Carnival Cruise Line has teamed up with Van Leeuwen Ice Cream for a limited-edition flavor that is stirring up curiosity: sunscreen-flavored ice cream.
Released in early September as a cheeky ode to summer’s “signature scent,” the coconut-forward dessert is being hyped by influencers and TikTok taste-testers who insist it “tastes like sunscreen—and not in a bad way.”
The brands released the new flavor in a super limited run just before the fall equinox and said that if you want to try it, you have to talk about it on social media.
Influencers put the word out and raved about sunscreen ice cream’s tropical, coconutty flavor. The early taste testers polled social media users: "Would you try it?"
The frozen treat is meant to smell like sunscreen, not taste like it. Sunscreen-flavored ice cream is made with cream, coconut cream, milk, cane sugar, egg yolks, cocoa butter, vanilla extract, natural flavors, and a pinch of sea salt.
A press release from the cruise line explained, "The flavor is designed as a cheeky nod to summer’s signature scent and aims to combat what Carnival calls the 'End-of-Summer Scaries.'"
The unexpected and publicly unavailable flavor is creating a buzz on social media. Many are intrigued and have expressed a desire to try the new ice cream.
“This is strange but I'm curious.”
Influencers say it’s better than it sounds
In a post shared on Sept. 8, 2025, @theerichammer announced that he’s “uniquely qualified” to review the cruise line x ice cream collab. “In addition to my aspirations as a young child to be an ice cream man, I wear more sunscreen than almost anyone,” he said.
The TikTok creator took a bite and asked, “Why is this good? What the heck?”
"It kind of tastes like when you get sunscreen in your mouth by accident, but you're okay with it, and you're like, wow, how about a little more?”
“It tastes like sunscreen smells. Very coconutty.”
“Maybe the most sexy ice cream flavor of all time.”
"...Tastes like sunscreen and not in a bad way"
@soflofooodie tasted sunscreen-flavored ice cream in a post shared on September 11, 2025.
“I swear to you, this tastes like sunscreen and not in a bad way,” she said. “Like I'd eat this… smells like sunscreen, tastes like sunscreen. Should we see if it works like sunscreen?”
"I can't explain it, but it does taste like sunscreen"
@calleyblue claimed to be soaking up her last days of summer during the sunscreen-flavored ice cream taste test she shared on September 8, 2025. The influencer claimed, “I've never actually thought about what sunscreen would taste like.”
“It's very refreshing. It's giving like coconut pina colada… I can't explain it, but it does taste like sunscreen.”
“I need to find this immediately; my fav cruise coming out with ice cream was not in my cards for 2025!!!!!”
“I don’t want to eat sunscreen lol.”
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