Review of Carnival Jubilee Family Spring Break Cruise

[dctravel]

We are just off the Carnival Jubilee for a wonderful spring break cruise. We were on the March 23-30 sailing to Mahogany Bay, Roatan; Costa Maya; and Cozumel. We are a family of 4, with a almost 13 year old son and 16 year old daughter. We are from Maryland, so we flew down to Houston (Hobby) on Friday evening and stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn at Hobby airport. I chose the hotel because the reviews were decent, I'm a Hilton Honors Diamond member, and they had a free airport shuttle. Took the shuttle to the hotel when we landed and back to Hobby Saturday morning to pick up our shuttle (Galveston Limo) to get to Galveston. We had a 2 queen room, which was clean and great for the 1 night stay. Breakfast in the morning came with being a diamond member, but was only ok. Cruise food is way better!

 

Galveston Limo shuttle was good and affordable. We had some trouble finding the shuttle on Saturday morning in the departure area (there was one sitting there, but no driver when we arrived), but once we found him, we were on our way to Galveston. Oddly, we were the only Saturday cruise passengers on the shuttle, but we were dropped off first, right at our arrive time for the ship (noon for us). We dropped our bags with the porter and we were on our way for embarkation. The line moved quickly and we were checked in, had our wine checked post metal detectors (it passed--the look for bubbles in the bottom of the bottle to make sure it is wine) and we were on the ship!

 

We stayed in a balcony cabin on deck 10 aft (10483). Had a pullman and a coach that converted by the window and then a king size bed. Room was tight for the four of us, but the balcony helped with light and feeling bigger than the cabin was. Loved the glass shower door, but was surprised at how small the bathroom was. Plenty of storage space, but fewer drawers on the Jubilee than we remember on the Magic and Dream (our last two ships before Covid). 

 

We saw our cabin steward early on the first day and arranged with him to get wine glasses each day (we bring wine onboard and carry glasses with us to dinner each evening). He never asked us when we would prefer to have the room cleaned, but he cleaned it each day after we left for our morning activities. It worked perfectly for us as we didn't have to worry about it the rest of the day as we came back and forth.

 

More coming up on each day (I do these reviews to hopefully help others, as I was helped by previous posts), but also to print out and put in our photobook of the cruise to remind us what we did! First, Nats home opener this afternoon 🙂

 

dctravel

[rzyjzq]

Looking forward to the rest of your review!

Susan

[ninjacat123]

Great start!!  I have never cruised out of Galveston so thanks for the details!! Looking forward to more👍

[dctravel]

6 hours ago, ninjacat123 said:

Great start!!  I have never cruised out of Galveston so thanks for the details!! Looking forward to more👍

It was our first time too. We always have done either Florida (love Ft. Lauderdale) or New Orleans. When we booked for this trip (after having to cancel an oversees, non-cruise related adventure), it was late January. Prices out of Florida were nuts, both for cruise fares and for flights. Flying to Houston was about half the price of flying to Florida!!! Plus, the cruise fare on the Jubilee was more reasonable than ships out of Florida. Our travel agent (who is based in Florida) double checked my research and confirmed what I was seeing. She was surprised by the "deal" especially so close to the sail date. Of course, this meant we had to pay in full right away, but it also meant we were locked in and ready to go!

 

I was initially intimidated by having to get from Hobby to Galveston. In Orlando, I just rent a car one way, but that seemed hard in Galveston. Shuttle was a good choice for us. As I'll talk about at the end, we also had trouble finding the Galveston Limo shuttle back to Hobby, but that was a misunderstanding on my part as one driver told me to look for a small mini-bus, but it was actually a full size coach that went to Hobby first and the to Bush-Intercontinental (IAH). One note on Galveston Limo, they also run the shuttles for Carnival (and Royal Caribbean), so you hire them independently, you need to make sure find the right vehicle. That was why I got confused, but the drivers have the list of their passengers, so they can verify you are in the right place!

[dctravel]

More on embarkation day:

 

The boys in my family have allergies, so we had emailed with Carnival's Guest Access team prior to our cruise. Unfortunately, we don't have the same allergies, so it can get a bit complicated. Thankfully, neither one of us is anaphylactic or affected by cross-contamination, so we have some flexibility as to where we can eat and the questions we ask. I am allergic to beans and soy flour (but not to other forms of soy) and my son is dairy free. We like to eat breakfast in the dining room each day, lunch out and about on the ship, and dinner in the main dining room. We find this meets our needs of flexibility for lunch (since cross-contamination isn't an issue) and ordering ahead for diner, which gives us access to dessert, which is hard elsewhere around the ship.

 

When we got onboard and had lunch, we went to the Pacific dining room to talk with them about the allergies, our anytime dining, and to order for that nights dinner. They took our allergy information and had us order for the first nights dinner. This turned out to be both good and bad. It was good because my son was able to get exactly what he wanted for dinner, including dessert (started with dairy free chocolate melting cake!), but not great for me. It turns out that the woman who took down our information wrote down that I was allergic to all soy, so it meant that anything that had soy sauce or soy oil was deemed off limits for me. As a result, I had ordered the Emeril's salmon for the first night, and it came completely different that what was on the menu. It was still tasty, but not what I had expected.

 

I shrugged it off to the first day, as it often takes time to adjust to different allergy needs, but the same thing happened the next night too, as I got steak with no sauce. At that point, I was frustrated, but also had figured out what was happening. We were able to talk with the assistant Maitre'd (Ram) and the Maitre D' (Bernard) and they re-coded my allergy correctly. For the rest of the cruise, I got my food as it appeared on the menu, with very limited substitutions.

 

My issues the first two evenings also resulted in us getting a reserved table (#800) with Yoga and his wonderful service team. We were in the very aft of the ship by the window and each of our remaining diners was great as a result of the consistency. No matter when we showed up for dinner, that table was ours and Yoga and his team knew exactly how to help us :).

 

For breakfast, we did not order ahead, but rather just checked in on the app like everyone else for Sea Day brunch or port day breakfast. We sat with a variety of server teams, but were also assisted by Dusan (a manager for special food needs) and his friend Maid ("Big Daddy"). They stopped by each day to check on us and often took our orders. They were both outstanding.

 

I was very happy with the quality of food in the main dining room (as was everyone else in my family), although the variety appears to be a little less (choice wise) than before the pandemic.

[dctravel]

The itinerary of the Jubilee is currently the same every week--two sea days, Roatan, Costa Maya, Cozumel, and then one sea day back to Galveston. I will use this post to talk about the first two sea days. 

 

First, WOW! This ship is gigantic. We got a sense of size on the first day as we were wandering around in awe. The last ship we sailed was the Carnival Magic (and the biggest for my kids). This is so much bigger. As a result, there is always something going on that is interesting and there are so many places to eat!

 

Eating first (isn't that what everyone does on a cruise!). We had Guys on embarkation day, so we worked to try some of the other venues. I don't remember the exact order we ate things, but we had:

 

- Shaq's Big Chicken (deck 16 aft). So impressive. This was my daughters favorite. I loved it too, especially when I discovered that they had grilled chicken as an option (just ask for it. They keep it in a hot box under the counter). So good, loved the fires! We also saw that there are land-based locations, including in Baltimore. Might need to take a road trip to compare 🙂.

 

--Shawarma (Lido Marketplace). So excited when I read this was on the ship. Tried it one of the first two sea days. Got the mix of chicken and lamb/beef. So flavorful with the garlic mayo sauce and the spicy sauce. Small portions, get two.

 

-Street Eats (desk 16 mid, near the pool). Such a cool concept. Not everything here was a hit with my crew. Depended on the ingredients. We really liked the dumplings, tater tots with shredded pork (and other things), sweet potato fries, and I'm sure I'm forgetting some. 

 

- Costal Slice (Pizza deck 8). Unlike past ships, this pizza kept up with demand. They were constantly cooking and serving. Tried the BBQ Chicken, while, and regular cheese. Liked all three!

 

--Beach Buns (sandwiches Deck 8 )- Good looking sandwiches! I've not been a fan of the Carnival deli in the past, so this was a big step up. My son had turkey on the pretzel bun. He really liked it. It comes with potato chips, a rarity on cruise ships!

 

-- Cucina del Capitano (8 mid) - We tried this for lunch. Custom bowls of pasta, pizzas, and appetizers. We split two pizzas and each got a pasta bowl. This was a miss for my family. First, the pizza at Coastal slice is better, second the completely screwed up my sons pasta (put cheese on it) and when they tried to correct it, they overcorrected by giving him gluten free pasta without cheese. They staff just didn't understand how to handle his allergy. He got safe food, but certainly not what he thought he was going to get.

 

BlueIguana Cantina (deck 16 mid). Still a classic. They do such a good job with these burritos and tacos.

 

Guys Pig & Anchor (8 aft). Buffett is outside during the day. Kept meaning to eat lunch there, only to be distracted by other options. My son had the beans (with burnt ends) one day as a snack and loved them.

 

Activity wise, my son is an early riser, so he had I played mini-golf each sea day morning before waking up the girls for breakfast. We then generally did activities in the morning (trivia, games with the fun squad) before lunch and then sitting out around the ship (often on deck 17 on the side of the ship) and riding the water slides (LOVED the blue slide with the mat to lay on).

[princess76021]

Enjoying your review!

Thank you for doing it

Hugs from Texas

[Tennessee Rose]

We have just about narrowed our next cruise to being on Jubilee, and I'm trying to read everything I can find on it. Thank you for doing this review!

 

[dctravel]

14 hours ago, Tennessee Rose said:

We have just about narrowed our next cruise to being on Jubilee, and I'm trying to read everything I can find on it. Thank you for doing this review!

 

That's great! If you choose her, you will have a great time. There is really something for everyone. It is a big ship, but didn't always feel big, at least to us. We have been in Harmony of the Seas, and this felt way more compact than that!

[dctravel]

Since I posted about food onboard yesterday, for this post, I want to focus on activities, especially during the sea days.

 

As I noted above, my son is an early riser, so most mornings I will get up with him (Although not as early as he is up!) and explore the ship. The first sea day, we instructed him to wake me up no earlier than 8:30, so that's what he did. I'm fine with that! We got up, went up to Lido for coffee (for me, juice for him), and then hit the links. This mini-golf course is very nice and challenging. There are some wacky holes that will return your ball to you, etc... It was fun!. The course is nine holes at the very back of deck 17. The golf balls and clubs are right there and you can choose from various colors and sizes. Keep in mind that the golf balls are very light, so don't hit them too hard!

 

 

After that first round of golf, we went to find food, or as we called it "First Breakfast" (we had instructions not to wake up mom and sister before 10 am for the Sea Day Brunch). We wandered the ship a bit and found ourselves at the breakfast buffet in the Pig & Anchor. There were eggs, breakfast potatoes, bacon, sausage, pancakes, and other stuff (cereal, yogurt). It was a good spread. Got some eggs, potatoes, and bacon (bacon was served by a staff member), but not too much. We didn't want to spoil our second breakfast in the dining room! All was tasty, except the eggs. We both found them a bit runny and sorta tasteless. Oh well! No loss, we weren't hungry anymore 🙂.

 

Sea Day Brunch remains one of my favorite meals on a ship. It's so relaxing. We checked in on the Hub app and had a table just about 10 minutes later. Super easy. Sea Day Brunch is in the Pacific Dining Room 6 Aft. Honestly, I had the same thing every day for breakfast (veggie omelet, no cheese, hash browns, bacon), but others in the family mixed it up.

 

After lunch, we kept exploring on sea day 1 and on sea day 2 the family went to play games with the fun squad and I took the brewery tour. The brewery tour is $30 and you sign up at the Pig & Anchor bar. The tour was with the head Brew master for all of Carnival, Mike, who is also the current brew master on the Jubilee. We tasted 5 different beers (liberal pours), got a tour of the brewhouse (which is behind the Pig & Anchor Bar), got a souvenir glass (was supposed to be a pint glass, but they were out, so we got cool Red Frog Tiki rocks glasses) and coupon for a free beer redeemable at the Pig & Anchor bar. All in all, it was a lot of fun and I thought a good deal.

 

Each afternoon, we found chairs on deck 17 (mostly on the sides), rode the water slides, talked, and read, with more snacks in between (see food post above). We also had reservations for Bolt on the second sea day, but it was too windy. Once Carnival cancelled the ride, we were refunded immediately and then made reservations for sail away time in Cozumel (all through the HUB app). Ropes were also closed this day because of the wind. It was really howling. Looked on the cabin TV once and it showed 50 knot winds. Yikes! Considering the winds, the ship wasn't moving very much. Remarkable job by the Captian!

[tytanbri]

Great review so far. We were on the ship with you and absolutely loved it. It was our first time out of Galveston and we tried it just because it was different. We had been out of every port except New York and San Francisco but typically go out of Florida. We stayed in 12363, an excel suite, and 12357 and 12359 (balconies). We loved the ship also!

[dctravel]

58 minutes ago, tytanbri said:

Great review so far. We were on the ship with you and absolutely loved it. It was our first time out of Galveston and we tried it just because it was different. We had been out of every port except New York and San Francisco but typically go out of Florida. We stayed in 12363, an excel suite, and 12357 and 12359 (balconies). We loved the ship also!

Glad you had a great time! I found Galveston so easy. We will definitely consider it again :).

[dctravel]

A few more notes from the first couple of sea days:

 

1. We saw Dear Future Husband the first night. It was very good. Really enjoyed the mixture of a basic story (wedding on a cruise ship) with pop music. Didn't love having to line up to get into the theater (which seats 900 Cruise Director Louie told us on the last sea day), especially because the main entrances are only on desk 7, which means lining up in the casino. Two shows are offered, and the show was offered later in the week too.

 

2. Don't sleep on the performances in the Center Stage area (midship on 6, 7, and 8). On the second evening we caught Viva Variety! with Michael Wordly. He is a former Fun Squad member and quite talented. Enjoyed hearing his story through song. Also saw PG comedy in the limelight lounge. You have to line up for that too, but at least there is no casino smoke!

 

3. On the second sea day evening, we ended up in the Pig & Anchor (see a theme developing here) to see the Backyard Band. They are really quite good and play a mix of rock and roll and pop music. While they took a break, we ended up watching/participating in the third and fourth quarters of the Lone Star Tailgate, run by the fun squad. The third quarter was a funny "throw the rings on a long horn cow (made of metal)'s horns" and the fourth quarter was a hot wing eating contest (watched that one, didn't participate). The exact kind of goofy fun we love about Carnival!

 

[PlanoTim]

6 hours ago, dctravel said:

3. On the second sea day evening, we ended up in the Pig & Anchor (see a theme developing here) to see the Backyard Band. They are really quite good and play a mix of rock and roll and pop music.

I’m enjoying your review, dctravel.  Was there any dancing in the Pig & Anchor while the Backyard Band was playing?  It’s hard to tell from the deck plans if there is a dance floor.  Thanks,
Tim

[kdr69]

Looking forward to sailing on April 13th.  Loved the Celebration so I know i will love the Jubilee

[jimbo5544]

Enjoying your review, cannot wait to sail the Jubilee

 

[dctravel]

12 hours ago, PlanoTim said:

I’m enjoying your review, dctravel.  Was there any dancing in the Pig & Anchor while the Backyard Band was playing?  It’s hard to tell from the deck plans if there is a dance floor.  Thanks,
Tim

The night we went, there wasn't specific dancing, probably because of the Lone Star Tailgate Challenge thing. There is a small space where people could dance (where the metal long horn is in my picture). It is between the band, the picnic tables in the aft of the space, and the buffet (used for breakfast and for servers who serve for the Pig & Anchor dinner).

[dctravel]

Now I will focus on our ports of call. First, each port morning, we ate in the main dining room. It is our preference for a sit down meal. We checked in on the Hub App and were able to get tables each morning within about 10 minutes. Generally the perfect amount of time to leave our cabin on deck 10 and get down to deck 6 aft to the Pacific Dining Room just as our table was ready!

 

The Jubilee is only doing one itinerary right now--Roatan (Mahogany Bay), Costa Maya, and Cozumel. First time for us to Roatan and Costa Maya. I will each day in a separate post, as I want to include pictures.

 

Roatan

We did a Carnival excursion to Maya Key for beach, snorkeling, and lunch. Tickets were delivered to our cabin on the first sea day with a 9:45 meeting time on shore. We got up, had breakfast, collected our stuff (had to bring towels with us) and got off the ship. Was easy to find the signs for Maya Key, we were checked in by the staff, given bracelets, and then led to the boat that would take us to the little island. Maya Key is part of a Honduran national park and was about a 20 minute boat ride from Mahogany Bay (right next to the Coxen Hole cruise port were NCL and RCCL ships were docked).

 

 

Since we had booked the excursion with snorkeling, we got that equipment for free. You pick up in the gift shop area. Seemed to be in good working order and was clean. We then went down to the beach to find chairs (lots of them all around). There guests from the Jubilee, NCL, and RCCL, but it was not crowded at all. We headed to snorkel first, which is a walk down a long pier. They have tour guides to snorkel, so we follow one of the guides. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see much as my son had a problem with his mask. Before you get in the water, they spray it with a cleaner, and we didn't rinse it enough. He got some in his eyes and it burned a bunch. My wife and daughter did the tour and saw all kinds of fish. They took my son back out later and he borrowed the mask I was given. He ended up having a great time.

 

 

 

The island has a protected beach area, a cash bar, and then a buffet lunch. Our tickets got us one pass through the buffet line. It was BBQ chicken, fried fish, salad, and rice and beans. It was fine. Nothing outstanding, but it did the job. Local beers are $4, sodas are $3, other drinks are more. I got two of the three local beers to try.

 

 

While the family went snorkeling again after lunch, I took the tour of the replica Mayan ruins and the rescue zoo they have on the island (monkeys, a sloth, birds, a panther). These animals were all either confiscated at the airport or donated to the park because the owners couldn't take care of them anymore. It was a bit hokey, but also informative.

 

 

After snorkeling and handing out a bit more, it was time to go back to the ship. Easy ride back and a great view of the Jubilee from the water. We shopped a bit and then got back on the ship!

 

[dctravel]

Our second stop was Costa Maya. This port baffled me at first. The family didn't find any of the Carnival excursions appealing and we were at a loss of what to do. Additionally, because we booked late, several potential activities were sold out. This included renting a golf car. The Red Shirt guys were sold out, as was another company recommended by them when we emailed.

 

Ok, so we weren't renting a golf car. Reading through Cruise Critic and other places, it sounded like a beach day would be a good choice. Resortforaday.com doesn't have any affiliated resorts in Costa Maya, so we started looking into beach clubs in Mahahual, which is a $4pp cab ride from the cruise pier. We first contacted Jamie's Blue Reef--Sold Out. They recommended Maya Chan (farther cab ride), but they were sold out too. Finally, we found Pez Quadro Beach Club at the 40 Cannons Hotel. This was a winner! I emailed them and Francisco got back to me right away. Pez Quadro is all you can drink and a single order off a menu per person. We reserved two Pez Quadro Packs ($95US) and two teen packs ($45US). The difference is that the teen packs do not come with alcohol. All packages come with a lounger and access to the bathrooms at the hotel. You have to bring your own towels from the ship. The total was $280. You pay a 30% deposit by credit card. I asked them to charge me in Pesos, so the bill came to ~$72 on the credit card (with no foreign transaction fee) instead of $80 (savings for me!). You pay the balance ($196US) in case upon arrival.

 

When we got off the ship, the hardest part of the excursion was finding a taxi. Pez Quadro gave us instructions to exist the port area and keep going, but it also looked like the sidewalk ended, so we ended up in the cab line for the port. This was a mistake. We were ignored in the hot sun for about 10 minutes before I listened to my son who saw people walking out of the port and getting cabs farther up. We did that, and were quickly on our way. Took about 15 minutes to get to the hotel. Once we arrived, we asked for Luis, and he showed us to our loungers, showed us the drink menu, how to order food (through him), and took our first drink order. 

 

Such a beautiful place. Shallow water, clean. Yes, there are hawkers on the beach, but we just kept saying "no thank you" and they left us alone. Frequent, but not aggressive. 

 

 

 

After swimming, reading, throwing a ball we brought, it was time for lunch. We flagged down Luis and ordered. My son (dairy free) got chicken tacos, my daughter a chicken quesadilla, and my wife and I each got a nacho/taco combo. The food was quite good. Wish I had grabbed a picture of the menu. This is a different menu than what is available in the hotel restaurant (the food might be the same, but the beach club menu doesn't have prices, one item off the menu is included in the price.

 

 

Luis kept the drinks flowing the rest of the afternoon. It was easy to order and I enjoyed the Mexican beers!

 

 

When we were ready to leave, we used the bathrooms to change (not ideal, but workable), the foot shower to wash off the sand, and then the front desk told us to walk half a block to the right to get a taxi. Found one right away (they wait there), and off to the port we went for $4pp. I meant to say this before, but I have never seen such big speed bumps. I cannot image riding over them with a golf cart!

 

Walked through the port shopping for t-shirts, checked out the duty free, and then got back on the ship. It was a really good and relaxing day!

[dctravel]

Sorry for the break! Busy weekend prevented me from spending a few minutes to continue my review.

 

Our third port was Cozumel. Anyone who has cruised in the Caribbean has probably been to Cozumel before, and we are no exception. We did Chankanaab with the kids when they were little (4 and 7). It was fun, but we already snorkeled and went to the beach on this cruise. This time, we were looking for something different. Nothing with Carnival was hitting the spot (pun intended, as you will see). In doing research, I read about a Cozumel food tour with Cozumel Chef. After inquiring if our allergies could be handled (they could!), we booked it. 

 

What a great tour. We paid online in advance ($90 adult, $80 teen, and $40 child (6-12) and got information from the company about where to meet and when. Just as a note, the tour runs on Cozumel time. For our cruise, Cozumel time and US Central time were the same, so no issues, but if you visit during US standard time, make sure you keep a device on ship time!

 

We met at the Mega Soriana supermarket. This is a short cab ride from Carnival's pier. We had not trouble getting there. We went a bit early so we could explore the grocery store. Glad we did, as I do love grocery stores and see the types of things that are available. 

 

 

 

Our group had a total of 6 people--the four of us and one other couple who was staying at a resort on the island. Our guide Erin had rented a taxi for the day and off we went into Cozumel. We made a total of 5 stops--two taco shops (first was pork, second was shrimp), the local market, a fish restaurant where we had fried whole snapper and ceviche, and a bakery for dessert. At each stop, we were offered a beverage (soda, locally made drinks, or beer). I drank mostly a local beer that isn't sold in the US (Indio). So good.

 

 

 

 

 

All of the restaurants we visited were family businesses, often located in the front of a building that also served as the family house. 

 

The tour was about 3 hours long, and when we got back to the grocery store, I was able to arrange with the taxi driver to take us back to the port. We then had time to shop before getting back on the ship. We had reservations for Bolt (which hadn't been running all week because of high winds), so we didn't want to miss that!

[dctravel]

After three port days, it was great to have another sea day as we headed back to Galveston. As I noted in my last post, we had Bolt reservations for earlier in the week, but they were cancelled because of high winds.

 

I should note a few things about Bolt: (1) when we made reservations through the HUB app, they were doing a buy three-get one free thing, so we paid $45 total for the four of us. Don't know if this is permanent, or just for now, but I appreciated the savings. (2) when our original reservation was cancelled by Carnival (because of the winds), we were refunded immediately to our Sign & Sail account. (3) Bolt is so cool! We really enjoyed the ride. You get to go around twice and the turbo boost adds excitement to the ride. Nothing like zooming around 17+ decks above the water :).

 

Otherwise, we spent our last sea day much like our first two. Woke up, played mini-golf, ate Sea Day Brunch, did activities (Q&A with Louie, trivia, Bingo) and then found chairs to read, have a sea day beer, and go on the waterslides. 

 

After dinner, we saw Celestial Strings (Louie noted it was the #1 rated show in the fleet). We liked it, but didn't love it. Liked Dear Future Husband better. We ended the night in the Pig & Anchor for last drinks.

[dctravel]

As I wrap up this review, I wanted to end with some final thoughts.

 

First, we had a VERY easy disembarkation, minus a hiccup with the shuttle pickup. When notified on the app, we chose a late disembarkation time (9:25 am) because we had a later flight from Hobby (3:40 pm) and had booked Galveston Limo at 11:05 am to take us back to the airport. The luggage tags (group 16) arrived in our cabin in the afternoon of our last sea day and we had to have our luggage out by 10 pm. On our final morning, we had to be out of the cabin by 8:30 and the dining room "closed" at 8. We set our alarms () to request a table just before 8 and we check out of room before we went to breakfast.

 

Breakfast was great as it had been all week, and we hung out out our table for a while before moving to the Pig & Anchor. Not too many people back there, but do note you cannot hear announcements of boarding groups in either the Pacific Dining Room or the Pig & Anchor. We were alerted on the app when it was our time to go, and we walked off the street and were on the curb in about 15 minutes. There are two lines once you pick up your bags, one for passport holders and a second for those with birth certificates. Cannot comment on the birth certificate line other to say that it looked longer than the passport line, and in the passport line, we never stopped moving except to use the facial recognition system.

 

The hiccup with our bus is that we couldn't find it. We knew where it was supposed to pick up, but when I first saw a large bus, I asked the driver if it was for us, and was told no, you will get picked up in a smaller but in parking space 5. We stood at that spot waiting and nothing showed up. Just as I was about to call the Galveston Limo office, I got a call from our driver wondering where we were. Turns out he was in a big bus, 3 parking spaces away. No major deal, but would have liked better communication. Ride to Hobby was uneventful, minus the bus having to turn around at one point as a slow moving freight train blocked the road he was on.

 

Some final general thoughts:

 

1. We had a really great time, maybe better than we expected. We never planned to cruise for spring break, rather to travel overseas. Unfortunately, the world had other plans for us, so the cruise was a "consolation" prize. It was way more than that. The Jubilee was beautiful and it was awesome to get cruising again for the first time since the pandemic.

 

2. Very minor, but we really missed the Towel Animal Zoo/take over. On our past cruises, it had occurred on the last sea day, so that's when we went looking for it on Lido. When we got up there, nadda. We weren't the only ones looking. It certainly didn't lessen our trip, but something we always enjoyed. I asked John Heald about it on FB, and he noted that it did happen, but on the first port day! Oops, missed that completely. Oh well, I'll know to look for next time.

 

3. We thought the food was generally very good. Some meals were a bit better than others in the MDR, with the Emeril's specials the clear winner over the week. Once we got our allergy issues solved, the food was consistent and tasty. We also really loved all the choices all around the ship. We loved Shaq's, enjoyed Guy's burgers, my son loved Blue Iguana, and we all enjoyed the variety at Street Eats. I also really liked the Schwarma and coastal pizza. We were underwhelmed by Cucina at lunch and didn't try Chibang because the menu just wasn't what we wanted. We didn't buy any food this trip.

 

4. The brewed on board beer is really excellent, especially the bock beer (Big Mike's) and the pilsner. I also love that $1 from the American Pale Ale is donated to a veterans charity. The brewed on board beer can be found at bars all around the ship. 

 

5. I don't drink many mixed drinks, but I did really like the Highland Smash at the Steakhouse bar. My wife didn't love the Dr. Inks or Alchemy Bar drinks on this cruise (felt that they were weak), but did love the drinks in the Pig & Anchor (especially the Watermelon margarita). The kids loved that the Gold level (and above) free drink coupon on the last night (after 5 pm and loaded to your Sign & Sail Card) included soda, something we didn't buy for them during the week.

 

6. We had such a good time that we are now booked on the Carnival Firenze Christmas cruise from Long Beach. New ship and new itinerary for us!

 

I am sure that I am forgetting something, but let me know what questions you have and if I remember something else, I'll post it in the next few days!

 

dctravel

Edited April 9 by dctravel

[mamiamjo]

Glad you guys had such a great time! We are booked on this same cruise next year in April 🙂

[princess76021]

thanks for taking the time to do this!

hugs from texas!

[CruzerDeb]

Thanks for this great review!