Carnival Festivale vs Royal Caribbean Allure of the Seas

The Carnival Festivale is a fairly new ship, being built in 2027. The Festivale is named after the original ship that sailed with Carnival from 1977 - 1996. It has two unique zones not found on its sister ships. Unlike the first Excel Class ships, Festivale does NOT have a BOLT roller coaster, instead it has a waterpark called "Sunsation Point." The ship will sail from Port Canaveral starting in May 2027. It's 17 years newer than the Allure of the Seas, which was built in 2010 and renovated in 2025. Allure of the Seas underwent a $100 million renovation in 2025 where they added water slides, a dry slide, new restaurants, and bars.

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

Ship Size

The Festivale 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 Royal Caribbean Allure of the Seas, the Festivale is 19% smaller in terms of overall tons.

Number of Passengers

Carnival Festivale holds about the same number of passengers as the Allure of the Seas 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 Festivale has less space per person compared to the Allure of the Seas.

Both the Festivale and Allure of the Seas use a zone concept to break up large crowds across the ship, often making it feel less crowded.

	Carnival Festivale	Royal Caribbean Allure of the Seas
Class	Excel	Oasis
Gross Tonnage	182,800	225,282
Length	1,130	1,187
Beam/Width	137	215
Passenger Decks	17	16
Passengers (double occupancy)	5,400	5,484
Crew	1,700	2,200
Passenger to Crew Ratio	2.6	2.5
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 Festivale has twenty-three different dining options like Emeril's Bistro 1396, Rudi's Seagrill, and Seafood Shack. Of those options, nineteen are complementary, or included with your cruise fare. The other nine options have an additional fee.

The Allure of the Seas has two fewer dining venues. Some of its popular venues are Chef's Table, Dog House, and Starbucks. Fourteen of these restaurants are complementary and the other thirteen have an additional fee.

The Carnival Festivale has about the same number of dining options as the Royal Caribbean Allure of the Seas.

If you're looking to avoid extra money while on board, the Festivale might be a better choice then the Allure of the Seas. More of the dining options are included in the base cruise fare, potentially saving you money.

	Carnival Festivale	Royal Caribbean Allure of the Seas
Total Dining Options	23	21
Complimentary Dining Options:	19	14
Additional Fee Dining Options:	9	13
% of Included Options	61%	38%
	See the options	See the options

Bars and Drinks

The Carnival Festivale and Royal Caribbean Allure of the Seas both have 18 bars to choose from during your sailing. The Festivale has 18 bars like Alchemy Bar, Center Stage and Mix Bar. On Allure of the Seas, you can grab a drink at 18 different bars such as On Air Club, Trellis Bar and Vintages.

Carnival Festivale	Royal Caribbean Allure of the Seas
•Alchemy Bar • Casino Bar • Center Stage • Fahrenheit 555 Bar • Festival Grounds Bar & Coffee • Grand View • Guy's Pig and Anchor Brewhouse • Havana Bar • Java Blue Cafe • Limelight Lounge • Mix Bar • Piano Bar 88 • Punchliner Comedy Club • RedFrog Tiki Bar • Scenic Overlook Bar • Serenity Pool Bar • Sunsation Sips • The Spark Bar	•Blaze • Boleros • Casino Bar • Comedy Live • Dazzles • English Pub • On Air Club • Pesky Parrot • Playmakers • Rising Tide Bar • Schooner Bar • Solarium Bar • Suite Lounge • Suite Sun Deck Bar • The Lime & Coconut • Trellis Bar • Vintages • Wipeout Bar

In terms of drinks and cocktails, you have a variety of choices. Both ships serve the Coca-cola family of products. That means Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite and Barqs Root Beer, although the selection can vary by ship. Most Royal Caribbean ships also have Coke Freestyle machines where you can make 100 different flavor combinations.

You can check out recent the bar menus for the Festivale and the Allure of the Seas 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 Festivale has a total of 6 pools and 6 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.

Royal Caribbean Allure of the Seas has fewer pools than the Festivale and the same number of hot tubs. There are fewer exclusive pools and hot tubs on the Allure of the Seas. If you like ships without extra charges or exclusive areas, this might be a better choice since everyone will have access to these areas.

Tired of loud kids and splashing? One of the pools and three of the hot tubs are adults only on Festivale.

	Carnival Festivale	Royal Caribbean Allure of the Seas
Total Pools	6	4
Pools - General Access	3	3
Pools - Adults Only	1	1
Pools - Exclusive	2	0
Total Hot Tubs	6	6
Hot Tubs - General Access	3	4
Hot Tubs - Adults Only	3	2
Hot Tubs - Exclusive	0	0

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 Festivale. Only 65% of the activities below are included in your cruise fare. On the Allure of the Seas, 82% of the activities are included at no additional cost.

	Carnival Festivale	Royal Caribbean Allure of the Seas
Adult Only Relaxation Area	✓	✓
Aquatheater	✗	✓
Arcade	✓	✓
Basketball	✓	✓
Brewery Tour	✓	✗
Carousel	✗	✓
Casino	✓	✓
Climbing Wall	✗	✓
Comedy Club	✓	✓
Cooking Class	✓	✗
Dr Seuss Breakfast	✓	✗
Escape Room	✗	✓
Fitness Center	✓	✓
FlowRider	✗	✓
Ice Skating	✗	✓
Jogging Track	✓	✗
Laser Tag	✗	✓
Mini golf	✓	✓
Outdoor gym	✓	✗
Pool-side Movies	✓	✓
Ropes course	✓	✗
Shows - Broadway play	✗	✓
Shows - musical review	✗	✓
Spa	✗	✓
Splash park	✓	✓
Thermal Suites	✓	✗
Thrill Slide	✗	✓
Water slides	✗	✓
Waterpark	✓	✗
Zip Line	✗	✓
	Learn more	Learn more

Carnival is also known for its energetic theme parties which vary per ship.

Cruise Costs

Carnival and Royal Caribbean 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 Festivale will likely be more expensive than on Royal Caribbean Allure of the Seas.

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 Festivale	Royal Caribbean Allure of the Seas
Base Daily Gratuities* (Per Person Per Day)	$17.00	$18.50
Tip added to drinks & services	20%	18%
Soda Price	$3.25	$3.50
Domestic Beer Price	$8.25 See drink menus	$7.49 See drink menus
Drink Package Price	$83 - $88 Learn more	$77 - $118 Learn more
Internet Plan	$18.70 to $23.80 per device per day	$19 to $30 per device per day
*Daily gratuities for a standard cabin. Suites or specialty rooms may have higher rates.

Royal Caribbean uses dynamic pricing, which means the pricing for many things will vary per sailing. The daily gratuities and tip are consistent across the fleet, but the pricing for the drink package, internet, and excursions will change. The only way to know your price is to consult the Royal Caribbean cruise planner once you're booked.

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