Cruise on Carnival Jubilee in the Western Caribbean from the Port of Galveston in Texas
♦ Routes (free): Detailed travel itineraries in USA
Most Caribbean cruises depart from Florida. But in recent years more and more cruise lines discovered the potential of other departure ports and began offering cruises from a variety of additional states in the USA. The port that had the most cruises added to it is the Port of Galveston in South Texas (45 minutes south of Houston). Today, large, new, and successful ships sail from it. Carnival has gone further and designated its newest and most successful ship - Carnival Jubilee to the Port of Galveston. The ship was even decorated with Texas symbols, like the Lone Star.
Cruise Date:
The cruise took place in early August, during hurricane season, when there was a small hurricane in nearby Florida, but our ship sailed in a calm and quiet sea throughout the cruise. Although it's the "rainy" season in the Caribbean, it only rained for an hour at one port. All facilities on the ship operated throughout the cruise (unlike a cruise in December, the "dry season," where it rained five out of six cruise days...).
At the beginning of August, it's summer vacation across the USA (in many states, especially in the South, the school year starts in mid-August), so there were, as expected, thousands of children on the ship enjoying its many facilities and of course the kids' and youth clubs that operated around the clock from 10 AM to 10 PM with a small break, and for those who didn't get enough - it's possible to stay even in the late evening hours, but for an extra fee. To my surprise, there were no Israelis at all except us. They probably sail mainly from Florida.
Cruises from Galveston are held in all months of the year. In the winter months, the variety of options increases, but also in the summer. Just on the day we sailed, there were three different ships in port. Carnival Jubilee was the largest and newest of them all.
The ship's itinerary is given later in the article.
Ship Description:
Carnival Jubilee is the largest and newest ship of the Carnival line: 183,521 tons. It was launched at the end of 2023 and is the third in the same series after "Mardi Gras" and "Carnival Celebration" which also sail to the Caribbean from Florida. The number of passengers at double occupancy: 5300 passengers. But since this is a ship built with a family orientation and has many rooms with the option for 3 and 4 in a room, the maximum occupancy is: 6631 passengers. Number of employees: 1745.
Almost everywhere and at every hour there are crowds of passengers and the load is felt, but whoever looks can find quiet corners such as "The Golden Mermaid" club with piano or guitar playing calm nostalgic songs or in the Serenity Outdoor Deck area intended for adults only.
Rooms:
In addition to standard rooms (interior, ocean view, and balcony) the ship has 181 suites and also, similar to the "Horizon" series, Havana rooms with a Cuban design and a more spacious and pampering balcony, and also a unique family area named: Family Harbor.
Every day after the cabin stewards clean and arrange the room, they prepare cute animal figures from the ship's towels on the bed, which delight the children and adults alike:
During the cruise, a guided workshop on towel folding was held in the Central Stage area.
Food:
There are 22 restaurants and dining rooms on the ship, some included in the cruise price and some for an extra fee.
Among the restaurants without extra charge: the two main dining rooms: Atlantic and Pacific (it is possible and recommended to choose a fixed time or flexible time for dinner), the "Lido" buffet Lido Marketplace on deck 16, several open "street food stands" on decks 16 and 17 such as: a chicken sandwich stand called: Big Chicken, and a Mexican stand called: "BlueIguana" and the most popular of all: a burger stand called: Guy’s Burger Joint.
On deck 8: American meat restaurant: Pig and Anchor Smokehouse, pizza stand called: Coastal Slice, ChiBang restaurant - a Chinese-Mexican restaurant with a limited lunch menu (only on sea days) and a more extensive menu at dinner and an Italian restaurant called: Cucina del Capitano.
Soft "American ice cream" machines are located in three different places on the ship (both on the open deck and inside, on three different floors) and are particularly loved by children.
The ship has several high-quality designed bars:
Entertainment and Leisure Complexes
Jubilee, like all Carnival ships, is ideal for families. It has on deck 18 an amusement complex named: Ultimate Playground with a real roller coaster named: "BOLT" (riding it is for an extra fee),
Three cool water slides, water games and slides for young children,
A rope park with zip lines,
Mini golf:
and various sports games. (All attractions except the roller coaster are without extra charge).
The ship is impressive with giant and functional spaces and has, in addition to the huge theater, a Central Stage spanning three floors and an amusing virtual aquarium alongside a variety of clubs, bars, a large casino, restaurants and facilities.
Carnival is known as the "Fun" company, and accordingly, there are constantly events, competitions and entertainment.
Almost every evening the waiters sing and dance.
In short - anyone looking for action around the clock - this is the cruise for them. Non-young couples - stay away!
I chose this ship for a cruise with the granddaughters, aged five and seven - an ideal cruise for them. Of course, in two rooms for the four of us. With balconies and connecting doors. Comfortable and spacious with plenty of storage space. One room for four is not recommended no matter the age! It makes the difference between a magical and fun cruise to basic training... The connecting door remained open throughout the cruise, we locked the girls' balcony for safety and opened it only when we were with them in their room. Everyone had their space between one activity and another and there was no line for the bathroom/shower.
A modern and special complex, the first in the Carnival company is:
The Current complex
A charming complex on Carnival Jubilee of Carnival Cruise Line is called "The Current" and it is actually a virtual aquarium spanning two floors which also includes restaurants and shops and features screens simulating an aquarium giving a feeling of a submarine underwater. The movies projected across all the screens change occasionally, sometimes tropical fish, sometimes predators, a mangrove reserve, Dr. Seuss, etc.
There are many activities related to the aquarium such as coloring different sea animals, scanning them into the computer and then they swim for about an hour in the aquarium. You can also prepare virtual sea animals on the computer and release them to swim in the aquarium.
At certain hours passengers can choose a climate environment and the aquarium and animals change accordingly, for example: choosing Antarctica and being surrounded by glaciers and penguins. A special experience named "Sea Quest" is a virtual submarine in the heart of the ocean. In the complex is a large interactive map where you can see where the ship is located at any given moment as well as all other Carnival ships and learn about ocean animals and their locations.
One of the active, vibrant and successful places on the ship:
Central Stage
On Carnival Jubilee there is an open Central Stage spanning three floors in a huge space with a giant screen and a variety of effects, and this is in addition to the regular theater which is also three stories high. On the Central Stage, various music and acrobatic shows are held, carnivals and also bingo, towel animal folding, TV games and events for the whole family.
This allows for various events to be held comfortably for a large audience in two places simultaneously, which eases the load and allows everyone to watch what suits them.
Towel folding workshop at the Central Stage:
A particularly invested and colorful show held at the Central Stage is a carnival inspired by Rio, Brazil. Another impressive show is the show: "We Are One" in which a parade of all ship employees' flags (from dozens of countries in the world) is held, along with a show of dances, songs and grandiose stunts with a "taste" of melodies and customs from many countries from China to Australia, from India to Brazil with a message of unity and love for others. So far from what we experience in Israel...
The Theater
In the spacious main theater, two productions of the entertainment crew are presented, the newest and most successful of them is a rhythmic and charming wedding show named: Dear Future Husband, alongside a variety of popular TV games but without guest entertainer shows. There is also a dedicated "Comedy Club" where stand-up shows are held daily. There are several fairly large clubs where various events are held, including karaoke almost daily.
Most events and activities are included in the cruise price, but there are two activities for an extra fee that are ideal for young children:
Breakfast with Dr. Seuss
A birthday breakfast with characters from the popular book series Dr. Seuss is a wonderful and special experience for young children.
The meal is held (for a reasonable additional fee) on Carnival Cruise Line ships on one of the sea days and includes particularly colorful dishes designed with inspiration from Dr. Seuss books, with charming decorations.
The highlight from the children's perspective: hugging, taking pictures and having fun with characters from the series, led by the Cat in the Hat.
There is no doubt that this was one of the meals my granddaughters loved most on our cruise on the ship.
Teddy bear making workshop
On a Carnival Cruise Line cruise, most activities are without extra charge, but a number of activities and attractions involve additional payment. One of them is the Build-a-bear Workshop.
Such a workshop exists in specialty stores in many shopping centers in the world and especially in the United States, but on the Carnival Jubilee cruise they turned it into a big celebration held twice during the cruise. The amount of teddy bears purchased during the workshops is amazing, as if the bears were distributed for free... Before making the bears there is a ceremony, songs, dances and games and then by turn each child approaches, chooses a teddy bear, outfits, inserts a fabric heart into the teddy bear, fills it and then the turn for payment arrives... The happiness and enjoyment of the children from the activity - is worth every dollar.
The teddy bears accompanied us from their creation until the end of the cruise everywhere on the ship.
Cruise Itinerary
The ship sails every Saturday on a 7-night itinerary to the Western Caribbean. The destinations do not change and only the order of ports changes. The cruise includes 3 port days and three sea days. An excellent and balanced division. After two sea days to enjoy the huge ship and its abundance of facilities you arrive at three ports in a row and finish with a last sea day to say goodbye to everything you loved one last time and pack...
Cruise itinerary map:
The three ports reached by the ship:
Port of Roatan in Honduras
The Carnival corporation has a wonderful pier in the south of the island that really doesn't need to be left.
with a charming and quiet beach,
a chairlift leading from the pier to the beach and back, walking trails, abundance of water sports and leisure options and of course shops and restaurants. Entrance to the beach is free. Use of the chairlift is for 15 dollars for the whole day and all other accessories for rent (chairs, mattresses, kayaks, boats etc.) for payment per day or hour. There is also a zip line at the place.
No tours, taxis or shuttles are needed to enjoy a wonderful day full of options. Among the companies that reach this port, belonging to Carnival: Carnival itself, Princess, Holland America and Costa. Other companies reach an unexciting pier that besides restaurants and shops - has nothing. It has been under renovation for a long time, but even when the renovation ends - there will be no beautiful beach there.
For families reaching the island of Roatan in Honduras with a cruise ship and don't want to stay in the port complex (or arrive not with Carnival corporation, to a port that has nothing to do in) it is recommended to go out on a private guided tour including pickup and return from the cruise port. A recommended company is:
roatan
adventure tours, they answer quickly to every email:
roatanadventuretours@gmail.com
You can go with them on a 4-hour, half-day or 7-hour - full day tour. Tailor-made.
We visited an animal sanctuary with sloths, monkeys, various mammals and parrots.
From there we continued to a chocolate factory:
and ended at a charming beach in a bay named West Bay in the west of the island. Exactly the right dosage for children and what they love.
Booking trips and tours in Roatan suitable for cruise ship passengers from the reliable Viator site:
including pickup and return to the cruise port:
Costa Maya Port
Costa Maya Port Puerto Costa Maya, Mexico in Mexico is one of the most popular ports in the Caribbean and many cruise lines reach it in their Western Caribbean itineraries.
The town where the port is located is small and unexciting and so are its beaches. Those who arrive for the first time and want to explore and discover will have to go on a long tour to the pyramids or beaches at a considerable driving distance. Since I had already been to the port several times, we decided this time not to leave the port complex. It has pools, swimming with dolphins or just petting and getting to know them, lots of shops, characteristic street shows, massages, restaurants and bars. A long pier leads from the ships to the complex.
Those who are lazy can travel by free trolley to the ship and back. In the first few hours, only our ship, the giant Carnival Jubilee, anchored in port and yet it was quite crowded. After about two hours, another ship arrived and the crowding increased. Sometimes there are four ships simultaneously in the same port!
It seems that no one is enthusiastic about going on a tour and everyone stayed in the port complex. Children are very excited by the dolphins in the place
But for those who want a serious dolphin experience, it is better to invest the time and money at another destination. I recommend spending a few hours at the port complex and returning to enjoy the ship and its facilities.
Booking guided tours in Costa Maya from GetYourGuide.com:
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Cozumel Port
Cozumel Port Cozumel Island, Mexico in Mexico was the third and last port on our cruise to the Western Caribbean on the ship Carnival Jubilee
This is the busiest and most popular port in the Western Caribbean and almost every ship reaches it. Together with our ship there were two more Carnival ships and two Royal Caribbean ships in Cozumel port.
Meaning about 15,000 tourists simultaneously!
The pier is connected to a large open shopping center and you must pass through its entire length in order to leave the port and reach the taxis/shuttles.
Since I have been many times in the past to Cozumel with cruise ships, we took a private taxi to the nearest beach named: Aquarium (10 minutes drive and about 20 dollars each way for the whole family). At the beach for 10 dollars per child and 20 per adult you get lounge chairs, umbrellas, you can use kayaks and SUPs and taste tequilas.
In the water there are several inflatable facilities.
The water is calm and warm, very suitable for families because it is quite shallow, but the main problem today of the Caribbean beaches in Mexico including Cozumel, is the abundance of sea grass. There is also a pool and changing rooms at the place.
Continuing the drive for a few more minutes south leads to additional, larger and more equipped beaches, the most successful of which is Paradise beach, but since it is very popular it is very crowded and also of course more expensive.
It is important to note that Cozumel is an excellent destination for swimming with dolphins and various boat tours for snorkeling and swimming with sea animals.
Booking tours in Cozumel for cruise passengers in the article: Trips in Cozumel