Trivia contests are a mainstay activity for most cruise lines, offering guests a fun time to show off their nonsensical knowledge and win a silly prize.
Carnival Cruise Line, however, has been called out by a disgruntled traveler over the quality of their prizes – the winner medals as well as the iconic ship-on-a-stick trophies.
One recent guest reached out to John Heald, Carnival Cruise Line’s official Brand Ambassador, offering an alternative for pay-to-play trivia games. Heald addresses hundreds of questions, requests, and inquiries nearly every day through his popular Facebook page.
“Why are the prizes on Carnival ships so lame? A plastic … ship on a stick or a medal so cheap it doesn’t have the name of the boat on it!” the guest asked.
The guest goes on to note that another cruise line offers small bags, pens, and highlighters as trivia prizes. Depending on the ship and trivia type, other prizes that have been offered include hats, zipper pulls, keychains, and other trinkets.
This particular traveler does offer an alternative for Carnival to consider – the idea that guests should pay to participate in trivia contests. The prize pot would then be awarded to the game’s winner.
“If Carnival is so cheap not to give better prizes then charge $5 to enter each trivia game. The prize money goes to the winner,” they suggested.
Heald responded to the guest’s idea on prizes and asked how other travelers feel about a pay-to-play trivia option.
“I think most people want to have fun, free fun at trivia and the prizes we give represent that,” Heald said. “However, I may be wrong. Perhaps it is time to say cheerio to the solid gold plastic ship on a stick. Perhaps people want to pay a cash entry with prize money going to the winner.”
More than 1,500 commenters responded to the idea in just a few hours, with mixed ideas.
Many avid trivia players do like the idea of having the ship’s name on the prize medals, which currently just feature Carnival Cruise Line’s iconic whale tale funnel. The medals have evolved somewhat over the years, but have rarely had ship names.
The ship-on-a-stick trophy, on the other hand, is a very coveted prize that many travelers showcase once they return home. While each trophy is identical in design, they do have individualized nameplates for each vessel in the Carnival fleet, making them even more memorable and collectible.
“These trinkets are prized not by their monetary value but the fun and memories they provide through the years,” one commenter said.
It should be noted that ship-on-a-stick trophies are not often awarded at trivia contests, and smaller prizes are more frequently given away.
Which prizes are offered at which trivia contests depends on each ship’s trivia host, the availability of different prizes, and the popularity of the individual game.
Should Trivia Have an Entry Fee?
As for the idea of pay-to-play for trivia, doing so would likely decrease participation (I love trivia games but would never pay to play, as I am not that good!), as well as increase competitiveness.
Charging for trivia games could also lead to arguments and other problems, such as cheating accusations, making the activity much less enjoyable or even requiring security to be in attendance at each game.
Furthermore, frequent cruisers who may have already attended similar trivia events would have an unfair advantage for future games. This could make pay-for-play events even more difficult to appeal to new travelers.
Read Also: What to Expect When You Go on a Carnival Cruise
The same sorts of trivia themes are often played over and over on different cruises, especially onboard the same ship when one Fun Squad member oversees most trivia contests. General knowledge trivia games as well as themes like sports, animals, foods, holidays, weird laws, flags, and other topics are popular choices.
Favorite television shows and movies are also popular trivia games, including Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, Friends, The Office, Star Wars, The Simpsons, and more.
