I stayed in three different cabin types on Carnival’s newest and largest cruise ships to see which is better

Carnival Cruise Line has a wide variety of accommodations onboard for guests to book while sailing on their fun-packed, family-friendly ships. From cheap interior staterooms to higher-end suites, Carnival’s ships have cabins for every budget and travel group.

As a newer Carnival cruiser, I am always looking for new experiences to try onboard when it comes to staterooms. My last three cruises with Carnival Cruise Line have been on the fleet’s newest Excel Class ships: Mardi Gras, Carnival Celebration, and the brand-new Carnival Jubilee.

I recently cruised on Carnival Jubilee, which is Carnival's latest and most advanced vessel. The 182,000 gross ton cruise ship is outfitted perfectly for a Texas home port, even sporting the state’s star proudly on her bow.

On my latest cruise, I splurged a little in terms of stateroom accommodations. Typically, I prefer booking affordable inside cabins to save money, but it was only $600 more for my sister and me to upgrade to a cove balcony on Carnival Jubilee. While I’ve cruised in a balcony cabin before, I had never stayed in a cove balcony. The cove-style enclosure creates a more private outdoor space on the verandah, so I was eager to see what the experience would be like. 

However, last year I splurged a little more with an Ocean Suite on the Excel Class' flagship, Mardi Gras. To my surprise, the suite was reasonably priced - perhaps because Mardi Gras is a few years old now. The spacious room with an extra-large balcony and separate living space was a highlight of our cruise!

My first experience on an Excel Class ship, however, was on Carnival Celebration for one of her inaugural sailings. If you’ve ever sailed on an inaugural itinerary for a brand-new cruise ship, you know it’s more expensive compared to other ships and later itineraries. Because of this, we booked the absolute cheapest cabin onboard, which was an inside cabin guarantee. While the cabin was compact, the interior stateroom was functional, modern, and stylish.

I’ll explore some of the similarities and differences between these cabins in this article. While some of the differences might be obvious, such as price and size, some of the similarities might surprise you.

Cabin Overview

Carnival’s Excel Class ships have approximately 28 different stateroom categories for guests to book, far more than the cruise line’s older and smaller ships. There are more balconies than other cabins, evident in one look at the exterior of the Excel Class ships. Guests can even stay in certain themed staterooms, like cabins in the Havana Club, Family Harbor, and Cloud 9 Spa.

However, the most common cabins on Excel Class ships include interior cabins and balcony staterooms across 15 passenger decks. This means you’ll likely find yourself cruising in one of these categories, depending on your budget and travel group size.

Read more: Carnival Cruise Line cabin guide: Interior, oceanview, balcony, and suites

(Interior cabin on Carnival Celebration)

Since Excel Class ships are the newest in the cruise line’s fleet, you’ll find modernly designed cabins. All three of the ships have cabins with light woodwork and blue accents throughout the cabin. The carpet is a hue of blue, grey, and taupe colors to match the blue accents.

Considering I had only cruised on Carnival’s oldest ships before sailing on the Excel Class ships, I was very impressed with all three of these cabins. Obviously spending more money on a higher-end cabin like the Ocean Suite afforded more comfort and amenities. However, even the cheap interior cabin was perfectly suitable for two guests traveling together.

(Ocean Suite on Mardi Gras)

In fact, one of the best aspects of all three cabins was the expansive bathroom. Gone are the days of cramped bathrooms and tiny showers with clingy shower curtains. Carnival’s Excel Class ships have large walk-in showers, making the shower experience highly elevated in comparison to older ships.

(Walk-in shower on Excel Class ships)

Overall, between the interior, balcony, and suite cabins, the bathrooms and beds were identical; however, our Ocean Suite supposedly had elevated bedding as a perk of the suite. The biggest discrepancies between the cabins include the stateroom’s size, price, and amenities.

Price

(Interior cabin on Carnival Celebration)

I would argue the biggest driving factor for the type of cabin I book is the price. If it’s astronomically expensive to book any sort of balcony cabin or suite, I have no problem booking an interior cabin. If the price is right for a higher-end stateroom, I don’t mind splurging a little here and there for a better cabin and/or location.

The cheapest cabin of the three was the interior guarantee cabin on Carnival Celebration. This isn’t surprising, as inside staterooms are almost always the most affordable cabins on a ship. We only paid $1,300 for the inside guarantee cabin on a 7-night cruise, which was the total price for two people with prepaid gratuities.

(Interior cabin vanity on Carnival Celebration)

Considering this was the second sailing on a brand-new ship, this was a decent deal! However, this cruise was in late 2022 when cruise fares were generally more affordable in the post-pandemic cruising era. For reference, Cruise.Blog writer Elizabeth sailed on the same ship in October 2023 and spent $1,900 on an inside room. 

My cove balcony stateroom on Carnival Jubilee was double the price of my inside cabin on Carnival Celebration. This was the most affordable balcony available on Carnival Jubilee, which debuted in late 2023. The total price of the cove balcony stateroom was $2,600 for two people on the 7-night cruise, including gratuities.

(Cove balcony cabin on Carnival Jubilee)

As expected, the most expensive cabin of my three Excel-Class cruises was the Ocean Suite on Mardi Gras. This suite experience was $3,000 for my sister and me to sail on a 7-night Caribbean cruise. 

(Living room in Ocean Suite on Mardi Gras)

I would guess this seemingly more affordable suite was priced as such because Mardi Gras is the oldest of the three Excel ships. The Ocean Suite also included some fun perks, like elevated bedding, priority embarkation, expedited disembarkation, and priority dining assignments.

Read more: 10 things that wowed me about Carnival's suite cabin on Mardi Gras cruise ship

Considering the suite on Mardi Gras was more spacious and included perks, I would argue the extra cost to upgrade to the suite was worthwhile. However, the interior cabin was perfectly sufficient for two guests traveling together.

Had I been cruising with a larger group, I would absolutely book a bigger cabin with more space. Although our interior cabin on Carnival Celebration had bunk beds to accommodate up to four guests, I can’t imagine having more than two adults in the tiny cabin.

Size

(Cove Balcony on Carnival Jubilee)

Along with price, these three different cabins are all sized differently. There is usually a direct correlation between the price and size of cruise cabins.

My interior cabin on Carnival Celebration was the smallest stateroom of the three, which is expected considering it was the cheapest cabin available. The interior guarantee on Carnival Celebration was 162 square feet, which is the standard interior size on Excel Class ships.

(Interior Stateroom on Carnival Celebration)

While Carnival Cruise Line once had some of the largest interior cabins at sea, these staterooms have been getting smaller over time. For example, the interior cabin that I sailed in onboard the 31-year-old Carnival Ecstasy was 185 square feet. However, older ships also had fewer balcony cabins available, with most rooms being interior or oceanview staterooms.

Read more: I sailed in Carnival's newest and oldest interior cabins - see how they compare

(Ocean Suite balcony on Mardi Gras)

The interior cabins on Carnival’s Excel-Class ships might be compact, but the staterooms are thoughtfully designed. The small space is well utilized, although you won’t have anywhere to sit other than your bed. The interior cabin had plenty of storage, along with a large vanity.

Regarding the space of the cabin, the biggest disappointment was the wasted space of the exposed bunk beds. I would have preferred having the bunk beds hidden into the ceiling when unused. Because of the exposed bunk beds and lack of additional seating, it created an awkward sitting situation.

(Exposed bunk beds on Carnival Celebration)

You either had to sit on the edge of the bed or lay down, as the area above the bed used with the exposed bunk bed would cut into your space. Essentially, the exposed bunk beds above our bed made the cabin feel more cramped. Having the beds configured as a king bed could alleviate some of this.

Comparatively, our cove balcony stateroom on Carnival Jubilee was slightly bigger with 205 square feet. This is the average size of a balcony cabin on Carnival’s Excel ships regardless of whether the stateroom has a standard or cove balcony.

(Cove balcony on Carnival Jubilee)

The balcony provided an additional 50 square feet of private verandah space. Some balcony staterooms have extended balconies with more space, which are about 50% bigger. The extra cabin space allowed for a comfortable couch, which we appreciated greatly! We chose to have the beds configured in two twin beds.

I was surprised to find this made the sleeping area feel more cramped, as I had to walk sideways against the window to get into bed at night. Keeping the bed in a king configuration would help with this space issue, and I imagine most people traveling in balcony cabins keep their beds in a king configuration.

(Bed area in cove balcony on Carnival Jubilee)

Finally, the Ocean Suite on Mardi Gras was nearly double the size of our interior cabin at a whopping 290 square feet! Although double the cost, having so much extra space in the suite felt luxurious.

My sister and I could easily spread out, especially with the living room space that featured a full couch and additional television. We loved having this extra room, which could be separated from the sleeping area with a heavy-duty curtain. The living space had a full-size couch, coffee table, end table, and accent chair. I spent many mornings here enjoying room service breakfast without having to disturb my sleeping sister.

(Ocean Suite on Mardi Gras)

It’s pretty rare for me to stay in a suite, so I found myself spending more time enjoying the cabin than normal. With a large, comfortable space to retreat to, the suite was a wonderful place to relax. Considering the somewhat crowded nature of the Excel Class ships, holding upwards of 6,000 passengers at capacity, I appreciated spending this extra time in my own space.

Read more: 8 signs you're ready to move up from a cruise ship balcony to a suite

Design and Decor

Surprisingly, all three cabin categories across the different ships were very similar in terms of decor and design. From the moment I walked into these cabins, I noticed the similarities, like the ring-light mirror, blue accents, and minimalistic nightstands. The cove balcony and interior stateroom were nearly identical in design and decor on all fronts.

The lighter design elements create a bright space on Carnival’s Excel ships. Even the windowless interior cabin felt bright thanks to the accents and light-colored fixtures. LED light fixtures are standard in Excel-Class cabins, helping illuminate the staterooms.

Although minor, the suite on Mardi Gras had darker woodwork for the shelving and closets compared to her sister ships Celebration and Jubilee, which featured lighter woodwork. In addition, one other distinct design difference is the backsplash of the Ocean Suite compared to the standard balcony and interior cabins.

The Ocean Suite had a textured accent wall compared to the same blue-striped wallpaper in Celebration’s interior cabin and Jubilee’s balcony stateroom. Suites on Excel Class ships will have this textured accent wall, which elevates the space with added dimension to the decor. However, I still like the pops of blue in the wallpaper for standard balcony and interior staterooms.

Read more: I paid $3,000 for a suite on Carnival Mardi Gras - Take a look inside our spacious cabin

(Interior cabin on Carnival Celebration)

Regardless, all of the cabins on Excel Class ships have modern aesthetics. It’s apparent that Carnival Cruise Line invested both time and resources into improving their cabin design and decor. Compared to ships only a few years older, the Excel Class cabins are a step above.

Storage

Carnival Excel Class ships are designed with plenty of storage for guests to utilize. Whether you travel with just a carry-on or you’re a chronic over-packer, you’ll find tons of storage space in these cabins.

Even the smallest interior cabins on Excel Class ships will have ample storage between shelving, closets, and drawers. When cruising in the interior cabin on Carnival Celebration, we were impressed by how much storage was available in the cabin. We each had our own massive closet, which was more than we needed with two carry-on suitcases. There was actually enough room to store our suitcases in the closets!

(Interior stateroom closet on Carnival Celebration)

Likewise, the cove balcony on Carnival Jubilee and the Ocean Suite on Mardi Gras had the same two large closets for storage. Again, there was so much space in the closet that we used the leftover closet space for our backpacks and suitcases.

For all three cabin categories on Carnival’s Excel Class, there were three large drawers to use under the vanity. However, our cove balcony on Carnival Jubilee had the largest vanity counter space of the three cabins. While I anticipated that the Ocean Suite would have the largest vanity, this was not the case. The vanity in the suite was more like a desk with the mini-fridge and a real chair to use, instead of the ottoman.

Read more: Carnival Celebration vs. Mardi Gras: A complete guide

(Cove balcony vanity on Carnival Jubilee)

Although a minor detail, one of my least favorite features of Carnival’s Excel Class cabins is the tiny nightstand. I have a hard time classifying these as a nightstand considering the fixture is really a small, magnetic shelf. I’m someone who has a busy nightstand with a water bottle, portable sound machine, and medication, along with my phone. 

Having such a small bedside table for storage was a pain across all three Excel Class cabins. I was disappointed that our Ocean Suite did not have a true nightstand considering the cabin is a higher-end stateroom.

Bathroom

(Cove balcony bathroom on Carnival Jubilee)

Having a well-designed bathroom in a cruise cabin can bring your stateroom experience to the next level. Likewise, a poor bathroom experience can be a sore spot in your vacation memories. Luckily, Carnival’s Excel cabins have excellent bathrooms regardless of which category you book.

(Cove balcony bathroom on Carnival Jubilee)

I had anticipated the interior cabin would have a smaller bathroom compared to the balcony or suite, but this wasn’t the case. The shower was identical across all three cabins, which was the biggest surprise to me. Having ample shower space - as a nearly 6’0" tall woman - is very important to me! I am happy to report that Carnival’s Excel ships pass the shower test!

(Shower for interior stateroom on Carnival Celebration)

With more space allocated to the bathroom design, there is plenty of storage above and below the sink. I still prefer to travel with a hanging cosmetic bag, so it can preserve some of the storage space in a cruise cabin bathroom.

(Shower for Ocean Suite on Mardi Gras)

Overall, the bathrooms in Carnival’s interior, balcony, and suite staterooms were all the same for all intents and purposes. We did receive upgraded shower products in the Ocean Suite as one of the perks. This was a nice benefit of the suite, but not necessarily a selling point for me.

Functionality

New cruise cabins are configured with technology in mind to accommodate our device-driven society. Since we all travel with our many electronics, it used to be a pain point for charging devices with only one or two outlets for the stateroom to share.

All of Carnival’s Excel ship staterooms feature this handy charging strip with three outlets and four USB ports. In addition, you can find bedside USB outlets in all cabins, whether you’re staying in the cheapest interior cabin or a more cushy suite. This was a very nice feature of the cabins, as my sister and I cruise with many devices that need to be charged.

In an effort to be more sustainable, Carnival’s Excel Class ships require staterooms to have your cruise card inserted for the power to turn on in the cabin. 

This helps preserve energy when you are not in the stateroom. However, this also means your air conditioner will only run when you have the card inserted. For many, this leads to a stuffy cruise cabin while cruising in the hot Caribbean.

After staying in three different stateroom categories on Carnival’s newest Excel ships, I was impressed during all three of my cruises

While each cabin had its perks, the staterooms were more similar than they were different. As you can guess, the Ocean Suite had the most space, the highest price, and the best perks.

However, I would not hesitate to sail in an interior cabin on Carnival’s Excel Class ships. Although small, the well-designed space is still very comfortable. My biggest complaint with the interior cabin’s design was the intrusive bunk beds that remained exposed and unused. This meant we could only sit on our beds while in the stateroom, which was not ideal.

Having more space in the cove balcony and suite with an actual couch would be worthwhile if the cost was not monumental. If I was traveling with more than one person, I would definitely splurge to have a larger stateroom. Of course, if having a private balcony is a priority for your cruise experience, you will reap the benefits with more space.