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MSC Seaside vs Carnival Celebration
The MSC Seaside was built in 2017. It's 5 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.
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 Seaside is considered a large size ship. Coming in at 1,060 feet long and 135 feet wide, it's roughly the length of 2.9 football fields, as wide as 2.5 tractor-trailers and the same height as a 15-story building. Compared to the Carnival Celebration, the Seaside is 16% smaller in terms of overall tons.
Number of Passengers
MSC Seaside holds about the same number of passengers as the Celebration 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 Seaside has less space per person compared to the Celebration.
The Celebration uses a zone layout to break up large crowds across the ship, often making it feel less crowded.
| MSC Seaside | Carnival Celebration | |
|---|---|---|
| Class | Seaside | Excel |
| Gross Tonnage | 153,516 | 183,521 |
| Length | 1,060 | 1,130 |
| Beam/Width | 135 | 137 |
| Passenger Decks | 15 | 17 |
| Passengers (double occupancy) | 5,084 | 5,374 |
| Crew | 1,513 | 1,735 |
| Passenger to Crew Ratio | 3.3 | 2.6 |
| Space Ratio (tons of ship per passenger) | 30 | 35 |
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 Seaside has eleven different dining options like Ocean Cay Restaurant, Butcher's Cut, and Biscayne Bay Restaurant & Buffet. Of those options, eight are complementary, or included with your cruise fare. The other eight options have an additional fee.
The Celebration has twelve more dining venues. Some of its popular venues are Blue Iguana Cantina, Seafood Shack, and The Chef's Table. nineteen of these restaurants are complementary and the other nine have an additional fee.
If you like having a variety of places to eat, the Celebration might be a better choice. It has 109% more dining options than the Seaside.
If you're looking to avoid extra money while on board, the Celebration might be a better choice then the Seaside. More of the dining options are included in the base cruise fare, potentially saving you money.
| MSC Seaside | Carnival Celebration | |
|---|---|---|
| Total Dining Options | 11 | 23 |
| Complimentary Dining Options: | 8 | 19 |
| Additional Fee Dining Options: | 8 | 9 |
| % of Included Options | 27% | 61% |
| See the options | See the options |
Bars and Drinks
The MSC Seaside has 1 more bar than the Carnival Celebration. The Seaside has 18 bars like Haven Lounge, South Beach Bar and Wine & Cocktails. On Seaside, you can grab a drink at 17 different bars such as Alchemy Bar, Guy's Pig and Anchor Brewhouse and Tides Pool Bar.
| MSC Seaside | Carnival Celebration |
|---|---|
| •Aurea Bar • Casino Bar • Champagne Bar • Garage Club • Haven Lounge • Jungle Bar • Marketplace Bar • Miami Beach Bar • Miramar Bar • MSC Yacht Club Grill & Bar • Seaside Bar • Seaview Lounge • Shine Bar • South Beach Bar • Sports Bar • Top Sail Lounge • Venchi 1878 Chocolate Bar • Wine & Cocktails | •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 |
In terms of drinks and cocktails, you have a variety of choices. The Seaside serves Coca Cola branded products. That includes drinks like Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite and Barqs Root Beer, although the selection can vary by ship. The Celebration serves the Pepsi family of products. That means Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Starry, Mug Root Beer, and Mountain Dew.
You can check out recent the bar menus for the Celebration 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 MSC Seaside has a total of 4 pools and 5 hot tubs. 1 of the pools and 2 of the hot tubs 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.
Carnival Celebration has more pools than the Seaside and more hot tubs. There are fewer exclusive pools and hot tubs on the Celebration. 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 are adults only on Seaside.| MSC Seaside | Carnival Celebration | |
|---|---|---|
| Total Pools | 4 | 6 |
| Pools - General Access | 2 | 3 |
| Pools - Adults Only | 1 | 1 |
| Pools - Exclusive | 1 | 2 |
| Total Hot Tubs | 5 | 7 |
| Hot Tubs - General Access | 3 | 5 |
| Hot Tubs - Adults Only | 2 | |
| Hot Tubs - Exclusive | 2 | 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 Seaside. Only 57% of the activities below are included in your cruise fare. On the Celebration, 61% of the activities are included at no additional cost.
| MSC Seaside | Carnival Celebration | |
|---|---|---|
| Adult Only Relaxation Area | ✗ | ✓ |
| Adventure Trail | ✓ | ✗ |
| Arcade | ✓ | ✓ |
| Basketball | ✓ | ✓ |
| Brewery Tour | ✗ | ✓ |
| Casino | ✓ | ✓ |
| Comedy Club | ✗ | ✓ |
| Cooking Class | ✗ | ✓ |
| Dr Seuss Breakfast | ✗ | ✓ |
| F1 Simulator | ✓ | ✗ |
| Fitness Center | ✓ | ✓ |
| Glass Bridge | ✓ | ✗ |
| Interactive XD Cinema | ✓ | ✗ |
| Jogging Track | ✗ | ✓ |
| Mini golf | ✗ | ✓ |
| Outdoor gym | ✗ | ✓ |
| Pool-side Movies | ✗ | ✓ |
| Roller Coaster | ✗ | ✓ |
| Ropes course | ✗ | ✓ |
| Spa | ✓ | ✗ |
| Splash park | ✓ | ✓ |
| Theater | ✓ | ✗ |
| Thermal Suites | ✓ | ✓ |
| Water slides | ✓ | ✓ |
| Zip Line | ✓ | ✗ |
| Learn more | Learn more |
Cruise Costs
MSC and Carnival 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 MSC Seaside will likely be cheaper than on Carnival Celebration.
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.
| MSC Seaside | Carnival Celebration | |
|---|---|---|
| Base Daily Gratuities* (Per Person Per Day) | $16.00 | $16.00 |
| Tip added to drinks & services | 18% | 18% |
| Soda Price | $3.00 | |
| Domestic Beer Price | $8.75 See drink menus | |
| Drink Package Price | $46 - $85 | $83 - $88 Learn more |
| Internet Plan | $17 - $27 per device per day | $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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