NEW ORLEANS – Bam! New foodie concepts are coming to Carnival Cruise Line's upcoming ships.
The line on Thursday previewed four restaurants that will debut on the Carnival Festivale in 2027 and the Carnival Tropicale in 2028, with designs and food developed in partnership with celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse, Carnival's chief culinary officer.
Emeril's Coastal Seafood will be an elevated dining experience featuring cuisine inspired the East and Gulf coasts -- think clam chowder, barbecue shrimp, lobster and steak. It will cost $50 per person.
Uku Lei Lei (say it fast and it sounds like "ukulele") will serve Hawaiian and pan-Asian specialties, and Fetaccine will lean into Mediterranean dishes from Greece and Italy. Both will be complimentary on the first visit and $8 per person on return visits.
A casual bistro, Le Bistro Musicale, will be exclusive to the Festivale and will serve French classics like steak frites, tuna Nicoise salad and French onion soup, plus desserts and a bakery, all priced a la carte.
Some restaurants on current Excel-class ships -- Rudi's Seagrill, ChiBang, Cucina del Capitano and Emeril's Bistro 1396 -- won't be on the Festivale and Tropicale.
Also, bars on the upcoming ships will get a changeup. The line's signature Alchemy Bar will be upsized with an adjacent lounge.
Other outlets of note will be a music-themed bar called The Spark; a hangout on the aft deck called Scenic Overlook that will mix in a sports theme; the Festival Grounds Coffee & Bar that will be a flex coffee-and-cocktail bar depending on the time of day; and Mix, where guests can craft their own drinks (or order creative cocktails).
Those locations will offer nonalcoholic options, a category that Carnival executives said was growing faster than alcohol sales.
Carnival did the restaurant reveal on Lagasse's home turf of New Orleans, where he hosted a cooking demo of his barbecue shrimp and delivered his signature "Bam!" line so loudly that some people in the audience jumped.
In his role of chief culinary officer, Lagasse said, he works hand in hand with the Carnival teams to create the restaurant concepts and designs, from seating -- "We sit in chairs for days before we decide" -- to greenery to napkins and cutlery.
The restaurant, he said, "has to have a feel, it has to have a heart."
Commenting on the difference between cooking on land versus cooking at sea, he said it comes down to "seven p's: Prior proper planning prevents piss-poor performance."
"You can't just go to the market" after the ship departs port, he continued. "You've got to have your act together. Have a great purchasing plan. All of the dots have got to be connected."
In addition to the new concepts, Lagasse worked with Carnival to refresh the menus in its main dining rooms.
Carnival is expanding the hours in those restaurants to give guests more options, particularly early in the evening. In some cases, the main dining room will open as early as 5 p.m.
The line is also creating foodie pop-ups like the Ice Cream and Milkshake Bar and revamping its Chef's Table menus.