How To Create A ‘Spooktacular’ Halloween Experience Onboard

Halloween onboard gives crew an opportunity to really impress guests – and there are plenty of ways to do it! Here’s how to make your Superyacht as ‘Boo-tiful’ and ‘Spooktacular’ as possible. With five themes to get your inspiration from, we have have included Tablescapes, fancy dress tips, food and drink pointers, and a few select interesting cocktail (or shot) recipes…

Now’s your chance to eat, drink, and be scary! No apologies for the Halloween puns in this article.

Vampire 🦇

Preparing a vampire-themed Superyacht do-over doesn’t have to be a pain in the neck.

Vampire Tablescape Ideas

Aim for black and red, fit for Dracula’s Gothic banquet. Drape some black lace over a red tablecloth and decorate the table with black candlesticks for an eerie ambiance. Black silk flowers (or real roses) will be a nice a ddition. Pair basic black napkins with red ribbon, and decorate the chairs with red pillowcases and cheesecloth.

Vampire’s Kiss Cocktail

Ingredients (Click cocktail name link for the instructions):

• 1 ½ ounces vodka
• 1 ounce Chambord
• ½ ounce 100% unsweetened cranberry juice (not sweetened or cranberry juice cocktail)
• ½ ounce fresh lemon juice
• ½ ounce grenadine
• Granulated sugar and additional grenadine, for the sugar rim (optional)
• 1 small dry ice cube (optional)

Food & Drink

Stick to red foods: tomatoes, cranberries, roasted red peppers, beets, etc. A beef tenderloin in a blood-red Merlot sauce would be a real treat. Blood-red beverages are essential (add your own labels with the various blood types).

Vampire Dress-Up Tips

This is an easy one: get some fangs!

Zombie 🧟‍♂️

Brain dead for ideas? For fans of The Walking Dead or The Last Of Us, a zombie party is the perfect Halloween theme.

Zombie Tablescape Ideas

Any tablecloths will do – grab some red paint and have fun dripping and splashing it across the table, illuminated by some neon lamps. You can also hang up some caution tape around the place for an apocalyptic vibe.

Zombie Brain Shot 

Ingredients (Click shot name link for the instructions):

• 1 ounce peach schapps
• 1/4 ounce Creme de Menthe
• 1/2 ounce Baileys Irish Cream
• 1/4 ounce grenadine

Food & Drink

Depends on how comfortable your guests are with a little gruesome imagery! But there are some recipes to dish out for fun, like Withered Zombie Eyes and Daryl’s PalmiEARS. A watermelon brain might be a nice surprise, too! As for drinks, you’ve also got the classic Zombie Cocktail.

Zombie Dress-Up Tips

Some ruffled up hair, some fake scars/wounds, and white face paint is a good place to start!

Read More SYC: Watch Our Video Of Maison Del Gusto’s Amazing Masterclasses

Witch 🐈

Have your guests bewitched with a mysterious ambiance fit for a coven.

Witchy Tablescape Ideas

Black and purple would be a great colour combination! Drape some cobwebs over candles, make use of dry ice for extra spookiness, and display dark-coloured flowers. Leaving a broomstick in the area won’t go amiss.

The Witch’s Heart Cocktail

Ingredients (Click cocktail name link for the instructions):

• 3 fl oz Homemade Blackberry Shimmery Liqueur 90 mL, chilled
• 1.5 fl oz apple juice 44 mL, chilled (or apple liqueur)
• 1 fl oz lemon juice 30 mL
• ¾ fl oz simple syrup (adjust for a sweet or less sweet taste)
• 2 tsp grenadine
• Ice
• Dry ice finely crushed (optional)

Please note: It’s a straightforward recipe but make sure to plan ahead to make the blackberry liqueur 1 week in advance. However, if you have a sous vide, this can be done in 2 hours.

Food & Drink

Toffee apples and Witches’ Fingers are a simple treat. Pair a Melted Witch Fruit Dip with fruit slices or pretzels – and place half of an Oreo cookie on top, then a Hershey’s Kiss so it looks like a witches hat. You can also turn soups and drinks (alcoholic or otherwise) into a witchy brew by grabbing a cauldron for a container.

Witch Dress-Up Tips

Some witches’ hats are a staple – and some striped stockings/tights will give that Wicked Witch of the West vibe. If you’re feeling goofy, grab one of those crooked noses to put on!

Jack-O’-Lantern 🎃

Go big or gourd home.

Pumpkin Tablescape Ideas

Deck the dining area with hues of black and orange, carve out those pumpkins with your best artwork, and lay down a selection of squashes down the middle of the table.

Jack-O’-Lantern Cocktail

Food & Drink

Pumpkin soup is a classic, and Pumpkin fondue nachos is a fun way to make use of a hollow pumpkin. For a sweet treat, go for pumpkin pie. As for drinks, you can put spins on popular cocktails like the martini and the old fashioned. Of course, if there’s too much squash going around, opt for warming spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger.

Jack-O’-Lantern Dress-Up Tips

You can make a Jack-O’-Lantern head and/or wear some scarecrow attire.

Ghost 👻

Don’t give up the ghost on your Halloween theme just yet.

Ghost Tablescape Ideas

Going for the colour white is obviously the go-to. Paint small faces on candles, and you can even purchase (or make) a ghost train to go up the middle of the table so you can add various snacks to each compartment. Make a little consortium of ghosts out of cheesecloth, and fabric-stiffening and draping liquid, then slightly inflated balloons taped to tin foil “arms” sitting in a large cup or vase.

White Ghost Cocktail

Ingredients (Click cocktail name for instructions):

• 1 oz. banana liqueur
• 1 oz. coconut rum
• 1 oz. vodka
• 1/2 oz. orange liqueur
• 1 1/2 oz. half and half
• Grenadine (for garnish)

Food & Drink

Whether you’re going for marshmallow, mash potato, meringue, cream, or anything malleable like that, it’s an easy task to mash it together to form the shape of a ghost on top of whatever dish is going out. Dip some fruit in white chocolate and draw on a face, for a snack. Ghost Oreo Balls are pretty cute, as well.

Ghost Dress-Up Tips

It might be difficult to see through, but wearing a white sheet might bring out some laughs!

To keep up to date with the latest Superyacht Content News, click here.

Sign up to our Newsletter below: