You might recall the cute Hall family who were the winners of our Unfrozen Winner contest earlier this year. They won by submitting this precious snowman photo:
Orangutan Home Services sent the Halls on a Disney Cruise and covered airfare for four. Mom and Dad (Rebecca and Bradley) took their two oldest youngsters, 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 can’t even begin to tell you how much fun we had and how truly magnificent the whole thing was,” wrote Rebecca. “It was a vacation we could have never made happen on our own. Disney does cruising right!”
The Hall parents were kind enough to give us 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 experience.
Monday
We sailed for two days (Saturday and Sunday) and then ported in Tortola, British Virgin Islands. We had reservations for a Catamaran and went out with 4 other families all day. It was my son and daughter’s first time snorkeling and they were in heaven. We got to see turtles and stingrays – it was quite possibly the best experience of the entire trip!
Tuesday
We went from Tortola to St. Thomas in the American Virgin Islands, where we were able to snorkel some more, swam, and hung out on the beach. The water was truly that turquoise blue you always see in pictures – truly picture perfect.
Thursday
We sailed all day Wednesday and then got off at Castaway Cay, Disney’s Cruise Line Guest-Only Island. The water was incredibly blue and had perfect visibility beneath, so of course - more snorkeling! They hid Mickey Mouses you could find underwater, which made up for not having as many fish. They also have an adults-only beach which we took advantage of while the kids played basketball, pool, and shuffleboard. They had staff everywhere to help take care of the kids so we (Bradley and Rebecca) laid out and drank a daiquiri. It was just like a floating Disneyland!
Aboard
We get goosebumps reminiscing about everything on the boat – everything was all so fun and extraordinary! They have 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 put the card up to a painting, the painting springs to life – it talks to the group, 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 ship.
They are constantly showing first-run movies out by 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 huge slide that shoots you up and down and swings you out across the boat!
The whole group went Goofy Golfing and they also have other games and a Tween Club called Edge with things like scavenger hunts, ice breakers, and more.
It’s so easy to see characters on the cruise – you only have to wait three or four minutes versus 30 minutes or more at Disneyland. We saw about two each day, and one day we hit five in a row! They also have several versions of the characters, such as Captain Mickey, Traditional Mickey, etc.
The stateroom was amazing! Ours came with an ocean view room with a
really big porthole and window seat. Our room was a really good size and all four of us were comfortable and never felt squished.
Dining
You go between three restaurants. Enchanted Garden has awesome flower lights on the ceiling that open and close and the colors change on the ceiling while you eat and Royal Court was extremely elegant and reminded me of Cinderella. The food is very gourmet and they have a great medley. 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 sketch a figure. They give you directions on how to draw a figure, then they collect 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 place them in Disney movies. Brooke is our artist so she did really well with hers and was so excited – the rest of us weren’t quite as polished
“We can't thank Service Experts enough for this incredible experience,” Rebecca told us after they returned home. “I get emotional when I think about the whole experience. Submitting our picture to a contest I never thought would go anywhere, learning we were a finalist, the anxious voting round, the big announcement, reading about and picking which cruise, the anticipation of going and finally experiencing an unbelievable adventure. It was such a fun time living it all. Thank you, thank you!”
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