Unfrozen Winter Winners Enjoy Their Disney Cruise

You may recall the charming Hall family who won our Unfrozen Winner contest earlier this year. Check out their adorable snowman submission!

 

Atmostemp 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 in July this year. 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 begin to explain all the fun we had and how absolutely unbelievable the whole experience was,” wrote Rebecca. “It was a getaway we could have never taken on our own. Disney does cruising right!”

The Hall parents were sweet enough to give us their itinerary and some photos from their incredible trip. If you’re thinking about going on 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 were on the water for a couple 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 all day. It was my children’s first time snorkeling and they loved it. We saw turtles and stingrays – it was probably the most fun 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 laid out on the beach. The water was truly that turquoise blue that they show on TV – truly perfect.

 

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 perfect visibility beneath, so of course we had to do more snorkeling! They had hidden Mickey Mouses you could find underwater, which was nice because there weren’t as many fish. They also include an 18+ beach which we enjoyed while our children played with other kids. They had people everywhere to keep an eye on the kids so we (Bradley and Rebecca) hung out and enjoyed a daiquiri. It was basically a floating Disneyland!

Aboard

It gives me goosebumps remembering everything on the cruise ship – everything was all so fun and amazing! They have a “Midship Detective Agency” where you pick the mystery you want to solve and Disney gives you a card so you can keep track of all your clues. When you put the card up to a painting, it comes alive – it speaks to the group, tells you about the mystery you are solving, and gives you clues and directions. One mystery lasted two hours because we were going all over the cruise ship.

 

They are always showing first-run movies out near the pool so we got to watch Jungle Book. We also got to ride the Aqua Duct, which is a big slide that shoots you up and down and swings you out over the boat!

 

All of us went Goofy Golfing and Disney Cruises also have other games and a Tween Club called Edge with things like scavenger hunts, get to you know you games, and more.

It’s really easy to see characters on the boat – you only have to wait a couple minutes versus 30 minutes or more at Disneyland. We met 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 room was amazing! Ours came with an ocean view room with a

really big porthole and window seat. The stateroom was a really good size and all four of us were comfy and never felt smothered.

Dining

You alternate three restaurants. Enchanted Garden has awesome 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 menu is very gourmet and they have a great selection. My son tried everything, even escargot at the Royal Court. (He thought it tasted like dirt!)

Animators Palette is animation-themed and they leave markers on your table so you can sketch a figure. They give you a tutorial 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. You have no warning! They arrange them to music and put them in Disney films. Our daughter is our artist so she put a lot of effort into hers and was thrilled – the rest of us weren’t quite as accomplished

“We can't thank Service Experts enough for this incredible vacation,” Rebecca said after they returned from the trip. “I get teary-eyed when I think about it all. Entering a contest I never thought would go anywhere, hearing we were a finalist, the stressful voting phase, the big win, reading about and selecting which cruise, the anticipation of going and finally experiencing an incredible trip. It was such a fun time living it all. Thank you, thank you!”

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