For some people, the worst question a restaurant can ask is "Is Pepsi okay?"
Fans of Coca-Cola generally consider this an insult closer to "Is a punch in the face okay?" than the switch the restaurant suggests it's making.
Some people like Pepsi more than Coke, but they're a relatively rare breed as Coca-Cola is sort of the default American soda brand.
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Usually, top-tier brands have Coca-Cola deals. Disney World and McDonald's, for example, serve Coke products as do all the major movie theater chains.
Pepsi and Coke, however, fight for market share, and some brands — usually the secondary brands in their space — opt for Pepsi products. Taco Bell, KFC, and Pizza Hut, for example, serve Pepsi products while Chipotle, McDonald's, Burger King, and Wendy's serve Coke.
In the restaurant space, Coca-Cola has a roughly 2-1 lead over its rival when it comes to fast-food and casual restaurant chains stocking its products,
Carnival Cruise Line, however, has bucked the trend of industry leaders carrying Coca-Cola products and one passenger recently asked Brand Ambassador John Heald whether that might change soon.
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Carnival has bad news for Coca-Cola fans
Carnival in 2019 became the only major cruise company to offer Pepsi products. On the website it outlined what the deal would bring.
"Carnival Cruise Line has reached an agreement with PepsiCo to be the preferred beverage provider across our North American fleet," the company said.
"PepsiCo’s lineup of traditional sodas and noncarbonated drinks is unmatched, and the agreement brings our guests a great choice of popular brands like MTN Dew, Gatorade, Pure Leaf teas, Starbucks iced coffees, Naked Juice and bubly flavored sparkling waters, in addition to namesake Pepsi and Diet Pepsi and other soda products."
At the time the deal was signed, neither the cruise line nor the beverage maker specified how long the deal would last. Carnival framed the deal around the idea of offering a broader choice for passengers.
"As we look for more ways for Carnival guests to Choose Fun, we also want to give our guests more beverages to choose – and after a careful evaluation, we concluded that PepsiCo offers both a wider variety, as well as many leading popular beverage brands," it said.
"The broad selection of PepsiCo products gives our guest more choices and enhance our Bottomless Bubbles and Cheers! beverage packages, as outlined below."
Some passengers, however, remain less-than-thrilled with the deal, and one recently reached out to Heald.
"Morning John, can you tell us when Carnival's contract with Pepsi expires? Sure getting tired of having to furnish my own drinks. Would love to be treated like you treat your alcohol drinkers," wrote David Bertocchi.
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Heald's response was diplomatic.
"Thank you, I don’t know. I don’t want to talk about that because there would be legal concerns if I did I’m sure. I will simply say that we continue to have the contract with Pepsi and we allow guests to bring on 12 cans of Coca-Cola product at each port. Thank you, if anything changes, I will, of course let you know," he wrote.
Passengers can bring up to 12 cans of soda in their carry-on luggage when they board,. They can carry an additional 12 cans on at every port stop.
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