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Carnival Celebration vs Norwegian Bliss
The Carnival Celebration was built in 2022. The Celebration is named after the original Celebration that sailed with Carnival from 1987 - 2008. It has two unique zones not found on its sister ships: The Gateway, an area dedicated to travel and Carnival's history, and 820 Biscayne which has a retro-Miami vibe. It's 4 years newer than the Bliss, which was built in 2018 and renovated in 2024.
Comparison Overview
- Ship Size
- Number of Passengers
- Food and Restaurants
- Bars and Drinks
- Pools and Hot Tubs
- Ship Features and Activities
- Cruise Costs
- Onboard Costs
- See Our Detailed Cruise Blog
Ship Size
The Celebration is considered a large size ship. Coming in at 1,130 feet long and 137 feet wide, it's roughly the length of 3.1 football fields, as wide as 2.6 tractor-trailers and the same height as a 17-story building. Compared to the Norwegian Bliss, the Celebration is 9% larger in terms of overall tons.
Number of Passengers
Carnival Celebration holds 34% more passengers than the Bliss based on double occupancy (two people per room). When you look at the "Space Ratio," or the total tonnage of a ship compared to the number of passengers, the Celebration has less space per person compared to the Bliss.
The Celebration uses a zone layout to break up large crowds across the ship, often making it feel less crowded.
| Carnival Celebration | Norwegian Bliss | |
|---|---|---|
| Class | Excel | Breakaway Plus |
| Gross Tonnage | 183,521 | 168,028 |
| Length | 1,130 | 1,094 |
| Beam/Width | 137 | 136 |
| Passenger Decks | 17 | 15 |
| Passengers (double occupancy) | 5,374 | 4,004 |
| Crew | 1,735 | 1,716 |
| Passenger to Crew Ratio | 2.6 | 2.4 |
| Space Ratio (tons of ship per passenger) | 35 | 42 |
Food and Restaurants
Food is a big part of any cruise, and the ship you choose can make a huge difference in your food experience.
The Celebration has twenty-three different dining options like Cucina Del Capitano (Excel-ship), Rudi's Seagrill, and Big Chicken. Of those options, nineteen are complementary, or included with your cruise fare. The other nine options have an additional fee.
The Bliss has five fewer dining venues. Some of its popular venues are Teppanyaki, Q Texas Smokehouse, and Food Republic. eleven of these restaurants are complementary and the other fifteen have an additional fee.
If you like having a variety of places to eat, the Celebration might be a better choice. It has 28% more dining options than the Bliss.
If you're looking to avoid extra money while on board, the Celebration might be a better choice then the Bliss. More of the dining options are included in the base cruise fare, potentially saving you money.
| Carnival Celebration | Norwegian Bliss | |
|---|---|---|
| Total Dining Options | 23 | 18 |
| Complimentary Dining Options: | 19 | 11 |
| Additional Fee Dining Options: | 9 | 15 |
| % of Included Options | 61% | 17% |
| See the options | See the options |
Bars and Drinks
The Carnival Celebration and Norwegian Bliss both have 17 bars to choose from during your sailing. The Celebration has 17 bars like Aquaria, Guy's Pig and Anchor Brewhouse and RedFrog Tiki Bar. On Celebration, you can grab a drink at 17 different bars such as Cellars Wine Bar, District Brew House and Mixx Bar.
| Carnival Celebration | Norwegian Bliss |
|---|---|
| •Alchemy Bar • Aquaria • Bar 820 • Fahrenheit 555 Bar • Golden Jubilee • Guy's Pig and Anchor Brewhouse • Havana Bar • Java Blue Cafe • Latitudes • Limelight Lounge • Piano Bar 88 • Punchliner Comedy Club • RedFrog Tiki Bar • Serenity Pool Bar • The Watering Hole • Tides Pool Bar • Tropicale Bar | •A-List Bar • Atrium Bar • Cellars Wine Bar • District Brew House • Maltings Beer & Whiskey Bar • Mixx Bar • Observation Lounge Bar • Skyline Bar • Social Comedy & Night Club • Spice H2O • Starbucks • Sugarcane Mojito Bar • The Cavern Club • The Haven Bar • The Local Bar • Vibe Beach Club Bar • Waves Pool Bar |
In terms of drinks and cocktails, you have a variety of choices. The Celebration serves the Pepsi family of products. That means Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Starry, Mug Root Beer, and Mountain Dew, although the selection can vary by ship. The Bliss serves Coca Cola branded products. That includes drinks like Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite and Barqs Root Beer, although the selection can vary by ship.
You can check out recent the bar menus for the Celebration and the Bliss below.
Pools and Hot Tubs
Nothing beats relaxing by a pool with a nice drink in hand as you feel the fresh sea breeze pass by you. The Carnival Celebration has a total of 6 pools and 7 hot tubs. 2 of the pools are exclusive access, which means there's either an extra charge to access them or you need to book a certain class of cabin to have access to them.
Norwegian Bliss has fewer pools than the Celebration and more hot tubs. There are more exclusive pools and hot tubs on the Bliss. If you don't mind paying for exclusive access to areas in order to have less crowds, this might be a better choice.
Tired of loud kids and splashing? One of the pools and two of the hot tubs are adults only on Celebration.| Carnival Celebration | Norwegian Bliss | |
|---|---|---|
| Total Pools | 6 | 4 |
| Pools - General Access | 3 | 2 |
| Pools - Adults Only | 1 | 1 |
| Pools - Exclusive | 2 | 1 |
| Total Hot Tubs | 7 | 11 |
| Hot Tubs - General Access | 5 | 5 |
| Hot Tubs - Adults Only | 2 | 2 |
| Hot Tubs - Exclusive | 0 | 4 |
Ship Features and Activities
Both ships have lots of activities to keep you busy throughout your cruise. Below you'll see a list of some of the major features on these ships. You might up paying more while on board the Celebration. Only 61% of the activities below are included in your cruise fare. On the Bliss, 65% of the activities are included at no additional cost.
| Carnival Celebration | Norwegian Bliss | |
|---|---|---|
| Adult Only Relaxation Area | ✓ | ✗ |
| Adult Only Relaxation Area (extra fee) | ✗ | ✓ |
| Adult Only Relaxation Area (free) | ✗ | ✓ |
| Arcade | ✓ | ✓ |
| Basketball | ✓ | ✗ |
| Brewery Tour | ✓ | ✗ |
| Casino | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cigar Lounge | ✗ | ✓ |
| Comedy Club | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cooking Class | ✓ | ✗ |
| Dr Seuss Breakfast | ✓ | ✗ |
| Fitness Center | ✓ | ✓ |
| Horizon Park | ✗ | ✓ |
| Jogging Track | ✓ | ✗ |
| Mini golf | ✓ | ✓ |
| Observation Lounge | ✗ | ✓ |
| Outdoor gym | ✓ | ✗ |
| Pool-side Movies | ✓ | ✗ |
| Race Track | ✗ | ✓ |
| Roller Coaster | ✓ | ✗ |
| Ropes course | ✓ | ✗ |
| Shows - Broadway play | ✗ | ✓ |
| Shows - musical review | ✗ | ✓ |
| Spa | ✗ | ✓ |
| Splash park | ✓ | ✓ |
| Thermal Suites | ✓ | ✓ |
| Water slides | ✓ | ✓ |
| Learn more | Learn more |
Cruise Costs
Carnival and Norwegian are both considered "Mainstream" cruise lines. Mainstream cruise lines cater to a variety of guests, hoping to provide something for everyone. These typically cost about $100 - $350 per person per day.
Cruise pricing is dynamic and varies for each specific sailing based on factors such as departure point, ports of call, and time of year. Typically newer ships cost more, so a cruise on Carnival Celebration will likely be more expensive than on Norwegian Bliss.
Onboard Costs
Another way to gauge the cost of a cruise is to consider how much you'll spend on board. Even though a lot is included in the base cruise fare, you may still spend money on things like spa treatments, specialty dining, drinks, and excursions. In addition, guests can also have to pay for things like gratuities and tips.
Typically guests can expect to spend about 25 - 40% of the cost of the cruise on onboard expenses. In other words, if the cruise fare is $1,000 per person, you might spend between $250 and $400 on extra expenses.
The table below will help you compare onboard prices to see if you might spend more on a specific ship.
| Carnival Celebration | Norwegian Bliss | |
|---|---|---|
| Base Daily Gratuities* (Per Person Per Day) | $16.00 | $20.00 |
| Tip added to drinks & services | 18% | 20% |
| Soda Price | $3.00 | $3.50 |
| Domestic Beer Price | $8.75 See drink menus | $7.50 See drink menus |
| Drink Package Price | $83 - $88 Learn more | 106 Learn more |
| Internet Plan | $18.70 to $23.80 per device per day | $29.99 - $39.99 per cabin per day, with $5 for each extra device |
| *Daily gratuities for a standard cabin. Suites or specialty rooms may have higher rates. | ||
Norwegian Cruise Line offers a More at Sea fare. Through this program, guests receive open bar, a discount on excursions, some free internet, and some meals at specialty restaurants. If you book using this promotion, you'll be responsible for the gratuities on the dining and drink package. If you won't be using these options, booking a "sail away" rate that doesn't include the More at Sea benefits is considerably cheaper. Also, most of these benefits are the base packages; you can spend more to upgrade to better alcoholic drinks or faster/more wifi.
We sailed aboard the Carnival Celebration
Follow along on our sailing on the Carnival Celebration. We take you through every aspect of our sailing, from getting to the port to debarking the ship. See the schedule of events, menus, what excursions we did, and what we really thought about the ship.
Carnival Celebration - Cruise Blog - Day 1 - Miami
Carnival Celebration - Cruise Blog - Day 2 - Sea Day
Carnival Celebration - Cruise Blog - Day 3 - Cozumel
Carnival Celebration - Cruise Blog - Day 4 - Costa Maya
Carnival Celebration - Cruise Blog - Day 5 - Roatan
Carnival Celebration - Cruise Blog - Day 6 - Sea Day
Carnival Celebration - Cruise Blog - Day 7 - Sea Day
5 Hits and Misses on Carnival Celebration
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