Closely following Holland America Line’s announcement of a sweet partnership with Lindt & Sprรผngli for onboard chocolate offerings, Carnival Cruise Line has answered guest inquiries about a sweet history of their own. Unfortunately, however, the answer may not be one that chocolate lovers had hoped to hear.
Loyal cruisers eager for the Holland America Line chocolate offering – a “Sweet Dreams” turndown service featuring Lindt LINDOR milk chocolate or sea salt milk chocolate truffles – reached out to Carnival Cruise Line’s Brand Ambassador John Heald. After all, Holland America Line and Carnival Cruise Line are both owned by Carnival Corporation & plc.
“Diamond/platinum cruisers on [social media] want the chocolate pieces back on the pillows again,” a guest identified as “S” mentioned to Heald. “It was a nice memory of the cruise. I am always very disappointed to come home without them.”
Years ago, Carnival guests were greeted with a square of simple milk chocolate (and even more years ago, a chocolate mint) wrapped in signature Carnival Cruise Line foil on their pillows after the nightly turndown service each day. Heald has confirmed, however, that this practice will not be returning.
“We stopped this many years ago and the savings paid for the introduction of Guy’s Burgers across the fleet,” Heald said with a glint of humor.
Guy’s Burger Joint is a popular complimentary eatery on Carnival ships, offering signature smash burgers of several varieties along with hand cut fries. On some ships, exclusive burgers are offered, such as the Italian-themed recipes aboard Carnival Venezia and Carnival Firenze that include pepperoni and mozzarella.
Read Also: Everything About Guy’s Burger Joint on Carnival Cruise Line – Menus and More
In a partnership with Food Network superstar and larger-than-life personality Guy Fieri, Guy’s Burger Joint was first introduced aboard Carnival Liberty in 2011. As further ships were built or renovated with Fun Ship 2.0 upgrades, the venue was added to more vessels. Today, Guy’s Burger Joint is found aboard 26 of the 27 Carnival cruise line ships – only Carnival Luminosa does not have the venue.
Heald does offer another humorous though less-than-delicious reason why the chocolates may have been discontinued.
“When guests would spill or crush a little bit of chocolate on the bed and the more they would try to explain that it was melted chocolate to the cabin attendants, the more it seemed to them that it was not chocolate,” he said.
Along with laughs, guest reaction has been mixed to Heald’s confirmation about the loss of the chocolates. Some cruisers recall the treat with fondness, while others don’t miss the chocolate but do miss the nightly turndown service.
It should be noted that Carnival ships also offer chocolates in numerous ways for chocoholics who still crave a nightly fix. The signature warm chocolate melting cake is available at every Main Dining Room for dinner dessert every evening, and chocolate ice cream and froyo are often offered for free at Swirls. The Cherry on Top gift shops also offer a selection of chocolate treats and candies.
How Many Chocolates?
It is unclear if Heald is being serious about whether the savings on simple pillow chocolates was able to fund the introduction of the burger joint. While such a financial comparison may be unlikely, it is important to note that nightly chocolates for every guest on just one of the line’s Excel-class ships – Mardi Gras, Carnival Celebration, or Carnival Jubilee – would be 1.9 million chocolates per year.
For the entire Carnival Cruise Line fleet of 27 vessels, 89,000 chocolates would be used every night if each ship was sailing at just double occupancy. For a year, that would total more than 32.4 million chocolates!
Do you remember Carnival’s nightly chocolate or mint? Do you miss it, or do you prefer a Guy’s burger? Share your thoughts on the Cruise Hive boards!