Carnival Cruise Line switches to Pepsi brands for North American fleet

Carnival Cruise Line has made PepsiCo the preferred beverage partner for its North American fleet from January 2020.

Next year all its US-based cruise ships will begin serving a variety of beverages from the PepsiCo portfolio, featuring premiere brands from Starbucks ready to drink coffee to fast-growing bubly sparkling water.

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When the transition is complete, Carnival guests will have a broad selection of beverage choices, from iced tea, sparkling water, coffee drinks and sports drinks to juices and soft drinks, including an array of low calorie and no sugar options, the cruise line said in a release.

“At Carnival Cruise Line, we invite our guests to Choose Fun, and now with PepsiCo’s extensive portfolio of brands, we’re able to give them more ways to choose a beverage that suits their taste, mood and preference,” said Christine Duffy, President, Carnival Cruise Line. “PepsiCo’s line-up of beverages will give our guests access to leading brands in growing non-soda categories like iced tea, juice and sparkling water, as well as popular soft drink brands that consumers love.”

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“We’re also excited to work with PepsiCo on our shared commitment to sustainability, including a reduced reliance on plastics, and alternative ways to deliver and serve water and other beverages,” she added.

As they cruise, Carnival Cruise Line guests will be able to enjoy some of their favourite PepsiCo brands such as bubly, Pure Leaf, Naked Juice, Gatorade, MTN Dew, Starbucks, Pepsi, Pepsi Zero Sugar, Sierra Mist and Sierra Mist Zero Sugar among others.

“Our brands both celebrate having fun and offering something special for everyone, making PepsiCo and Carnival Cruise Line a great match,” said Anne Fink, President, PepsiCo Global Foodservice. “We’re excited to share the voyage as we create enjoyable, seamless experiences for Carnival Cruise Line passengers while they enjoy their fun vacations at sea and ashore.”

The news, as was likely expected by Carnival, received a mixed response, with some passengers claiming they’d never cruise with Carnival Cruise Lines again.

Others were more perplexed as the sheer vehemence of feeling on the matter given everything else going on the in the world.

However, as the largest cruise line in the world, with a 28-ship fleet due by 2020, including the new LNG-powered Mardi Gras, Carnival is unlikely to feel the impact of passengers who book elsewhere because of the lack of Coca-Cola on-board.