Comparison

Carnival HUB vs CruiseMapper

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Carnival HUB

Plan your cruise vacation by booking excursions, spa treatments, and drink packages before you sail. Once onboard, access daily schedules, dining menus, ship maps, and real-time account balances. Stay connected with friends and family and receive event reminders.

Highlights
  • Book excursions, spa, and drink packages
  • Digital boarding documents
  • Onboard event schedules and reminders
  • Dining menus and venue hours
  • Ship maps and deck plans
  • Real-time account balance
  • Onboard chat with friends and family
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Use the Carnival HUB app to prepare for your cruise, explore and book shore excursions, spa treatments, drink packages and more. When the time comes, you may also check-in and obtain your boarding documents. As you board your ship, connect to Carnival’s Wi-Fi to view what’s happening, weather, dining menus and more! Onboard internet purchase is NOT required to use the Carnival HUB app. Before your cruise: • Load up on excursions, drink packages, spa treatments and more • Check-in and prepare your boarding documents • Share your cruise countdown with friends and family Once on board: • Chat to connect with family and friends on board. (Low, flat activation fee applies.) • Day-by-day schedule of hundreds of onboard events • Choose your favorite events and get reminders • Open times of food and drinks venues • Daily restaurant menus • Searchable deck plans with key areas highlighted • Itinerary details, including current ship time, arrival/departure times for upcoming ports of call • Real-time information on guests’ current Sail & Sign shipboard account balance • Weather for each day of your sailing • Find information like dining attire easily • Ability to view and purchase shore excursions • Order food and beverages for delivery almost anywhere on board (Fees apply.) • Check into a virtual queue and skip the line! We'll simply notify you when it's your turn Go ahead. Download it now. Your vacation deserves it.

About

CruiseMapper

Discover and plan your next vacation with a comprehensive database of cruises. Explore detailed itineraries, port schedules, ship reviews, and real-time ship locations. Find your ideal cruise from thousands of options across numerous cruise lines and ships.

Highlights
  • Detailed itineraries and port schedules
  • Cruise ship reviews and videos
  • Current position of cruise ships
  • Special features and technical details
  • Database of cruise lines, ships, and cruises
Features
Read full description

CruiseMapper is an impartial cruise information app with thousands of cruises to show the travelers. CruiseMapper features include: - detailed itineraries and port schedules - cruise ship reviews and videos - current position of cruise ships - special features and technical details - a lot more useful information about the cruise ship you choose The future-cruisers might search the database of nearly 30 cruise lines, 320+ cruise ships and over 20,000 cruises to find the perfect cruise. If you really need to find your special cruise, then this is the right place to look. With CruiseMapper you'll find schedules for all cruises departing from ports around all over the world. Helping you select the perfect one to you, saving you the extra expenditures you would do otherwise. Important: If you experience any problem with the App, please fill this form to contact us http://www.cruisemapper.com/contact instead of writing a review here. We will do our best to solve it. Thanks! Connect with CruiseMapper - on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CruiseMapper - on Google+ https://plus.google.com/+Cruisemapper - on our website http://www.CruiseMapper.com

Screenshots

Carnival HUB4 screens
CruiseMapper4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Carnival HUB at 82% against CruiseMapper's 37%. Carnival HUB also leads on rating (4.7 vs 3.6) and ads (none vs shown). CruiseMapper's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Carnival HUB holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Carnival HUB has 459K ratings behind it against 123, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 82% of Carnival HUB's written reviews are positive against 37% of CruiseMapper's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Carnival HUB ships an update monthly, CruiseMapper every 5 months. Both last shipped on November 1, 2026.

Scorecard9 real differences · 2 level
Carnival HUB versus CruiseMapper: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCarnival HUBCruiseMapper
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (459K ratings) — better3.6 (123 ratings)
Positive reviews82.0% of reviews — better36.7% of reviews
Number of ratings459K — better123
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 5 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterAd-supported
Best chart rank#62 — better—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size252 MB38 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCarnival Cruise LinesAstraPaging Ltd.

Customer experience

Carnival HUB

All ratings458,838 ratings
Positive94.9%
Neutral3.9%
Negative1.2%
Written reviews3,929 reviews
Positive82.0%
Neutral7.7%
Negative10.3%

CruiseMapper

All ratings118 ratings
Positive57.6%
Neutral13.6%
Negative28.8%
Written reviews109 reviews
Positive36.7%
Neutral13.8%
Negative49.5%

User reviews

Carnival HUB

From 459K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Convenient app for cruise
  • 📋 Helpful for planning activities
  • 💳 Useful for tracking account
  • 💬 Chat feature for group communication
  • 🗺️ Provides ship maps and navigation

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Chat feature unreliable/glitchy
  • 🔍 Lack of search functionality
  • 🔌 Connectivity issues with WiFi
  • 💰 Paid chat feature considered overpriced
  • 🕰️ Notifications not always timely

CruiseMapper

From 123 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🗺️ Accurate real-time ship tracking
  • 📍 Comprehensive ship location information
  • 📋 Detailed itineraries and port schedules
  • 🚢 Extensive database of cruise ships
  • 🎨 Clean and intuitive interface

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent app crashes and freezes
  • 📍 Inaccurate ship location tracking
  • 🔄 Slow or delayed location updates
  • 🎯 Ships disappearing from map display
  • 🔍 Difficulty zooming in/out on map

Bugs and requests

Carnival HUB

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App crashes and freezes
  • Account information not always accurate
  • Inconsistent performance across devices
  • Difficulty maintaining chat connections

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to add personal events to schedule
  • Integration with ship's medical/safety systems
  • Offline access to account and folio information
  • Enhanced dining reservation and management
  • Improved group coordination and location sharing

CruiseMapper

Reported bugs

15 issues
  • Ships disappear after a few seconds on map
  • Cannot see ships unless searched individually
  • Zoom functionality inverts (zooms out when trying to zoom in)
  • App freezes when switching between ships
  • Cannot tap on another ship while viewing one
Show 10 more
  • Ships appear stationary despite movement data
  • Location updates take excessive time
  • App crashes on launch (iPad compatibility issue)
  • Blank map with no ships or continents displayed
  • Cannot scroll across map smoothly
  • Glitchy performance after January 2024 update
  • Unresponsive interface after extended use
  • Force quit required to view different ships
  • Clipboard access requests without clear purpose
  • Temu ad malware redirecting users

Requested features

13 requests
  • Favorites section for frequently tracked ships
  • Deck plans for all ship versions (iOS parity with Android)
  • Show route feature on app (currently on website only)
  • Filter options to hide river boats and ferries
  • Ability to save/lock multi-segment cruise itineraries
Show 8 more
  • Copy and paste itinerary functionality
  • Map-specific cruise viewing with port visualization
  • More map style options
  • Smoother ship trajectory lines
  • Local time display for each destination
  • Paid/subscription option to remove ads
  • More cruise line filter categories
  • Exclude icebreakers from display

In-app purchases

None

Carnival HUB

No in-app purchases

None

CruiseMapper

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Carnival HUB free?
Carnival HUB is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is CruiseMapper free?
CruiseMapper is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Carnival HUB or CruiseMapper?
Carnival HUB is rated higher. Carnival HUB averages 4.7 out of 5 from 459K ratings, while CruiseMapper averages 3.6 from 123 ratings.
Do Carnival HUB or CruiseMapper have ads?
CruiseMapper shows ads; Carnival HUB does not.
Which is updated more often, Carnival HUB or CruiseMapper?
Carnival HUB ships an update monthly, and CruiseMapper every 5 months. Most recently, Carnival HUB was updated on November 1, 2026 and CruiseMapper on November 1, 2026.

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