Halloween on the High Seas is a special holiday-themed cruise offered by Disney Cruise Line (DCL). This special sailing occurs around the months of September and October. The cruise ship is transformed into a Halloween wonderland featuring spooky decor, special characters and, a Halloween party. We completed this special themed cruise in October 2022. This was the first cruise back to “normal” since the cruise industry was turned upside down due to the coronavirus pandemic. DCL suspended operations in March 2020. The shutdown lasted about 15 months. When DCL resumed operations it was with very strict health guidelines and sanitary protocols. We’ve done a few cruises since Disney resumed operations and they required masks, social distancing, vaccinations, testing and additional paperwork before boarding the ship. In late September 2022 DCL announced that fully vaccinated passengers will not be required to take a COVID test prior to boarding. By the time we boarded the ship in October 2022, everything was pretty much back to how it use to be prior to the pandemic. I will go over the itinerary and what makes Halloween on the High Seas aboard the Disney Wonder special.
Itinerary
Halloween on the High Seas was offered in 2022 from various departing ports (such as Miami, Port Canaveral, San Diego, and New York). Each sailings took families to fascinating destinations including the Bahamas, Caribbean, Bermuda, Canada and Mexico. We experienced Halloween on the High Seas aboard the Disney Wonder on a 7-night Mexican Riviera from San Diego in California. Below you will find the itinerary for our sailing.
| Night | Port |
| 1 | San Diego, California (Embarkation Day) |
| 2 | At Sea Day |
| 3 | Cabo San Lucas, Mexico |
| 4 | Mazatlan, Mexico |
| 5 | Puerto Vallarta, Mexico |
| 6 | At Sea Day |
| 7 | At Sea Day |
| Debarkation Day |
Halloween on the High Seas Aboard the Disney Wonder
Decoration
One of the most charming parts about Halloween on the High Seas is all the magical decoration. As soon as we boarded the ship we were welcomed by the magical Pumpkin Tree. It towered over the atrium lobby with Jack-O-Lanterns on its branches. The entire ship was decked up with Halloween inspired decor . There were garlands of autumn leaves, character-inspired pumpkins and, adorable jack-o-lantern stickers on the ship’s massive portholes.
Halloween-Themed Disney Character Meet-and-Greets
On a regular Disney Cruise, you get to meet many characters throughout the cruise. They change their outfits depending on the time of day and evening activities. On a Halloween-themed cruise, characters will wear their special Halloween costumes. On our sailing, Minnie, Daisy and Clarabelle were dressed as the Sanderson Sisters from the movie Hocus Pocus. In addition, character such a Jack and Sally from The Nightmare Before Christmas made special appearances. You also get the opportunity to dress up in costumes. On this cruise we dressed up as characters from the movie Tangled (Flynn, Mother Gothel, and Rapunzel). Seeing the majority of the passengers in costumes was so fun.
Copyright Disney Cruise Line 
Copyright Disney Cruise Line
Mickey’s Mouse-Querade Party
Each Disney sailing has awesome parties such as sail away and pirate night. On a Halloween cruise, you get an additional party which is called Mickey’s Mouse-querade. The party takes place on the top deck at night. Disney Characters are all dressed up in their spooktacular costumes and we all get to sing and dance with Mickey and his crew. There was also an adult-only costume party however, we did not attend.
Copyright Disney Cruise Line
Dinning and Halloween Treats
There are three restaurants on the Disney Wonder. Each restaurant is unique and has its own Disney theme. The three restaurants are Animator’s Palate, Tiana’s Place, and Triton’s. DCL is known for its rotational dinning experience. Each evening we got to enjoy dinner in a new restaurant. On our last night, our server surprised us with a spider made out of chocolate.
Final Thoughts
We originally booked this cruise for the itinerary and because it worked for our schedule. We did not purposely book it because it was a Halloween-themed cruise. It just worked out that way. I am glad we experience Halloween on the High Seas on the Disney Wonder. DCL did a wonderful job bringing the magic aboard. We all enjoyed dressing up as a family and seeing passengers in incredible costumes. We had amazing weather on this particular sailing and would definitely sail again around this time of the year from San Diego. However, unless the itinerary is something I am interested in, I wouldn’t go out of my way to book a themed cruise.