Last Carnival Ship Likely to Lose Luxury Feature Cruisers Miss

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There has been much debate over the last couple of years about Carnival Cruise Line dropping little luxuries – twice-a-day stateroom service, chocolates on the pillows for nightly turndown service, etc.

One of the most missed luxuries is tablecloths for dinner in the Main Dining Room (MDR) restaurants, which travelers have often commented on.

One Carnival cruiser, however, recently saw a report of a Carnival ship that did indeed feature those crisp, white tablecloths.

Don’t get excited! The traveler reached out to the cruise line’s official Brand Ambassador, John Heald, for clarification about whether or not tablecloths are to be expected. His answer confirms that the luxury feature won’t last long.

“Good morning Mr. John Heald, can you verify yes or no on somethin for me, please? I have this supposed cruiser commenting that she just got off the Spirit cruise of [December] 29 to January 4, 2025 and is claiming tablecloths were used every meal in the MDR,” the guest explained.

Carnival Spirit is currently homeported from Mobile, Alabama and offers Caribbean and Bahamas itineraries. The ship’s December 29 departure was a 6-night Western Caribbean New Year’s sailing, with calls in Cozumel, Mexico and Belize City, Belize.

“Is this true or not, please?” the guest asked. “I find it hard to believe as I just did the Magic in October and it was as expected, no tablecloths.”

Heald does confirm that Carnival Spirit is operating her Main Dining Room restaurants slightly different from the rest of the fleet, but not for much longer.

“Thank you, yes, this is currently the only ship that has tablecloths,” Heald said. “We have not yet changed over to the new shiny tables that all the other ships have.”

Heald goes on to comment that the tables may be switched out during Carnival Spirit‘s upcoming dry dock, at which time the tablecloths are likely to be removed.

Carnival Spirit, which joined the fleet in 2001, is due for dry dock to begin at the end of January 2025. Her last sailing prior to going in for renovation is her January 18, 2025 departure, a 12-night Southern Caribbean itinerary.

After departing Mobile, the ship will visit Grand Turk, Aruba, Curacao, Jamaica, and Grand Cayman. Once her guests have debarked in Mobile on January 30, the 88,500-gross-ton vessel will travel to Spain for updating. That movement is without passengers.

Carnival Spirit is scheduled to return to service with a transatlantic cruise that will depart Barcelona, Spain on March 16, 2025. The refreshed ship will visit Malaga and Cadiz in Spain, Ponta Delgada in the Azores, and Kings Wharf, Bermuda on her to Miami, Florida, arriving on March 30.

The ship will then sail a 15-night one-way repositioning cruise from Miami to Seattle, passing through the Panama Canal along the way – a bucket-list sailing for many travelers. From Seattle, Carnival Spirit will join the Alaska season with 7-night itineraries.

In October, the ship will return to Mobile to show off her updated features at her homeport.

The exact updates that will be brought to Carnival Spirit during the 6-week dry dock have not been announced, but are likely to include a variety of general maintenance and technical updates.

New features and venues may also be added to the ship, such as a non-smoking casino, which Carnival Cruise Line has been expanding onto many ships during similar dry docks.

Why No Tablecloths?

Carnival Cruise Line has discontinued the use of tablecloths in recent years in an effort to be more environmentally conscious and reduce laundry needs onboard.

Irate cruisers have accused Carnival of “cheapening” the onboard experience by removing tablecloths, but Heald has been adamant that it’s not about saving money, it’s about saving the environment.

Spirit Class Ship's Dining Room With Tablecloths
Spirit Class Ship’s Dining Room With Tablecloths (Photo Courtesy: Carnival)

Heald has noted that each ship has approximately 3,000 tablecloths that would need daily washing after dining room use. With 27 ships in the Carnival fleet, that adds up to 81,000 daily tablecloths! Even when some tables go unused (as travelers choose other dining options), that is a massive amount of laundry.

As an interesting note, Heald has never addressed why Carnival Cruise Line continues to make thousands of towel animals daily to place in staterooms – towels that will also need to be washed before they are able to be used for another guest.

Read Also: Cruise Ship Laundry – What You Need to Know

Of course, the towel animals are beloved and many travelers enjoy finding a new one in their cabin each day. Some cruisers even collect each one to enjoy a full menagerie during their sailing.

Guests can always ask that their cabin attendants not leave towel animals, or even request their favorite terrycloth cruising companions.

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Melissa Mayntz
Melissa Mayntz
Melissa has been offering her expertise on cruises since 2017 and reporting on cruise news since 2021. her work has been featured in newspapers, blogs, and websites on a wide range of subjects, but cruises remain her favorite topic to cover. She has been on more than 40 voyages to the Caribbean, Mexico, Alaska, Hawaii, and more, and always has at least one more sailing booked on the horizon.

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