To say that Carnival Cruise Line’s partnership with celebrity chef Guy Fieri has been a success would be a massive understatement.
On newer Carnival ships, Guy Fieri helped create a barbeque restaurant, with some locations featuring a brewery that makes beer onboard. But by far, the cornerstone of Carnival’s relationship with Fieri has been Guy’s Burger Joint, the quick-service dining option featured on the Lido deck of most Carnival ships.
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Guy’s Burger Joint has been featured on Carnival Cruises for nearly 15 years, and the burgers themselves have become a fan favorite.
They are often ranked among the best burgers of any cruise line, and many cruisers report that one of the five burgers on Guy’s menu is their typical first meal when boarding a Carnival cruise.
For most of its existence since the partnership began in 2011, there has been the same basic menu with a handful of burger options. But the cruise line just announced a brand-new addition to the menu that frequent cruisers might be excited to hear about.
Carnival Conquest cruise ship in port.
Image source: Dan Kline/Come Cruise With Me
A simple menu for most of its existence
Guy’s Burger Joint has a rather simple menu, which is essential to be able to move hundreds of people through its line every hour. The menu includes five main burger options, all of which use a 80/20 ground chuck burger patty:
Plain Jane – A burger patty on a grilled bun, served with or without cheese.Straight Up – Burger patty, cheese, L.T.O.P. (lettuce, tomato, onion, and pickles), and Guy Fieri’s “donkey sauce.”Pig Patty – The same as the Straight Up burger, with a bacon “patty.”Chilius Maximus – Burger patty, cheese, an onion ring, donkey sauce, and chili.The Ringer – The Straight Up burger, but with Guy’s Bourbon and Brown Sugar BBQ sauce and an onion ring.
All of the burgers are served with seasoned fries, and there’s a self-service topping bar with sauces and many other items to dress up your burger. There’s also a veggie burger available, but it isn’t listed on the menu, and it’s important to point out that it is not a Guy Fieri product.
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A rare addition to the menu
Carnival announced a brand-new featured burger, inspired by its Celebration Key private destination, which is expected to open in Summer 2025.
The Celebration Key featured burger is officially called the BBQ Rum Runner, and features a burger patty, cheese, jalapeno-pineapple salsa, rum BBQ pulled pork, coleslaw, shaved onion, pickle, and Guy’s donkey sauce.
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To be perfectly clear, despite the burger drawing its inspiration from Celebration Key, it is intended to be consumed on Carnival’s ships. In a Facebook post announcing the new menu addition, Carnival Brand Ambassador John Heald clarified that “this is available on every ship that currently has a Guy Fieri burger joint.”
Cruisers were generally excited to try the new creation. Heald follower Elizabeth Miller Mock commented “Boarding the Breeze in 5 hours, going to have to check this out. Talk about flavor!!!” Paul Jackomin simply commented “I’m in, next cruise I will have one.”
Others feel the new burger has a little too much going on. “I can feel my arteries clogging even just reading the description! I will pass on it though,” Pixie Miller commented. Others said it sounds a bit too spicy (with a jalapeno salsa), while others simply prefer the existing burgers available.
Whether a burger that features pulled pork and coleslaw sounds appealing to you or not, this does represent a rare menu addition to one of Carnival’s most popular onboard eateries.
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