Carnival Cruise Line makes clear call on Costco, dining change
Carnival Cruise Line has an impressive array of free food options including some restaurants from big-name celebrities.
You can get chicken from Shaq's Big Chicken on many ships. And, while the basketball great does not have a major reputation in the culinary world, his fried chicken chain has been positively reviewed.
Related: Cruises to popular port may cost more as city hikes docking fees
Guy Fieri, on the other hand, is one of the most famous chefs in the world. His. Guy's Burgers are literally on every carnival cruise ship.
The "Mayor of Flavortown" actually has a pretty spotty record when it comes to land based restaurants, but cruisers seem to love his onboard burgers.
But no matter how many free offerings a cruise line has, some people always want more. Most carnival ships also offer free Mexican as well as free pizza until midnight.
After midnight, the cruise line offers a sort of buffet that changes nightly. Passengers have been very mixed on the quality of that buffet and many do not appreciate the sheet pizza that's offered instead of the traditional handmade pizza. The cruise line used to serve until 2 a.m.
Now, the Cruz light has been asked about adding another culinary delight from a brand that that's already a partner.
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Carnival Brand Ambassador John Heald gets a lot of crazy requests. In many cases, people like to make really broad statements that may or may not be true.
"Every American eats biscuits and gravy for breakfast every morning" has been a popular sentiment shared with him often. In many cases, people like to be more dismissive.
"You may not know this because you're British, but all Americans brush their teeth with Tabasco sauce and it should be provided in every room."
Requests like that usually get shouted down by Heald's audience, but sometimes he responds when he gets a more rational question (even if it's overstated).
"John was thinking of the Street Eats you have on the Jubilee. What's missing is Costco Rotisserie chicken. Have you tried this John? It is the most popular chicken in America, The entirety of the meat is moist-both the light and the dark. I know this would be an awesome collab to have for Carnival. It would bring new cruisers to Carnival," wrote an unnamed poster on Heald's Facebook page.
The "most popular chicken in America" line can be heavily debated, but Costco does sell a lot of chicken. Heald was blunt in his answer.
"I am sure that this chicken is excellent but is it really going to bring in new cruisers? Who needs rollercoasters, water parks, brilliant friendly crew if you have a rotating chicken," he wrote before making a joke. "By the way, I bought a chicken earlier to make some sandwiches.. biggest waste of time! Just runs round the kitchen clucking and crapping on the floor."
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Most of the over 200 comments on Heald's page seem to be supportive of the idea that Costco chicken may be great, but it's not needed on a Carnival cruise.
"Yes nothing will bring customers to a cruise line like offering Costco chicken," wrote Mandy Forbes.
Leslie Lasage Babineaux agreed with that sentiment.
"OMG YES. Costco chicken is exactly what is missing from Carnival Cruise Line. Genius marketing strategy! (Slaps forehead)," she posted.
LK Gardiner was even more dismissive.
"Good Morning John. Please don't bother with the Costco, Walmart. Sam's Club or any other grocery chain rotisserie chicken. I can get them every day of the week," they shared.
Paul Kitchens-Fredeen had more fun with the idea.
"And while you're at it, add one of those rollers that the gas station has to let us grab taquitos," he added.
(The Arena Group will earn a commission if you book a cruise.)
Make a free appointment with Come Cruise With Me's Travel Agent Partner, Postcard Travel, or email Amy Post at amypost@postcardtravelplanning.com or call or text her at 386-383-2472.
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