My family of 5 booked an interior cabin and an ocean-view room on a Carnival cruise. Here's how they compared.

Thu, 03/05/2026 - 08:36

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lisa galek on bed in carnival legend, storage space — I booked two rooms on the Carnival Legend for my family.
Lisa Galek

I booked two 185-square-foot rooms on the Carnival Legend for my family of five.
My husband and I shared a windowless accommodation, and my three kids stayed in an ocean-view room.
Staying in separate cabins gave our family more space and privacy during our seven-day trip.

When booking a seven-day cruise on Carnival Legend for my family of five, I decided to split us into two rooms.

On past vacations, we've all stayed in the same hotel room. Once, we all crammed into the same tiny cabin on a cruise.

This time, though, I had reserved two 185-square-foot staterooms on the Carnival Legend's Riviera deck for more space and privacy.

My husband and I stayed in a windowless interior cabin that had a king-size bed.

carnival legend room one bed — My husband and I had our own cabin.
Lisa Galek

The king was actually just two twin beds pushed together.

We each had a bedside table with a reading lamp.

bedside lamp — My husband and I go to sleep at different times, so the light came in handy.
Lisa Galek

If one of us wanted to stay up a little later, we turned off the main lights and turned on the lamp.

My three children shared an ocean-view stateroom across the hall.

twin beds in kids carnival cabin — My kids' room had two twin beds and a sleeper couch.
Lisa Galek

Connecting rooms weren't available, so my kids — 14, 11, and 8 at the time — stayed in their own room.

The kids' room had two twin beds and a sofa that converted into a third bed.

couch in carnival legend room — The couch in my kids' room folded out into a bed.
Lisa Galek

There was more than enough space for the three of them.

The kids' picture window offered lovely natural light.

window in stateroom carnival legend — Our kids' room looked out to the water.
Lisa Galek

Our room had no windows. In the future, I'd also reserve an ocean-view room for the adults.

An ocean-view room typically costs a few hundred dollars more than an interior one, though it depends on the ship and time of year.

The bathrooms in both cabins looked identical.

bathroom sink and mirror on carnival legend — Both rooms had the same exact bathroom layout.
Lisa Galek

The bathrooms had a lot of storage shelves for our toiletries.

Cruise employees cleaned the bathrooms and replenished our towel supplies every day.

carnival legend toilet and towels — Cleaning service came every day of our cruise.
Lisa Galek

We enjoyed a clean bathroom and fresh towels every day on the Carnival Legend.

The showers had shampoo and shower-gel dispensers.

shower in carnival legend stateroom — Shampoo and soap were inside the shower.
Lisa Galek

There was also a retractable clothesline in our bathroom for drying wet swimsuits.

Even with three kids sharing one small bathroom, the floor stayed dry thanks to the shower's well-designed drainage system.

shower floor on bathroom carnival legend — The bathroom never flooded.
Lisa Galek

I was glad to see that water wasn't covering their bathroom floor.

Both rooms' layouts made excellent use of the 185-square-foot space.

carnival cruise closet — My husband and I had no trouble fitting our belongings in the cabin's storage spaces.
Lisa Galek

We could easily store a week's worth of items thanks to all the drawers, shelves, and hangers.

Two closets had hanging rods for dresses and coats, with enough room to tuck away our suitcases in the bottom.

closet space in carnival legend — Our cabin had plenty of storage.
Lisa Galek

My husband and I had no issues neatly stowing our suitcases and clothes.

Like many cruise cabins, our room had one outlet next to the desk.

tv screen and shelves carnival legend — All of our belongings fit in the storage spaces.
Lisa Galek

This was slightly annoying because my husband and I had to take turns charging our devices.

The crew confiscated one of our power strips.

outlet with plug in it carnival legend — Our room had one outlet, which is common in cruise cabins.
Lisa Galek

I packed two power strips to avoid having to take turns using the outlet, but only one made it on board. Unfortunately, the crew confiscated the other one.

Carnival's website says power strips without surge protectors are allowed, but ones that the crew deems hazardous will be removed and returned to the owner on the last day of the cruise before disembarkation.

However, the kids had no issues bringing their power strip into their cabin.

The TV screen was so small that my eyes felt strained by the end of the trip.

tv screen carnival legend — The TV screen was too small.
Lisa Galek

The too-small TV screen is no big deal if you're not a movie watcher. However, our family likes to wind down by watching shows, and by the end of the week, the tiny screen was straining my eyes.

Inside a table was a minifridge big enough to hold two bottles of wine and a few snacks.

mini fridge on carnival legend — The mini fridge didn't keep our drinks and food as cold as I'd prefer them to be.
Lisa Galek

The one downside was that our fridge didn't get quite cold enough to chill drinks.

Our rooms had thermostats, but I don't think they worked well.

thermostat in carnival legend — We were supposed to be able to control the temperature, but the thermostat didn't work well.
Lisa Galek

The rooms had thermostats with moving dials, but turning them didn't seem to affect the temperature of our spaces.

Our cabin seemed a bit too cold, and the kids' space seemed slightly too warm.

On future family trips, I'm going to stick to booking two separate rooms.

lisa in front of carnival legend — My family and I embarked on a seven-night cruise.
Lisa Galek

Our cabins were small but offered a lot of storage that made them feel more spacious.

Next time we cruise or go on a vacation, I'll consider booking separate rooms for adults and kids so everyone has their own private retreat.

This story was originally published on December 25, 2022, and most recently updated on March 5, 2026.

Read the original article on Business Insider

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My family of 5 booked an interior cabin and an ocean-view room on a Carnival cr…