Carnival Cruise Ships by Age (2026 Data)

Carnival sails 29¹ ships in 2026. The oldest hull in the fleet, today's Carnival Sunshine, first carried guests in 1996 as Carnival Destiny, and the newest, Carnival Jubilee, entered service in 2023.²³ Counted from each ship's first year in service, the fleet averages 18.0⁴ years, while the next new class, due from 2029, will measure about 230,000⁵ gross tons a ship, more than twice the size of that 1996 hull.

Below, every ship is listed by age, size, crew and flag, followed by how the fleet grew year by year, what a cruise costs per person, and what drinks, WiFi, gratuities and parking add to the fare. The last sections turn to the parent company's revenue per passenger and to crew pay, where the closest official wage figures stand in for pay scales Carnival does not publish.

Carnival cruise ships by age

Age here means the years since a ship first carried guests, under any name or brand of the Carnival group. On that basis the mean age of the fleet is 18.0 years in 2026 and the median 21⁴ years.³ Carnival Sunshine is the oldest at 30⁴: it debuted in 1996 as Carnival Destiny and was rebuilt and renamed in 2013 after a 75²-day makeover that cost $155 million².² Carnival Elation and Carnival Paradise, both from 1998, follow at 28⁴, and Carnival Jubilee is the youngest at 3⁴.

15⁴ ships, or 52%⁴, are 20 years or older in 2026, and only 7⁴ are under 10.³ The picture shifts when guests are counted rather than ships. The newest ships are also the biggest, so the guest-weighted average age is 15.9⁴ years, about 2⁴ years younger than the average ship.

Several ships joined the Carnival brand long after they were built. Carnival Adventure, from 2001, and Carnival Encounter, from 2002, came over in March 2025, when P&O Cruises Australia was folded into Carnival. Carnival Luminosa sailed for Costa from 2009 and joined in 2022, and Carnival Venezia and Carnival Firenze, delivered to Costa in 2019 and 2020, joined in 2023 and 2024.¹⁰⁸⁹⁷ Counted from their Carnival debut instead, those five ships would look far younger, which is why the fleet list shows both years.

Together the 29 ships hold 94,330⁴ guests at two per cabin and 35,479⁴ crew, by the sum of the ships' own figures, and measure 3,386,178⁴ gross tons.³ The parent company counts 94,340¹¹ berths for the brand at November 30, 2025, only 10⁴ more.¹¹

Ships by class and decade

Carnival groups its ships into classes of sisters built to one design. The three Excel-class ships, Mardi Gras, Carnival Celebration and Carnival Jubilee, hold 15,994⁴ guests, 17.0%⁴ of the fleet's capacity and more than any other class.³ The five Conquest-class ships, built from 2002 to 2007 at 110,000³ gross tons each, come second with 14,894⁴ guests, and the Vista class third with 11,902⁴.

The oldest class is also the most rebuilt. The three Sunshine-class ships, first sailed from 1996 to 2000 as Carnival Destiny, Carnival Triumph and Carnival Victory, hold 8,970⁴ guests, 9.5%⁴ of the fleet, at an average of 101,957⁴ gross tons.³² At the other end, the Excel ships average 182,614⁴ gross tons, about 1.8⁴ times the Sunshine-class average, and two more Excel ships are on order.¹²¹³

By decade, the 2000s dominate. 15⁴ of today's ships first sailed between 2000 and 2009, with 40,538⁴ guest berths, 43.0%⁴ of the total.³ The 1990s leave 4⁴ ships and the 2020s have added 4 so far, but the four newest carry 20,120⁴ guests, almost twice the 10,300⁴ of the four oldest.

Flags and crew on board

Every Carnival ship is registered abroad: 18³ fly the flag of Panama and 11³ that of the Bahamas.³ The Panama-flagged ships carry 53,654⁴ guests and the Bahamas-flagged ships 40,676⁴. The Bahamas group is made up of the three rebuilt Sunshine-class ships, the five that came from other brands of the group and the three Excel ships.

The fleet sails from 13¹ US homeports, from Baltimore, New York and Norfolk on the East Coast to Galveston, Mobile, New Orleans and Tampa on the Gulf, and Long Beach, San Francisco and Seattle in the West. Carnival carries about 5.5 million¹ passengers a year and counts more than 100 million¹ guests since its founding in 1972.¹

Crew numbers show how the newer designs work. Carnival Celebration and Carnival Jubilee carry 3.09⁴ guests per crew member, while Carnival Spirit, Carnival Legend and Carnival Miracle carry 2.28⁴.³ By class, the Excel ships lead at 3.07⁴ and the Spirit class comes last at 2.29⁴, so a new ship needs about a quarter fewer crew per guest than one built around 2001.

How Carnival ships grew in size

Each new class set a size record for the line. Holiday, in 1985, measured 46,052² tons, and Carnival Fantasy, in 1990, 70,367², the first of eight sisters.² Carnival Destiny, in 1996, was the first cruise ship to pass 100,000 gross tons¹⁴ and, at 101,353² tons, the largest cruise ship in the world at the time.

The biggest later jumps came with Carnival Dream in 2009, at 130,000² tons, Carnival Vista in 2016, at 133,500², and Mardi Gras in 2021, the first Carnival ship powered by liquefied natural gas, at 180,800³ gross tons.²³ Carnival Celebration and Carnival Jubilee, at 183,521³ gross tons, are 2.55⁴ times the size of Carnival Elation, the smallest ship still sailing, and carry 2.52⁴ times as many guests as Carnival Paradise. Gross tonnage measures a ship's enclosed volume, not its weight.

Ships coming next

Five more ships are on order. Carnival Festivale is due in April 2027 with 5,360¹¹ lower berths and 182,015³ gross tons, and will sail from Port Canaveral.¹¹³ It will have 1,000¹² interconnecting rooms, nearly 70%¹² more than the first three Excel ships.¹² Carnival Tropicale, the final Excel ship, follows in March 2028 and will sail 4-, 5-, 6- and 8-day cruises from Galveston from April 15, 2028.¹³

After them come three larger ships of a new class, due in July 2029, July 2031 and June 2033, with 6,160¹¹ lower berths each and room for more than 8,000¹⁴ passengers at full capacity. At about 230,000 gross tons, the first, to be named Carnival Destiny, will be 1.25⁴ times the size of an Excel ship and the largest ship ever built in Italy; its steel was cut at Monfalcone in July 2026.⁵¹⁴ The shipyard group has delivered 76¹⁴ ships to the Carnival group's brands, 15¹⁴ of them for the Carnival brand. The contract value was not disclosed.⁵

Carnival Corporation said in June 2024 that it expected the brand's capacity to grow about 50%¹⁰ between 2019 and 2028, while the corporation as a whole would grow by less than 2%¹⁰ a year, compounded.¹⁰

Ships that left

The ships that left most recently were Fantasy-class sisters. Six of them left the fleet between 2020 and 2022 after 24⁴ to 31⁴ years of service, 27.5⁴ years on average.¹⁵¹⁶¹⁷ Carnival Ecstasy, the last to go, sailed its final cruise in October 2022 after carrying nearly 5.5 million¹⁸ guests on more than 2,300¹⁸ voyages.¹⁸

The two Fantasy-class ships still sailing, Carnival Elation and Carnival Paradise, are 28 years old in 2026, inside the range of ages at which their sisters left.³ Carnival Sunshine's hull, at 30, is older still, though it was rebuilt in 2013.²

How much did Carnival pay out for the poop cruise?

Carnival Triumph had an engine-room fire on February 10, 2013, and its 3,141¹⁹ guests came ashore after the ship reached Mobile, Alabama, late on February 14.¹⁹ Each guest on that voyage received a full refund of the cruise and transportation, a future cruise credit equal to the amount paid, reimbursement of most onboard purchases and a further $500¹⁹ per person. The cash payment alone comes to $1,570,500⁴ across all guests; no total was given for the refunds and credits. Carnival also cancelled 14¹⁹ later voyages through April 13, 2013. The ship still sails, renovated and renamed as Carnival Sunrise.²

How the fleet grew, year by year

The brand's berth count is the one yearly measure that belongs to the Carnival brand alone. It rose from 43,446²⁰ lower berths on 20²⁰ ships in fiscal 2003 to 94,340¹¹ on 29 ships at November 30, 2025, 2.17⁴ times as many.¹¹ Lower berths count two guests per cabin, even where a cabin sleeps three or four, and each year's figure is taken on the date printed in that year's annual report, from November 30 to mid-February of the next year.

The pandemic left a mark. At November 30, 2020, the brand counted 23³⁶ ships expected to return to service, down from 27⁶ a year earlier, after four Fantasy-class ships were sold or slated for sale.³⁶⁶ By 2025 the count was 29, 9⁴ more than in fiscal 2003, and capacity was 1.26⁴ times its fiscal 2019 level.

Growth came in steps, one new ship at a time. The brand held 54,480²⁷ berths in both fiscal 2009 and 2010 and 62,366³² in both 2014 and 2015, then added 3,944⁴ berths in fiscal 2016, the year Carnival Vista debuted.^2732332 The largest single-year gain came in fiscal 2024, 9,480⁴ berths, as the count rose from 25 to 27 ships.⁴⁰

The ships also got bigger. Average capacity per ship rose from 2,172⁴ berths in fiscal 2003 to 3,253⁴ in 2025.¹¹ Within the group, the Carnival brand held between 29%³¹ and 31%³⁷ of all berths from 2013 to 2023, then 33%⁴⁰ in 2024 and 35%¹¹ in 2025, after P&O Cruises Australia's ships moved into the brand.¹⁰

How much is a Carnival cruise?

Listed fares are the practical guide to what a sailing costs. For a 5-night cruise in 2026, listed fares ran from $395⁴¹ to $595⁴¹ per person in an interior cabin, $545⁴¹ to $795⁴¹ with an ocean view, $695⁴¹ to $1,095⁴¹ with a balcony and $1,495⁴¹ to $2,495⁴¹ in a suite, with two guests sharing.⁴¹ These are headline base fares: port fees and government taxes come on top, typically $100⁴¹ to $200⁴¹ per person on a 5-night cruise. The cheapest interior fare works out to $79⁴ a night before those charges. The ranges come with no sample size, so they show the usual price band rather than an average.

Carnival cruise prices per person

Carnival cruise prices per person depend first on the cabin. The cheapest balcony fare is 1.76⁴ times the cheapest interior fare, and the cheapest suite 3.78⁴ times.⁴¹

A second measure covers every guest the parent company carried. Across all its brands, cabins and itineraries, Carnival Corporation took $171.28⁴ in passenger ticket revenue per passenger per cruise day in fiscal 2025.¹¹ It is an average of what guests paid, third and fourth guests in a cabin included, not a list price for any ship. The same measure was $213.86⁴² at Royal Caribbean Group and $264.56⁴³ at Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings.⁴²⁴³

How much is a Carnival cruise for 2?

For two people sharing the cheapest interior cabin on 5 nights, the listed fare comes to $790⁴, and $1,190⁴ at the top of the interior range, both before port fees and taxes of $200⁴ to $400⁴ for the pair.⁴¹ Automatic gratuities add $170⁴ for the pair over 5 nights and $238⁴ over 7 nights.⁴⁴

How much is a 5-day cruise on Carnival?

Carnival names its cruises by days, but the number matches the nights on board: its 5-Day Bahamas cruises from Miami on Carnival Sunrise leave on a Saturday and return on a Thursday, or leave on a Monday and return on a Saturday, 5⁴⁵ nights either way. The 5-night ranges above therefore price a Carnival 5-day cruise: from $79 a night in the cheapest interior cabin to $499⁴ a night at the top of the suite range, per person, before port fees and taxes.⁴¹ Early Saver fares carry a deposit that is not refundable, so the fare type matters as much as the price if plans may change.⁴⁶

What Carnival earns per guest per day

So what does the ticket buy over time? Across all its brands, Carnival Corporation took $171.28 in ticket revenue per passenger cruise day in fiscal 2025, 13.4%⁴ more than the $151.01⁴ of fiscal 2019.¹¹⁶ The low point of the years before the pandemic was $142.70⁴ in fiscal 2016, and the pandemic years fell to $122.26⁴ in fiscal 2021.³⁷ The figure covers every brand of the group, from Carnival to Cunard, and every cabin and itinerary.

Onboard spending adds a second stream. Since fiscal 2019, when the group began to report shore excursions and other onboard sales gross, onboard and other revenue has run from $71.96⁴ to $111.02⁴ per passenger cruise day, and it was $90.48⁴ in fiscal 2025, 34.6%⁴ of total revenue.⁶¹¹ The fiscal 2021 high came in a year with only 1.223 million³⁷ passengers.³⁷

The group's own pricing measure, net yield per available lower berth day, rose from $178.59⁴⁷ in fiscal 2019, when the same per-berth-day measure was reported as net revenue yield, to $197.33⁴⁸ in 2024 and $209.72⁴⁸ in 2025, or $208.30⁴⁸ at constant currency.⁴⁷⁴⁸ Adjusted cruise costs excluding fuel rose less, from $112.81⁴⁸ per berth day in fiscal 2024 to $116.99⁴⁸ in 2025.

How much are drinks on a Carnival cruise?

Drinks are priced one by one unless a package is bought. How much is a beer on a Carnival cruise? Beer starts at $6.50⁴⁹, mostly for a 16 oz (473 ml) serving.⁴⁹

As for how much is a glass of wine on a Carnival cruise, wine by the glass starts at $9.50⁴⁹. And how much are mixed drinks on a Carnival cruise? They cost $7.50⁴⁹ to $20.00⁴⁹, and specialty cocktails start at $10.50⁴⁹, not counting souvenir glassware and premium selections.⁴⁹

How much is a soda on a Carnival cruise? A soft drink costs $2.75⁴⁹. Specialty coffees cost $2.50⁴⁹ to $4.25⁴⁹, energy drinks $4.95⁴⁹ and bottled or coconut water $1.50⁴⁹ to $5.00⁴⁹.⁴⁹ A 20%⁴⁴ service charge is added automatically to beverage purchases, and prices can change.⁴⁴⁴⁶ With that charge, the $6.50 beer comes to $7.80⁴.

How much is the drink package on a Carnival cruise?

CHEERS!, the alcoholic package, costs $83.94⁴⁴ per person per day when bought before sailing and $89.94⁴⁴ on board, both including the 20%⁴⁴ service charge; before that charge the prices are $69.95⁵⁰ and $74.95⁵⁰.⁴⁴⁵⁰ It is sold to guests 21 and over, for the whole cruise, and every adult in the cabin must buy it. It covers spirits, cocktails, beer, wine by the glass up to a $20.00⁴⁴ menu price, sodas, specialty coffee, energy drinks and bottled water, with 25%⁴⁴ off drinks priced above that.⁴⁴

For two adults on a 5-night cruise, CHEERS! bought in advance costs $839.40⁴. Compared like with like, the $69.95 daily price before the service charge equals about 10.8⁴ beers at $6.50, and the $83.94 price with it the same number at $7.80.⁴⁴⁴⁹⁵⁰ The alcohol-free packages cost less: CHEERS! Zero Proof is $35.99⁴⁴ a day before sailing and $41.99⁴⁴ on board, and Bottomless Bubbles, a soda package, is $14.38⁴⁴ for adults and $8.34⁴⁴ for guests 17 and under, all including the service charge.⁴⁴

Some drinks cost nothing. Water, lemonade, iced tea and regular coffee and tea are free in the main dining room and at the Lido buffet.⁴⁴

WiFi, gratuities and parking

Three more charges can land on the bill whatever a guest drinks: internet access, the daily gratuity and, for those who drive to the ship, parking at the port.

How much is WiFi on a Carnival cruise?

Plans are priced per device per day for the whole cruise. Bought before sailing, the Social plan costs from $20.40⁵¹, Value $23.80⁵¹ and Premium $25.50⁵¹; on board the same plans cost $22.00⁵¹, $26.00⁵¹ and $28.00⁵¹.⁵¹ 24-hour plans cost $28.00 for Value and $35.00⁵¹ for Premium, and a Premium Multi-Device plan for up to 4 devices costs $90.00⁴⁴ a day, before sailing only.⁴⁴ Each plan runs on one device at a time. One device on the cheapest plan for 5 days costs from $102⁴.

How much is gratuity on a Carnival cruise?

Carnival adds $17.00⁴⁴ per person per day in standard cabins and $19.00⁴⁴ in suites, for every guest except those under 2; guests can adjust the amount, and the money is pooled for crew as added wages, bonuses and benefits.⁴⁴⁴⁶ Both rates rose by $1 on April 2, 2026, from $16.00⁵² and $18.00⁵², a 6.25%⁴ increase for standard cabins.⁵² For two guests, a 5-night cruise adds $170 and a 7-night cruise $238.

Of seven large lines, Carnival's standard rate is the second lowest; the highest standard rate is $20.00⁵³.⁵³ In suites Carnival's $19.00 is the lowest of the seven, against $25.00⁵³ at the top of the automatic charges and a suggested $27.25⁵⁴ for concierge guests on Disney Cruise Line.⁵³⁵⁴ On a 7-night cruise, the $6.00 gap between Carnival's suite rate and the highest automatic suite charge comes to $84⁴ for two guests.

How much is parking for a Carnival cruise?

Parking is set by each port, not by the cruise line. At Port Canaveral it costs $20.00⁵⁹ a day plus tax, and both the arrival and departure days count, so a 5-night cruise means 6 days and $120⁴.⁵⁹ As for how much is parking at the Carnival cruise port in Miami, the long-term garages and Lot E charge $25⁶⁰ a day and Garage AA $35⁶⁰.⁶⁰ At Long Beach the terminal garage charges $23.00⁶¹ a day.⁶¹

What you can bring, and what cancelling costs

How much luggage can you take on a Carnival cruise?

Carnival suggests at most one bag per person on 3- to 5-day cruises and two bags on cruises of 6 days or more. Each bag may weigh up to 50 lb (22.7 kg) and measure up to 16 by 24 inches (41 by 61 cm) lying flat.⁴⁴ The line's liability for checked bags is limited to $250⁴⁶ per bag, for at most 2 bags on cruises of 14 days or less and 3 bags on longer ones.⁴⁶

How much wine can you take on a Carnival cruise? One sealed 750 ml bottle of wine or champagne per guest aged 21 or over, carried on at embarkation; fortified wines over 15%⁴⁴ alcohol are not allowed, and a corkage fee of $15.00⁴⁴ applies per 750 ml bottle.⁴⁴ How much soda can you bring on a Carnival cruise? Up to 12 sealed cans or cartons of 12 oz (354 ml) or less per person, on embarkation day and in port; water and soda in glass or plastic bottles are not permitted.⁴⁴

How much is bottled water on a Carnival cruise? A 12-pack of 500 ml bottles costs $19.20⁴⁴, or $1.60⁴ a bottle; a single 1.5 liter bottle costs $5.40⁴⁴ and eight of them $29.94⁴⁴, all including a 20% delivery fee.⁴⁴ A third entree in the main dining room costs $5, chat in the ship's app starts at $5.00 per user per voyage, and smoking in a cabin or on a balcony carries a $500⁴⁴ charge per violation.⁴⁴

Cancelling costs nothing up to 76⁴⁶ days before a 2- to 5-day cruise and up to 91⁴⁶ days before a cruise of 6 days or more, a group that also takes in every Alaska, Europe, transatlantic and Panama Canal cruise.⁴⁶ Closer to sailing the charge rises in steps, from the deposit to the deposit or 50% of the total fare, whichever is greater, then the deposit or 75%, whichever is greater, and to 100% at 14 days or less. Early Saver fares work differently: the deposit is not refundable, and cancelling before the final payment date turns the deposit, less a $50⁴⁶ per person service fee, into a future cruise credit, to be used for a new booking within 12 months.⁴⁶

The company behind the ships

From one cabin's bar tab to a group with $26.6⁴ billion of revenue: the Carnival brand belongs to Carnival Corporation, which also owns Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Seabourn, AIDA, Costa, P&O Cruises and Cunard, and ran P&O Cruises Australia as a ninth brand until it was folded into Carnival in March 2025.¹¹¹⁰ The group does not report profits for the Carnival brand alone, so every financial figure in this section covers all its brands. In fiscal 2025, which ended November 30, 2025, revenue reached a record $26,622¹¹ million, up from a pandemic low of $1,908³⁷ million in fiscal 2021.³⁷

Revenue before fiscal 2019 is not directly comparable with later years: from that year shore excursions and other onboard sales count gross rather than net, which added $1,432⁶ million in fiscal 2019, when revenue would have been $19,393⁴ million on the old basis.⁶ Fiscal 2025 revenue was 1.28⁴ times the fiscal 2019 figure. Tickets brought in $17,419¹¹ million, 65.4%⁴ of the total, and onboard and other revenue the rest; per passenger cruise day, total revenue came to $261.77⁴.¹¹

Net income swung from a $3,152⁶ million profit in fiscal 2018 to losses in fiscal 2020 to 2023 that add up to $25,904⁴ million, the largest $10,236³⁷ million in fiscal 2020.³⁷³⁹ The group returned to profit with $1,916¹¹ million in fiscal 2024 and $2,760¹¹ million in fiscal 2025.¹¹

The group carried 13.627 million¹¹ passengers in fiscal 2025, 5.9%⁴ more than the 12.866 million⁶ of fiscal 2019, and its ships sailed 105%¹¹ full, a rate above 100% because third and fourth guests share cabins counted for two.¹¹⁶

Occupancy fell to 56.0%³⁷ in fiscal 2021 and was back to 100%³⁹ in fiscal 2023. Before the pandemic it stayed between 104.1%³¹ and 106.9%⁶ every year from fiscal 2009 to 2019.^3739306

Capacity, counted in available lower berth days, reached 96.5 million¹¹ in fiscal 2025, against 87.424 million⁶ in fiscal 2019.¹¹⁶ The average cruise lasted 7.48⁴ days in fiscal 2025, up from 7.26⁴ in fiscal 2019.

Capital expenditure peaked at $5,429⁶ million in fiscal 2019. In fiscal 2025 it was $3,611¹¹ million, mostly for the delivery of one North America ship, improvements to existing ships and the group's private destinations.¹¹ The price of a single ship is not disclosed.⁵

Fuel is the most volatile cost. The group paid $830³⁹ per metric ton in fiscal 2022, 2.93⁴ times the $283⁶ of fiscal 2016, and $610¹¹ in fiscal 2025.³⁹¹¹ It burns less for each berth: 29.2¹¹ metric tons per thousand available lower berth days in fiscal 2025, against 51³⁰ in fiscal 2009, 42.7%⁴ less.³⁰

Where the money goes: in fiscal 2025, cruise and tour operating expenses were $15,947¹¹ million. Commissions, transportation and other costs took 20.9%⁴, payroll 16.2%⁴, fuel 11.3%⁴ and food 9.4%⁴, and onboard and other operating costs made up the remaining 42.1%⁴.¹¹ After selling and administrative costs of $3,402¹¹ million and depreciation of $2,790¹¹ million, operating income was $4,483¹¹ million.

Most guests come from North America. In fiscal 2025, 8.092 million¹¹ of the group's 13.627 million¹¹ passengers came from the United States and Canada, 59.4%⁴ of the total, followed by continental Europe with 2.754 million¹¹ and the United Kingdom with 1.108 million¹¹.¹¹ Australia and New Zealand fell from 1.027 million¹¹ in fiscal 2024 to 944,000¹¹.

Carnival Corporation is the biggest of the three large listed cruise groups by capacity: in fiscal 2025 it offered 96.5 million¹¹ capacity days, 55.4%⁴ of the three groups' combined total.¹¹⁴²⁴³

What crew earn

Carnival has about 48,000¹ employees, and its ships carry 35,479 crew between them.¹³ The line does not publish pay scales for its crew.

How much do Carnival cruise workers make?

The nearest international reference is the minimum basic wage for an able seafarer, a deck rating: a global guideline figure under the 2006 maritime labor convention, agreed between shipowner and seafarer representatives. It is not binding in itself, it does not cover hotel and dining staff, and it is not Carnival's pay scale. It was $690⁶³ a month from January 1, 2026, or $8,280⁴ a year, 34%⁴ more than the $515⁶⁴ in force in 2007; $704⁶³ is agreed for 2027 and $715⁶³ for 2028.⁶⁴⁶³ Carnival's ships fly the flags of Panama and the Bahamas.³ The minimum stayed at $614⁶⁴ from 2016, when no new figure was agreed, until it rose to $618⁶⁴ in July 2019.⁶⁴

US wages for similar work are higher, but they describe US-based employers, not the crews of foreign-flagged cruise ships. In deep-sea, coastal and Great Lakes shipping, food preparation and serving jobs averaged $45,550⁶⁵ a year in May 2025 and personal care and service jobs $40,840⁶⁵, against $85,120⁶⁵ for all jobs in the industry.⁶⁵

On deck, US sailors and marine oilers earned a mean $56,830⁶⁶ and a median $51,520⁶⁶ across all industries in May 2025, up from a mean of $38,670⁶⁶ in 2011.⁶⁶ Inside the shipping industry alone the mean for the job was $64,390⁶⁵.⁶⁵

How much does a Carnival cruise captain make?

Carnival does not publish its captains' pay either. US captains, mates and pilots of water vessels earned a mean $103,720⁶⁶ in May 2025, about $8,640⁴ a month, and a median $92,460⁶⁶.⁶⁶ These figures cover US-based employers only, not the officers of foreign-flagged cruise ships.

The spread within the job is wide. At the 90th percentile a captain, mate or pilot earned $170,640⁶⁶ in May 2025 and at the 10th percentile $47,420⁶⁶; ship engineers earned a median $109,530⁶⁶.⁶⁶

Pay also varies by state. In Florida, home to Carnival's Miami headquarters, captains, mates and pilots averaged $84,720⁶⁷ across 5,040⁶⁷ jobs; in Texas they averaged $112,180⁶⁷ and in California $129,580⁶⁷.⁶⁷¹ Maryland was the highest of the states with published data, at $143,980⁶⁷.⁶⁷

What it means for your budget

Two people in the cheapest listed interior cabin on a 5-night cruise pay $790 in headline fare, and port fees and government taxes add about $200 to $400 for the pair.⁴¹ Gratuities add $170 and Port Canaveral parking $120, so fare, gratuities and parking come to $1,080⁴ before port fees and taxes, or $1,280⁴ to $1,480⁴ with them, before a single drink. Gratuities and parking alone add 36.7%⁴ to the listed fare.⁴⁴⁵⁹ Two CHEERS! packages bought before sailing, for 5 nights, raise the total to $1,919.40⁴ before port fees and taxes, or $2,119.40⁴ to $2,319.40⁴ with them, and one device on the cheapest WiFi plan adds from $102 more.⁴⁴⁵¹

The extras follow people and days, not cabins. Gratuities and drink packages are charged per person per day, WiFi per device per day and parking per vehicle per day, so every extra night or extra guest raises them again.⁴⁴⁵¹⁵⁹

Conclusions

1. Carnival runs two fleets at once. 15 of its 29 ships are 20 years or older, yet the three Excel ships hold 17.0% of guest capacity and carry 3.07 guests per crew member as a class, against 2.29 in the Spirit class.³
2. Growth came from bigger ships more than from more ships. Capacity rose 2.17 times from fiscal 2003 while the ship count went from 20 to 29; berths per ship rose from 2,172 to 3,253, and the five ships on order carry 5,360 to 6,160 lower berths each.²⁰¹¹
3. The oldest ships are at the age their sisters left. Six Fantasy-class ships left in 2020-2022 after 24 to 31 years; Elation and Paradise are 28 in 2026, and Sunshine's hull is 30.¹⁵³
4. Extras weigh on the bill and on the business. Gratuities and Port Canaveral parking add $290 to a $790 5-night interior headline fare for two, 36.7%, before port fees, taxes and any drink; across all brands of the group, onboard and other revenue was 34.6% of revenue in fiscal 2025.⁴⁴¹¹