By Jackie Sheckler Finch

He used to live in the forest, soaking up the rain. Now he lives on the Carnival Sensation, basking in the sun.

That’s the Carnival story about the RedFrog. And they’re sticking to it.

In fact, the little tree frog has made himself so at home on the cruise ship that he has his own private label draught beer, custom-brewed specially for Carnival – ThirstyFrog Red.

The first pub ever on a Carnival ship opened May 2011 on the Carnival Magic with ThirstyFrog Red beer and the response was overwhelming. The ship ran out of the private label draught beer.

So popular has ThirstyFrog Red become that it is now served fleet wide. Carnival describes the specialty beer as having “rich taste and delicate aroma with toasted notes resulting from the fine caramel and black malts using during the brewing process.”

I’m not a beer connoisseur but I thought it tasted good.

A new option I saw on the Carnival Sensation – at least new to me – is a self-service beer station in the Lido buffet. Passengers can pour their own beer at 29 cents per ounce. All you have to do is place a glass under the tap, swipe your Sail & Sign cruise card, pull the tap and pour up to 14 ounces of ThirstyFrog Red.

 New dining options, bars added in 2017

In the ship’s 2017 remodel, the Carnival Sensation received a RedFrog Rum Bar and a BlueIguana Cantina. The Sensation also has a BlueIguana Tequila Bar.

Located on the Lido deck, the BlueIguana Cantina serves up freshly made tacos, burritos and tortillas with no extra charge. The Cantina serves breakfast and lunch. Tacos are topped with choice of chicken, pork or fish. Burritos offer chicken, pork, fried fish or shrimp.

Both come with unlimited toppings such as refried beans, cilantro lime rice, roasted corn, charred green peppers and more. Then head over to the salsa bar to add even more to the meal.

I never tried BlueIguana Cantina for breakfast but I was told that the breakfast burritos are good and that you can get scrambled eggs, chicken sausage, hash browns, cheese, salsa, pico de gallo and more. Huevos rancheros also are a possibility.

Blue Iguana’s tale

Of course, the Blue Iguana has to have a tale to tell. What makes him blue? Some think he was born that way. But legend has it that he spent too much time in the blue agave fields soaking up the spirit of tequila.

You also might be asking how an iguana finds a pair of purple sunglasses … that fit. Let’s just say it boils down to one memorable trip to Cozumel, Mexico. The rest of the story, it is said, can be heard if you treat Blue to a tall tequila drink.

To keep it fun, the BlueIguana and the RedFrog have devout followers who engage in friendly competition.

“We think it started when Blue stole Red’s drink and put it on his menu,” a bartender said. “We think that’s where the rivalry started.”

As RedFrog himself might say – “Chill out. Live life to the fullest.”

Photo by Jackie Sheckler Finch