Two Carnival Cruise Line ships, head to head — specs, amenities, and what each one is genuinely better at.
Carnival Festivale (2027) is the newer ship by 29 years versus Carnival Elation (1998). Carnival Festivale is the larger hull at 182,800 GT (~154% bigger). Carnival Elation sails with fewer guests at double occupancy (2,052 vs 5,374).
| Spec | Carnival Elation | Carnival Festivale |
|---|---|---|
| Year built | 1998 | 2027 |
| Tonnage | 71,909 GT | 182,800 GT |
| Guests (double occupancy) | 2,052 | 5,374 |
| Guests (max) | 2,190 | 6,631 |
Trophy marks the ship that wins each row. Smaller capacity = more space per guest.
Most autumn cruise sales inflate Guest 1 fares. We audited 10 live campaigns to find the 5 deals from $69/night that actually save money.
We priced 806 real Royal Caribbean and Carnival sailings per night. The median is $229 — and within the same ship, the longer cruise is quietly the cheaper one.
Across 11 seasons and a dozen spinoffs, 90 Day Fiancé has filmed on exactly two identifiable cruise ships — and refused to name a third. Below Deck does the opposite, and the reason cuts to how every cruise line evaluates a TV cameo.