You might recall the charming Hall family who won our Unfrozen Winner contest earlier this year. Check out their adorable snowman submission!
Midland Air 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 can’t begin to explain how much fun we had and how seriously wonderful the whole experience was,” wrote Rebecca. “It was a getaway we could have never taken on our own. Disney does cruising right!”
The Halls were nice enough to show us their itinerary and some photos from their incredible trip. If you want to a Disney Cruise, or just want to find out what it’s all about, keeping reading for the highlights from the Hall’s vacation.
Monday
We were on the water for 2 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 Korbin and Brooke’s first time snorkeling and they were in heaven. We spotted turtles and stingrays – it may have been the best 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, got to swim, and hung out on the beach. The water was really that turquoise blue that they show on TV – truly beautiful.
Thursday
We traveled all day Wednesday and then ported at Castaway Cay, Disney’s Cruise Line Guest-Only Island. The water was incredibly blue and had clear visibility beneath, so of course we had to do more snorkeling! They hid Mickey Mouses you could hunt for underwater, which helped make up for the fact there weren’t as many fish. They also include an 18 and older beach which we took advantage of while our children played games. Castaway Cay had people everywhere to help take care of the kids so we (Bradley and Rebecca) relaxed and enjoyed a daiquiri. It was basically a floating Disneyland!
Aboard
It gives me goosebumps reminiscing about everything on the cruise ship – it was so much fun and amazing! The cruise has a “Midship Detective Agency” where you pick the mystery you want to solve and Disney gives you a card so you can record all your clues. When you hold the card up to a painting, the painting comes to life – it speaks to you, tells you about the mystery you are working to solve, and gives you hints and directions. One mystery lasted two hours because we were running all over the boat.
They are constantly showing first-run movies out near the pool so we got to see Alice Through the Looking Glass, Jungle Book, and Big Friendly Giant. We also got to go on the Aqua Duct, which is a large slide that zooms you up and down and swings you out over the boat!
The whole group went Goofy Golfing and the cruise also has games like foosball, basketball, and a Tween Club called Edge with things like scavenger hunts and more.
It’s very easy to find characters on the boat – you only have to wait three or four minutes versus 30 or 40 at Disneyland. We got to see about two a day, and one day we met five in a row! They also have several versions of the characters, such as Captain Mickey, Traditional Mickey, etc.
The actual room was amazing! Ours included an ocean view room with a
really big porthole and window seat. Our stateroom was a perfect 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 ceiling changes colors during your meal and Royal Court was really elegant and reminded me of Cinderella. The meals are very gourmet and they have a great variety. My oldest tried everything, including escargot at the Royal Court. (He said 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 directions on how to draw a figure, then they collect the drawings and at the end of your meal, they animate your drawings on these screens on the wall. You have no idea it’s coming! They put them to music and put them in Disney clips. Brooke is our artist so she put a lot of effort into hers and was ecstatic – the rest of us weren’t quite as talented
“We can't thank Service Experts enough for this once in a lifetime trip,” Rebecca wrote after they returned home. “I tear up when I think about the experience as a whole. Submitting our picture to a contest I never thought would go anywhere, finding out we were a finalist, the stressful voting round, the big win, researching and choosing which cruise, the elation of going and finally experiencing a sensational trip. It was such a fun time living it all. We are forever grateful!”
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