Questions about Carnival Halloween cruises

My wife and I always say we won’t cruise during hurricane season, since work requires vacations be scheduled so far in advance, and can be canceled but not easily rescheduled. However, having a healthy obsession for cruising, and with Halloween being my favorite holiday, I think it would be fun to combine the two, so here’s a few questions.

1: Have you ever been on a Carnival Halloween cruise, and if so where did you sail from and to?

2: Overall, did you enjoy your cruise and would you book another one?

3: What things did you like or dislike, that you don’t experience on a non-Halloween cruise?

4: Did you experience any hurricane related issues (rough weather or seas, itinerary changes, cancelation of your cruise, etc)?

5: Do guests wear costumes on multiple nights, or does Carnival designate a costume night?

6: If elegant night falls on Halloween (or costume night), how do people dress in the MDR?

7: I’ve read that Carnival does not allow masks/helmets that cover your entire face. Can you carry one as an costume accessory, if you do not wear it?

8: Do crew members get to dress in costumes during any part of the cruise?

9: Are multiple ares of the ship decorated or just the area with Patch?

10: Since the smaller ships or shorter cruises don’t always have the same things as larger ships and longer cruises, are there many differences based on your ship and/or itinerary?

11: Are there Halloween themed food and/or drink options onboard?

12: Did you visit any ports that had Halloween or Dia de los Muertos related decorations or activities?

13: Are there any unwritten rules or guidelines to be aware of?

Tags: halloween Carnival

6 Answers

I dont have any idea, but carnival in cruise sounds so much fun!

We were on Carnival Freedom 2 years ago on a 14 day Panama Canal trip out of Galveston, and Halloween fell on a sea day. We dont eat at MDR at all, just lido, so I dont know if there were costumes there on elegant night. Some of the crew were dressed up and they had a costume contest for the passengers, thriller dances, at dive in theatre the legend of sleepy hollow movie. They said no full face masks, but there were a lot of them and no one said anything. The Patch decor was in the lobby and that was it. They had halloween backdrops so you could get a scary photo in your costume. The photographers were in costume and we had them pose with us. There were kids in costume trick and treating the passengers,(we brought candy as well as the other passengers). It was a great night of the 14 day panama canal cruise and we signed up for another Halloween night cruise, but no luck. It is fun, I love Halloween and this was one of the best cruises I have taken.

Good info shared AP And OGW

We have never cruised Carnival but we have had 2 Halloween cruises. Both on NCL. One from NY to the Bahamas where we embarked and left NY port 2 hours before the port was closed due to hurricane Sandy. It was an interesting night. We also had one from Boston ending in New Orleans in perfect weather all the way. The halloween stuff was optional. Many of the crew and children and a number of the adults on board dressed up. There were special activities for those dressed up. For those that ignored halloween it was not much different from other cruises.

AuntPinkie, thank you for all the helpful information. I did indeed figure that you would be the resident expert in thIs matter.

This is our favorite time to cruise. We had an October B2B cancelled this year and left me very sad. Carnival celebrates Halloween on each October sailing. The night that Halloween is celebrated most parts of the ship are decorated. Patch is there for the whole month even when the rest of the ship is "normal". Many of the crew dress and both adults and children dress on the designated day. I don't remember "cruise elegant" night falling on Halloween. Yes many wear costumes to the dining room. [Edit: looked back on my reviews. If the chosen date is cruise elegant, you can wear either your costume or cruise elegant clothes.Here is that review with pictures: https://cruiseline.com/ship/carnival-miracle/review/431129 ,hope you fin it helpful.] Great photo backdrops are available for the designated night. Oddly, I don't remember the menu. There have been many holiday appropriate activities, like pumpkin carving, costume contests, etc. If you are on one of the ships with Thrill Theater the "movies" are spooky. There are three levels from very PG to super horror. Guidelines are listed in the Fun Times. You could carry your masks. People go all out for these sailings, not just with costumes but also with door decorations. Usually, there is a set time to "parade" your costumes and the crew pick from there who gets into the contest.

You knew I would know, didn't you? Do it and enjoy the fun!

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