Carnival Cruise Ship Comparison Chart {Printable}
Hubby and I have started planning our vacation for next year. Yes, it’s like a year and a half away. Yes, I’m starting to plan. I’m SUCH a planner at heart! I get so much enjoyment from doing all of the research and from the anticipation leading up to the trip. Sweet hubs informed me this week that it’s WAY too early to talk about the vacation specifics yet {with him, anyway}. Nevertheless, I’m in research mode. Neither of us have ever been on a cruise. After discussing different vacation options and doing a tad bit of looking at prices and such, we’ve {pretty-much-sort-of-tentatively} on a cruise! Carnival has their cruise schedule for mid-2017 released already, so I’m focusing my research there {most of the other affordable cruise lines don’t have that much released yet}. I couldn’t find a document or website online that had all of the ship information in one comparison, so I decided to create a Carnival cruise ship comparison chart! Since hubby doesn’t want to plan yet, I won’t mention how many hours I spent compiling this information {all information here is from the Carnival website}.
I’ve attached the comparison chart below in several formats. The PDF is easier to print and use. The master version has all of the categories on one sheet whereas the other PDFs are sorted by category.
Notes on the Excel file: If you want to sort by a certain factor {ie which ships have basketball?}, you can open the excel file and sort by that variable. The entire Excel document is rather large, so there is a master sheet plus sheets that have the master broken down into categories {dining, kids & teen activities, etc}. Some of the formatting gets lost on the Excel document once it gets to Google Docs. I promise it’s pretty on my computer! The PDF version is your best bet unless you want to get in and sort items differently.
Carnival Cruise Ship Comparison Chart {Printable} – PDF – Master
Carnival Cruise Ship Comparison Chart {Printable} – PDF – Dining & Bars
Carnival Cruise Ship Comparison Chart {Printable} – PDF – Activities & Entertainment
Carnival Cruise Ship Comparison Chart {Printable} – PDF – Kids & Teens
Carnival Cruise Ship Comparison Chart {Printable} – PDF – Outdoor, Serenity, Spa & Fitness
Carnival Cruise Ship Comparison Chart {Printable} – PDF – Itinerary
Carnival Cruise Ship Comparison Chart {Printable} – Excel
Have you been on a Carnival cruise? What advice would you have to share? Feel free to share this post, but please do not claim the document as your own.
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We have been on 1 Carnival cruise together and it was on the Dream. We left from New Orleans…it was 7 days to Honduras, Belize, & Cozumel. We went the first week if November when there weren’t a lot of children/teenagers. We are a fairly young couple with young children and this was our anniversary, and “relief” time so we chose that week on purpose. We kept hearing complaints from other guests that there wasn’t much to do, like the cruise director had failed in the “party” area, but we found the ship to be lively and fun. We are not huge party animals anyway and enjoyed the activities provided. That said, the ship is probably more “hopping” depending on the time you go and who is there. Still, I don’t think you can go wrong. We had bad weather and everything and it was still a very enjoyable time and I would go back in a heartbeat!
Thanks for your input Ginger! It sounds like you had a great time. We’re not big party people either, so a “lively” ship for us would probably be boring to some! Haha
We love everything about carnival cruises except no getting to stay longer at the ports.
Thanks Tiff! I am SO READY to set sail! 🙂
This is a fantastic resource!!
(I own a travel agency, and you have done a tremendous amount of work! All my travel agents thank you!)
LeAnne – You are most welcome! Feel free to share with agents and clients.
Tifanie’s complaint was my husband’s too. I wentered in expecting 6 hours here, 8 hours there, etc., so I really wasn’t disappointed and didn’t feel cheated. The excursions (if you choose to do those) really make you feel like you have done and seen a lot. Then after those are over, you generally still have time to look around the ports on your own.
Sounds great! Thanks for the info Ginger.
We loved our cruise last year and we are planning another. One thing we learned was with the excursions to book through carnival and not online. Go to as many shows as possible they are a lot of fun! We were on the Triumph and it is an older ship, but we had a lot of fun. Shopping is great on the ship! They have beautiful jewelry on the ship, so if you want some pretty diamonds save up!
Thanks Kayla! When you say not online, do you mean you waited until you were on the cruise to book at the excursions desk… or did you just call Carnival ahead of time to book?
I know this wasn’t my question, but I would like to know the benefits of this as well. I booked our excursions early on the Carnival website for fear they would sell out…and I believe 2 of them actually did. We wouldn’t have been able to do them had we waited.
Glad you got your excursions! I’d be concerned on missing out too {the whole neurotic planner in me…}. 🙂
Kara, I agree with LeAnne! This is a great resource and we appreciate your hard work. I also have a small, home based travel business and this is a great tool.
You are also wise to plan this far in advance. You will get more excited as you continue to read and research, but it will be so much fun. Remember to plan for travel insurance. I consider it a MUST. Most never have to use it, but just like any other insurance, “don’t leave home without it”. A single, small incident could more than pay for the small expense.
It looks like you may be in Arkansas. Consider Galveston or New Orleans for your cruise so you can drive. You save the airfare and its not a bad drive. Plus, you can spend a day before or after enjoying the local attractions of either.
I live in Nashville now but grew up in Jackson, MS. with my sis living in NOLA for a while. Great place to visit.
We serve as Santa in The Woodlands TX, (N. Houston) and I’ve gotten familiar with the area. Houston/Galveston has a lot to offer as well.
Get your TA to provide info on NOLA and Galveston cruise packages for overnight stays. My clients drive in, stay a night and park free at the hotel.
Let me know if we can offer more assistance,
Blessings,
Thanks for your input Durward! We actually live in southern Indiana. Do you suggest a certain travel insurance company? Thanks!
Doesn’t Carnival have a ship named Spirit?
Yes, Carnival does have a Spirit ship {it’s the only one not included in the spreadsheet}. Carnival does not have the information on their website for Spirit like it does the rest of their ships.
Kara,
I like TravelInsured or Allianz. There are several others. These provide better coverage at less expense than the Carnival option. The cost for a $5000 total trip (2 people) can range from $100-$400, depending on the company and they depth of coverage. Just be careful and compare (from what I see you will do your due diligence) I like the “cancel for any reason” option just in case something comes up and you can’t make the trip.
You can go to InsureMyTrip.com and compare the companies. If you’re using a Travel Agent, please go through the agent. We don’t actually make that much per trip and the referral fees from the companies do help.
Thanks Durward! That is such good information to have.
We have been on 5 Carnival cruises on 5 different ships and have loved them all. The first 2 were booked with a travel agent but the last 3 have been with Carnival Personal Vacation Planners. The last one was Neil Rothstein (1-800-819-3+02 Ext 82384) and he was very helpful with information and answering our questions. I Think the travel insurance Durward was talking about can be added when you book your cruise. We always do the insurance and prepaid gratuities so when we sail everything is already paid for. We live in WV but have sailed from Jacksonville, FL, Charleston, SC, Port Canaveral, FL and Ft Lauderdale, FL.
Thanks Phyllis!
We are going on our 18th Carnival cruise in February. We love their cruises. They are exactly what we like. We’re in our early sixties and we can do as much or as little as we want when we want. We’ve done a number of shore excursions and some cruises we haven’t done any but we always have fun. We’ve sailed on all different classes/sizes and we’ve loved them all. Have fun on your cruise.
Kathy – Thanks for your input! Wow, 18 cruises!? That’s incredible! One of my favorite things about a cruise is that you can do as much or as little as you want each day.
If you never been on a cruise. Pick Pride Ship, ten day cruise! It looks like Italy inside of ship! Smaller ships, less waiting time getting in shows, short lines to food, get on and off ship faster! You will get to know people easier! Pride has lots of choice of places to eat, lots of bars! It’s the way to go!
Thanks for your suggestions Candy! I’ll have to check out the Pride longer cruise. We’re definitely open to 10 days! {Well, I am… pretty sure I can talk the hubby into that! Haha}
We started out on RCL. We had fun but decided to try other cruise lines. After switching to CCL, we have completed 35 now with 2 more booked. We just have more fun on Carnival. We are in our late 70s, don’t drink or gamble, we just have fun. My advice to you~be flexible. You are on a moving vessel, things can happen that are not under the control of the ship. You will have the time of your life. You can be as active or inactive as you choose. It is the only way we travel now. We try to get in 3-4 cruises a year. Have fun!
Joan – How fun! I love that you go on several a year… cruising is such a neat way to vacation! Thanks for your advice.
Thank you Kara. I printed your chart for future reference. It is amazing!! My 60 year old husband is literally addicted to cruising and loves the planning of it all almost as much as the cruise! We have been on several ships, itineraries, etc., and I’d have to agree with you that doing as much or as little as we choose is one of the things we love about cruising. We book our cruises with a Carnival vacation planner, including insurance for the trip, and then use their website for anything else that needs booking, especially excursions. We will be sailing on the Valor out of Cape Canaveral on January 30th, which will be our first cruise as Carnival’s VIFP Club platinum members. I recommend joining the VIFP Club as soon as you book your first cruise. We started cruising Carnival 7 years ago and never dreamed we’d cruise enough days to reach this status 🙂 Now we will have priority boarding and a limited amount of free laundry service!! Again, thank you Kara for your hard work and I hope you enjoy cruising as much as I do!!!
Thanks so much Kathleen! Enjoy your cruise… just a few more weeks! 🙂
Though I haven’t taken the time to look this over I am amazed at all the time this must have taken. We will be taken our 9th cruise in February. Two have been with Royal Carribean the rest with carnival. We try different ships and ports every year. We love Carnival the people who work on the ships go out of their way to make sure you have everything you need and have a good time. We have never had a bad cruise and everyone is so friendly. Have fun and I look forward to reading your charts.
Blessings,
Paula
Thanks so much Paula!
My boyfriend and I are going on our first cruise in February 2016 out of Galveston. We’ll be on the Triumph, sailing to the Caribbean and Mexico. We’re super excited.
I have several friends that have been guiding us and providing tips. I’m just looking forward to the new experiences and for our excursions (that we’ve already booked).
That sounds so fun! Happy cruising! 🙂
Does anyone know what “CS” stands for? I’m interested in the Magic but a lot of items state CS
Hey Laurie! I need to add notes to the spreadsheet so it’s easier to interpret… CS is for items that were listed as “Coming Soon” on the Carnival website. Carnival did not provide an estimated date of when the items would be finished.
Hi Kara,
We have been on 15 Carnival cruises and will be going in March on a back-to-back on the Carmival Breeze. For us Carnival gives us the great food choices, entertainment, and the adult area that we love. Booking tours is a must through the shore excursions desk, as they know about rules in the country as well as our safety. The itineraries are great and if you choose not to get off then you can investigate the ship with not many others on board. I too am a planner so we have booked on the new Carnival Vista for next March and also a New Years cruise for 2017-18 and the Magic. I hope you have a wonderful experience and it is what you make it, people that are “board” didn’t get out and make it a wonderful trip to remember!!!
Thanks for your input Lynn! Happy cruising!
You have here a great site. Very good information.
Thanks Dave!
thank you for compiling this! My husband always asks about spa details and blue iguana! Now I have an easy go to guide! Happy Cruising.
You’re welcome Linda! So glad it’ll be helpful for you!
An interesting article there buddy ! Thanks for write-up .
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