Carnival Cruise Line is one of the most well-known cruising brands in the industry. With a large fleet of vibrant cruise ships and an energetic clientele, there’s no shortage of fun or partying on a Carnival cruise.
As a seasoned Carnival cruiser, I’ve sailed on eight different cruise ships over the years. While I often sail with other mainstream cruise lines, Carnival’s "FUN" ships consistently provide unique and memorable experiences. For example, the cruise line’s brand-new Excel Class is particularly impressive and arguably one of the best ship designs in Carnival’s history.
In 2024, I set sail on three different Carnival ships: Carnival Jubilee, Carnival Sunshine, and Carnival Valor. These vastly different cruise vessels represent three distinct eras of Carnival's long history in the cruise industry.
I started the year by sailing on Carnival Jubilee from Galveston, Texas, on a 7-night Caribbean sailing. A few months later, I flew to Charleston, South Carolina to board Carnival Sunshine for a getaway weekend cruise to the Bahamas. Later in the year, I drove to New Orleans for a 4-night cruise on Carnival Valor, which was shorted to three days due to an unexpected hurricane delay.
For me, any cruise has its pros and cons. Nothing is ever perfect when traveling, which highlights the importance of realistic expectations and flexibility. Also, older cruise ships offer a different onboard cruise experience than brand-new ships with the latest and greatest amenities. I’ve sailed on some of the oldest ships in the cruise industry, and I have no issue with smaller vessels and limited amenities.
My experiences onboard these three ships ranged from impressively spectacular to disappointedly subpar. Unsurprisingly, Carnival Jubilee was the clear winner, but not for reasons you might expect. Comparatively, Carnival Sunshine fell short of expectations, while our cruise on Carnival Valor was a mixed bag.
Ship Overviews
Carnival Cruise Line operates a fleet of 27 vessels, spanning an age of nearly three decades. Once the most innovative cruise line in the industry, Carnival’s ships tend to be similarly designed and engineered. While Carnival Jubilee is the newest ship in the cruise line’s fleet, Carnival Sunshine is technically the oldest.
Carnival Jubilee set sail in 2023 as the third ship in the Excel Class, measuring around 183,000 gross registered tons. The massive ship holds approximately 6,500 passengers at maximum capacity, making her one of the largest cruise ships in the world. The cutting-edge design and innovative features make it a standout within Carnival’s fleet, offering a modern cruising experience.
On the other hand, Carnival Sunshine is technically the cruise line’s oldest vessel with her original debut in 1996. Although she was first built as Carnival Destiny, this historic ship was the first passenger vessel to measure over 100,000 gross tons. Her size, accommodating just under 3,000 guests, was groundbreaking for the time in history.
With a massive refurbishment in 2013—one of the biggest in cruise history—she started a new life as Carnival Sunshine. The addition of new bars, restaurants, and onboard attractions elevated the experience, including refreshed cabins and expanded deck space. However, the Sunshine Class vessel has received few updates since 2013.
Finally, Carnival Valor is on the older side. This year, the Conquest Class ship turned 20 years old with her original debut in 2004.
The midsize vessel measures 110,000 gross tons and holds around 3,700 guests at capacity. Sailing from New Orleans year-round, the patriotic-themed cruise ship is a popular choice for those in the South looking to take quick sailings to the Caribbean.
Design Differences
When comparing the design and decor of these three cruise ships, Carnival Jubilee is in a league of her own. Of course, this is mostly because she’s the newest cruise ship with the cruise line’s latest and greatest designs. Navigating the vessel was a breeze thanks to Carnival Jubilee being thoughtfully designed with six distinct zones including themed restaurants, bars, lounges and activities.
One of my favorite zones on Carnival Jubilee was Currents, a high-tech, underwater-themed area celebrating the ocean. With newly designed bars like Dr. Inks (Ph.D) and the Golden Mermaid, this area was one of the most impressive and quickly became our favorite spot to hang out onboard.
The Texas-based ship was specifically designed to sail from Galveston, which explains her many Lone Star touches around the ship We especially enjoyed Carnival Jubilee’s contemporary design and Texas-inspired decor, setting her apart from the other vessels.
On the other hand, Carnival Valor was the most uniquely decorated ship of the three. The over-the-top patriotic design was bold and pays homage to America’s history and culture. Around every corner, you'd find bald eagles, American flags, historic presidents, and culturally significant imagery.
However, Carnival Valor’s clunky design made the ship feel slightly more cramped. Navigating Valor felt counterintuitive at times. For instance, locating the dining room on our first night required extra effort due to the layout. With a shortened itinerary, we barely had enough time to figure out the ship’s deck plans!
Finally, Carnival Sunshine’s design was clearly ahead of her time with more open, expanded spaces onboard. However, the once groundbreaking design now feels cramped and crowded, typical for Carnival’s older ships. Many areas onboard still reflect the mid-1990s original design despite her overhaul in 2013.
The ship’s outdated design meant long lines and busy crowds onboard, with guests cramming into the most popular spaces on Carnival Sunshine. The ship’s rust and rancid smells left us counting the days until disembarkation.
Dining Experience
Speaking of Carnival Sunshine, the vessel’s dining options were less consistent than I’ve experienced on other Carnival ships. Typically, Carnival is known for its casual, quick restaurants with delicious and tasty options.
Fan favorites and Carnival staples like Guy’s Burger Joint and BlueIguana Cantina can be found on practically every cruise ship. On the other hand, Carnival’s buffet has never left me impressed, and this was the case on all ships.
Our dining experience on Carnival Sunshine was hit-or-miss overall. Some experiences were impressive, such as SeaDay Brunch and Guy’s Burger Joint, while others were disappointing, such as the long lines for the dining room each evening.
In contrast, Carnival Jubilee’s dining assortment blew us away with so many included restaurants. Highlights included new venues like Big Chicken and Guy’s Pig and Anchor Smokehouse, as well as elevated dining experiences at Cucina del Capitano and ChiBang. Even these complimentary options felt more elevated compared to a typical Carnival experience - we didn’t have a bad meal.
Dining on Carnival Valor met my expectations for Carnival’s offerings, with consistent quality across its venues. Guy’s Burger Joint served up juicy, meaty burgers on the pool deck, along with BlueIguana Cantina’s freshly prepared Mexican options. However, the ship had longer lines for certain restaurants with many staples located within the vicinity of the ship’s buffet.
One of the highlights of cruising on Carnival Valor was an unplanned specialty dining meal at the ship’s steakhouse. Since our cruise was delayed by one day because of a hurricane, everyone onboard received $50 USD for onboard credit. We opted to use this credit at the steakhouse to treat ourselves, and the delicious meal was the most memorable of the cruise!
Read more: 11 foods you must eat on a Carnival cruise
Entertainment
Carnival Cruise Line’s entertainment is generally varied but more simplistic than other cruise lines. You won’t find blockbuster shows or Broadway-style productions during your time on these “FUN” ships. Instead, the cruise line offers in-house shows in their theatre known as Playlist Productions and daily comedy shows in the Punchliner Comedy Club.
When it comes to entertainment, Carnival Jubilee’s offerings were particularly outstanding with a wide variety of shows each evening. From high-flying acrobats and aerialists at Center Stage, shows like Rio Carnival, We Are One, and The Residency were some of the best onboard. The technologically-enhanced shows elevated the entertainment on Carnival Jubilee, including the use of multiple entertainment venues to alleviate crowds.
Carnival Jubilee also featured two different deck parties, including the 80’s Rock-N-Glow Deck Party and the White Hot Night Party. Both were lively, exciting, and fun parties in the late evening and attracted quite the party crowd during our sailing.
These impressive production shows are not surprising, as cruise lines typically invest more resources for entertainment on the newest and biggest ships. By comparison, Carnival Sunshine and Carnival Valor offered similar headliner shows and activities, which, while entertaining, lacked the wow factor of Jubilee’s lineup.
One of my favorite shows on Carnival Sunshine was Epic Rock, which was one of the best shows I’ve seen on smaller cruise ships. The crowds were dancing and singing, almost like a concert. Similarly, Carnival Valor’s Studio VIP was upbeat and enjoyable during our short sailing with singers, dancers, and impressive props.
Other entertainment offerings were consistent across all three vessels, including comedy shows in the Punchliner Comedy Clubs, interactive gameshows like Deal or No Deal and Family Feud, and daily activities to keep guests busy and entertained. Carnival cruisers are the most interactive when it comes to game shows, creating a lively and exciting environment onboard.
Onboard Attractions and Thrills
Because Carnival’s cruise ships are meant to be family-friendly, you can always find plenty to do for onboard thrills. Generally speaking, the larger the cruise ship, the more attractions you can expect to find. This was the case for my three Carnival cruises, as Carnival Jubilee’s massive size provided more space for thrills.
One of the most popular zones on Carnival Jubilee is the Ultimate Playground, which is packed with the one-of-a-kind BOLT rollercoaster, adrenaline-pumping waterslides, an obstacle ropes course, miniature golf, sports court, and more. Unsurprisingly, this area attracted many families and kids, resulting in occasional crowds during sea days.
However, Carnival Sunshine and Carnival Valor offer fewer onboard thrills for guests. For instance, Carnival Valor has multiple pools on its top deck and, most notably, the Twister Waterslide. Guests can soar from Deck 14 to Deck 10 on this wild ride. On the other hand, adults can relax and unwind at the expansive Serenity space onboard.
Carnival Sunshine has more onboard activities than expected, including the WaterWorks waterpark and Sports Square with a ropes course, sports court, mini-golf course, and walking path. Surprisingly, Carnival Sunshine outperformed Carnival Valor in terms of onboard attractions and thrills.
Staterooms
I’m not picky when it comes to my onboard accommodations. As long as I can sleep comfortably in a clean, quiet cabin, I am a happy camper.
Unfortunately, Carnival Cruise Line can cultivate a very upbeat atmosphere with a party crowd. This can make it more difficult to get a restful night’s sleep, as noisy neighbors can keep you up into the wee hours of the morning.
Unfortunately, the worst cabin experience I’ve ever had was onboard Carnival Sunshine. We booked an inside cabin guarantee, which resulted in a stateroom that shared a wall with the elevator shaft. The thumping and clanking of the elevator kept us up all night, making it difficult to sleep for the 4-night itinerary.
Even worse, the bathroom floor would flood anytime we used the shower, and an awful, rancid smell emerged from the bathroom constantly, leaving us feeling annoyed and frustrated by the unwanted smell. Our stateroom was far from relaxing or comfortable.
On the other hand, our cove balcony on Carnival Jubilee was one of the best staterooms I’ve ever had on a cruise ship. The expansive cabin, large bathroom, and private balcony were all highlights of the stateroom. Because of our location on Deck 5, our cabin was very close to the water. This allowed us to watch beautiful sunsets and take in the calm seas.
Modern conveniences like multiple charging outlets and a spacious vanity made our cabin feel functional and thoughtfully designed. In the way of storage, we also utilized the large closets to comfortably unpack during our cruise. Even better, our cabin was extremely quiet and comfortable during the cruise.
Finally, we booked an inside guarantee cabin on Carnival Valor, and the experience was more positive than expected.
Our disastrous cabin on Carnival Sunshine set the bar quite low, but this stateroom was spacious and clean with ample storage. The bathroom was outdated, including a clingy shower curtain, but the situation was manageable.
Why Carnival Jubilee stands out.
Overall, my three cruise experiences highlight the evolution of Carnival Cruise Line over the last three decades. After sailing on three different Carnival ships this year, Carnival Jubilee was the clear winner, and the competition was not even close. Although I’ve had plenty of positive experiences on older and smaller cruise ships, Carnival Valor and Carnival Sunshine couldn’t compete with a new Excel Class ship.
Carnival Jubilee stood out for multiple reasons, including the modern design with distinct zones, exceptional dining experiences, cutting-edge innovation, awe-inspiring entertainment, and functional cabin design. If I were planning to spend the time and money again to cruise with Carnival, I would definitely book another sailing on an Excel Class ship.
Although Carnival’s older ships have plenty to offer, including budget fares for shorter getaway cruises, the experiences were hit-or-miss. Carnival Sunshine’s uncomfortable cabin and smelly ship were two of the biggest deterrents. In this way, I wouldn’t plan another cruise on Carnival Sunshine and would rather sail on a Conquest Class ship instead.
Allie Hubers
Allie Hubers has been cruising since she was a tiny toddler. What started as a yearly vacation with family quickly turned into a passion for travel, cruising and adventure. Allie's been on over 45 cruises all over the world. She even studied abroad on Semester at Sea, sailing the world on a ship while taking courses for college and visiting 4 continents.
