Cruise Spotlight
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Carnival Spirit vs Carnival Celebration
The Carnival Spirit was built in 2001. It was renovated in 2025. It's 21 years older than the Celebration, which 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.
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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 Spirit is considered a small ship. Coming in at 963 feet long and 106 feet wide, it's roughly the length of 2.7 football fields, as wide as 2 tractor-trailers, and the same height as a 12-story building. Compared to the Carnival Celebration, the Spirit is 52% smaller in terms of overall tons.
Number of Passengers
Carnival Spirit holds 60% fewer passengers than the Celebration based on double occupancy (two people per room). At full capacity, Carnival Spirit holds 61% fewer passengers than the Celebration.
When you compare the total tonnage of the ship to the number of passengers, or what we call the "Space Ratio," the Spirit has more space per person compared to the Celebration. This means that you might have a bit more space to yourself on the ship, although there still could be some crowded areas like buffets, pools, etc.
The Celebration uses a zone layout to break up large crowds across the ship, often making it feel less crowded.
| Carnival Spirit | Carnival Celebration | |
|---|---|---|
| Class | Spirit | Excel |
| Gross Tonnage | 88,500 | 183,521 |
| Length | 963 | 1,130 |
| Beam/Width | 106 | 137 |
| Passenger Decks | 12 | 17 |
| Passengers (double occupancy) | 2,124 | 5,364 |
| Passengers (maximum occupancy) | 2,610 | 6,631 |
| Crew | 930 | 1,735 |
| Passenger to Crew Ratio | 2.8 | 3.8 |
| Space Ratio (tons of ship per passenger) | 34 | 28 |
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 Spirit has thirteen different dining options like Carnival Deli, Blue Iguana Cantina, and JavaBlue Cafe. Of those options, twelve are complimentary, or included with your cruise fare. The other six options have an additional fee.
The Celebration has thirteen more dining venues. Some of its popular venues are Rudi's Seagrill, Street Eats, and ChiBang. Nineteen of these restaurants are complimentary and the other twelve have an additional fee.
If you like having a variety of places to eat, the Celebration might be a better choice. It has 100% more dining options than the Spirit.
Both ships have a similar number of paid versus included dining options.
Restaurants on Carnival Spirit & Celebration
Bars and Drinks
The Carnival Spirit has 7 fewer bars than the Carnival Celebration.
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 Barq's Root Beer, although the selection can vary by ship.
You can check out the recent bar menus for the Spirit and the Celebration below.
Pools and Hot Tubs
Carnival
Spirit
3
pools
2
hot tubs
Carnival
Celebration
6
pools
7
hot tubs
| Spirit | Celebration | |
|---|---|---|
| General-access pools | 2 | 3 |
| Adults-only pools | 1 | 1 |
| Exclusive pools | 0 | 2 |
| General-access hot tubs | 1 | 5 |
| Adults-only hot tubs | 1 | 2 |
Nothing beats relaxing by a pool with a nice drink in hand as you feel the fresh sea breeze pass by you. The Carnival Spirit has a total of 3 pools and 2 hot tubs.
Carnival Celebration has more pools than the Spirit and more hot tubs. There are more exclusive pools and hot tubs on the Celebration. If you don't mind paying for exclusive access to areas in order to have less crowds, this might be a better choice.
Looking to get away from the kids onboard? Try relaxing in the Serenity Adult-only area, for guests 21 and older only. Both the Spirit and the Celebration have full-depth adult-only pools in the Serenity area. The Serenity Area on both ships is unenclosed and open to the elements. The Spirit's adult-only area is in the back, while the Celebration's is in the front. Typically, the back of the ship has less wind and better views than the front of the ship.
Cruise Coloring and Activity Books for Kids
Get your kids ready for their cruise or keep them entertained while on board with our custom-made coloring and activity books. These are the Carnival editions, featuring places like Pizza Pirate and mini-golf.
Cruise Ship Coloring Book for Kids 3-5 - Carnival Edition
Let's Get Cruising Activity Book for Kids 6-8 - Carnival Edition
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. On the Spirit, 71% of the activities below are included in the cruise fare. On the Celebration, only 61% of the activities are included, meaning you might spend more money while on board.
| Carnival Spirit | Carnival Celebration | |
|---|---|---|
| Adult Only Relaxation Area | ✓ | ✓ |
| Arcade | ✓ | ✓ |
| Basketball | ✓ | ✓ |
| Brewery Tour | ✗ | ✓ |
| Casino | ✓ | ✓ |
| Comedy Club | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cooking Class | ✗ | ✓ |
| Dr Seuss Breakfast | ✓ | ✓ |
| Fitness Center | ✓ | ✓ |
| Jogging Track | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mini golf | ✓ | ✓ |
| Outdoor gym | ✗ | ✓ |
| Pool-side Movies | ✓ | ✓ |
| Roller Coaster | ✗ | ✓ |
| Ropes course | ✗ | ✓ |
| Shows - musical review | ✓ | ✗ |
| Spa | ✓ | ✗ |
| Splash park | ✓ | ✓ |
| Thermal Suites | ✗ | ✓ |
| Water slides | ✓ | ✓ |
| Learn more | Learn more |
Cruise Costs
Carnival is a mainstream cruise line. 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 Spirit will likely be cheaper than on Carnival Celebration.
The cost will also vary depending on the type of cabin you book. You can see the differences between the Carnival cabins and how to choose the best one here:
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 may 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 understand what you might spend onboard a Carnival ship.
| Carnival | |
|---|---|
| Base Daily Gratuities* (Per Person Per Day) | $17.00 |
| Tip added to drinks & services | 20% |
| Soda Price | $3.25 |
| Domestic Beer Price | $8.25 See drink menus |
| Drink Package Price | $83 - $88 Learn more |
| Internet Plan | $18.70 to $23.80 per device per day |
| *Daily gratuities for a standard cabin. Suites or specialty rooms may have higher rates. | |
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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