MSC Meraviglia-Plus Class vs. Carnival Excel Class

The One-Question Test

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Picture the week you actually want. Which sentence is yours?

The story that explains everything

Score these two classes across seven categories and something unusual happens: the side that wins more of them loses the total. That's not a glitch. It's the whole choice, in miniature.

Seven rows · one backwards result · August 2026

Carnival wins more rows. MSC wins the board.

Start with the size, because for once it isn't the argument. Meraviglia-Plus runs 181,541 certificated gross tons, the identical figure on all three ships. Excel runs roughly 180,800 to 183,521 on marketing figures, with registry numbers landing a little off those in both directions. Guests at double occupancy: 4,810 against about 5,300. Every berth full: 6,334 against roughly 6,500. These are, by the yardsticks both lines publish, nearly the same amount of ship. Which strips the decision down to what each line bolted onto the hull — and what it charges you once you're aboard.

Excel is a point better at everything a family evening is made of. Families, 10 against 9. Entertainment, 9 against 8. Dining, 9 against 8. Three wins, one point each, all in the rows where the kids are awake. Six themed zones bundle their own bars and shows, the free-food lineup is the widest on Carnival's own line. A ropes course and a water park ride inside the fare too. If you score this booking by what happens between four in the afternoon and ten at night, Carnival takes it, narrowly and honestly.

MSC answers with only two rows — and they're worth five points together. Luxury, 8 against 5: a keycard-gated Yacht Club with its own restaurant and sundeck. Set that against Excel suites that Carnival's own guide says aren't a Yacht Club or Haven-style ship-within-a-ship. Value, 9 against 7: near-flagship hardware at a fare that reliably undercuts MSC's own flagships, with gratuity quoted inside the package prices. That's a $70 floor with the tip already in it, against $69.95 that becomes $83.94 after Carnival's 20 percent. Couples and calm end level, 7-7 and 5-5. Total: 54 to 52, MSC. Three narrow wins for the evenings, two deep wins for the suite and the bill. Count the rows, then count the points, and know which count is yours.

Carnival takes the three fun rows by one point each MSC takes two rows — and the board

The quick verdict

Sixty seconds, no hedging. Then keep reading if you're still torn.

MSC Meraviglia-Plus Class, if…

You're shopping the Yacht Club — a gated deck-top enclave with a 167-seat lounge, a private restaurant and a 1,225 m² sundeck, on ships priced well below MSC's flagships
The fare and the bill decide it — MSC quotes gratuity inside its package prices, and this class undercuts the World Class for near-flagship hardware
A 111-metre indoor Galleria under an LED sky is your kind of evening — especially in Northern Europe, where it earns its keep
One specific ship fits your map: Grandiosa from Port Canaveral in winter, Virtuosa from Southampton through summer 2026, Euribia to the fjords from Kiel and Copenhagen
You'll read the honest part below and budget for the extras anyway

Carnival Excel Class, if…

The kids outvote you — no other row on this board earns a 10
You'd happily pick a ship for its signature zone: Currents, the French Quarter or 820 Biscayne
Free food matters more than fancy food — Guy's, Shaq's, ChiBang! and the smokehouse are all in the fare
Your car reaches Port Canaveral, Miami or Galveston, and newest-in-port settles arguments
You'd rather schedule around the crush than pretend a 6,000-guest ship won't have one

Two classes, two bets

Nearly the same tonnage, launched a year or two apart, aimed at the same family wallet. What separates them is what each company decided the hull was for.

MSC's bet is the stretch: take the design that already works and sell more of it for less. Grandiosa, Virtuosa and Euribia are the base Meraviglia hull with 15.6 metres of extra length at the same 43-metre beam. The stretch bought roughly 200 more cabins and a Galleria grown from 96 metres to 111 — no extra deck, no wider hull. Chantiers de l'Atlantique built all three at around €770 million each. MSC prices them below its own World Class flagships while keeping the two things the fare model leans on. One is a Yacht Club at the top of the ship; the other, a €21 million theatre-in-the-round that charges admission on two of the three hulls. The arithmetic is visible from the pier. You're buying a great deal of ship for the money, and the money you saved is the room you're standing in.

Carnival's bet is simpler: build the familiar product a third bigger and let the size do the talking. An Excel hull carries six neighborhoods where the rest of the fleet has decks. It carries more places to eat than any Carnival class before it, and a roller coaster no other line had put on a ship. What it doesn't carry is a claim to be something finer. Our Excel guide's own summary is blunt — you're paying for scale, choice and newness, and the burger at the end of the line is the same burger. That candour costs Carnival nothing, though, because the pitch never obliges it to show a number. One dollar figure appears in the entire class guide, and it's the price of a coaster lap.

The scorecard below ends with two ties, three one-point rows, one two-point row and one three-point row — and the total lands on the side with fewer wins.

The full class guide MSC Meraviglia-Plus Class, decoded → The full class guide Carnival Excel Class, decoded →

The showdown scorecard

Seven categories that decide this booking. Fit scores, not quality scores — a 5 isn't a failing grade, it's a different job description. Carnival banks three rows, MSC two, and two finish honestly level — yet the 54–52 total still lands on MSC's side.

The shape of the difference

Meraviglia-PlusExcel Class

The same seven fit scores as the rows below, drawn as one shape each. Where the two outlines sit on top of each other, the classes genuinely agree. Where one bulges, that is the row that decides your booking.

How to read it

Seven axes, two shapes

Ten is the outer edge. A fit score isn't a quality score — the two 5s on this board aren't failing grades, they're different job descriptions. Pick an axis to see what its row actually measures.

Tap or arrow-key any axis label ·

Category tallyMeraviglia-Plus · 2 categoriesExcel Class · 3 categories2 tied · total 54–52 MSC

Seabound Showdown Scorecard

MSC Meraviglia-Plus Class Carnival Excel Class

Scored from the two full class guides. The pattern worth watching: the three rows a family evening is made of all go to Carnival, each by a single point. MSC wins only two rows — and they're worth five points together, which is why the board finishes 54 to 52 against the tally.

Families & kidsM 9C 10

Carnival's only 10, by a point: the Ultimate Playground stacks a ropes course, mini-golf, a sports court and the WaterWorks park on one deck. Camp Ocean runs below, and Family Harbor buys a family cabin with its own 24-hour lounge. MSC answers with a free aquapark on every hull — Grandiosa's Wild Forest with four waterslides and a ropes course, Virtuosa's 1,000 m² Savannah with a Himalayan Bridge, Euribia's park with a Champagne Bowl slide. Then it hands part of it back at showtime, because the headline Carousel show on Grandiosa and Virtuosa is a separate ticket.

Entertainment & venuesM 8C 9

Carnival by one, on breadth rather than budget: every zone comes with its own bars, food and stages. Grand Central wraps a three-deck atrium around comedy at the Punchliner and Piano Bar 88 on Mardi Gras and Jubilee. Currents gives Jubilee six giant LED windows under a wave-shaped ceiling. MSC's counter isn't broad, it's singular: a €21 million purpose-built theatre-in-the-round with a rotating stage and full aerial rigging. It charges roughly $10 prepaid or $15 at the door on Grandiosa and Virtuosa. Add Rob, the humanoid robot bartender who mixes drinks in eight languages on Virtuosa alone. Euribia swaps the ticketed circus for a free 19-piece big band, three shows a night. The main theatre is always included on all three.

Dining, included & specialtyM 8C 9

Carnival by one, and the point sits in the free tier: Guy's burgers, BlueIguana's tacos, Shaq's chicken, Street Eats, the Chinese-Mexican ChiBang! and the Pig & Anchor smokehouse all ride inside the fare. On these ships that included tier does real work — even by our Excel guide's own concession that the scale adds quantity, not quality. MSC's five to six specialty venues per ship sit behind covers: Butcher's Cut, HOLA! Tacos, Kaito with set menus at roughly €18, €24 and €45, plus ship-uniques — Indochine and Sea Pavilion on Virtuosa, Le Grill on Euribia. Two rules catch people out: only the Premium Extra drinks package works in the specialty restaurants. And everyone dining at the same table must hold the same package type.

Couples & adultsM 7C 7

A genuine tie, and neither seven is a brag. MSC's grown-up rooms are real — the TOP 19 adults-only solarium at 500 m² on Grandiosa, L'Atelier Bar & Art with live jazz on Virtuosa, Euribia's Bamboo Pool under a retractable glass roof. But the class's most corroborated complaint is that the public rooms can't absorb the passenger list. Carnival's Havana cabins buy access to an exclusive aft pool and bar. Its adults-only Serenity decks can get windy up top, which reviewers who liked the ships say plainly. Both classes are built around the family fare; a couple books either one with a plan, not a hope.

Calm & crowd reliefM 5C 5

Two fives, and the matching number is the most honest row on the board. MSC's is arithmetic before it's opinion: 4,810 guests at double occupancy becomes 6,334 at maximum against the same 1,704 crew — 2.82 to one becomes 3.72. These ships routinely sail well above double occupancy, and reviewers describe dining tables six to ten inches apart and a breakfast buffet that's a fight. Carnival's version simply has more people in it — a full Excel ship tops 6,000 guests, the included venues queue at prime dinner hours. The Lido fills early, and Celebration's reviewers judged her elevators undersized for that headcount. Solitude isn't on either menu.

Luxury tier & enclaveM 8C 5

Three points — while no other row splits these two classes by more than a pair. Nor is it contested — our Excel guide states plainly that the Excel suites and the Loft 19 sundeck fall short of a Yacht Club or Haven-style enclave, whatever the Presidential Suite's square footage says. MSC's Yacht Club is the real article: a Top Sail Lounge seating 167 on deck 16 forward, a private restaurant seating 140 with no fixed dining times, and a 1,225 m² private open deck. Our own class guide calls these among the best-value gated suites at sea. The honest asterisk is that this is the class where the ship-within-a-ship argument fires from both sides: a praised Yacht Club against a criticised ship around it. Euribia's suite guests report the premium benefits feel diminished. An 8, not a 9.

Value: what the money buysM 9C 7

MSC by two, and it's the row that flips the board. Near-flagship hardware at a fare that reliably undercuts MSC's own World Class, a service charge of $17 per person per night matching Carnival's, and package prices with gratuity already inside. That means a $70 floor with the tip in it, while Carnival's $69.95 needs its 20 percent added on before the true figure — $83.94 — shows up. Carnival prints those figures itself, but they reach this page through MSC's value ledger, because Carnival's class guide carries exactly one dollar amount: about $15 for BOLT. The deductions are real and we count them: the Carousel ticket on two hulls, and Euribia's sharpest complaint of nickel-and-diming. Reviewers there advise 20 to 30 percent on top of the fare. A 9 with an asterisk still beats a posture.

Score it for your trip

Of the seven rows here, two sit dead level, three move by a single point, and one hands MSC three. Read straight, the board goes to MSC by two — but your week isn't evenly weighted. Say what it runs on instead. Nothing to fill in, nothing sent anywhere.

The Matcher · live

How much does each of these matter to you?

Everything starts at “matters,” which is the same thing as reading the scorecard straight. Move the ones you care about and watch the verdict move with them.

Kids & familyMeraviglia-Plus 9 · Excel Class 10

EntertainmentMeraviglia-Plus 8 · Excel Class 9

DiningMeraviglia-Plus 8 · Excel Class 9

CouplesMeraviglia-Plus 7 · Excel Class 7

Calm & relaxationMeraviglia-Plus 5 · Excel Class 5

Luxury feelMeraviglia-Plus 8 · Excel Class 5

Value for moneyMeraviglia-Plus 9 · Excel Class 7

Meraviglia-Plus—

Excel Class—

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Now the honest part

What each class's fans leave out. Symmetrically, because if you only have dirt on one side you haven't finished reporting.

MSC's problem is the gap between the people who score the hardware and the people who sail it. This class produces a startling split between what professional reviewers score and what passengers score. MSC Virtuosa holds a perfect 5.0 from Cruise Critic's editor. Her member distribution across 362 reviews computes to about 2.86, with 168 of them — 46 per cent — at Poor or Terrible. Grandiosa runs 4.0 against about 2.91; Euribia 4.0 against about 3.27, the narrowest gap and the best member score of the three. Both numbers are honest. Editors assess a 111-metre Galleria, a €21 million theatre and a genuine environmental step in SCR and then LNG. Members assess a full ship at a low fare, and their complaints are consistent and structural — crowding, queuing and cost. The counterweight is real too: Cruiseline's panel has Grandiosa at 4.2 from 151 reviews and Euribia at 4.1 from 42. Cruise Critic also singles out Grandiosa's Il Campo dining room service as exceptional.

Carnival's candour is genuine — and conveniently free. Admitting the food doesn't improve with the tonnage costs nothing when no fare, fee or ratio ever has to appear beside the admission. Meanwhile the crowding runs a headcount ahead of MSC's: a sold-out Excel hull passes 6,000 guests. Dinner queues form at the included venues, and the Lido is claimed by mid-morning. Embarkation at the big Florida and Texas piers can descend into chaos, and Celebration's elevators drew flat criticism as undersized. Wind reaches the adults-only Serenity decks too. Even BOLT gets talked down by our own Excel guide — a short ride, roughly $15 each time, shut when the breeze picks up. The recurring reviewer verdict lands at once-was-plenty. The zones are the reason to book these ships. The coaster isn't.

The two-tier argument runs hottest on this MSC class, and it now fires in both directions. On Grandiosa, reviewers identify a stark disparity between a praised Yacht Club and a criticised ship around it. One widely quoted summary says the reviewer would only recommend the line if you can sail in the Yacht Club. On Euribia the complaint inverts: suite guests report that the segregation creates access restrictions and that the premium benefits feel diminished against earlier MSC ships. And the small print resists tidiness even at the top: MSC publishes no Yacht Club suite count for any of these three ships. CruiseMapper's overview pages say 95 while its own per-ship cabin pages itemise 103, and we print both because that's the honest state of the evidence. Carnival doesn't face this argument because it doesn't have the enclave, and says so.

And the numbers go quiet in different places on each side. MSC publishes its crew count of 1,704, its full-occupancy figure of 6,334 and a space figure of 37.74 gross tons per guest at double occupancy. Carnival's class guide carries none of those — no crew count, no space ratio, no rating of any kind. The lone claim is an ordering from Cruise Critic's members, who place the trio at the head of the Carnival fleet: Jubilee, then Mardi Gras, then Celebration. No number stands behind it. To be precise about the crew gap: Carnival does print a figure — 1,735 “Total Team Members,” on its press fact sheets. A number that never varies between hulls looks like a fleet convention rather than a headcount, and a press kit isn't where a shopper lands. The tonnage numbers are brochure figures whose registry equivalents differ hull by hull. Jubilee certificates below her 183,521, while Mardi Gras measures 181,808 against a 180,800 marketing figure. Where a shopper-facing figure is missing, the tables below say so rather than guessing — because charging either class for a gap in the published record wouldn't be a comparison.

The ships, hull by hull

Six hulls sailing, three a side. The Carnival sisters are the same ship wearing three different zones. The MSC sisters are more different from each other than any other MSC trio — different engines, different theatres, and on one of them a robot pouring the drinks. Each card links to the full ship guide.

◆ MSC · the class original

MSC Grandiosa

2019 · 181,541 GT · 4,810 guests, 1,704 crew · Chantiers de l'Atlantique · Port Canaveral winters

The first MSC ship fitted with selective catalytic reduction, and the only Meraviglia-Plus ship most Americans can reach without flying — Port Canaveral in winter, the Mediterranean in summer. She carries the TOP 19 adults-only solarium at 500 m², a three-deck Infinity Atrium, and the ticketed Carousel Lounge with 80 kinetic LED lights. Her late-2024 Valletta drydock replaced tiles, carpets and upholstery — a useful signal about how a five-year-old MSC hull wears. Editor score 4.0; members compute to about 2.91 from 139 reviews.

The sharpest complaintReviewers describe dining tables six to ten inches apart, and a stark gap between the praised Yacht Club and the ship around it. Read that before you pick a side of the keycard.

Read the full MSC Grandiosa guide →

◆ MSC · the one with the robot

MSC Virtuosa

2021 · 181,541 GT · 4,810 guests, 1,704 crew · Chantiers de l'Atlantique · Southampton, then Brazil

The only ship anywhere with a humanoid robot bartender — Rob, mixing drinks in eight languages in the MSC Starship Club. She adds an Aurea Spa snow grotto, the L'Atelier pop-art wine bar with live jazz, and the largest retail space in the class at 1,168 m². She was the first ship to resume cruising in the UK on 20 May 2021 and has been MSC's Southampton ship every summer since. Summer 2026 is her farewell season there before Brazil, then the Mediterranean from summer 2027.

The ratings tellA perfect 5.0 editor score against a member distribution where 46 per cent of 362 reviews are Poor or Terrible. Both are true — editors score the hardware, members score a full ship at a low fare.

Read the full MSC Virtuosa guide →

◆ MSC · the half-sister

MSC Euribia

2023 · 181,541 GT · 4,810 guests, 1,704 crew · dual-fuel LNG · Kiel & Copenhagen summers

The half-sister rather than the triplet, and dual-fuel LNG — MSC's second LNG ship. She adds a Bamboo Pool under a retractable glass roof that neither sister has, and it earns its keep in Norway. Her Carousel Lounge is a completely different room too: a conventional stern lounge with a 19-piece big band playing three shows nightly, no acrobatics and no admission charge. She works the Norwegian fjords every summer and the Arabian Gulf in winter. She holds the best member score in the class, about 3.27 from 77 reviews.

The sharpest complaintNickel-and-diming — reviewers advise adding 20 to 30 per cent to the fare. The free big band softens the blow the ticketed sisters can't.

Read the full MSC Euribia guide →

◆ Carnival · where the class began

Mardi Gras

2021 · 180,800–181,808 GT · ~5,282 guests · Meyer Turku · Port Canaveral

The class began with her, and so did LNG cruising from a North American homeport. Character is her card: the French Quarter brings New Orleans aboard, with jazz, Bourbon Street bars and Emeril's Bistro 1396. La Piazza does Italy, complete with Cucina del Capitano, Pizzeria del Capitano and genuine Vespa and Fiat props on the floor. Her current rotation favours 4 and 5 night Caribbean and Bahamas runs. That's the cheapest way to find out whether an Excel ship is your kind of ship before committing a full week to one.

The homeport tellPort Canaveral is the one pier both sides of this page share: Mardi Gras year-round, MSC Grandiosa in winter. If you can drive to one, you can price both classes against each other for real.

Read the full Mardi Gras guide →

◆ Carnival · the birthday ship

Carnival Celebration

2022 · 183,521 GT marketing · ~5,374 guests · Meyer Turku · PortMiami

Built for Carnival's 50th birthday, she carries the class's best piece of storytelling. Her Art-Deco zone takes its name, 820 Biscayne, from the Miami street address where the company set up in 1972. Inside it are Bar 820, Deco Deli, Miami Slice and Rudi's Seagrill. Elsewhere The Gateway pours drinks themed to 17 countries beside the Golden Jubilee bar and Emeril's Bistro 1397. Cassidy Gifford christened her — her mother had christened the first Celebration. Hers are the longer weeks: Eastern, Western and Southern Caribbean.

The elevator tellReviewers singled out this ship's elevators as undersized for her passenger load. When a hull can carry 6,000-plus, treat that as a fact about the ship, not a mood among her reviewers.

Read the full Carnival Celebration guide →

◆ Carnival · the newest afloat

Carnival Jubilee

2023 · 183,521 GT marketing, registry ~182,015 · ~5,362 guests · Meyer Werft · Galveston

She owns the class's showpiece. Currents turns her atrium into a digital ocean — six enormous LED “windows” beneath a wave-shaped ceiling, with the Golden Mermaid and Inks Ph.D bars, Emeril's Bistro 717 and the interactive Seaquest. A school of fish swims three decks of artwork down to The Shores, her boardwalk zone, where Beach Buns and Coastal Slice trade off with the Marina Bar and a Cucina del Capitano. She sails week-long Western Caribbean loops out of Galveston all year, and stays the newest Excel hull until Festivale lands in 2027.

The ranking tellAmong Carnival ships, Cruise Critic's members put these three at the top — in the order Jubilee, Mardi Gras, Celebration. It's an ordering with no published number underneath it, so treat it as direction, not data.

Read the full Carnival Jubilee guide →

Who launched what, and when

Eight hulls on this axis: six sailing, two Carnival newcomers on order — and both newcomers arrive without the ride the class is famous for. MSC's side is closed: no Meraviglia follow-ons are on order, so these three are the last of their line.

Fleet timeline

Meraviglia-PlusExcel ClassAnnounced, not yet sailing

Hover, tap or tab a hull to read it. MSC got there first by two years, then both lines delivered in near-lockstep — a hull each in 2021, and each class's newest ship in 2023. Only Carnival is still building.

201820202022202420262028

Every hull

8 hulls across both classes

Choose any point on the timeline for that ship’s year, homeport pattern and the one thing worth knowing about her. The two dashed Carnival pins are on order; MSC’s side of the axis is finished.

2019MSC Grandiosa First MSC ship with SCR; MSC’s first ship back after the 2020 shutdown
2021MSC Virtuosa First ship to resume UK cruising, 20 May 2021; the robot bartender
2021Mardi Gras North America’s first LNG homeport ship; New Orleans afloat in the French Quarter
2022Carnival Celebration The 50th-birthday ship — 820 Biscayne rebuilds the line’s 1972 Miami address
2023MSC Euribia Dual-fuel LNG; a free big band where her sisters sell tickets
2023Carnival Jubilee The newest hull afloat in 2026, with the digital Currents atrium, from Meyer Werft
2027Carnival Festivale Swaps the coaster for six slides at Sunsation Point
2028Carnival Tropicale Also coaster-free, with close to 1,000 connecting staterooms

Head to head, on paper

Reference facts, August 2026, as each side actually publishes them. An empty cell means the figure isn't published; we'd rather say so than guess. And for once the headline row is nearly a dead heat, because these are the closest-matched hulls in this rivalry.

Tale of the tape

Meraviglia-PlusExcel Class

Gross tons

181,541~183,000

MSC’s 181,541 is the certificated figure, identical on all three hulls. Carnival’s guide runs 180,800 to 183,521 and flags those as marketing numbers — registry figures land nearby but not on them, in either direction. So the ~183,000 is a courtesy midpoint, not a measurement.

Guests, double occupancy

4,810~5,300

Guests, every berth filled

6,334~6,500

Both sides publish this one, and full, the two classes sit within about 170 passengers of each other. The row that matters more is the one below it.

Crew

1,704Not in the class guide

MSC prints 1,704 for every hull — which makes its guests-per-crew ratio checkable: 2.82 to one at double occupancy, 3.72 to one full. Carnival isn't silent, strictly: its press fact sheets list 1,735 “Total Team Members” for each of the trio. But a figure that never varies between hulls looks like a fleet convention, and a fact sheet isn't the page anyone books from. So this cell stays honest about where the number lives.

Gross tons of ship per guest

37.74Not published

MSC’s own figure at double occupancy. Carnival’s Excel pages carry nothing comparable, and dividing a marketing tonnage by an approximate headcount would only plant a made-up number in a factual table.

Price of the headline attraction

$10–$15~$15

The strangest symmetry on this page: both classes ticket their showpiece. MSC’s Carousel show runs roughly $10 prepaid or $15 onboard on Grandiosa and Virtuosa. On Euribia it's free, because her Carousel Lounge is a big band, not a circus. BOLT is about $15 a ride on all three Excel ships, and the only dollar figure in Carnival’s guide.

Ships in the class, built or announced

MSC’s side is closed — no Meraviglia follow-ons are on order. Carnival adds Festivale in 2027 and Tropicale in 2028, both trading BOLT for a six-slide water park.

First ship in service

20192021

Why some cells are emptyMSC’s class guide publishes its crew count, its full-occupancy figure, its space ratio and its prices — including its rival’s. Carnival’s class guide commits a single dollar figure to print — the roughly $15 coaster lap — and stops there. It has no space ratio, no rating of any kind, and no crew count beyond the 1,735 that sits on a press fact sheet rather than the page a shopper reads. Every Carnival add-on price quoted here — the $17 service charge, the $69.95 that becomes $83.94 with gratuity — is a figure Carnival prints elsewhere but that reaches this page through MSC’s value ledger. We say so each time we use one.

	MSC Meraviglia-Plus Class	Carnival Excel Class
The hulls	MSC Grandiosa 2019, MSC Virtuosa 2021, MSC Euribia 2023 — and no follow-ons on order	Mardi Gras 2021, Celebration 2022 and Jubilee 2023 sailing; Festivale (2027) and Tropicale (2028) on order
Gross tonnage	181,541 certificated — the identical figure on all three ships	Marketing figures from roughly 180,800 to 183,521; registry numbers sit near them without matching — Jubilee certificates at ~182,015, Mardi Gras measures 181,808
Guests, double occupancy	4,810	About 5,300
Guests, full occupancy	6,334 — and these ships routinely sail well above double occupancy on family-heavy itineraries	Up to roughly 6,500
Crew	1,704 — 2.82 guests per crew member at double occupancy, 3.72 at maximum	1,735 “Total Team Members” on Carnival's press fact sheets — the identical figure for all three hulls, and absent from the guide a shopper reads
Space per guest	37.74 gross tons per guest at double occupancy	Nothing to cite — Carnival's Excel pages offer no space-per-guest figure, and we won't derive one from marketing tonnage
Suite enclave	Yacht Club — MSC publishes no suite count; CruiseMapper's overview pages say 95, its per-ship cabin pages itemise 103. Verifiable: a 167-seat Top Sail Lounge, a 140-seat private restaurant with no fixed times, a 1,225 m² private deck-19 sun area	Excel suites plus the Loft 19 sundeck — our Excel guide is blunt that this stops short of a Yacht Club or Haven-style enclave, even though the Excel Presidential Suite is the biggest room Carnival sells
Headline attraction	The Carousel Lounge — a €21 million theatre-in-the-round, ticketed at roughly $10 prepaid or $15 onboard on Grandiosa and Virtuosa; a free 19-piece big-band lounge on Euribia. The main theatre is always included	BOLT — sea's first roller coaster, roughly $15 per lap, and the one price Carnival's class guide commits to paper
Kids' hardware, included	A free aquapark on every hull — Wild Forest with four slides and a ropes course on Grandiosa, the 1,000 m² Savannah with a Himalayan Bridge on Virtuosa	The Ultimate Playground's ropes course, mini-golf, sports court and WaterWorks park, backed by Camp Ocean and the Family Harbor cabins with their 24-hour lounge
Layout	A 111-metre two-deck Galleria promenade beneath an 80-metre LED ceiling of 480 m² — 15 metres longer than the base class	Six neighbourhoods a ship, of which just three repeat across the trio — the ship-specific ones decide which sister you book
Daily service charge	$17 per person per night in North America, for bookings from 11 May 2026	Also $17 — a figure that reaches this page via MSC's ledger rather than Carnival's own guide
Drinks package	Premium Extra from $70 — the bottom of its published $70–$101 pre-cruise band, tip already inside the number — and the sole package the specialty restaurants accept	$69.95 plus 20 percent, or $83.94 — figures Carnival prints itself, quoted here via MSC's ledger
Ratings published	Cruise Critic editors 4.0 on Grandiosa and Euribia, a perfect 5.0 on Virtuosa; members compute to roughly 2.86–3.27, with 46 per cent of Virtuosa's 362 reviews at Poor or Terrible	No score anywhere — only an ordering: Cruise Critic members place the trio at the head of the Carnival fleet, Jubilee, then Mardi Gras, then Celebration
Fuel	Conventional with selective catalytic reduction on Grandiosa and Virtuosa; dual-fuel LNG on Euribia, MSC's second LNG ship	LNG across the class; with Mardi Gras, that fuel reached a North American homeport for the first time
Built for	Families and value-led travellers who want near-flagship hardware at an undercutting fare — and Yacht Club buyers	Families chasing maximum things-to-do within driving range of Florida or Galveston

Who should actually pick which

Carnival Excel

The family whose kids are still under twelve

Here's the board's only 10, earned on sheer density: a water park, ropes course, mini-golf and sports court stacked on the top deck. Camp Ocean sits below, and Family Harbor puts a staffed 24-hour lounge outside your cabin door. Choose by signature zone, not by hull — Jubilee for Currents, Mardi Gras for the French Quarter, Celebration for 820 Biscayne. And eat early or late, because prime-time queues at the included venues aren't a rumour.

MSC Meraviglia-Plus

The Yacht Club buyer who won't pay flagship money

These are among the best-value gated suites at sea, per our own class guide: a 167-seat Top Sail Lounge, a private restaurant with no fixed dining times, a 1,225 m² sundeck. And they sit on ships whose fares reliably undercut MSC's World Class. Go in with eyes open: this is also the class where the two-tier argument fires from both sides. The widely quoted review line is that the line is only recommendable if you can sail in the Yacht Club.

Carnival Excel

The three-generation group sailing from Texas or Florida

One sister for each big drive-to pier — Canaveral, Miami, Galveston — on a hull with room for grandparents, teenagers and toddlers to spend entirely separate days. Mixed budgets lean on the included food tier, and it holds. Go in knowing two things: Celebration's elevators drew criticism as undersized, and embarkation crowds at these terminals hit the slowest-moving members of your party first.

MSC Meraviglia-Plus

The family that budgets before boarding

MSC publishes its service charge, its package range with gratuity already inside the price, and its rival's numbers alongside its own. None of which guarantees a lower bill on your dates; it guarantees a bill you can verify before you pay it. Budget honestly: the Carousel show is a ticket on Grandiosa and Virtuosa, only the Premium Extra package works in the specialty restaurants. On Euribia, reviewers advise adding 20 to 30 per cent to the fare. The point is that you can see all of that from home.

Quick answers

Which class is better for kids?

Carnival, by the scorecard’s one point: 10 against 9. Excel's case is density — the Ultimate Playground alone stacks a ropes course, mini-golf, a sports court and the WaterWorks park. Add Camp Ocean, Family Harbor cabins wrapped around their own 24-hour lounge, and BOLT at about $15 a ride. MSC answers with a free aquapark on every hull — Grandiosa’s Wild Forest with four waterslides and a ropes course, Virtuosa’s 1,000-square-metre Savannah with a Himalayan Bridge — at a fare that reliably undercuts MSC’s own flagships. The catch runs the other way: these ships sail well above double occupancy on family-heavy itineraries, moving the guests-per-crew ratio from 2.82 toward 3.72. And the headline Carousel show on Grandiosa and Virtuosa is a separate ticket.

How does Carnival win more categories and still lose the total?

Arithmetic, not a thumb on the scale. Excel takes families, entertainment and dining by one point each — three points. Meraviglia-Plus takes luxury by three, on a keycard-gated Yacht Club that Carnival’s own guide says the Excel ships don't have. It takes value by two, on near-flagship hardware at undercutting fares with gratuity quoted inside the package prices. Five points. Couples and relaxation end level, so the board closes 54 to 52 for MSC. If your week is decided by the three fun rows, the total shouldn't decide your booking; if it's decided by the suite or the bill, it already has.

Do both classes charge for their headline attraction?

Yes, and it's the strangest symmetry on this page. BOLT, the first roller coaster at sea, costs about $15 a ride on all three Excel ships. The Carousel Lounge on MSC Grandiosa and MSC Virtuosa — a €21 million purpose-built theatre-in-the-round — charges roughly $10 prepaid or $15 onboard for a 30-minute pre-show with a cocktail and a 40-minute performance. MSC Euribia is the exception: her Carousel Lounge is a conventional stern lounge with a 19-piece big band, free to enter. The main theatre on every ship in both classes is always included. And Carnival's next two hulls, Festivale in 2027 and Tropicale in 2028, trade the coaster away for a six-slide water park.

Are these classes actually the same size?

Nearly. Meraviglia-Plus is 181,541 certificated gross tons, identical on all three ships, against Excel’s roughly 180,800 to 183,521 — marketing figures whose registry counterparts land close by without matching them. Jubilee, for one, certificates at about 182,015. Capacity splits the same way: 4,810 guests at double occupancy against about 5,300, and 6,334 against roughly 6,500 with every berth full. Nothing about this choice is settled by the hull. It's settled by what's bolted to it — six themed zones and a coaster on one side, a 111-metre Galleria under an LED sky and a gated Yacht Club on the other.

The verdict — an honest fork, not a tie

Carnival takes three rows, MSC takes two, two end level — and the board still closes 54–52 the other way.

MSC Meraviglia-Plus Class

The one that wins deep

Only two rows — but luxury lands by three, on the only real enclave in this fight. Value adds two more, on fares that undercut MSC's own flagships, gratuity quoted inside the price. Five points from two rows, a 54–52 board, and an arithmetic you can check from your sofa.

Carnival Excel Class

The one that wins wide

Families, entertainment and dining, a point apiece: the strongest kids' hardware in this fight, six-zone evenings, and an included food tier its own line can't match. To Carnival's credit, it's all sold as quantity rather than quality. What it won't do is put a weekly cost in front of you.

So don't ask which side won more rows. Ask which rows your week is actually made of. If the evenings decide it, Carnival is a point better at every one of them, and that's what you should book. If the suite or the bill decides it, MSC's two wins are worth more than Carnival's three combined. Win wide, or win deep. Decide which win is yours.

Still torn?

Tell us about your trip.

Give us the party, the pier you can reach, and which pulls harder — the kids or the suite. We'll quote both classes with the tickets counted in — Carousel, coaster and all — and say plainly which one fits.

Yacht Club on Grandiosa vs an Excel suite? Grandiosa or Mardi Gras from Port Canaveral? Is the Carousel show worth the ticket? What will each class actually cost me?

Instant answers from our guides · always verified against current pricing before you book.

The rest of the class showdowns

Every one is built the same way — the same seven fit scores, the same Matcher, the same refusal to hand out a winner that the evidence hasn't earned. If this one helped, the next one probably will too.

Class showdownMSC World Class vs. Excel ClassThe same rivalry at flagship scale: MSC's biggest against these same three Carnival hulls, and two ties that aren't a shrug.Compare →Class showdownMeraviglia Class vs. Carnival Vista ClassOne rung down on both sides: the base hull this class was stretched from, against Carnival's mid-size workhorses.Compare →Line showdownCarnival vs. MSCOne level up: the whole-fleet value rivalry these two classes are fighting inside.Compare →Class showdownFantasia Class vs. Venice ClassA dead heat where not one row ties — every category splits, they just cancel to 51 apiece.Compare →

See every Seabound showdown, line by line and class by class →

Win wide, or win deep — which is your week?

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