Booked THREE Cruises for next year - Halloween and Christmas Questions :)

[CampbellzSoup]

This has been some year - we went no our first family cruise and had an INCREDIBLE time...and then we have been hunkering down studying for promotional tests that are absolutely draining on your mind/time. I wanted to reward our family with some Disney magic next year I just had some questions about the Wish, Christmas, and Halloween.

- Outside of the Halloween Day on the Cruise is the Halloween Activity and Character Outfits limited to ONE day? I felt like Star Wars Day at Sea was truly just a DAY at sea...I respect that but if I'm going on a Halloween on the High Seas cruise is it just going to be for ONE day?

- Is there any differences on the seasonal cruises between 5 or 7 days? I just want to ensure that we aren't missing out on anything when booking these cruises...I always feel like 5 days is the sweet spot with a quick 2 days to the park?

- Has anyone enjoyed their themed cruise or did you feel the them was too light/too much?

- Are any of the production shows different during this time or is it the same shows playing throughout the normal cruise time?

- Is there still a formal night? A pirate night?

Thanks as you know we LOVE pictures - so I wanna pack and plan accordingly.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

- is the nursery open?

 

[Cheburashka]

This has been some year - we went no our first family cruise and had an INCREDIBLE time...and then we have been hunkering down studying for promotional tests that are absolutely draining on your mind/time. I wanted to reward our family with some Disney magic next year I just had some questions about the Wish, Christmas, and Halloween.

- Outside of the Halloween Day on the Cruise is the Halloween Activity and Character Outfits limited to ONE day? I felt like Star Wars Day at Sea was truly just a DAY at sea...I respect that but if I'm going on a Halloween on the High Seas cruise is it just going to be for ONE day?

- Is there any differences on the seasonal cruises between 5 or 7 days? I just want to ensure that we aren't missing out on anything when booking these cruises...I always feel like 5 days is the sweet spot with a quick 2 days to the park?

- Has anyone enjoyed their themed cruise or did you feel the them was too light/too much?

- Are any of the production shows different during this time or is it the same shows playing throughout the normal cruise time?

- Is there still a formal night? A pirate night?

Thanks as you know we LOVE pictures - so I wanna pack and plan accordingly.

I've sailed on both Merrytime and HOTHS cruises. I felt the amount of theming was just right. It really gave the flavor of the holiday but didn't overwhelm the cruise experience. The theater shows are unaffected by the theming. Formal night and pirate night are unaffected by the theming.

 

[dcassetta]

This has been some year - we went no our first family cruise and had an INCREDIBLE time...and then we have been hunkering down studying for promotional tests that are absolutely draining on your mind/time. I wanted to reward our family with some Disney magic next year I just had some questions about the Wish, Christmas, and Halloween.

- Outside of the Halloween Day on the Cruise is the Halloween Activity and Character Outfits limited to ONE day? I felt like Star Wars Day at Sea was truly just a DAY at sea...I respect that but if I'm going on a Halloween on the High Seas cruise is it just going to be for ONE day?

- Is there any differences on the seasonal cruises between 5 or 7 days? I just want to ensure that we aren't missing out on anything when booking these cruises...I always feel like 5 days is the sweet spot with a quick 2 days to the park?

- Has anyone enjoyed their themed cruise or did you feel the them was too light/too much?

- Are any of the production shows different during this time or is it the same shows playing throughout the normal cruise time?

- Is there still a formal night? A pirate night?

Thanks as you know we LOVE pictures - so I wanna pack and plan accordingly.

The ship will be decorated for your whole cruise in either the Halloween or Christmas theme. We have done both an HOTHS and a Merrytime. With the Halloween cruises although there are some activities throughout the cruise, there will be a defined Halloween day and the characters will be in costume then. With Merrytime it’s more spread out across the cruise. Although, we have not taken a cruise that sails on Christmas day. So, that may be different.

We prefer long cruises so would choose 7 over 5.

The main shows will be the same, although on the Halloween cruises there is also a special showing of Nightmare before Christmas. Jack and Sally appear at the end of the show and are available for photos after.

Pirate is a yes, whether there’s a formal night depends on the length of your cruise. There will be an optional dress up if you have a shorter cruise.

- is the nursery open?

Yes

 

[ElenaRN]

We have been on both HotHS and Merrytime cruises. We have enjoyed both very much.

We enjoy theming in general so the decorations for both holidays were a big hit with our family. Each cruise had an event in the atrium around the themed tree (pumpkin tree and Christmas tree), storytime with Mrs Claus and some type of not so spooky story for Halloween. IIRC on the Halloween cruise this was a different night than the Halloween dress up night. There were different activities throughout the cruise.

They were all 3-4 night cruises so I can say anything about the longer ones.

Shows in the theaters were still the same as a non holiday themed cruise.

Pirate night still occurred on both.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

You guys are the best I got the Halloween cruise with two stops at castaway cay I can’t Wait!

 

[Cheburashka]

You guys are the best I got the Halloween cruise with two stops at castaway cay I can’t Wait!

I'm booked on a Merrytime with two stops on Castaway Cay! Have fun and I'll be there a month or so after you!

 

[loislane]

We did a 3-night Halloween on the Dream and loved it. One of my favorite things was going to see the Halloween tree each day - they add more jack o'lanterns to it every night.


The Nightmare Before Christmas was a sing-a-long version, which was fun. Jack and Sally were outside the theater for a meet and greet. I was able to get a Mickey pumpkin popcorn bucket from concessions at the theater which is a fun keepsake. We didn't do costumes, but a lot of people did - adults and kids There was a fun deck party and trick-or-treating around the pool decks.

 

[Cruising Girl]

We do HOTHS every year because that is our school fall break time. Last year the trick or treating had totally changed and all they had was a bag of candy for each child delivered to your stateroom!

 

[CampbellzSoup]

We do HOTHS every year because that is our school fall break time. Last year the trick or treating had totally changed and all they had was a bag of candy for each child delivered to your stateroom!

Lame to the highest degree

 

[CampbellzSoup]

Does anyone have any good Halloween themed crusie outfit ideas I’m at a loss

 

[nancipants]

Does anyone have any good Halloween themed crusie outfit ideas I’m at a loss

My husband and I have said that when we finally do HOTHS or Not So Scary with our son, we're gonna be the Three Caballeros, with our son being Donald, of course.

 

[nlharpel]

You guys are the best I got the Halloween cruise with two stops at castaway cay I can’t Wait!

Do they do anything special for Halloween on Castaway Cay like they do for Very Merrytime?

 

[CampbellzSoup]

Do they do anything special for Halloween on Castaway Cay like they do for Very Merrytime?

I THINK for Christmas they have some decor but otherwise Halloween can anyone help?

 

[DCLCruiseFan09]

Do they do anything special for Halloween on Castaway Cay like they do for Very Merrytime?

I feel pretty confident in saying they only do the decorations for Christmas on the island.

We were the first HOTHS for Last year on the fantasy and sadly nothing on the Island.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

I feel pretty confident in saying they only do the decorations for Christmas on the island.

We were the first HOTHS for Last year on the fantasy and sadly nothing on the Island.

You would think they’d do something on the island! That’s sad

 

[Cheburashka]

Does anyone have any good Halloween themed crusie outfit ideas I’m at a loss

I got a lollipop costume from Target that just goes over regular clothes, so it's very comfortable to wear, easy to put on and take off. Shoulder straps keep it on you, and large fabric lollipops in the front and back make a nice costume.

 

[Cheburashka]

You would think they’d do something on the island! That’s sad

To be fair I think of Halloween as a nighttime event, and Castaway Cay is a daytime destination. I personally don't think the theming would gel very well: tropical island at midday combined with Halloween decorations. YMMV.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I know they did a sing along Nightmare before Christmas midnight show with an opportunity to meet Jack and Sally on the Halloween cruises we have been on,

 

[shananigans]

We always do a HOTHS cruise in late Oct as our kids are on Fall break then too. We have our first Merrytime cruise this Dec. I know that Hocus Pocus attire for Minnie, Daisy, and Clarabelle is happening - so I’m super excited for that! Last year they didn’t to TOT, like a previous poster mentioned, it was two bags of candy delivered to the room. Our kids didn’t mind as they are older.

Last year we saw a lot of costumes, one table near us had three pirates (double use of pirate costume), a Prince Charming, and a Maleficent. We don’t typically dress up - but I think this year our 11 yo will be. The 14.5 yo isn’t interested.