Carnival Cruise Line (CCL) sails mostly to warm-weather destinations, and during the holiday season those are the only choices. You can sail to Alaska or New England/Canada during the warmer months but not in the winter.
That makes holiday cruises a bit visually confusing. Carnival decorates its ships for Christmas (with a slight nod to Chanukah) but it's still warm, or borderline hot, out. This presents people wearing swimwear or coverups walking past Christmas trees, Santa Claus, and other holiday trappings.
The cruise line does try to make its ships feel festive. In addition to decorations, a special Christmas meal will be served and a lot of events on the cruise line's ship will be holiday themed. Carnival, however, has not tweaked its beverage menu to include one seasonal favorite, and some of the cruise line's fans are upset about it.
Carnival Brand Ambassador John Heald posted a message (with the sender's name redacted), along with a poll that got a tremendous response on his Facebook page. One of the cruise line's passengers asked him why a holiday favorite beverage was not being served on board.
Image source: Shutterstock
Carnival Skips a Holiday Favorite
While Carnival ships do offer up special Christmas and New Year's Eve menus, they don't usually offer seasonal beverages. That's perhaps because the season never actually changes for ships sailing in the Caribbean.
One passenger took issue with that to Heald.
"On your new ship the Mardi Gras now John Heald. Very disappointed and I am not the only one John because everyone is saying the same thing. Why does Carnival not serve eggnog anywhere on ship during holidays? It is an American favorite. Everywhere sells eggnog-flavored drinks and coffees over the holidays."
Heald responded by posting a poll on the subject.
I will have to ask and see if we have it but ummm………….is it really a favourite? While I ask the beverage beards let me ask you this:
Do you enjoy Eggnog?
A Yes oh yes
B. No thanks
C. Never had it
That post got nearly 1,000 responses. Most of them were similar to this one.
"Not a dealbreaker, but I’d love to see it on the ships during the holidays. Especially with a little rum in it," posted Kathleen Moore.
Some used the post as a way to ask for other things they wanted to see onboard.
"I enjoy eggnog, but it’s OK if Carnival doesn’t serve it onboard. But I’m REALLY angry that I can’t get deviled eggs anywhere on board," shared Christopher Day.
Many posters also took the angle that while they like egg nog, they rarely see it at restaurants and do not expect it on a ship. Others simply suggested that a beverage should not be a factor in whether you enjoy your cruise.
"If eggnog is the defining factor that makes your entire cruise disappointing, you have bigger issues than eggnog," Liz Dusold posted.
"I'm sure the entire headcount of guests on board are not worried about whether they have eggnog or not. It might be a nice change to offer it during the holidays, but it definitely doesn't make or break the holidays."
The poll, while unscientific, seemed to lean toward people saying they would enjoy having it onboard but would not expect the cruise line to carry it. Many people who responded also took issue with how the original email was worded.
"As soon as a correspondent comes out with 'EVERYONE SAYS' I close off and call BS," wrote David Moran.
"'Everyone' -- another person who feels they have the right to talk for all. They need to learn to talk for themselves. Others can speak up for themselves," Marsha Corso added.
