Disney Cruise Line’s Halloween on the High Seas 2022 Dates & Details

Halloween on the High Seas will return to Disney Cruise Line with more sailings than ever before and new one-of-a-kind experiences for families in September and October 2022. Guest-favorite entertainment and activities, including trick-or-treating, spooky parties, elaborate décor and themed food and beverage items, will await guests on these limited-time voyages as each ship transforms into a ghoulish wonderland.

Halloween on the High Seas voyages will be offered aboard select Disney Cruise Line sailings aboard the Magic, Wonder, Dream, Fantasy, plus the new Disney Wish ship. Sail dates occur from September 12, 2022 through early November 2022, including a flagship 4-Night Bahamian Cruise from Port Canaveral aboard the Disney Wish that starts on Halloween. These sailings depart from ports in Miami and Port Canaveral, Florida plus San Diego, California and New York City, New York.

Each cruise will take families to fascinating destinations including the Bahamas, Caribbean, California, Bermuda, Canada, and Mexico. All sailings from Port Canaveral and Miami will include a stop at Castaway Cay, Disney’s private island paradise outfitted for family fun and relaxation and brimming with special Disney touches, including the following DCL fan favorites…

First up is Mickey’s Mouse-querade Party. Guests of all ages won’t want to miss this spooktacular event. The atrium in each Disney Cruise Line ship will come alive with ghoulish games, trick-or-treating, and dancing, plus the famous Disney characters in their Halloween costumes.

Next up is Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas Sing and Scream. It’s “Season’s Screamings” during this interactive movie experience—with Jack Skellington and Sally greeting guests plus a special interactive Sing and Scream experience featuring the classic film, Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Up on deck, check out the campfire-style Haunted Stories of the Sea, featuring a spooky ghost story or two. Additionally, Halloween-themed movies will be shown on Funnel Vision by the family pool and in staterooms.

Other fun family activities during Halloween on the High Seas include mask-making, pumpkin-carving, and a ghostly takeover of Disney Cruise Line ship announcements. Guests will also enjoy special Halloween-themed food and beverage items during rotational dining and elsewhere in DCL restaurants.

Finally, proving that Halloween isn’t just for kids, adults will have their fun and (not-so) frightful festivities. Adult-exclusive venues across the fleet will become a ghoulish setting for costume contests and a Villainous Takeover on the dance floor.

In terms of what’s new for 2022, Disney Cruise Line guests will be the first to experience an all-new character meet and greet opportunity across the fleet during Halloween on the High Seas sailings.

While all of the Disney characters on board will adorn Halloween costumes as part of the festivities, Minnie Mouse, Daisy Duck and Clarabelle Cow will debut a never-before-seen look as they dress up as their favorite Halloween sisters, the Sandersons from the movie “Hocus Pocus.”

During its inaugural season of Halloween cruises in Fall 2022, the Disney Wish, the newest Disney Cruise Line ship, will introduce a unique twist on a Halloween on the High Seas hallmark.

The centerpiece of every ship during Halloween sailings is the signature magical Pumpkin Tree towering over the atrium lobby, each with sprouting Jack-O-Lanterns and flickering lights.

Aboard the Disney Wish, guests will witness the debut of an all-new Pumpkin Tree in the “Cinderella”-inspired Grand Hall. Featuring lighter bark, graceful branches and a mystical face, this enchanted tree that grew perfect gourds with the help of a Wishing Star at night produced the perfect pumpkin that became the coach that carried Cinderella to the Prince’s Ball.

In terms of commentary, this all sounds pretty fun. In particular, the Disney characters as the Sanderson sisters from Hocus Pocus looks awesome. We’d love to see much more of these Disney character costume crossovers, and really miss the ones they used to do for Star Wars Weekends.

(Side note: since Disney bought Lucasfilm, they’ve been treating the franchise with way too much reverence. It’s a soap opera in outer space populated by ridiculous aliens and a variety of nonsense. There’s nothing wrong with a little fun! This is the type of synergy to embrace!)

We’re also keeping our excitement and expectations in check, as we previously did one of DCL’s Christmas cruises, and it was a bit underwhelming. (See our Very Merrytime Christmas Cruise Review.) Perhaps that was simply a matter of unrealistic expectations–something we probably don’t have to as great of a degree when it comes to Halloween.

From our perspective, the Very Merrytime Christmas Cruise would’ve been better with a holiday-themed deck party, substantive stage show, daytime entertainment, themed menus & desserts, scavenger hunt, and more decorations. It doesn’t sound like Halloween on the High Seas has any of this, either.

With that said, we’ve done other themed sailings aboard Disney Cruise Line and have really enjoyed them. Both Frozen and Star Wars Day at Sea were really fun, but again, we went in without any expectations. By contrast, we’ve experienced Christmas (and Halloween, for that matter) at Walt Disney World.

Ultimately, Halloween on the High Seas sounds like a lot of fun, and we’re glad to see Disney Cruise Line bringing it back for 2022. Several of the itineraries out of San Diego are actually on our “list” of cruises to do/places to visit, but whether we actually follow through on that this year remains to be seen, and is likely a matter of discount availability (or lack thereof). It’s already shaping up to be a pricey return to cruising for us with the Disney Wish launching, so maybe we’ll take a rain check until Halloween on the High Seas 2023.

Planning to set sail aboard one of the Disney Cruise Line ships? Read our comprehensive Disney Cruise Line Guide to prepare for your trip, plan entertainment and other activities, and learn what to expect from your Disney cruise! If you want personalized recommendations for Disney Cruise Line itineraries, ships, and more, click here to get a cruise quote from a no-fee Authorized Disney Vacation Planner. They can find you all of the current discounts, and help you plan the details of your cruise!

YOUR THOUGHTS

What do you think of these Disney Cruise Line’s Halloween on the High Seas? Any of the special offerings appeal to you? Impressed by the Sanderson Sisters costumes for Minnie Mouse, Daisy Duck, and Clarabelle Cow? Any other tips to add or recommendations for Halloween on the High Seas? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!

4 Responses to “Disney Cruise Line’s Halloween on the High Seas 2022 Dates & Details”
  1. MomOTwins May 1, 2022
  2. Corene April 29, 2022
    • Tom Bricker April 29, 2022
    • Corene April 29, 2022

Leave a Reply to Corene Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *