Carnival Cruise Line New Year’s Eve Menu Released

Carnival Cruise Line has released the New Year’s Eve Gala Dinner menu for 2024, with a wide range of delicious dishes on offer as guests prepare to ring in the new year at sea.

In addition to a special menu just for the New Year’s Eve dinner, guests can also choose from classic favorites and other great starters, entrees, and desserts to celebrate 2024.

Carnival Cruise Line outdoes itself with special Main Dining Room holiday menus for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve. To bid farewell to 2023 and welcome 2024, the cruise line is offering an amazing selection of mouth-watering dishes for starters, entrees, and desserts across the entire Carnival fleet.

The special New Year’s Eve selections are a tantalizing appetizer of crab and pickled mushrooms with a fennel salad, followed by a selection of entrees: bourbon glazed ham with pear chutney and spiced pomegranate; parmesan crusted chicken with black eye beans, sautéed green beans, and shallot herb beurre blanc; and a cauliflower steak and fritters with beluga lentil ragout with feta cheese.

A special “celebration cake” with a pecan brownie, crispy peanut butter feuillentine, and white chocolate mousse is offered for dessert.

Guests also have other delicious options on the menu as well. For appetizers, a duck confit tart with spinach fondue and dark cherry sauce or spiced pork poppers with granny smith apple relish are just two options, along with a winter vegetable and cannellini beans soup, shrimp cocktail, and different types of salad.

Entrees are equally appetizing with pan seared sea bass paired with roasted garlic mashed potatoes and asparagus; a duet of lamb with beluga lentils and roasted red skin potatoes; and grilled filet mignon with baby carrots and wild mushroom cream sauce. The featured entrée salad is turkey kale salad with dried cranberries, purple potatoes, cherry tomatoes, and a balsamic dijon vinaigrette.

Guests can also order classic Steakhouse Selections for an extra fee, including surf & turf with lobster tail, New York strip steak, or grilled double cut lamb chops with au jus.

If the celebration cake dessert doesn’t sound quite worth celebrating, other dessert options include the classic Carnival melting chocolate cake, a no-added-sugar ricotta cheesecake with spiced cherry sauce, or a triple chocolate cake flavored with hazelnut, Baileys, praline, and truffled chocolate cream. The classic fresh tropical fruit plate, cheese plate, and ice cream selections are also available.

It is important to note that the New Year’s Eve Gala Dinner menu is significantly different than both the Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners offered fleetwide.

While the Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners can be remarkably similar, those holidays are a month apart and few guests are actually cruising for both holidays. Many travelers, however, opt for back-to-back cruises that can encompass both Christmas and New Year’s, and therefore the cruise line makes a special effort to craft two distinct holiday menus that each celebrate the flavors of the season.

While the Christmas menu tends to incorporate more classic fare – tom turkey, roasted pumpkin soup, eggnog cheesecake – the New Year’s Eve menu is a bit more daring to ring in the new year with festive favorites.

Casual Dining Always Available

Of course, guests can also opt for specialty dining restaurants onboard, or have more casual meals at the Lido Marketplace buffet. Undoubtedly, the Lido buffet dinner on New Year’s Eve will also feature some delicious options, though without the same elegant presentation and atmosphere of the Main Dining Rooms.

Guy’s Burger Joint, Big Chicken, Pizza Pirate, soft-serve ice cream at Swirls, and other casual dining options will also be available (hours may vary), and guests can also partake of room service for more private dining or snacks.

Do you have any favorite dishes to ring in the new year? Share your traditions – oceangoing or otherwise – on the Cruise Hive boards!