While Guy’s Burger Joint has consistently been one of the most popular casual dining options on Carnival cruise ships, several complaints have made their way through social media recently about the quality of the burgers.
The issue, however, is one of confusion and the mistaken identity of a particular breakfast product.
Guy’s Burger Joint serves up thousands of fresh-made smashburgers every day on Carnival ships, operating through the lunch hours and into the late afternoon. But what about earlier in the day?
One recent Carnival guest noted a problem with the quality of their burgers, and seemed to discover the answer onboard Carnival Celebration. They brought the issue to the attention of John Heald, Carnival’s official Brand Ambassador – and got an interesting response.
“Hi John, we are on the beautiful Celebration having a good time. Wanted to ask you why are they precooking Guy’s Burgers? They are dried out and awful,” the guest commented.
That the burgers Carnival Cruise Line advertises as “fresh-off-the-grill” would be pre-cooked is a bold claim. The guest goes on to explain that they were on Carnival Magic recently and also had “dried out” burgers, but discovered what they believed to be the reason.
“Next morning [while] coming to breakfast we [saw] they were cooking the burgers at 8 a.m.,” the guest said, noting that they have seen the same thing on Carnival Celebration.
Given the popularity of Guy’s Burgers – the venue has won “best burger at sea” every year the Cruise Hive Awards have celebrated burgers – knowing whether or not they truly are fresh-cooked is of great interest to food aficionados and Carnival cruise fans alike.
Heald reached out to the food and beverage director onboard Carnival Celebration for verification and explanation of the guest’s claim and what they saw.
“We are not precooking burgers at 8:00am as [the] guest mentioned – before 11:45am burgers won’t go on the grill,” the director explained.
Guy’s Burger Joint typically opens at noon, which means every burger patty is no more than a few minutes old when guests begin placing their orders (I’ll have a Plain Jane, please!).
Because of the popularity of the venue, it is necessary for some pre-opening cooking to take place to ensure a long line does not build up right away.
So, what did the guest really see when cooks were hard at work at Guy’s Burger Joint early in the morning?
“We are using the outlets [from] 7:00am to 10:00am – the same flat top grill – to prepare pancakes for the Lido breakfast buffet lines,” the director said.
With Guy’s Burger Joint located close to the Lido Marketplace on most Carnival ships – an efficient way for different restaurants to share common facilities – this use of the cooking space makes great sense and helps keep the Lido breakfast buffet stocked with great-tasting griddle cakes.
How Could Such a Mistake Happen?
Admittedly, if the guest was only passing by the grilling area while strolling into the Lido Marketplace and didn’t get a good look, the golden-brown pancakes could approximate the size and shape of burger patties.
This confusion follows the persistent social media rumor about Guy’s Burger Joint introducing a new breakfast menu, which Heald has already debunked.
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This does not explain, however, the perceived “dried out and awful” taste of the burgers the guest described. Taste is very much a personal preference, and what may seem to be a boring burger to one person could be delicious to another.
Of course, if Guy’s Burger Joint were to create a breakfast burger with pancakes for a bun around a sausage patty with the signature Super Melty Cheese, sign me up!