Carnival Deck Plans

Carnival's three largest ships, Mardi Gras, Celebration and Jubilee, all organize their decks into themed "zones" rather than a flat venue list, and all three carry Carnival's signature roller coaster. Here's how they actually compare by size and layout.

Carnival's largest ships compared

Gross tonnage, length and deck count, Carnival's three biggest ships.
Ship Class Gross tonnage Length Decks Entered service
Carnival Mardi Gras XL 180,800 GT 1,130 ft 17 2020
Carnival Celebration Excel 183,521 GT 1,130 ft n/a 2022
Carnival Jubilee Excel 183,521 GT 1,130 ft 19 2023

Source: Carnival Cruise Line ship fact sheets, cross-checked against Wikipedia ship pages, retrieved 2026-09-17.

XL-class vs. Excel-class

Mardi Gras, delivered in 2020, was Carnival's first "XL" ship and the first cruise ship anywhere with a roller coaster at sea. Celebration and Jubilee are the newer Excel-class sister ships, an evolution of the same hull at a slightly larger 183,521 GT each, both running about 1,130 feet long. All three keep BOLT: Ultimate Sea Coaster and a WaterWorks aqua park as signature features.

Zones, not a flat deck list

Rather than spreading venues randomly deck by deck, each ship groups them into six themed zones. Each has its own central atrium-style hub: La Piazza on Mardi Gras, 820 Biscayne on Carnival Celebration. Jubilee adds a zone unique to that ship, The Shores, built around a beach-and-boardwalk theme. We don't have a sourced, full six-zone breakdown for every ship yet, so this guide covers what's confirmed rather than filling in the rest.

Want the ship-by-ship cabin layout? Use Carnival's own interactive deck plan for the exact cabin and venue map. For how these ships stack up against the rest of the fleet, see the deck plans hub, the cruise ship size comparison, or check when a Carnival ship is actually in port.

Frequently asked questions

How many decks does Carnival Mardi Gras have?

Carnival Mardi Gras has 17 passenger decks, running from Deck 4 through Deck 19, at 180,800 gross tons.

What is the difference between Carnival Mardi Gras and Carnival Celebration or Jubilee?

Mardi Gras is Carnival's XL-class ship, the first of this larger generation, launched in 2020. Celebration (2022) and Jubilee (2023) are Excel-class sister ships, an evolution of the same design at a slightly larger 183,521 GT each. All three are close in length at around 1,130 feet.

Do all of Carnival's biggest ships have a roller coaster?

Yes. Mardi Gras was the first cruise ship in the world with a roller coaster, BOLT: Ultimate Sea Coaster, and Carnival carried it forward to both Celebration and Jubilee.

What are the "zones" on a Carnival XL or Excel-class ship?

Instead of a flat list of venues by deck, these ships group spaces into themed zones, six per ship. Each has its own central hub, such as La Piazza on Mardi Gras or 820 Biscayne on Carnival Celebration, plus at least one zone unique to that ship, like The Shores on Carnival Jubilee.

Where can I see the official deck plan for a Carnival ship?

Carnival publishes an interactive, cabin-by-cabin deck plan for every ship on its own site. This guide covers how the ships compare by size and layout concept; use Carnival's own plan when picking a specific cabin.