Magic HOTHS NYC to Bermuda

[DisRecruit]

Now that 2 sailings (Sept 30th and Oct 5th) have returned. This seems like a good time to compile a general Q&A thread.
I just got home from the Oct. 5th sailing, and I'll be happy answer questions to the best of my ability. However, since all of our experiences are different, other cruisers on this board will hopefully chime in too.

Ask away!

 

[Kwami]

Who are the captain and cruise director for these cruises?

 

[Gzub1003]

Was there trick or treating for the kids?

 

[DisRecruit]

Was there trick or treating for the kids?

Who are the captain and cruise director for these cruises?

Unfortunately, I didn't capture any of the info on the captain, but the cruise director was Peter Hofer.
Tisa was the "entertainment coordinator," and she was great.

The second night was our Halloween night. They set up candy stations on the pool deck, and the kids ran from table to table where CMs dumped handfuls of candy into their bags. I wouldn't exactly call it trick or treating, but our son had fun!

We also had the Halloween tree, and the caretaker. The tree lighting ceremony was fun. Jack and Sally, and the Sanderson sisters were out for meet and greets on the 2nd (our Halloween) and 5th days. The lines were crazy long. They showed hocus pocus 2 in the main theater on our Halloween night instead of nightmare.

 

[Gzub1003]

Unfortunately, I didn't capture any of the info on the captain, but the cruise director was Peter Hofer.
Tisa was the "entertainment coordinator," and she was great.

The second night was our Halloween night. They set up candy stations on the pool deck, and the kids ran from table to table where CMs dumped handfuls of candy into their bags. I wouldn't exactly call it trick or treating, but our son had fun!

We also had the Halloween tree, and the caretaker. The tree lighting ceremony was fun.

Awesome! Jack and Sally made an appearance also? Where there any marvel characters?

 

[DisRecruit]

Awesome! Jack and Sally made an appearance also? Where there any marvel characters?

We caught Spiderman, Thor, and Captain America. There were some photo ops around the ship, some photo ops in the Marvel area of the kids clubs during open house times (so I think
they're also available to everyone), and some activities with the characters in the kids clubs that are just for kids. I couldn't get too many details from my 7 year old, but it sounded like he had a great time learning from Spidey.

 

[ArielRae]

When were your semi formal nights?
First & last nights or just the 3rd night?

Semi formal
Halloween
Cruise casual
Pirate
Semi formal

Or

Cruise casual
Halloween
Semi formal
Pirate
Cruise casual

 

[melissa723]

We're on the October 21st sailing and it'll just be me and boyfriend. Anything Halloween related for the adults? I'm guessing the trick-or-treating is just for the kids, but does anyone know if there was anything fun going on in the adult areas of the ship? Also, any special Halloween treats that were being served in the dining areas?

 

[ArielRae]

What main dining room was open for embarkation day lunch when you boarded the ship?

Any costume contests?

 

[CampbellzSoup]

How long were the lines to meet characters usually - did Mickey come out in his Tuxedo?

 

[DisRecruit]

When were your semi formal nights?
First & last nights or just the 3rd night?

Semi formal
Halloween
Cruise casual
Pirate
Semi formal

Or

Cruise casual
Halloween
Semi formal
Pirate
Cruise casual

I'm pretty sure the order went:

Semi formal
Halloween
Cruise casual
Pirate
Cruise casual

So only the optional semi formal the first night. Because it was the first night, I felt like people were still pretty casual.

Lots of impressive costumes for both Halloween and pirate night.

Even though the last night was cruise casual, there was a mix of semi-formal and costumes. I think people just wanted to have fun!

We're on the October 21st sailing and it'll just be me and boyfriend. Anything Halloween related for the adults? I'm guessing the trick-or-treating is just for the kids, but does anyone know if there was anything fun going on in the adult areas of the ship? Also, any special Halloween treats that were being served in the dining areas?

Unfortunately I don't think I got to the adult areas on Halloween. Hopefully others can fill in some of those details.
There were Halloween themed pastries in Cove Cafe, but surprisingly there wasn't a themed cocktail (that I noticed), or dessert in the dining rooms.

O'gills had a little buffet open nightly only during their happy hour. Wings, nachos, sausages and hot dogs.

What main dining room was open for embarkation day lunch when you boarded the ship?

Any costume contests?

Definitely not Lumiere's, but I didn't catch whether it was animator's or Rapunzel's. Our little guy had never experienced a buffet like this before, so we chose to wow him for embarkation.

I don't think there was a costume contest.

How long were the lines to meet characters usually - did Mickey come out in his Tuxedo?

I would say the lines were actually shorter during the first few days, and then got longer the last 2 days. We had ~2200 pax (I believe), so that's pretty full. They often had to cut off the line, and then start a new line for the next character.

Definitely saw captain mickey, Halloween (dracula?) Mickey, and pirate Mickey.
It's possible that the tuxedo made an appearance on the last night... But I'm not certain.

Oh! On the last night, around 10pm, there's a little farewell show in the atrium. After the show, lots of the characters were available for pictures/hugs. Also a lot of the entertainers/performers were there too.

 

[KashasMom]

Was there trick or treating for the kids?

There were literally 4 tables with candy (and very long lines going from one to the next). There was no information or direction from any crew. It was pretty unorganized. The candy was a lot of really junky candy for littles - A LOT of taffy kind of stuff unsuitable for a 2 yrs old!

 

[Lizzy123]

Thanks for answering all of these!!
Did they have the snuggly duckling in the pub after the tangled show night?

 

[kathi]

Can you talk about your embarkation process/experience. Did it seem organized? How long did it take to get through security? Anything else you think we all should know to manage our expectations?

 

[DisRecruit]

Thanks for answering all of these!!
Did they have the snuggly duckling in the pub after the tangled show night?

Happy to help. I learned tons from this board, and felt like a vet even though this was our first Disney cruise.

No. Unfortunately I don't think they did. We were there around 10pm that night, and there was no sign of the takeover.

Can you talk about your embarkation process/experience. Did it seem organized? How long did it take to get through security? Anything else you think we all should know to manage our expectations?

We had a port arrival time of 11:30. We drove and parked at the port. The parking attendants and porters were not checking PATs so I think you could park and drop off your luggage early if you want (but probably not before 10am because the previous cruisers are still getting out of the parking lot).

Once we got into the terminal they asked for the PAT. We were there around 11, and they asked us to wait before entering security, but then let the 11:30 PAT group into the terminal shortly after. Security and check in was a breeze for us. We had to show our PAT/QR code and passport at multiple stations, and the bermuda authorization was it's own individual check as well, however it all moved quickly. Then we did the check in, which was also very quick since it's mostly handled online.
There were plenty of seats in the terminal when we got there, but they started to fill up. I think they started boarding close to 12. We were boarding group 7, and got on board right around 12:30.

Unfortunately, I can't say whether the security/check-in/boarding process got bogged down after we got on the boat.