Have You Sailed on a Halloween Cruise?

[mjaclyn]

Hello all!
My family and I are thinking about taking one of the October Cruises on the Magic from New York. I'd love to know what previous Halloween themed cruises have been like. Are most of the activities Halloween themed? What about the entertainment and parties? My family and I don't celebrate Halloween so I'm just curious as to whether it's something that's going to completely encompass the entire sailing or if it's a one night party and select activities that we wouldn't necessarily have to attend. Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[Mandlz]

We were on a Halloween themed cruise in September 2014, and aside from some decorations in the atrium and a character costume party one night, it wasn't overwhelming. There were plenty of activities that didn't involve Halloween, the dance party didn't seem too different from other dance parties to me - people are typically dressed up either way on Disney it seems! We're not big Halloween people either, but it did not feel overwhelming or anything crazy to me. There might have been more activities that we didn't notice, can't say for sure, but we had a great time without doing anything Halloween related.

 

[DISGRL13]

We went several years ago on a Halloween cruise and people were dressed up in costumes (mainly Disney themed) and there was a special treat station for kids on Halloween. There were decorations around the ship too, but it was not overly done. It was fun!

 

[BarbieGal457]

This thread is perfect timing - we just booked our first-ever cruise on the Dream and it leave 10-31-2016! We are going to do a few park days prior but I too was wondering about Halloween on the cruise! I'll definitely be packing my Halloween Ears!

 

[cruisehopeful]

I was on a 2 night Halloween cruise and it seemed like a lot of the cruise was centered around Halloween. Maybe that was because they had to cram everything into the 2 nights. We had pirate night and Halloween night. People were in costumes both nights. There was trick or treating, halloween story telling in the atrium, a special version of Nightmare Before Christmas, an adults only Halloween party - not sure what else as we didn't really participate in most of that stuff.

The signs on the food in the buffet all said "Halloween on the high seas" but there was nothing different about the food. The large windows had Jack o Lantern cutouts on them. You could go on the cruise and not participate in Halloween activities, but you won't be able to avoid Halloween.

 

[thumpie's mom]

We were going through the Panama Canal last Halloween on DCL. They do decorate the atrium lobby with the Pumpkin Tree (which was really cool) and some other decorations, but they are tastefully done. There were Halloween themed activities for kids, families and adults, which you can choose to participate in if you want. There was a good balance of Halloween vs non-Halloween activities. Even if you are not into Halloween, you won't get bored!

 

[anricat]

We did a 5-night on the Magic in October and had a blast. My trip report is here if you'd like to read about our experience: http://www.disboards.com/threads/disney-magic-oct-23-28-halloween-on-the-high-seas-5-night.3460709/

 

[mjaclyn]

Thanks so much everyone! I figured there would at least be a Halloween party and some other activities, but I wasn't sure if EVERYTHING about the cruise would be Halloween. We've been to WDW during the holidays before and have enjoyed ourselves without feeling overwhelmed by it all. I just wasn't sure if all the characters would be in Halloween costumes, all the movies on funnel vision Halloween themed, etc. If it's a few things that we can choose to do or not do, that's perfect.

 

[bethy]

Thanks so much everyone! I figured there would at least be a Halloween party and some other activities, but I wasn't sure if EVERYTHING about the cruise would be Halloween. We've been to WDW during the holidays before and have enjoyed ourselves without feeling overwhelmed by it all. I just wasn't sure if all the characters would be in Halloween costumes, all the movies on funnel vision Halloween themed, etc. If it's a few things that we can choose to do or not do, that's perfect.

If you don't mind Halloween at WDW then you will be fine on the cruise.

We were on the Magic on actual Halloween 2015 and you definitely could not miss that it was Halloween season. All of indoor public spaces with the exception of the MDR's and Night club area had at least minor Halloween décor. To me, the Atrium is central to the cruise plus we used the stairs most of the time and had a midship stateroom so we saw the atrium a lot. And little things like napkins, cups, etc had the Halloween on the High Seas logo. The characters were in costume part of the time. The cruise passengers went all out for costumes. If I were someone who were morally opposed to the holiday then I would personally not choose one of these cruises.

All that said, the Halloween stuff was the Disney Family friendly kind - nothing scary at all. Except for maybe the Nightmare before Christmas showings which we didn't attend.

I'm looking forward to our Christmas sailing this year!

 

[Tiffybuggie]

We were on a 7 day halloween cruise on the Fantasy and they had one day designated for a halloween dance party and the characters in costumes. They did the halloween tree in the atrium the first day and last night.
Other than that they just had the decorations out.

 

[SurroBear]

We did it this year, I didn't even know before we set sail. We "celebrate" but DH and I hate Halloween. There really wasn't much to it. The atrium was decorated, the characters were dressed up one day. One night our stewardess put little bags in our room, he said it was for the kids to go ToTing. We didn't bring costumes for them and it wasn't very obvious what the other kids were doing so ours didn't feel left out. I wouldn't NOT take a cruise because of it. If it would've been over the top, it would've brought our enjoyment down just because of how annoying we find the holiday.

 

[Suttonmama1]

We have been on 2 Halloween cruises, both on Fantasy. You will be fine. On our cruises people went all out for pirates night and then slightly less so on the night of the Haloween party. Mostly it as kids in Disney costumes. They played the Mobster Mash and had dancers but you would not miss a thing if you skipped. Your kids would never notice. The atrium is decorated but there's no scary things and the tree with pumpkins looks fall like more than Halloweenish.

 

[PSULion]

Is an October 17-21 cruise considered a Halloween cruise? Will there be a night for costumes?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Is an October 17-21 cruise considered a Halloween cruise? Will there be a night for costumes?

Since it's smack in the middle of the month, I'm pretty sure it will be. Halloween costumes/activities are on one night.

 

[Sytrace]

We have been on a few Halloween cruises and have never noticed an overdone atmosphere at all. We are not big into Halloween, dressing up, or even trick or treating on board. My kids are older though, so it doesn't really matter to them. And I am not a costume or pirate night kind of person at all. (Gasp...I know, shocking really)
Have a fantastic cruise!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

We have been on a few Halloween cruises and have never noticed an overdone atmosphere at all. We are not big into Halloween, dressing up, or even trick or treating on board. My kids are older though, so it doesn't really matter to them. And I am not a costume or pirate night kind of person at all. (Gasp...I know, shocking really)
Have a fantastic cruise!

Your signature is confusing. How can it be 11 months until your 7th DCL cruise, and 7 months until your 8th DCL cruise?

 

[Sytrace]

I guess it hasn't noted that I already took the 7th cruise on January 30th? I tried to delete it but for some reason I cannot get rid of it altogether. Any ideas on how to delete it?

 

[Sytrace]

QUOTE="PrincessShmoo, post: 55142962, member: 227620"] Your signature is confusing. How can it be 11 months until your 7th DCL cruise, and 7 months until your 8th DCL cruise?[/QUOTE]


There we go...all gone.

 

[lovthesurf]

This thread is perfect timing - we just booked our first-ever cruise on the Dream and it leave 10-31-2016! We are going to do a few park days prior but I too was wondering about Halloween on the cruise! I'll definitely be packing my Halloween Ears!

that is funny we are going to criss-cross! We get off the Dream on the 31st and will be heading to the parks for a few days!! (also first cruise ever)

 

[BarbieGal457]

that is funny we are going to criss-cross! We get off the Dream on the 31st and will be heading to the parks for a few days!! (also first cruise ever)

If you see a tall girl with Spaceship Earth Mickey Ears and a guy straggling behind her looking very nervous, that's us! hahaha Have a great time!! You just reminded me I have to go back and look at hotels today haha