Can Carnival Cruise Line Appetizers Be Customized?
Cruise lines are all about service, and it is the amazing service guests can receive that will truly make a cruise vacation spectacular. But there are some services that just aren’t possible, even though they may seem simple enough.
One such impossible service is customization in the Main Dining Room – specifically, the ability to special order changes to established appetizers.
One recent Carnival cruise guest messaged John Heald, the cruise line’s brand ambassador, about their frustration with what could have been a simple appetizer change.
“On the Breeze [back-to-back]! Can I order a shrimp cocktail and a Caesar salad together at the same time? Yes is the answer,” the guest described. “So why can’t I order a Caesar salad with shrimp?”
It might seem like adding shrimp to a Caesar salad would be an easy enough step, but the dining room does not take such customization requests.
Heald did, however, note that ordering both appetizers to create one’s customized salad is certainly an option.
“You will need to order both separately, the Caesar salad and the shrimp cocktail,” he confirmed. “You can then pour the shrimp onto the salad.”
This type of adjustment takes only a second, and surely isn’t worth a complaint. But it wasn’t actually the only complaint this guest had about their dining service.
They shared a photo of their salad with Heald, admonishing its proportions.
“Only four croutons. Pikers!” the guest said.
I do love some crunchy, seasoned croutons, but there’s another easy fix to this that Heald points out.
“You can [ask] the waiter for extra croutons,” he said.
This is similar to other dining “hacks” Carnival guests have shared, such as requesting a side of peanut butter to accompany the famous warm chocolate melting cake.
Why Can’t Appetizers Be Customized?
Heald does not elaborate about why appetizers can’t be customized, but it is important to note that cruise ship chefs are preparing hundreds – even thousands – of meals simultaneously. Interrupting their finely tuned process with special requests can create delays and other problems for many other diners.
The Dream-class Carnival Breeze, for example, can welcome 3,690 guests for each sailing, based on double occupancy. The ship has two main dining rooms, Sapphire and Blush, and therefore, four seated dining times – two early and two late. This means roughly 900 guests may be scheduled for each dining time.
Even if one-quarter of the guests choose to eat either at the Lido Marketplace buffet or any of the onboard specialty restaurants, the chefs are making meals for 675 guests in each dining room for each sitting.
And given that individual guests can order multiple appetizers if they wish – I’ve enjoyed soup and salad together many times – the galley may be preparing well over 1,200 appetizers for each dining time.
Adding in the pressure of special orders, such as putting shrimp into the Caesar salad by request, further complicates an already highly complicated operation.
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Furthermore, many cold appetizer selections, such as salads and shrimp cocktail, may be prepared in advance earlier in the day and therefore are ready-to-serve without modification.
Additional guests also pointed out that the shrimp used for shrimp cocktail have their tails left on for proper presentation. The tails would need to be removed to be added to the salad, which takes more time and further interrupts the service.
Similarly, main menu items cannot be extensively customized. While some items – such as a fresh-cooked side – may sometimes be swapped out for allergy concerns, it is more common that servers would urge guests to select a different item to ensure there is no cross-contamination.
With so much delicious food onboard, every Carnival guest can surely find delicious dishes to enjoy no matter what their dining preferences, without any customization necessary.