Carnival Will Never Stop Celebrating Birthdays in the Dining Room
Celebrating a special occasion – such as a birthday – is a great reason to take a cruise. And of course, no birthday is complete without a celebratory birthday dinner.
The traditional way to end a birthday meal is of course by singing “Happy Birthday,” but one Carnival guest was hoping that this practice would soon come to an end.
“The staff attempting to sing Happy Birthday is one of the most painful experiences in the dining room for everyone. The servers hate doing it and they sing completely out of key. The diners around have to listen to it,” a future Carnival guest wrote to Carnival Ambassador John Heald on his Facebook page.
“You only encourage this John Heald by sending cheap tat to people who are pretending it’s their birthday. We have anytime dining on the——— 6/14. A private table for three and no public displays of affection and off key singing is what I need,” she continued.
While this guest may not like it, Heald’s response made it clear that these birthday songs won’t be going away anytime soon.
If she doesn’t want to hear it, she can opt for room service or make sure the crew members don’t know when it’s her birthday so they won’t sing to her. But what she can’t do is dictate the experience for other guests who may enjoy the tradition.
“The crew actually like the singing because they love the guests and love to make them smile and yes, of course they hope that these kinds of things will be remembered come gratuity time, it would be silly of me not to say that,” Heald replied.
“OK, they may not all be Tom Jones or Lady Gar Gar but they sing it with such gusto and sincerity,” Heald then joked.
Singing is also not unique to Carnival cruise ships. Not only is this a tradition in restaurants on land and for many other cruise lines, but some ships like NCL’s new Norwegian Aqua even have their crew members perform a special morning song just because.
Celebrating Birthdays at Sea
Among Heald’s followers, the consensus was that this future cruise guest was a party pooper who needed to learn to have fun.
Heald also included a poll as a joke in which he asked his fans what he should do next, and the winning option was that he should “ask the Maitre D to have many waiters sing Happy Birthday to her, very loudly and for the waiters to include her full name and age in the penultimate line.”
“You’re supposed to have fun, laugh and make memories on a cruise. I hope the WHOLE dining room sings to me on my Birthday cruise! Stop being so miserable and enjoy every second on the ship,” one Carnival fan wrote.
“You absolutely need to have all the waiters walk by her table. They need to go by several times each night singing as loud as they can. And please let’s add some dancing and instruments in as well,” another chimed in.
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As the masters of fun, Carnival also has additional ways to make birthday cruises extra special that guests can invest in ahead of their sailing.
For example, the cruise line offers a variety of birthday decor and gift packages that can be delivered to staterooms.
Some of the options available include themed stuffed animals for kids, actual birthday cakes that start as low as $14.75, and elaborate flower arrangements where flowers are made to look like birthday cakes.
Adults may also be fond of the Happy Birthday Champagne or Wine packages – in which crew members will decorate the cruise cabins and deliver a bottle of the chosen drink to enjoy, along with Carnival-etched glasses.
Carnival Will Never Stop Celebrating Birthdays in the Dining Room