When brand ambassador John Heald responded to a complaint about the lack of tablecloths in the main dining rooms on Carnival ships, he had no idea the debate that he would start.
“Not having tablecloths is an example of a cruise line with no class. Having a “brand ambassador “ making lurid statements shows that he is the perfect match. Both have zero class,” reads the initial complaint, which Heald shared on his Facebook page.
But not only did this start an internet war in the comments of the post – to which more than 1,000 people have responded to in less than 12 hours – but it caught the attention of Professor Melissa, a university professor who has gained a following sharing cruise tips on social media.
“So, in case you hadn’t noticed, Carnival this year has stopped using real tablecloths, and some cruisers are up in arms about it. Carnival ambassador John Heald posted about it today and I find this topic so interesting…that I plan to make a video about it,” Melissa shared on Facebook.
“Specifically it’s going to be about the “cheapening” of the cruise experience, and how small luxuries have been taken away slowly but steadily,” continued the travel influencer.
Before Melissa could return with a video, Heald defended Carnival’s decision to do away with the tablecloths – which the 27-ship cruise line opted for in order to be more environmentally friendly.
“Professor Melissa – respectfully I hope you will also mention the main reason that we do not have them. And that is washing approximately 3,000 tablecloths every day on every ship and the incredibly negative impact it has on the environment,” Heald clapped back in the comments of Melissa’s post.
On average, a standard washing machine uses around 20 gallons of water per load, which becomes quite substantial when thousands of tablecloths need to be cleaned daily – not just in terms of the environmental impact, but also with the manpower it takes to do that much laundry.
Do Tablecloths Really Matter?
According to a subsequent poll posted by Heald, the majority of cruisers don’t care one way or the other about tablecloths in the dining room.
14,244 voted for “tablecloths really make little or no difference to my dining pleasure and the fun,” while only 2,095 chose “tablecloths make every difference to the experience I have in the dining room.”
While clearly some do care about tablecloths – as votes reaching into the 2,000s isn’t unsubstantial – the majority didn’t mind going without them.
“I always found white table cloths to be a waste of resources, water, energy, labor. They stain easily and require a lot of bleaching and washing. It gives the crew a small break and less to worry about,” wrote one commenter.
“I don’t mind tables without a cloth, more than 1/2 the time people are shifting them and they end up more on one side than the other, kids spill and drip and wipe their hands on them,” added another.
Read Also: Free Carnival Cruise Dining Options You’ll Want to Know (With Menus!)
While some may see the omission of tablecloths as a downgrade, rest assured that Carnival has been working to improve the onboard experience in other ways.
Perhaps most notable, the cruise line rolled out high-speed Starlink internet service fleet wide earlier in 2024 and introduced a new premium WI-FI plan that can be used on multiple devices earlier in September.
At the end of 2023, the family-friendly brand also announced a revamped chef’s table experience for this year and debuted a new master cooking class inspired by chef Emeril Lagasse on Carnival Jubilee.
Carnival also added the ability to book the beloved “Behind The Fun” ship tours in advance of setting sail, and made disembarkation easier with new features on the HUB App that allow guests to plan their departure through the app.
