What does Carnival Cruise Line do with all its uneaten food?

Cruise ships have to feed thousands of people on any given sailing. As such, it's not uncommon to hear concerns about food waste. 

From the Lido Marketplace buffet to the Main Dining Room and fast-casual spots like BlueIguana Cantina and Guy's Burger Joint, plenty of dining options on a Carnival cruise offer generous portions and variety to appease different taste buds. 

However, once food is placed in the buffet or served to a cruiser in the dining room, it can't be returned to the kitchen to be saved for later due to health and safety regulations. In other words, every dish served is either eaten or thrown away. 

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While food waste is an issue on cruise ships, it also affects restaurants, grocery stores, and more. Even at home, I find myself not effectively utilizing my groceries and having to throw out soiled fruits, vegetables, and leftovers. 

Carnival, like many other cruise lines, strives to reduce its waste and negative environmental impact through various initiatives. For example, did you know all Carnival ships have biodigesters, which naturally break down and responsibly dispose of 80% of uneaten food onboard?

"Digesting" leftover food to a liquid form means it can be sustainably returned to nature and kept away from landfills, where the natural decomposition would slowly release methane. As such, in 2023, Carnival avoided over 31,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions by using biodigesters. 

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Additionally, in late 2023, Carnival Corporation revealed that it had successfully reduced the food waste per passenger by 38% compared to its 2019 baseline. The company aims to further decrease food waste by 40% per person by 2025 and 50% by 2030.

AI technology

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Carnival also uses artificial intelligence (AI) technology to help monitor guest dining trends and flow to help optimize food use at every step of the lifecycle onboard cruise ships, from purchasing ingredients to recipe creation, menu design, meal preparation, presentation techniques, and in-suite dining. 

Part of this includes creative recipes that get the most out of every ingredient to help reduce waste. For example, orange peels may be turned into citrus muffins or unserved bread into croutons. 

Several brands under Carnival Corporation have also implemented onboard campaigns to help educate crew members and guests on how they can help the company with their food waste reduction goals. 

Costa's food donation program

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One of Carnival Corp.'s brands, Costa Cruises, launched a food donation program in 2017 in collaboration with the food bank charity Fondazione Banco Alimentare. 

Under the 4GOODFOOD program, the European cruise line donated "ready-to-eat" meals prepared onboard that aren't served in restaurants to guests. As of mid-2024, the program had donated over 300,000 meals throughout the Mediterranean and Caribbean.  

Last year, Carnival Corp. and Costa Cruises announced they were expanding the program to include Palma de Mallorca and Valencia, Spain, as the 15th and 16th ports to benefit from 4GOODFOOD. 

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Another important aspect of the 4GOODFOOD program is recipe revision. The program has worked to modify over 500 existing onboard meals to make meal preparation more efficient using Winnow kitchen scales that analyze waste and losses to adjust food production and reduce waste. 

"Our goal is to have less uneaten food and, with the remaining food, find ways to ensure it doesn't go to waste, like doing our part to help communities facing food scarcity," said Jan Swartz, EVP strategic operations for Carnival Corp during an event held during Climate Week NYC.

Read more: 5 things I absolutely hated (and 4 I loved) about my cheap Costa Cruise