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Ice cream and sunscreen are two summertime staples, but it’s hard to imagine that there are many people who think they should be combined. However, that hasn’t stopped a cruise line from teaming up with a creamery to do exactly that before unleashing their creation on an unsuspecting world.
I’ve spent 15 years making a living writing things on the internet, and I’ve devoted a solid chunk of that career to keeping tabs on the many, many publicity stunts The Brands have dreamed up in the hopes of going viral.
There are plenty of routes you can take if you’re trying to drum up some attention, and there’s one lane that’s emerged as a fairly reliable source of hype: ice cream that tastes like something ice cream shouldn’t taste like.
In 2019, French’s whipped up a mustard-flavored concoction the same month the folks at Oscar Mayer debuted an ice cream sandwich that contained pieces of actual hot dogs, and pizza and Skyline chili are just a couple of other foods that have inspired similar frozen, um, treats.
All of those offerings have one thing in common—they’re based on something that’s actually edible—although the same can’t be said for the newest entry into this particular canon.
Carnival Cruise Line has decided to make ice cream that tastes like sunscreen
Charlie Kelly may have been a fan of drinking sunscreen straight out of the bottle, but I don’t think there are many people who have slathered some on at the beach and found themselves wondering what it would taste like (which is also not an advisable idea when you consider most labels direct you to “get medical help or contact a Poison Control Center right away” if you swallow any).
However, that didn’t stop Carnival Cruise Line from joining forces with Van Leeuwen to create what the former positioned as “the very first sunscreen flavored ice cream,” a claim I can only assume is true when you consider I can’t imagine there were any other competitors scrambling to fill a void that probably didn’t need to be addressed.
Summer isn’t over yet. We’ve partnered with @vanleeuwen to create the very first sunscreen flavored ice cream! Would you try it? 👀 pic.twitter.com/Oe974sYIBL
— Carnival Cruise Line (@CarnivalCruise) September 8, 2025
This isn’t the first time Van Leeuwen has helped create a similarly questionable ice cream flavor, as it previously linked up with Kraft for a mac and cheese variety in addition to partnering with Hidden Valley for a ranch-inspired creation.
These kinds of announcements are typically accompanied by a press release that features a bit more information, but I couldn’t track one down by the time of publication. I did reach out to Carnival via email for more information and will update if they’re able to provide any additional insight.
I’m assuming there’s a coconut component involved, and while I haven’t gotten the chance to try it myself, pints were sent out to some influencers who’ve confirmed it lives up to the label.
What a world.