Carnival Cruise Line Quietly Brings Back a Popular Food

Carnival has completely revamped some of its dining options over the past 12 months, including revamping the menus in its Main Dining Room (MDR) with the help of celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse.

Unlike Royal Caribbean, which has pared down its LOL menus and ditched the recurring “classics” that appeared nightly, Carnival has arguably improved its menus. Yes, some old favorites have been dropped, but plenty of new dishes have been added, including a three-course nightly special created by Lagasse himself.

Related: Carnival Cruise Line Asks Passengers Key Question About Cleaning

The cruise line has also added an expanded late-night dining menu to give passengers options beyond pizza and room service. The new menu includes a meatball sandwich, chicken noodle soup, chicken tenders and a handful of other dishes, including chocolate chip sugar cookies for a late dessert.

Cruise ship passengers, however, can be very sensitive to any menu changes. Some of the dishes Carnival offers on the MDR may not be very popular, but for some, it was a favorite dish that was a special part of the cruise for them.

Any change is noticed, and when you make a change to the menu at one of the most popular restaurants on board, passengers don’t just notice, they complain. Complaining to Carnival can sometimes be effective, and brand ambassador John Heald recently said the cruise line has begun making changes to dining across the fleet because passengers have asked for it.

Sign up for the Come Cruise With Me newsletter to save money on your next (or first) cruise.

Guy Fieri owns several restaurants on Carnival cruise ships.

Image source: Ethan Miller/Getty Images for Caesars Entertainment

Guy Fieri has a huge presence at Carnival

A few Carnival ships, including Mardi Gras, Celebration, Jubilee, Panorama and Horizon, feature Guy Fieri’s Pig & Anchor BBQ, a for-pay restaurant. However, every ship in the fleet features a Guy’s Burger Joint.

“When we were looking for someone to help us make the best burgers at sea, we found just the guy. Carnival teamed up with best-selling author, restaurateur and Food Network personality Guy Fieri to bring all the authentic appeal of a roadside burger shack to Guy’s Burger Joint, the cool poolside spot for hot burgers and hand-cut fries,” the cruise line shared on its website.

Carnival did, however, at some point discontinue hand-cut fries. Passengers noticed and complained.

Heald recently shared some good news for them.

“And those of you commenting on fries, you may have noticed that on some ships we have reverted to the original hand-cut fries recipe and will be doing so fleetwide in the coming days and weeks. Kudos to Richard, our Senior Vice President of Food and Beverage, for listening,” he wrote.

Want to know the latest cruise news and offers? Sign up for the Come Cruise With Me newsletter.

Carnival passengers will be guests who dive into French fries

While there was probably someone who liked the pre-made, machine-cut fries, most of the messages in response to Heald’s news were very positive.

“John Heald, thanks! Hand cut fries are the best! I stopped buying fries from the guys just to save a few calories on the cruise, but I won’t say no to hand cut fries! No ketchup for me on my burger,” Tami Spoeri posted.

Michelle Glover-Reaves seemed relieved by the news.

“Thank God, because the other fries are not good,” she wrote.

Some passengers would like to see other changes.

“The fries we had on our last cruise were not the same. I would also like to see the sautéed mushrooms on the toppings bar again,” shared Kimberly Lamontagne Lobdell.

ALSO READ: Top travel agents explain how to get the best price for your cruise

Another poster lobbied Heald to put another celebrity restaurant on Carnival ships.

“Can you please ask the person in charge of catering to find it in their heart to add more Shaq Chicken restaurants to the Carnival fleet? Please, with a cherry on top,” Michelle Glover-Reaves wrote.

Related: Get the best cruise tips, deals and ship news from our expert cruise line