You might remember the charming Hall family who won our Unfrozen Winter contest earlier this year by submitting a picture of their creative snowman. Check it out!
All American Air Service Experts sent the Halls on a Disney Cruise and paid for airfare for four. Bradley and Rebecca took their two oldest youngsters, Korbin and Brooke, on their Disney Cruise earlier this 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 tell you the amount of fun we had and how absolutely magnificent 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 kind enough to send over their itinerary and some pictures from their amazing trip. If you want to a Disney Cruise, or just looking to see what it’s all about, check out the highlights from the Hall’s cruise.
Monday
We sailed for 2 days (Saturday and Sunday) and then ported in Tortola, British Virgin Islands. We had reservations for a Catamaran and went out with four different families for the day. It was my children’s first time snorkeling and they were in heaven. We saw turtles and stingrays – it was quite possibly the coolest experience of the entire trip!
Tuesday
We went from Tortola to St. Thomas in the American Virgin Islands, where we got to do more snorkeling, swam, and hung out on the beach. The water was actually 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 Private Island. The water was incredibly blue and had perfect visibility below, so of course that meant more snorkeling! They had hidden Mickey Mouses you could find underwater, which helped make up for the fact there weren’t as many fish. They also had an 18 and older beach which we enjoyed while the kids played with other kids. Castaway Cay had people everywhere to watch the kids so we (Mom and Dad) hung out and drank a daiquiri. It’s like a floating Disneyland!
Aboard
I (Rebecca) get goosebumps reminiscing about everything on the ship – everything was all so fun and amazing! Disney Cruise Line has a “Midship Detective Agency” where you choose the mystery you want to solve and they give you a card so you can record all your clues. When you place the card up to a painting, the painting springs to life – it speaks to the group, tells you about the mystery you are solving, and gives you hints and directions. One mystery took us two hours because we were chasing clues all over the cruise ship.
They are always playing first-run movies out by the pool so we got to see Alice Through the Looking Glass, Jungle Book, and Big Friendly Giant. We also got to ride the Aqua Duct, which is a large slide that takes you up and down and swings you out over the boat!
We went Goofy Golfing and they also have games like foosball, basketball, and a Tween Club called Edge with activities like scavenger hunts and more.
It’s really easy to meet characters on the boat – you only have to wait a couple minutes versus 30 or 40 at Disneyland. We met about two a day, and one day we got five in a row! They also have several versions of the characters, including Captain Mickey, Traditional Mickey, etc.
The actual room was amazing! Ours came with 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 smothered.
Dining
You go between three restaurants. Enchanted Garden has neat flower lights on the ceiling that open and close and the colors on the ceiling change while you eat and Royal Court was really elegant and reminded me of Cinderella. The food is very gourmet and they have a good selection. My oldest tried everything, even escargot at the Royal Court. (He thought it tasted like dirt!)
Animators Palette is animation-themed and they put markers on your table so you can draw a figure. They offer instructions on how to draw a figure, then they collect the drawings and at the very end of dinner, they animate your drawings on the wall. It’s completely unexpected! They choreograph them to music and position them in Disney movies. Brooke is our artist so she put a lot of effort into hers and was so excited – the rest of us weren’t quite as accomplished
“We can't thank Service Experts enough for this amazing vacation,” Rebecca said after they returned from the trip. “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, finding out we were a finalist, the stressful voting stage, the big announcement, researching and choosing which cruise, the excitement of going and finally experiencing an incredible trip. It was such a wonderful time living it all. Thank you, thank you!”
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