Carnival Brand Ambassador John Heald makes very clear when he's speaking only for himself and when he's asking about something because management — he calls them "the Beards" — have asked.
Sometimes, however, he posts playful posts that aren't exactly either. In such cases he may not be conducting a binding poll or an official vote, but he's looking for information.
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Heald asks a lot of questions and his audience of dedicated Carnival Cruise Line followers generally responds in massive numbers. That means that while nothing about the question being asked is official, the votes and comments give the cruise line a lot of data to play with.
Carnival has made changes because of the feedback Heald's army of followers has provided. In one case, the brand ambassador asked his audience whether Carnival should bring a popular snack/bar classic/shareable savory treat onto its cruise ships.
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Image source: Ethan Miller/Getty Images for Caesars Entertainment
Carnival already has a lot of guilty-pleasure food
You could argue that Carnival has the best lineup of guilty-pleasure foods of any cruise line. Guy Fieri's Burger Joint offers decadent burgers and fries on every ship in the fleet, while Shaquille O'Neal's Big Chicken can be found serving up chicken strips, sandwiches and fried-chicken baskets on select ships.
Carnival also offers 24/7 pizza and a late-night menu with everything from chicken soup to meatball sandwiches. That's a lot of dishes that fit the guilty pleasure/comfort food model.
Heald has suggested that the cruise line might want to add one more fan-favorite guilty-pleasure dish that not every American may be familiar with.
"Poutine. Fries, cheese, and gravy. I think we should serve this on board. Anyone else?" he asked.
In the first hour the poll was posted it received more than 3,000 votes. Yes was winning with 55% of the vote to 45% who were not interested in the Canadian delicacy.
Update: After 18 hours more than 10,000 people have voted and the count has moved to 54% in favor of adding poutine and 46% against.
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"As a Canadian, I would definitely enjoy it once or twice as an afternoon snack," posted Loreen Haight Brownell. "It’s not hard to have these all available to create the dish. But please have real cheese curds and a sweeter brown gravy/sauce."
Paul Goldstraw also made clear that the quality of the ingredients matters.
"Yes, but I would prefer proper English chips not frozen reconstituted fries," he added.
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Some commenters did not seem to understand how poutine works.
"Just let me get the gravy separately so I can dip, I don't like soggy fries lol," shared Desiree Vargas.
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Some questioned whether cruise ships can handle making the dish properly,
"The key to poutine is that it has to be served HOT — from kitchen to table in just a few moments — logistically this just can’t happen on the ship," posted Ronald Lowers.
This article will be updated after the poll has been up for 24 hours.
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