The Belle of Topsail has quickly made a name for itself as the cruise ship that takes people out for lunch and dinner cruises along Topsail’s Intracoastal Waterway. After just two years of being docked in Surf City, many people are saying it’s haunted. That’s because it is!
Captain David Luther, and his wife Sharon, have decided to turn the traditional ship into a haunted Halloween boat for the rest of October. Several hundred ghosts, goblins, and various other monsters currently adorn virtually every inch of the ship that is now available for haunted cruises.
Sharon has displayed a collection of Halloween decorations that is so extensive and so state of the art, that just walking through the different levels of the boat activates all sorts of electronic witches and dead pirates that scream at you as you pass.
“I’ve had to use a lot of batteries. Turning in them on is easy. The problem is turning them off. They seem to want to stay on. Basically, we set it up in one day, because David is really fast. If I had my choice I’d keep adding on,” said Sharon, of the already heavily decorated boat.
Captain David Luther went on to describe what will be included and what can be expected with each Halloween-themed cruise.
“The Trick-or-Treat cruise is really for the kids. The 4 to 5 p.m. daylight cruise is $15 for adults and $10 for the kids [under 12 years of age, free for kids under 2 years of age]. It is a little haunted for the young kids. The other night, we had a bunch of kids that came on crying, but they got over it in about five minutes and we had a beautiful cruise and they had fun playing with everything,” said Luther.
The Belle will return from the one-hour trick-or-treat cruise and stay docked for thirty minutes before departing with the next group of cruisers.
“We’re calling it the Haunted Captain’s Sunset Party because we’ll start coming back in the last thirty minutes before dark, and we’ll turn everything on for the last thirty minutes so you’ll get the full effect of it.
And then we’re doing something brand new: we’re going to start doing the Haunted Riverboat Ride at 8 p.m. And we’re going to go down to the Surf City Canals… We’re going to do all that Thursday through Sunday,” said Captain Luther.
The night of October 30 is when Luther says they will have “the big one.” The entire dock will be turned into a haunted dock party for the adults.
“Last time we did it, we had almost 300 people. It was huge! The whole dock, all of us, are going to decorate our boats,” said Captain Luther. “All the slips will be full with big boats, and we’ll have the Tommy Black Band here on board and we’ll clear out a dance floor for everyone.”
The cover charge for the Haunted Dock is $5, with ages 21 and up allowed onto the Belle of Topsail. For reservations, more information on these events, or booking any private cruises, call the Captain at (910) 328-1621.
