Carnival Reveals Next Course Dining Plans for Upcoming Ships

Carnival Cruise Line on June 11 revealed The Next Course, a food-and-beverage program that will add new restaurants and bars to Carnival Festivale in 2027 and Carnival Tropicale in 2028 while rolling out dining changes across the existing fleet. The program includes an Emeril Lagasse seafood concept, Hawaiian-Asian and Mediterranean venues, a Carnival Festivale-only French bistro, and updates to main dining rooms, Lido Marketplace, BlueIguana Cantina and mobile coffee ordering.

Carnival’s onboard food operation serves more than six million guests and more than 100 million meals annually across a fleet listed at 29 ships. The announcement also extends a main dining-room refresh that Carnival brand ambassador John Heald has said will be on 14 vessels by early July.

“Our approach to dining combined with our team’s amazing service is a driving force behind Carnival’s success,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. Carnival introduced the program at a New Orleans preview with Chief Culinary Officer Emeril Lagasse and food-and-beverage executives.

New venues planned for Festivale and Tropicale

Carnival Festivale is scheduled to enter service in May 2027 and will be based in Port Canaveral. Carnival Tropicale follows in 2028, with several of the new dining venues planned for the two upcoming ships.

Emeril’s Coastal Seafood will offer a coastal menu developed around Lagasse’s cuisine, with dishes such as oysters, Gulf shrimp and whole roasted fish. The venue will carry an additional charge.

Uku Lei Lei will serve Hawaiian specialties and Asian dishes, including poke bowls and Mongolian beef short rib, as an included dining option. Fetaccine will combine Italian and Greek items such as shrimp saganaki, chicken parmesan, Greek lamb chops and cannoli; the first visit will be included, with later visits priced at $8 per person.

Le Bistro Musicale will be exclusive to Carnival Festivale and will serve French dishes such as steak frites, chicken cordon bleu, French onion soup and freshly shucked oysters for an additional charge. Carnival Festivale also will add The Spark, a lounge with live performances and song-themed cocktails; Mix, where guests can order or build cocktails; and Festival Grounds Coffee & Bar for specialty coffees and cocktails.

Other newbuild dining changes named for the program include Sunsation Point BBQ in a family activity zone, Far East Eats replacing ChiBang!, and La Cucina Italiana planned as the future newbuild replacement for Cucina del Capitano.

Fleetwide changes and menu rollout

Across the fleet, Carnival is adding new Main Dining Room selections for breakfast, brunch and dinner, a Lido Family Menu with daily children’s items, and rotating specials at BlueIguana Cantina. Bagels @ Sea will add freshly baked bagels with toppings, while the Chef’s Table menu is being revised with multi-course dinners built around regional flavors.

The program also includes fast-casual pop-ups, with Fruity & Frosted Breakfast Bars and Ice Cream and Milkshake Bars planned for Excel-class ships, along with other temporary concepts across the fleet. Carnival is expanding mobile order-and-pickup for coffee and adding Express Dining in the Main Dining Room.

Heald has said the new main dining-room menu remains in a test phase as Carnival reviews guest feedback. The rollout began on Carnival Magic in January and Mardi Gras in February, followed by additional ships through the spring.

Carnival Celebration began serving the updated dinner menu with its June 7 departure, while Carnival Venezia is scheduled to follow on June 18 and Carnival Dream on July 5. Dates for the remaining ships have not been announced.

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