For many people taking a cruise means imbibing quite a few adult beverages. Royal Caribbean International (RCL), Carnival Cruise Lines (CCL), Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCLH), and many other lines make an awful lot of money selling drinks and drink packages,
Some passengers opt for all-included, drink-as-much-as-you-want packages while others choose to pay by the beverage, but no matter how they do it, people on cruises often drink more than they do on land. To make that enticing, the cruise lines offer a huge variety of bars,
Sure, all ships have basic bars and vaguely tropical pool bars, but each line has a variety of themed bars designed to put people in the mood to toss one (or a few) back. Carnival, for example, has its Alchemy Bar, where the bartenders wear lab coats and each drink is a feat of mixology.
Royal Caribbean has perhaps the deepest array of bars. It has Boleros, where Spanish music sets the theme, a champagne bar, its Playmakers sports bar, a Polynesian bar concept, and bars associated with many of its popular restaurants including its trippy Alice in Wonderland-themed Wonderland Bar (where you can get a drink topped with cotton candy). The cruise line also has a British pub on nearly every ship with a decent selection of beer, but that may be one area where Carnival has a key advantage,
Carnival
Carnival Ups Its Beer Game
While Royal Caribbean and Norwegian certainly offer a lot of different beers, Carnival has made beer one of its focuses. The cruise line points that out on its website.
What’s better than a fun-in-the-sun cruise vacation with stops at exotic ports of call? Answer: one that features tasty craft beers. These days, many local brewers make beer in small batches with an emphasis on flavor and quality, and beer lovers looking for craft brews find just what they thirst for on a Carnival cruise.
Breweries and pubs on select Carnival cruise ships serve up an array of satisfying quaffs, from ales and porters to stouts.
The cruise line actually has its own line of beers, Parched Pig, which in some cases are brewed onboard at its Guy Fieri Pig & Anchor Bar-B-Que Smokehouse/Brewhouse. Brewing beer on a ship is not completely unique, but Carnival has a deep roster of beers, including:
- Parched Pig Smoked Porter: Featuring wood-smoked grains and malts, the flavor of this dark beer offers a creamy, robust finish.
- Parched Pig Farmhouse Ale: If you’re looking for something refreshing on an extra-warm day, try this complex blond ale containing hints of fruit and spice.
- Parched Pig Toasted Amber Ale: A toasty-rich flavor with notes of sweet biscuit and creamy caramel make this amber ale a popular choice for Carnival cruisers
- Parched Pig West Coast IPA: Are you in the mood for a hoppy beer? Try this bright, slightly-bitter IPA with notes of citrus and pine.
Now, the cruise line has something new for beer lovers.
Carnival Rolls Out a New Beer
You may not have known that August 5 was National Beer Day (probably because it's a made-up holiday) but Carnival was well aware and ready to celebrate. The cruise line celebrated the day by adding a new beer fleetwide, ParchedPig Beach Lager, which it calls "a refreshing, crisp and golden beer that is available in cans in bar and dining venues and on tap in select locations," according to a press release.
The new beverage was developed by the cruise line's in-house "brew team" in partnership with Lakeland, Florida-based Brew Hub.
“Beach Lager is a perfect complement to our Carnival Brews lineup. Lagers are very popular with our guests, so creating this delicious addition and bringing it fleetwide was a logical next step for us,” said Carnival Beverage Operations Vice President Edward Allen. “We’re pleased to build on our successful partnership with Brew Hub and proud to strengthen our industry-leading effort as the first cruise line to can and keg its own beers crafted by our in-house brewery team.”
Carnival was the first cruise line to can and keg its own private label beers crafted by its in-house brewery team in 2019, after introducing the onboard brewery concept on Carnival Vista in 2016, the company added.
