Top Carnival Cruise Line Ships for 2023

Considering a Carnival Cruise Line sailing for 2023 and not sure which ship to choose? You’ve landed at the right place! We pulled together our member review data for all Carnival sailings from January-December 2022 to create the rankings of the top Carnival cruise ships of 2023. 

The past year has been quite busy for Carnival. All cruise ships in the fleet were back sailing at full capacity, and things were mostly back to normal operations. Carnival also completed several exciting, significant milestones - most notably the celebration of its 50th birthday! 

Throughout 2022, Carnival hosted numerous public events and special onboard activities to recognize the big year. The festivities culminated last November with the debut of new ship, Carnival Celebration. The ship embraces the rich history of Carnival over the past 50 years with special onboard tributes and features while also including the six zones of fun like sister ship Mardi Gras. Also notable this past year was the first full calendar year of sailing for the cruise line’s first Excel-class vessel, Mardi Gras. 

Without further ado, here are the top Carnival Cruise Line ships for 2023 in the categories of the best overall ship, ship quality, dining, staterooms, and onboard activities/entertainment. 

Best Overall

The top 5 best overall Carnival Cruise Line ships as ranked by our community members: 

1. Mardi Gras - 4.270
2. Carnival Horizon - 4.233
3. Carnival Breeze - 4.210
4. Carnival Vista - 4.201
5. Carnival Radiance - 4.193

What Our Members Say

Great ship and crew. Thoroughly enjoyed every moment. I will book another cruise on her. - iriskelley58 on Mardi Gras 

Fun, relaxing, and just awesome. The energy of the cruise staff was positive and the environment was great. - piipiiwahine on Carnival Radiance

Great Experience with Carnival, Excellent service, very nice ship. The staff was awesome and helpful. The dining experience was great, and a great menu with vegetarian options. The gym was fantastic it did help me shave some calories, but not really much since I was eating a lot more than what I was able to burn. The shows were awesome and the places we visited were beautiful. - jaimeyalex on Carnival Vista

Our Thoughts 

We’re not surprised at all to see Mardi Gras at the top of the best overall list for Carnival this year. The ship boasts so many new features and returning guest favorites that no matter if it’s your first time sailing with Carnival or your 20th, there is truly something for every guest. Between numerous eateries, exciting activities, and multiple stateroom options, Mardi Gras scored the highest overall in reviews from members who sailed in 2022.

The number 2 winner for best overall ship, Carnival Horizon, is one of the newer ships in the Carnival fleet, debuting in 2019 (just before Carnival’s pause in operations for COVID). Members raved about the ship’s amenities, like the SkyRide, and WaterWorks waterpark, and its numerous casual family-friendly dining spots. At number 3, Carnival Breeze is an older, but clearly a fan-favorite, Carnival ship. This extra-large vessel continually receives high marks overall in cabins, service, and entertainment offerings, for guests of all ages. 

Ship Quality 

The ship quality category allows members to rate the ease with which they navigated the design of a vessel, its cleanliness, and overall perceptions of the time spent onboard. These are the top five best Carnival ships for ship quality for 2023: 

1. Carnival Panorama - 4.52
2. Carnival Horizon - 4.482
3. Carnival Radiance - 4.474
4. Carnival Breeze - 4.452
5. Mardi Gras - 4.401

What Our Members Say

Super nice and very clean. Makes the trip even better when things are cleaned and polished. - samonesonephet on Carnival Panorama

The layout was nice, and the staff worked hard to keep the ship clean. - Stayb on Carnival Horizon 

Great customer service every single day and no matter where you went, everything was always clean. - toussaunt on Carnival Breeze

Our Thoughts 

Number one in the best ship quality category, Carnival Panorama, made its debut in 2019 and is a relatively new ship for the cruise line. Carnival Panorama made quite a jump this year from four in this category last year up to the number one spot for 2023! The ship is the third in the line’s Vista-class series and was designed to connect the sea to the ship’s indoor spaces. 

Number two, Carnival Horizon is a new addition to this category. With a capacity of over 5,000 passengers, this ship excelled in the eyes of our members for overall vessel design and its ease of getting around. Numbers three and four (Carnival Radiance and Carnival Breeze) were previously numbers one and two for this category. This is not indicative of a slip in guest perceptions of quality, however more indicative that there were more ships available last year for members to review and more sailings occurring in the calendar year. 

Dining

Carnival is known for having a well-rounded mix of included and specialty restaurants onboard its ships. These are the top five best Carnival ships in food and dining for 2023: 

1. Carnival Breeze - 4.179
2. Carnival Vista - 4.1788
3. Carnival Valor - 4.175
4. Carnival Magic - 4.159
5. Mardi Gras - 4.157

What Our Members Say

Loved the food in the Main Dining room, and the other options around the ship. The Lido desserts were especially beautiful and tasty. -  ​AndyFlem on Carnival Breeze

Absolutely loved the ability to choose different dining venues, what a selection! - hrisstacyken on Mardi Gras

Overall, it was a great value with the unlimited food. Kid's menus were available everywhere for picky eaters. Unlimited ice cream was a definite crowd-pleaser for the kids as well. I highly recommend eating breakfast in the restaurant rather than the buffet if you want the best breakfast experience. No matter where you went on the ship, the food and drinks were plentiful. Guy’s Burgers and Pizzeria del Capitano were delicious as well! - RachelBirdie on Carnival Vista

Our Thoughts 

Before specifying ship winners, it’s important to note that many of these scores are separated by just hundredths of percentage point differences - making these rankings incredibly close! Carnival Breeze, Carnival Vista, and Carnival Magic are all newcomers to the list in the dining category vs. 2022’s rankings. This past year they had more guests sailing to review and rank eateries, helping them rise in the list. 

Carnival Breeze scored at the top with guest-favorite eatery staples like BlueIguana Cantina, Guys Pig & Anchor, and specialty venues like Chef’s Table, Fahrenheit 555, and Bonsai Sushi. Number two, Carnival Vista boasts many of these same eateries as Breeze and also received high marks for the food quality in its main dining rooms. Number three, Carnival Valor, bumped up from number four (from last year) with great marks about venues like Lido Marketplace and the Seafood Shack. Great food and service at Cucina del Capitano, Guy’s Burger Joint, and Steakhouse brought Carnival Magic to number four in the best ship for dining. 

Mardi Gras rounds out this list at number five, slipping from number one last year. Again, this is not necessarily an indicator of a decline in food quality or service, but is likely due to the fact that more Carnival ships were available for our members to rank in 2022. 

Staterooms

A stateroom is the guest’s private oasis on the ship. With ships of varying sizes, you will find numerous types of stateroom categories available on Carnival’s ships. These five ships ranked highest for overall stateroom quality: 

1. Carnival Horizon - 4.540
2. Carnival Vista - 4.507
3. Carnival Panorama - 4.498
4. Carnival Splendor - 4.495
5. Carnival Radiance - 4.480 

What Our Members Say

The ship was beautiful and the staff was amazing! This was our first time staying in a Havana Cabana cabin and really enjoyed the private area and pool…I would highly recommend the Carnival Horizon. - Karebear67 on Carnival Horizon

We stayed in the Family Harbor Lounge section of the boat. The layout was great (very thankful for the balcony), and having access to breakfast/snacks and coffee/water throughout the day was incredible. The girls enjoyed the bunk bed feel and my husband and I found our bed extremely comfortable. Always clean, always had fun towel animals that we appreciated and loved seeing, and we couldn’t have asked for a more personable steward of our room. - rebekahvi on Carnival Vista 

Having 2 bathrooms was absolutely necessary for my family of 4, and saved us many times. It was quiet in my room, and not too much rocking. My family loved the Family Harbour. - vwgirlkristi on Carnival Panorama

Our Thoughts 

Carnival Horizon came in at number one for best cabins, with an impressive 1,987 staterooms and 54 different types of cabin categories to choose from. Although not the largest ship in the Carnival fleet, Carnival Horizon made quite an impact based on cabin reviews. Our members raked the staterooms highly for their variety of options, room design, amenities offered, comfort, and overall accommodations quality. One of the selling features of Carnival cabins is that they tend to be more spacious than other competitive lines. For example, the average interior cabin is approximately 167 square feet whereas most Carnival ships offer more room at an average of 185 square feet. This extra space is certainly a plus for those traveling with third and/or fourth guests in the same cabin. 

Like last year, Carnival Vista came in at number two in the cabin category. This ship can accommodate traveler groups of all sizes, with over 53 different cabin categories. With another year of sailings under its ‘belt,’ Carnival Panorama (which debuted in 2019) moved up from number five to three on this year’s list. 

Onboard Activities/Entertainment 

If you’re sailing with Carnival, onboard activities and entertainment are in no short supply! Known as the ‘Fun’ Ships, there are options for guests of all interests and ages - games, parties, musicals, waterslides, parks, roller coasters, dueling pianos, and so much more. 

Here are the five top Carnival ships in onboard activities/entertainment for 2023: 

1. Mardi Gras - 4.303
2. Carnival Radiance - 4.285
3. Carnival Legend - 4.2773
4. Carnival Horizon - 4.264
5. Carnival Breeze - 4.259

What Our Members Say

Can't say enough how much fun we had. From the excellent music choices to the ship's musically talented members. Every comedy show, even the bartenders, put on a show. - Kingofthecruise on Mardi Gras 

Karaoke! Night club, deck party, drive-in movies - Amazing time! - darkstrykergirl on Carnival Radiance

The shows were so good - could go to New York!!! Great entertainment. - teresewomer on Carnival Legend

Our Thoughts 

Entertainment and onboard activities are categories where Carnival really excels. Known for its ‘Fun’ ships, entertainment and onboard activity options encompass a huge part of the overall onboard experience for Carnival. Its ships offer everything from cozy lounge music to heart-pumping deck parties to Broadway production shows and cruiser favorite games like ‘Deal or No Deal’. No matter the ship, the Carnival fleet brought the ‘fun’ and the competition within the fleet was tight! 

Mardi Gras moved up from number two to one in the category vs. last year. It may be because more reviews for 2022 were available or a number of other factors, but overwhelmingly the ship outscored its fellow Carnival vessels in the category. The ship is home to mega-activities (like BOLT, the first-ever roller coaster at sea) and big theatre-style entertainment options that were clearly very memorable to guests returning from their cruises, based on reviews.  

Also returning at the top of this category for Carnival ships was Carnival Radiance. Activities like the WaterWorks Aqua Park, onboard ropes course, Cloud9Spa, SportsSquare, Playlist Productions theatre shows, and Dine-In Movies have ranked it highly once again. 

Carnival Legend and Carnival Horizon are newcomers to the activities/entertainment rankings for Carnival ships. Carnival Legend’s kid's clubs, waterpark, and Serenity Adult-Only area were some of the top onboard activity options that had our members rewarded with high marks for the ship. An IMAX, SkyRide, Playlist Productions, and Cloud9Spa brought Carnival Horizon in at number four on the rankings. 

No matter which Carnival ship you choose, get ready to meet new friends, enjoy endless entertainment and onboard activities, and feast with dining options galore. Have more questions about Carnival? Ask our Community! With more than 2 million cruisers, there are plenty of experienced Carnival cruisers to answer your questions. 

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