You may recall the charming Hall family who were the winners of our Unfrozen Winter contest earlier this year. Check out their adorable snowman submission!
Comfort Masters Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning sent the Halls 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 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 even begin to explain all the fun we had and how absolutely incredible the whole experience was,” wrote Rebecca. “It was a vacation we could have never made happen on our own. Disney does cruising right!”
The Halls were kind enough to send over their itinerary and some snapshots from their awesome trip. If you’re interested in taking a Disney Cruise, or just looking to see what it’s all about, read on to see the highlights from the Hall’s vacation.
Monday
We were on the ship for a couple days (Saturday and Sunday) and then landed in Tortola, British Virgin Islands. We had reservations for a Catamaran and went out with a few other families all day. It was my children’s first time snorkeling and they had a blast. We saw turtles and stingrays – it was quite possibly the most fun experience of the whole trip!
Tuesday
We went from Tortola to St. Thomas in the American Virgin Islands, where we were able to snorkel some more, got to swim, and laid out on the beach. The water was truly that turquoise blue that you see in movies – truly picture perfect.
Thursday
We were on the ship all day Wednesday and then docked at Castaway Cay, Disney’s Cruise Line Guest-Only Island. The water was very blue and had amazing visibility below, so of course - more snorkeling! They hid Mickey Mouses you could find underwater, which helped make up for the fact there weren’t as many fish. They also have an 18+ beach which we enjoyed while Korbin and Brooke played games. Castaway Cay 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
It gives me goosebumps thinking about everything on the boat – everything was all so fun and extraordinary! The cruise has a “Midship Detective Agency” where you choose the mystery you want to solve and the cruise gives you a card so you can record all your clues. When you place the card up to a painting, the painting comes to life – it talks 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 chasing clues all over the cruise ship.
They are continually playing first-run movies out around the pool so we got to watch Jungle Book. We also got to experience the Aqua Duct, which is a huge slide that shoots you up and down and swings you out over the boat!
All of us went Goofy Golfing and they also have games like foosball, basketball, and a Tween Club called Edge with things like scavenger hunts, get to you know you games, and more.
It’s very easy to see characters on the boat – you only have to wait three or four minutes versus 30 minutes or more at Disneyland. We got to see about two a day, and one day we met five in a row! They also have different versions of the characters, like Captain Mickey, Traditional Mickey, etc.
The stateroom was amazing! Ours came with an ocean view room with a HUGE porthole and window seat. Our stateroom was a perfect size and all four of us were comfy and never felt smothered.
Dining
You rotate through three restaurants. Enchanted Garden has awesome flower lights on the ceiling that open and close and the ceiling changes colors during your meal and Royal Court was really elegant and put me in mind of Cinderella. The meals are very gourmet and they have an awesome variety. Korbin tried everything, even escargot at the Royal Court. (He told us it tasted like dirt!)
Animators Palette is animation-themed and they put markers on your table so you can draw a figure. They give you instructions on how to draw a figure, then they collect the drawings and at the end of your dinner, they animate your drawings on big screens. You have no warning! They choreograph them to music and put them in Disney films. Our daughter is our artist so she did really well with hers and was so excited – the rest of us weren’t quite as accomplished
“Our family cannot thank Service Experts enough for this unbelievable vacation,” Rebecca wrote after they returned from their cruise. “I get teary-eyed when I think about the experience as a whole. Submitting our picture to a contest I never thought would go anywhere, learning we were a finalist, the stressful voting round, the big win, researching and selecting which cruise, the excitement of going and finally experiencing an unbelievable adventure. It was such an amazing time living it all. We are forever grateful!”
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