Two Carnival Cruise Line ships, head to head — specs, amenities, and what each one is genuinely better at.
Carnival Jubilee (2023) is the newer ship by 3 years versus Carnival Mardi Gras (2020). Carnival Jubilee is the larger hull at 183,521 GT (~2% bigger). Carnival Jubilee sails with fewer guests at double occupancy (5,228 vs 5,282).
| Spec | Carnival Jubilee | Carnival Mardi Gras |
|---|---|---|
| Year built | 2023 | 2020 |
| Tonnage | 183,521 GT | 180,000 GT |
| Guests (double occupancy) | 5,228 | 5,282 |
| Guests (max) | 6,631 | 6,500 |
Trophy marks the ship that wins each row. Smaller capacity = more space per guest.
Distinct ports each ship visits in the next 12 months.
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.