, or just looking to see what it’s all about, check out the highlights from the Hall’s vacation.
Monday
We sailed for 2 days (Saturday and Sunday) and then ported in Tortola, British Virgin Islands. We booked a Catamaran and went out with four different families for several hours. It was my kids’ first time snorkeling and they had a blast. We got to see turtles and stingrays – it was probably 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, went swimming, and hung out on the beach. The water was really that turquoise blue you always see in pictures – truly perfect.
Thursday
We sailed all day Wednesday and then got off at Castaway Cay, Disney’s Cruise Line Guest-Only Island. The water was so blue and had clear visibility beneath, so of course that meant more snorkeling! They hid 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 enjoyed while the kids played with other kids. The island had staff everywhere to help take care of the kids so we (Bradley and Rebecca) relaxed and enjoyed a daiquiri. It was just like a floating Disneyland!
Aboard
We get goosebumps remembering everything on the cruise ship – it was so much fun and unforgettable! They have 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 put the card up to a painting, the painting comes alive – it speaks 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 going all over the boat.
They are constantly playing first-run movies out around the pool so we got to see Jungle Book. We also got to go on the Aqua Duct, which is a huge slide that zooms you up and down and swings you out above the boat!
We went Goofy Golfing and Disney Cruises also have other games and a Tween Club called Edge with things like scavenger hunts and more.
It’s really easy to meet characters on the ship – you only have to wait three or four minutes versus a half-hour or more 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 awesome! We had an ocean view room with a HUGE porthole and window seat. Our stateroom was a really great 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 throughout your meal and Royal Court was very elegant and put me in mind of Cinderella. The menu is very gourmet and they have a good variety. My oldest 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 draw a figure. They offer instructions on how to draw a figure, then they pick up the drawings and at the very end of dinner, they animate your drawings on big screens. It’s completely unexpected! They choreograph them to music and position them in Disney films. Brooke is our artist so she worked really hard on hers and was thrilled – the rest of us weren’t quite as proud
“We can't thank Service Experts enough for this unbelievable trip,” Rebecca wrote after they returned from their cruise. “I tear up when I think about the experience as a whole. Entering a contest I never thought would go anywhere, learning we were a finalist, the nail-biting voting stage, the big win, researching and picking which cruise, the elation of going and finally experiencing an incredible trip. It was such an amazing time living it all. Thank you, thank you!”
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