10 Discontinued Carnival Cruise Experiences Passengers Wish Would Make A Comeback

Since it was founded by Ted Arison in 1972, Carnival Cruise Line has been synonymous with fun at sea. Arison's vision was to make cruising, a vacation experience once largely reserved for the wealthy, accessible to everyone. Often called "America's cruise line," Carnival typically offers affordable cruise journeys for all types of travel parties, from college spring breakers to parents with young children. Over the years, the line has evolved, constructing the world's first rollercoaster at sea and developing a Caribbean private island resort with a large freshwater lagoon. With new additions, however, inevitably comes change. To "ring in the new," so to speak, Carnival has retired some of its most beloved experiences. For longtime passengers, these changes can be bittersweet.

From quirky onboard traditions like belly-flopping contests to elaborate chocolate buffets, many of these experiences live on in guests' memories and in online message boards. Travelers often reminisce about the things they miss that once defined the Carnival Cruise Line brand. In this nostalgic look back at cruises past, we'll revisit 10 discontinued Carnival Cruise experiences that passengers wish would make a comeback. Each holds a special place in cruise culture, and reminds travelers how a brand's past can continue to shape both its present and its future.

For decades, Carnival's midnight buffets were legendary. More than just a chance to grab a late-night snack, they were often held on gala nights and were specifically designed to wow guests with an over-the-top display of food artistry. Online, longtime passengers lament their loss. One Facebook user wrote, "They would let you in between 11:30 PM and midnight to take pictures, then at midnight everybody could start to eat. It was an amazing display of food art with a giant ice sculpture in the middle." Another responded on the same Facebook post, "It was awesome! People that [sic: who] started cruising later have no idea how grand it was!" Passengers fondly recall these indulgent spreads, where the party didn't have to end just because the clock struck 12.

For many, the buffet was as much about the social energy as the food itself. From online anecdotes, you can almost imagine people snapping photos, feeling a sense of collective excitement that makes the memories of these cruises last a lifetime. The buffets were eventually phased out as Carnival controversially changed its food service and shifted toward dining options like pizza and delis. In 2024, the cruise line did bring back an extremely scaled-back version of the midnight buffets of yore, but guests say they are nothing compared to those that once graced Carnival's dining halls. One Redditor emphatically stated, "It's essentially just a spot with some popcorn chicken, chicken noodle soup, a ham sandwich, and cookies. It should not even be allowed to carry 'midnight buffet's' name."

Once upon a time, walking down a Carnival cruise ship's hallway meant seeing festive decorations on most cabin doors. Guests would cover their stateroom entries with colorful magnets, posters, and themed displays celebrating special occasions like birthdays and anniversaries. While door decorating is still a huge tradition on other cruise lines, especially Disney Cruise Line, Carnival has enacted policies that make this cruise tradition harder. Official guidelines now prohibit tape, glue, and most adhesives, citing safety and fire concerns. In addition, no decor can hang from stateroom balconies, and nothing is allowed to cover light fixtures.

While magnets are still technically allowed, not all Carnival Cruise Line ships have magnetic doors. In fact, one Cruise Critic guest wrote, "I've never been on a Carnival ship where magnets actually stuck to the doors." For those who loved the original version of this tradition, Carnival's updated regulations make things a bit challenging. What was once a spontaneous way to share excitement now requires careful planning to avoid breaking the rules.

For years, free room service was one of Carnival Cruise Line's most popular perks. Guests could order sandwiches, salads, cookies, and other light fare directly to their cabins, all included with their cruise fare. That policy shifted in 2019, when Carnival added prices to most items on its room service menu, keeping only continental breakfast free of charge. In an official statement shared by Travel Market Report, CEO John Heald said, "Sometimes we need to make a tough decision that may be unpopular but make sense in the long run. Even with these changes, a Carnival cruise offers the greatest array of free-of-charge options and remains the best value in travel."

The policy change has been the subject of many online conversations, including a Facebook thread where one cruiser admonished, "Another Carnival cost cutting measure, only continental breakfast is free from 6am to 10 am. And no more door hangers the night before. I always get coffee in the room in the morning, but now I have to call and wait for them to bring it, it was so nice to wake up and it was there. Carnival you need to do better." For many Carnival Cruise Line loyalists, free room service was as much about feeling appreciated as it was about the food itself. As one Facebooker noted, "No reason for me to go back to Carnival now!!!" If this perk returned, it seems it would go a long way toward making people remember why they loved Carnival in the first place.

Nowadays, Carnival is hard to beat for live music and comedy, but it used to be known for something far more extravagant. Few cruise traditions were as eagerly anticipated as the chocolate buffets that were once a major part of Carnival trips. Today, there is an extremely scaled-down version of the original chocolate extravaganza. Longtime cruisers often share the difference with new Carnival travelers online. One Cruise Critic user explained, "The one on the Miracle isn't like the one on the Valor.... they had, from what I recall... a chocolate fountain (melted chocolate, not rich at all) with some fruits, cheesecake, etc. But didn't have the extensive chocolate desserts, soups, etc like the one you may remember on the Valor..." Another said, "I know it's definitely nothing like it was years ago though."

If you do plan to check out the current iteration of Carnival's dessert buffet on your next cruise, be aware that it isn't available on all sailings. One recent Facebook user shared, "Pride did not have it 22nd thru 29th of June. Normally its on the last sea day during lunch time. Definitely nothing like it used to be though." It is worth noting that Carnival Cruise Line isn't the only brand to phase out or heavily scale back its chocolate buffet experience. Many cruise lines got rid of these costly buffets due to rising food costs and growing concerns about extensive food waste on board. Despite the nostalgia for truly over-the-top chocolate buffets to return to cruise culture, it seems that this is one tradition that has likely dropped anchor for good in today's world.

Although Carnival still offers one of the best-reviewed cruises in the Caribbean, the line has discontinued some experiences that added a little extra sparkle to the cruise experience. There was a time when Carnival passengers entered their staterooms to find a complimentary welcome basket waiting in their cabin. Typically placed in the bathroom, these baskets included small toiletries, sample-sized products, and razors or toothpaste. As Cruise Director James Dunn explained to All Things Cruise in 2014, "It's our way of saying 'welcome.' Sort of a hospitality gift." The amenity baskets weren't extravagant, but they were helpful, especially for those who had forgotten basic necessities in the packing chaos at home.

A decade ago, guests also sometimes received Bon Voyage baskets featuring Carnival-branded merchandise for various reasons, such as belonging to a loyalty club, booking back-to-back cruises, or experiencing some sort of onboard snafu. Over the years, however, Carnival has phased out complimentary items in favor of a wide selection of Bon Voyage gift baskets and cabin decoration packages available for purchase. Today's Carnival Cruise Line guests can pre-order everything from romantic wine and chocolate-covered strawberry baskets to Dr. Seuss toys for kids, but everything comes at an additional cost.

Carnival Cruise Line has had its fair share of negative press over the years, but one thing guests have always been able to count on is an experience that leans hard into the fun factor. In the past, the brand sometimes arguably went too far off the deep end, offering onboard experiences so outlandish that they have now fallen by the wayside. Among the most unforgettable were trap shooting and golf swings from the backs of Carnival's ships. For a mere $1 a shot, passengers could fire at clay pigeons that were launched over open water. One early '90s cruiser recalled the experience on Reddit, "1991-2 I was on the Carnival Fantasy. You could shoot skeet off the back of the ship. Here I am drinking by the pool all day and they hand me a loaded shotgun." From this anecdote alone, it's not hard to understand why shipboard skeet shooting was laid to rest. Similarly, golf shots were nixed when the International Maritime Organization banned the disposal of plastics into the sea.

Others remember the popular belly-flop contests and hairy-chest contests, both of which ended in 2022 as the cruise line aimed to provide more family-friendly activities. Generally considered rather tacky forms of entertainment, Carnival itself acknowledged that the change was necessary. Deckside pillow fights were another eccentric offering on Carnival's ships. Although these, too, are now a footnote in Carnival's history, some fans wish they would return. One Redditor wrote, "That's awesome. I wish they would make one retro ship like this."

One of Carnival's most talked-about losses is the passenger talent show. This tradition allowed guests to take the spotlight, performing songs, stand-up comedy, and dance routines. One of the most popular talent contests — though it was a different event than the smaller talent show — was the Legends Show, in which guests were assigned songs by icons like Elvis, Madonna, or Frank Sinatra. As far back as 2007, however, the talent show had been removed from the programming on some Carnival vessels, though the Legends Show was still available at that time, with guests trying out throughout the week in the karaoke bar. One staff member shared on Cruise Critic, "When we stopped doing our 8 day runs and switched to our 7 day out of Tampa, we dropped the guest tallent [sic] show."

Another thread from 2018 noted that all talent contests had seemingly been gone for at least a year at that point. One regular cruiser shared on Cruise Critic, "I used to participate in the Talent Show on every cruise when it was offered, but haven't seen if on any of my Carnival cruises, in well over a year." Nowadays, Carnival offers other passenger participation experiences, including Deal or No Deal, which requires a surcharge. Guests can also enjoy Family Feud and traditional karaoke for all ages at no additional fee.

For many years, Carnival rewarded its repeat cruisers with collectible pins, each ship and year featuring a unique design. These tchotchkes became highly prized souvenirs for collectors, with many vacationers adding to their stashes with every new itinerary. However, over the years, Carnival has largely phased out these pins, with one Cruise Critic user being told that the cruise line "no longer has the pins to offer, and no plans at all to bring them back." It does, however, seem that certain classes of guests — including Gold and Platinum VIFP loyalty tier members — have received pins more recently than that. In one Facebook thread, for instance, a guest was diligently searching for multiple older pins, including one from a 2019 cruise on the Valor.

The spotty availability of the once-prevalent past guest pins has not, however, quelled the nostalgia people feel for this offering. In fact, the rarest pins are now listed for over $100 on resale sites like eBay. One Cruise Critic user wrote, "Please people, don't pay that for a pin. Maybe we should all start writing Carnival and asking for the privilege to buy these pins if we have been a past guest. I rather buy them from Carnival than give $100.00 to someone who got the pin free in the first place! Maybe Carnival will rethink the situation if we all ask for the pins!" As the cruise brand continues to revamp its features with updated loyalty program tiers, including the loss of lifetime status, it remains to be seen if any past guest pins are still offered moving forward.

Carnival's Dive-In Movies are a pool deck staple, but one small change has altered the atmosphere for many guests. Loyal cruisers miss the free popcorn that used to come along with the show. Popcorn is now an upcharge item, and longtime guests have not been shy about expressing their opinions online. One Cruise Critic reviewer in 2023 simply said, "It was $3 on our last cruise."Another Cruise Critic user recalls, "I remember getting free popcorn for the movie on Pride, in 2016."

So why the fee? Some passengers presume it is to offset the cost of cleaning up the popcorn kernels and pieces that are dropped on the deck while the film plays, though others say this would only make sense if the cruise line hired dedicated popcorn-cleaning staff. As one Cruise Critic guest surmised, the surcharge may also be to "keep people who are NOT watching the movies, from... grabbing a bag and walking away." Free movie night popcorn is a small perk in the grand scheme of the cruise industry, but it's a relatively low-cost tradition that Carnival Cruise Line's most loyal fans would love to have back.

Carnival's Elegant Nights are a staple of its onboard cruise ship dress code, with fancier menus a highlight for many travelers. For many years, complimentary, unlimited lobster tail was part of Carnival's tradition at sea. Passengers enjoyed this luxury touch, but in 2022, the cruise line's policy officially changed. Suddenly, only the first two lobster tails were included, and any additional tails cost $5 each. By 2023, cruisers on Reddit were reporting that the price was even higher: "It has to be a minimum six-night cruise and they moved it from the first Elegant night to the second Elegant night. And limited you to two unless you want to pay an upcharge of $8 each."

On Cruise Critic's forums, people were frustrated by the lack of lobster as early as 2018 on some ships, well before Carnival's official policy change was enacted. One cruiser lamented, "Are they really that desperate for money that they have to take a small luxury away from people that would not normally be able to afford it after all the money that people pay for the cruise." Another Cruise Critic user did note, however, that the more expensive lobster is actually better quality, in their opinion, "The up charge lobster on Carnival is superior to the standard MDR lobster included on Carnival cruises of 6 days or longer." The lack-of-lobster debacle clearly isn't just about the delicacy itself, but about cruise tradition.

To compile this list, I wanted to heavily lean into what loyal Carnival cruisers really think about bygone offerings, so I used high-authority forums, such as Cruise Critic, Facebook posts, and Reddit, in addition to some trip reports. I included the most common experiences that cruisers consistently say they miss on Carnival Cruise Line. Criteria included overall popularity and the fun factor that Carnival has long used to define its specific brand of cruising.