Why Carnival Limits You to One Meal at Celebration Key and No Beverage Packages

This past weekend, Carnival Cruise Line opened their new private resort in The Bahamas, Celebration Key.

Cruise Fever was there on opening day to see what this new port was all about. You can read about what I thought here.

Our photo post on Facebook of Celebration Key has received over 1,600 comments so far. While the overwhelming majority of them have been positive, many cruisers do not understand why Carnival limits guests to just one free meal and why they can’t use their ship’s beverage package (CHEERS!).

For many cruise line private islands, most of the food is unlimited and you can use your ship’s beverage packages while enjoying the island.

So why does Carnival Cruise Line limit guests in these two areas? It comes down to one simple fact, they do not run the food and beverage outlets at Celebration Key.

Let me explain in further detail. When you visit CocoCay for instance, Royal Caribbean’s private island in The Bahamas, all food and drinks come from the ship. When you go to a bar to order a drink, you are served by a crew member from one of the ships in port that day. The island is an extension of the ship.

Celebration Key is located on the largest island in The Bahamas, Grand Bahama Island. The port is not an island, why it’s called Celebration Key and not Celebration Cay. Here, businesses run all the bars and food outlets. No food or beverages come from the ship, but from local businesses on Grand Bahama.

Every food and beverage outlet at the port is a third party partnership with Carnival, this completely different than how private islands are run. This allows local Bahamians to profit from the port, not just the cruise line.

Carnival’s Brand Ambassador, John Heald, posted on his Facebook page today saying that 1,500 local Bahamians work at the port. When you go to a bar to order a drink, you are not served by a crew member from the ship. You are served by a local Bahamian. The same is true with all food outlets.

He also talked about how the port is a private destination, not an out island. It is similar to ports like Isla Tropicale (formerly known as Mahogany Bay), private ports built by Carnival Corporation but they are not an extension of the ship.

At Isla Tropicale or Amber Cove, you have to pay extra for all food and drinks at the port. Celebration Key is just like that with one exception, Carnival is actually giving you one free meal or you can get a 25% discount at one of the premium dining establishments.

While I completely understand that many do not like how food and beverages are treated here, I hope this helps you understand why it’s this way at Celebration Key.