We were on the Carnival Jubilee in early February 2025, and we opted to stay in an interior cabin. After many cruises in many different cabin types, we have pretty much settled on an interior being the top choice for us.
We don’t spend a ton of time in the room, and the price difference between interior and balcony is usually enough to make me feel good about the value of an interior cabin.
Full disclosure: I don’t ever see the value of an ocean view. For us, it’s kind of an all or nothing deal. I either want the value of the interior or I want my own balcony! If I’m going to spend $200-300 more for an ocean view, I’d rather just splurge to the next level and have a balcony. (But that’s just me. To each their own when it comes to room choice!)
Anyway, we opted for savings this time and didn’t regret it. I did a lot of research as well and ultimately, I believe that we were in the very best location on the ship.
In 2023 we were on the Carnival Mardi Gras–a sister ship to the Jubilee. We did what we always do and booked a Lido deck interior cabin. On all our past cruises with Carnival, an interior Lido cabin was awesome. We were right in the middle of the action, and it was super convenient.
However, on the Mardi Gras, we did not feel that way AT ALL! On the Excel class ships like Mardi Gras and Jubilee (and Celebration) Decks 6-8 are what’s known as Grand Central. It’s the center of the ship where lots of activities and shows are. The dining room can be found there, as well as many of the specialty restaurants (Chi Bang, Cucina del Capitano, the deli, the pizzeria, Guys Pig and Anchor BBQ, as well as Summer Landing, the aft pool and lounge area that we enjoyed immensely. The casino can also be found within those decks, as well as Java Blue Cafe.
After our time on the Mardi Gras, I decided that when we booked the Jubilee we would do things differently! I booked us in an interior mid-ship cabin (near the stairs/elevators) on deck 5.
This was really a perfect location! We could go up one super easy flight of stairs and be right in the middle of Grand Central on Deck 6. This became our group’s typical meeting spot. There were comfy chairs, access to Java Blue Cafe (paid and free coffee and snacks) and a bar nearby where we could get our Dr. Pepper or Fruit Punch fix easily. One more flight of stairs and we were at the main dining room where we had Sea Day Brunch and dinner three of the seven nights of the cruise.
The Jubilee is BIG. It’s also got small elevators. Crowded elevators. Hard to come by (sometimes) elevators. Being on Deck 5 meant that we could pretty easily utilize the stairs to go between our cabin and Decks 6, 7, and 8 without needing to wait for an elevator. We did use the elevators when traveling up to Decks 16 and above! But we spent the majority of our week somewhere between Decks 6-8. When it was time to walk off the ship on port days, the Gangway was on Deck 6. That meant one flight of stairs from our room. No waiting in long lines for the elevator. Easy, peasy.
So I was super happy with our location choice and the next time I book the Jubilee (because there will definitely be a next time) I will most likely put us on Deck 5 again.
Now for the cabin itself. . .not gonna lie. The interior cabins on the Carnival Jubilee are the smallest interior cabins we’ve seen on any ship. There was MAYBE a foot of space between the bed and the wall. The bathroom was tiny. Ironically, our cabin was set up for three people and there was actually a pull down bed on the wall. I cannot imagine having a third passenger in a room that small. Maybe a small child, but beyond that I don’t see it being very comfortable at all.
On a positive note, there was ample storage space for our clothing (two closets with drawers and shelves, etc.) and there was room under our bed to store our luggage.
I went prepared for the tight space though, and I took my magnetic hooks so I could hang up as much stuff as possible (hats, lanyards, swim covers, etc.) and I also hung my “over the door” shoe organizer on the wall to hold our other stuff, like sunblock, hair products, vitamins, and misc. items we didn’t want to take up limited counter space.
I would recommend the regular interior cabin on the Jubilee to couples looking for value or to a family of 3 or 4 with small children. Johnny and I discussed it and we really think if your kids are older than 5, you may want to look at a different cabin type just because the room is so small. The regular interior cabin is 158 square feet. For a family with older kids still looking for value, check out the premiere interior cabins, which are a little larger at 205 square feet. That may not seem like much, but it would definitely make a difference!