Mardi Gras vs Carnival Jubilee 2026: Which Excel Ship?

This is the rare comparison where the smart move is to spend less time on the ships and more time on the map. Mardi Gras and Carnival Jubilee are two of the three Carnival Excel-class ships, built on the same hull two years apart. If you put them side by side, the spec table is almost a mirror.

So the question is not really “which is the better ship.” It is “which of two nearly identical ships fits your trip,” and that turns out to have a clean answer.

Same bones, two years apart

Both ships run 1,130 feet long, both carry around 5,300 guests at double occupancy, and both pioneered or inherited the same headline features: BOLT, the first roller coaster at sea, the WaterWorks park, SportSquare, Loft 19, and Family Harbor. Jubilee is marginally larger at 183,521 GT to Mardi Gras’s 180,800, and two years newer, having entered service in December 2023 against Mardi Gras’s 2021 debut.

Those differences are real but small. Nobody steps off Jubilee feeling they sailed a fundamentally different class of ship than Mardi Gras. The Excel formula is the Excel formula.

Homeport is probably your real decision

The biggest practical gap between these two is where they leave from. Mardi Gras sails year-round from Port Canaveral, Florida. Jubilee sails from Galveston, Texas. For most families, the cost and hassle of getting to the port dwarf any onboard distinction.

If you are in the Southeast or can drive to Central Florida, Mardi Gras is almost certainly the cheaper, simpler trip. If you are in Texas or the central US, Jubilee is. Booking the “better” ship and then paying for flights across the country to reach it rarely makes sense when the ships are this close.

The zones that only exist on one ship

Where Carnival did differentiate is in themed zones. Mardi Gras carries the French Quarter, a New Orleans tribute with the Brass Magnolia and Fortune Teller bars and Emeril’s Bistro 1396. It is one of the most distinctive spaces in the Carnival fleet.

Jubilee swaps that for two zones no other Excel ship has: Currents, an underwater-themed area, and The Shores, a coastal-inspired one. Its atrium also leans newer, with 14-foot LED screens and a ceiling of 1,400 color-changing lights. If a specific atmosphere matters to you, this is the one place the ships genuinely diverge: New Orleans nostalgia on Mardi Gras, contemporary coastal theming on Jubilee.

Cabins, coaster, and everything that is identical

It is worth saying plainly how much is the same, because it shapes the verdict. The cabins are identical, category for category, from 158 sq ft standard interiors to the 474 sq ft top suites. Havana cabins with private pool access, Family Harbor with its lounge, and suite access to Loft 19 exist on both. BOLT, WaterWorks, the comedy club, Playlist Productions shows, and the Guy’s Burger Joint and Big Chicken casual spots are shared. You are not trading away a single major amenity by choosing either ship.

The call

If you can sail from either port without a meaningful cost difference, book Carnival Jubilee. It is the newest Excel ship, slightly larger, and the only one with the Currents and The Shores zones, so you get the most current version of the formula.

If your nearest or cheapest departure is Port Canaveral, or if the French Quarter’s New Orleans theming is a draw, book Mardi Gras without hesitation. You will not be missing out on a better ship, just a slightly newer one, and the homeport savings will fund a specialty dinner or two. Either way, sailing date and itinerary deserve more weight than the small gap between these sisters.