The best burgers on cruise ships
After paying to eat at one of the better cruise ship steakhouses, Dan and Dennis still ordered a $25 Wagyu burger on the side. That tells you how seriously they take a cruise ship burger.
TravelHost's Come Cruise With Me Editor in Chief Daniel Kline and his travel agent partner, Postcard Travel Planning's Dennis Post, run through their favorite and least favorite burgers at sea, from free pool deck disappointments to the one they think no other ship can beat.
A full transcript follows below.
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From sad pool deck patties to seared smash burgers.
Transcript:
Dan Kline: Hey there, cruisers. I am Dan Kline, editor-in-chief of TravelHost. He is Dennis Post, my travel agent partner, co-owner of Postcard Travel Planning. And we are gonna talk about cruise ship burgers, because we did something ridiculous last night.
Dennis Post: That's right.
Kline: So we went- We're on Carnival Celebration, and we went to 555 Fahrenheit, one of the better cruise ship steakhouses.
And you got a steak, I got the lamb chops. We both got some soup, we both got some appetizers, but the table also split what?
Post: A Wagyu burger.
Kline: A $25 additional fee. So we have already paid to eat at the steakhouse, and we decide to get a burger. And I will say, this was not a $25 burger. Everything else we had on the menu, I would say was probably better.
And that's not an insult. It was a really good burger.
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Post: Yeah, yeah.
Kline: But why would you charge- And I get it. When it's Wagyu, it's often, like, kind of a gimmick. This was a gimmick. It wasn't anything special. But let's talk about, worst to first, our favorite cruise line burgers.
I'm gonna say the worst burgers, Dennis, are always when it's, like, a free on the pool deck.
So Celebrity does this, and it's just like a gray, lifeless burger. Fries that are like a Simpsons yellow rather than a normal color. Any other examples of this?
Post: Yeah. Well, we got O'Sheehan's on Norwegian. It's just a regular burger.
Kline: It's a cafeteria burger.
Post: Cafeteria burger, basically. Yeah.
Kline: There are some good burgers though. So there's two on Royal Caribbean. They both cost you extra money. Johnny Rockets. Johnny Rockets, I like the double smash burger. I think that's the better of the two. But the Playmakers burger, I think you can get a double at Playmakers too. Which is also an added fee. That is a tasty burger.
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Dennis, which one do you prefer eating?
Post: Well, and we also have to throw Carnival in there. If I had to throw the Guy Fieri's or the Playmakers. I used to like Guy's, now I'm going with- I'm going with Royal. Playmakers.
Kline: People rave about Guy Fieri's. And I think overall, Carnival does a great job with Shaq's Chicken.
And I don't think there's anything that special about the Guy burger. The whole donkey sauce thing. It has to start with the patty. It has to be a good burger. And I actually think, you know, Johnny Rockets, Playmakers, they're good. I don't know which one is better. But the best burger on a cruise ship, but Dennis, you have not been on this cruise ship.
The best burger on a cruise ship is the Margaritaville at Sea Islander. They are cooked on a grill. They are smash burgers. They are seared. And it seems like such a simple thing, but if you're gonna be Jimmy Buffett's brand, you better do a pretty good burger.
Post: Yeah.
Kline: And I say for a free included burger, better than Johnny Rockets, better than Playmakers. Both of those cost you money.
It's 5:00 somewhere. It's actually close to 5:00 here.
I am Dan Kline. He is Dennis Post. We are on the Carnival Celebration. Come cruise with us soon.
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Make a free appointment with Come Cruise With Me's Travel Agent Partner, Postcard Travel, or email Amy Post at amypost@postcardtravelplanning.com or call or text her at 386-383-2472.
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This story was originally published June 18, 2026 at 8:48 AM.