Unfrozen Winter Winners Enjoy Their Disney Cruise

You may remember the adorable Hall family who won our Unfrozen Winter contest earlier this year by submitting a picture of their creative snowman. Check it out! 

Chief/Bauer Service Experts sent the family on a Disney Cruise and provided airfare for four. Mom and Dad (Rebecca and Bradley) took their two oldest children, Korbin and Brooke, on their Disney Cruise in July this year. Korbin and Brooke had never been on a cruise before and Rebecca and Bradley hadn’t been in about 10 years. 

“I cannot begin to tell you the amount of fun we had and how truly magnificent everything was,” wrote Rebecca. “It was a vacation we could have never made happen on our own. Disney does cruising right!” 

The Hall family was kind enough to send over their itinerary and some pictures from their awesome trip. If you’re thinking about going on a Disney Cruise, or just want to find out what it’s all about, check out the highlights from the Hall’s experience. 

Monday

We were on the water for two days (Saturday and Sunday) and then ported in Tortola, British Virgin Islands. We booked a Catamaran and went out with four different families all day. It was Korbin and Brooke’s first time snorkeling and they were in heaven. We saw turtles and stingrays – it was probably the most fun experience of the entire trip! 

Tuesday

We went from Tortola to St. Thomas in the American Virgin Islands, where we got to snorkel even more, went swimming, and hung out on the beach. The water was actually that turquoise blue you always see in pictures – truly picture perfect. 

 

Thursday

We sailed all day Wednesday and then docked at Castaway Cay, Disney’s Private Island. The water was very blue and had perfect visibility underneath, so of course - more snorkeling! They had hidden Mickey Mouses you could find underwater, which made up for not having as many fish. They also have an 18 and older beach which we enjoyed while the kids played basketball, pool, and shuffleboard. The island had staff everywhere to watch the kids so we (Rebecca and Bradley) relaxed and had a daiquiri. It’s like a floating Disneyland! 

Aboard

We get goosebumps thinking about everything on the boat – it was all so fun and unforgettable! 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 hold the card up to a painting, it comes alive – it talks to you, tells you about the mystery you are solving, and gives you clues and directions. One mystery took us two hours because we were running all over the ship. 

They are always playing first-run movies out near the pool so we got to see Big Friendly Giant, Alice Through the Looking Glass, Jungle Book, and Finding Dory. We also got to experience the Aqua Duct, which is a large slide that shoots you up and down and swings you out over the boat! 

We went Goofy Golfing and Disney Cruises also have other games and a Tween Club called Edge with things like scavenger hunts, ice breakers, and more. 

It’s really easy to find characters on the ship – 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 got five in a row! They also have different versions of the characters, like Captain Mickey, Traditional Mickey, etc. 

The stateroom was amazing! We had an ocean view room with a HUGE porthole and window seat. The room was a perfect size and all four of us were comfortable and never felt smushed. 

Dining

You rotate through three restaurants. Enchanted Garden has cool flower lights on the ceiling that open and close and the ceiling changes colors while you eat and Royal Court was really elegant and made me think of Cinderella. The food is very gourmet and they have a good selection. Korbin 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 very end of dinner, they animate your drawings on the wall. You have no idea it’s coming! They put them to music and put them in Disney movies. Brooke is our artist so she put a lot of effort into hers and was thrilled – the rest of us weren’t quite as polished 

“We can’t thank Service Experts enough for this once in a lifetime vacation,” Rebecca wrote after they returned from their cruise. “I tear up when I think about the whole experience. Submitting an entry I never thought would go anywhere, learning we were a finalist, the anxious voting stage, the big announcement, planning and selecting which cruise, the anticipation of going and finally experiencing an amazing vacation. It was such a fun time living it all. We are forever grateful!” 

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