Sailing on the Carnival Jubilee

The Carnival Jubilee is Carnival's newest built ship, and will hold that title until 2027 when the Festivale is planned to sail. She is the second ship to bear the name Jubilee for Carnival, and is the third ship in the Excel class. 

She is a big ship, matching the big state of Texas where she draws style and design cues from. With 19 decks, 182,015 gross tonnage, and the capacity to carry 6,631 passengers with 1,745 crew she has the title of the second largest ship in Carnival's fleet, right behind her sister vessel Celebration. She is currently the 18th largest cruise ship in operation as of July, 2025.

Using LNG (liquid natural gas) engines makes Carnival Jubilee one of the more modern ships in terms of propulsion and more environmentally friendly. Carnival plans to create all future ships using LNG and the Jubilee is their third ship for Carnival to use the fuel. There are nine ships in the Excellence class, which Excel is a subclass of, across all of Carnival’s brands portfolio such as Costa Cruises and Aida Cruises, and each one runs on LNG.

The Carnival Jubilee’s homeport is Galveston, Texas, a market that Carnival has seen significant growth in. As such, Carnival has committed to the port stating that the Jubilee will be running out of Galveston indefinitely. The Jubilee itself is branded with a Texas star on her bow just to make sure you know her heart’s in Texas.

Amenities and all the Fun Stuff

Being Carnival's newest ship, the Jubilee boasts the most current styles and branding for the cruise company. With an emphasis on FUN there are lots of amenities like water slides, shows, and even a roller coaster to occupy your time aboard. 

Starting on deck 5 you’ll find the Cloud 9 Spa. There are plenty of treatment rooms and lots of people to up-sell you on a spa treatment. The Thermal suites are also through the spa where you’ll find three saunas and an adult only hot tub. If you stay in a Spa Room you have access to a dedicated elevator that goes from deck 5 all the way up to deck 17 where the rooms are, a very nice shortcut from the busy main elevators.

Deck 6 offers the Grand Central, which is like an atrium and theater hybrid, and it spans up three decks. It offers a stage for shows and you can often find the performers practicing here earlier in the day. The backdrop consists of several long LCD screens that are pretty spectacular during the show, and they can move around and more importantly up and out of the way revealing gorgeous three deck high windows when not in use. 

Also on deck six the Punchliner comedy venue and the Jubilee Theater. The Punchliner serves as a multi use room earlier in the day before comedians take the stage. For example, you’ll find the Build-a-Bear workshop set up here on some days. The theater reaches up to deck 7 and is a large space to hold shows.

If you like to play in the casino, you’ll find that on deck 7 with a smoking and non-smoking section. Sadly, there is no real good division between the two sections and smoke likes to cover the whole area. This can be especially bad when exiting the theater after a show and right into the hallway that connects the casino with the theater. 

Deck 8 of the Carnival Jubilee is the top of the Grand Central giving you the bird’s eye view of the stage. You also find the Pixels Gallery where you will browse and purchase any pictures that you have taken, and there will be plenty of opportunities to have some shots as each night the ship is dotted with photographers, backdrops, and props. There is also a small gift shop on deck 8, and perhaps more importantly guest services.

In the aft of deck 8 is the Patio pool, a cute and small space that offers some ankle deep water and loungers, great for going in the pool without going in the pool. If you go right inside from the pool area you’ll find Guy’s Pig and Anchor with the connecting Hero's Tribute Lounge, a space dedicated to those who served. Although the lounge is more of an extension of Guy’s seating area with some TVs for watching sports and a soft-serve machine than an actual tribute.

Moving on up to Carnival Jubilee's deck 16 is the main pool area and the buffet. You’ll find lots of seating up here and some tablespaces to make use of the outdoor eating options like Blue Iguana Cantina, Seafood Shack, and Street Eats. The bottom half of RedFrog Tiki Bar is located here as well, with it reaching up another level to deck 17. In the aft of the deck is the smaller Tides Pool and two hot tubes, the Tides Pool Bar, and more importantly Shaq’s Big Chicken. 

Go up a deck to 17 and you’ll find more loungers and Guy’s Burger Joint. The arcade is called The Warehouse and is pretty good size. It is located right next to Circle C, the lounge area for teens.

Deck 18 is split by forward and aft sections that are not connected, you’ll need to go down a deck to travel between them. Forward is the Serenity pool and bar, a couple of hot tubs, and lots more loungers. This is an adult only space, but you’ll see the occasion kid wander around, something that just happens on Carnival vessels. The aft has all the fun with the Ultimate Playground which has waterslides, splash pad, mini golf, jogging track, sports court, ropes course, and Bolt, the roller coaster. 

Bolt is an interesting feature for the ship. It is the first at sea roller coaster, though technically isn’t a roller coaster as it’s electric driven where the rider can control the speed. You need to be at least 4’3” and no taller than 6’5 to ride, so sorry Shaq, you’re too tall to ride. Weight limit is 300 pounds, per person and 440 pounds, per vehicle as the bike can be ridden by two people. You’ll be lucky to ride the Bolt as it has a reservation system that fills up fast, and is often not running due to all its restrictions for wind and ship movement.

Food Was... Meh

Food and drink are kind of a high and a low for Carnival Jubilee. There are plenty of places to find a meal or a cocktail, but the quality of food is average at best. You will find some shining exceptions from time to time but overall it tended to be more disappointing than expected. Drinks on the other hand is something that the Jubilee did very well. Several of their bars and lounges were on top of their game with bartenders delivering the best service found on the ship.

Carnival’s portions are small, something the cruise line is consciously choosing to do as a way to cut down on food waste. In our experience, the portions were too small. One breakfast in the main dining room I ordered chicken and waffles and was presented with a quarter of a waffle and one chicken strip, both lukewarm.

For main dining on the Carnival Jubilee you’ll go to the Pacific or Atlantic dining rooms. The menu rotated every day but there were some consistent items. Portions are small, so it is suggested that you may want to order two appetizers or entrees if you’re feeling normally hungry. The servers will perform quick dance and singing numbers at dinner, which can be entertaining or cringy depending on how you view it. Be prepared for upselling with servers walking by selling fresh pressed juices at an extra charge.

The other staple for grub is the buffet, called the Lido, and is on deck 16. There are lots of places to sit and eat but with a full ship it can still be difficult to find a spot. There are two food areas, one in the front and one in the back. Selection is very small, one of the smallest buffet selections we’ve encountered, and is repeated between the front and back food areas. Food was always disappointing here, often questionable looking, and always seemed to be missing buffet staples like chicken nuggets, or pasta. At night there is a late night setup which has better food offerings than breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Also on deck 16 is the Blue Iguana Cantina offering tex-mex style options. Next to them is Seafood Shack and Street eats which cost extra and rotate their small menus and counter service. In the aft of the deck you’ll find Shaq’s Big Chicken, which was one of the best places to eat, offering different chicken sandwiches and fries with lots of different dipping sauces. On deck 17 you’ll find Guy’s Burger Joint which specializes in smash burgers and was also a favorite amongst our party. 

Guy’s other offering is Guy’s Pig and Anchor located on deck 8. This is a BBQ style place and offers decent BBQ, but it is an additional cost for dinner. The portions are small again here so be mindful when ordering. This is a great spot if you want to watch the game on the Carnival Jubilee as there are lots of TVs hanging around.

The other big name on board is Emeril Lagasse, with Emeril’s Bistro 717 located on deck 6. Offering breakfast and lunch, we found some of the best dishes on board came from here. The food isn’t included, so you’ll need to pay extra. It’s located in a hallway, a design trend for the ship, but offers a nice seating area next to some windows. Best spot for breakfast, you have to try the beignets.

For more traditional speciality dining where you are being served you have a few options aboard the Carnival Jubilee. Rudi’s Seagrill, Bonsai Teppanyaki, Cucina del Capitano, Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse, Chibang!, and Bonsai Sushi. We only ate at Chibang!, a Chinese Mexican infusion restaurant. The food was pretty good, although cursed with the small portions found everyone on the ship. We had a laugh at our pinky sized spring rolls when they were delivered. 

Drinks on the Carnival Jubilee are Great

Bars and lounges on the ship stood out to us as the pinnacle of service, flavor, and decor. Most of the lounge's design and styling carries over into other areas surrounding the spaces, mostly because they love putting them in hallways. The Golden Mermaid, Dr.Inks, Alchemy Bar, Havana Bar, Piano Bar, The Steakhouse Bar, and RedFrog Tiki Bar are your options for some great cocktails.

The Steakhouse Bar is located outside the Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse and is more or less a venue of its own. Busier at dinner time they serve a nice upscale but more traditional bar menu. They are next to Alchemy Bar and was a great place to grab a bottle of water when Alchemy Bar was swamped.

The RedFrog Tiki bar is a two story bar located by the pool on Deck 16 and 17, offering up your favorite blended drinks. There is nothing unique, but nothing wrong with this bar. The offered specials that were pretty tasty, and perhaps are just outclassed by other bar offerings onboard.

If you want to belt out Sweet Caroline then the Piano Bar has you covered on deck 6. The pianist was very entertaining, but the show, songs, and crowd was the same every night which was kind of disappointing. They take song suggestions, although we found them to heavily favor the classics people sing along to, think lots of songs from Elton John and The Beatles. The drinks are more traditional cocktails served up, and were just ok.

The Havana Bar specializes more in rums and has a nifty Cuban feel. Located on deck 8 across from Chibang!, anyone can go to the bar and lounge space, but the deck side bar and pool area is only available to those staying in the Havana rooms. There is often a band playing here and it can get loud. The drinks are good, and complement the fund vibe in the room.

The Golden Mermaid is set back and out of the way on deck 6. It’s more enclosed than other bars, and has a golden underwater theme. The cocktails play around with some bold flavors, some being delicious and others being shocking. You’ll find coloring changing cocktails and gold flecks in your drinks. Several un-hosted meet ups on the ship's daily activity itinerary will take place here.

Dr. Inks, Ph.D is also on deck 6 in the hallway connecting Guy’s Pig and Anchor to the Grand Central. Dr. Inks, Ph.D is an octopus, and all the decor and design in this area are for her. It's a really great themed area with LCD screens looking like submarine windows that take you down underwater and lots of different places. This almost felt like Disney level decor. The cocktails at the bar are excellent, and so are the bartenders. You’ll find color changing cocktails, giant smoky bubbles, and a squid ink drink here. There’s a spot for a single entertainer to set up and play a guitar or violin, which being that it’s a hallway did make it kind of overwhelming at times.

The best place to create a drink is Alchemy Bar, located right above Dr. Inks, again in a hallway but this time with a balcony. You can see all the submarine LCD screens from here as well, and if you can find a small table is a lovely spot to watch them. Alchemy specializes in experimental cocktails, and this is the place where you can ask the bartender to make you something unique, or give them a flavor or ingredient and they will deliver a delightful drink. The bartenders are super friendly, and always entertaining. This place gets busy, but patience will pay off.

Lastly, let’s not forget Javablue Cafe located on deck 6 across from the Grand Central. This will be your main coffee stop for anything other than drip coffee. They also offer several snacks and sweet treats, some included and some not included with your cruise fare. You can also hop over across the hall the Center Stage Bar for some espresso cocktails if you want more of an adult caffeinated beverage.

Rooms are Rooms

The rooms on the Carnival Jubilee come in four flavors, regular, Cloud 9, Havana, and suite. All of them have interior, oceanview, and balcony options save the suites which don’t have any interior options, because that would be weird.

Regular rooms have a standard modern decor. Nothing wild but nothing that stands out either. Perfectly unoffensive. You’ll find the standard sets of room layouts that include a queen bed that can split into two doubles, a loveseat that can transform into a third bed, and the standard tiny cruise room bathrooms. Yes, luggage can fit under the bed for storage.

Cloud 9 rooms have a slightly different version of the decor, but it’s mostly just some color changes. The rooms feature upgraded bath products, discount on spa services, and most importantly, access to the Carnival Jubilee Thermal Suites on deck 5. These rooms also have a private elevator to the spa if you are staying in the bunch of rooms on deck 17, which can also double as an express elevator if you want to avoid the busy main elevators on the floor.

Havana rooms have more vibrant colors in their decor and get you access to the Havana Pool area. For the Carnival Jubilee, that’s a pretty small section on deck 8. The rooms also feature cabana, which are more of a patio than balcony as they share some public promenade space.

Suites are going to be the fanciest on the ship with the biggest balconies and interior space. They come with cabana reservations, guaranteed dining reservations, champagne, laundry service, upgraded check-in and disembarkation, better mattresses, and the prestige of telling others that you’re in a suite. Compared to other ships, Carnival Jubilee’s suites are a bit tame as they are just bigger standard rooms. No pianos, stairwells, crazy statues or gold leafed anything.

Service, Entertainment, and Vibe

The ship has a very low crew to passenger ratio, and this shows in the level of service you will find aboard. While no crew member was ever disrespectful or rude, you can tell that they are overburdened and so some things just slipped through that cracks. Whether that’s needing to ask your room steward for something a few times over, or just waiting in long lines for everything. 

The shows on the ship were alright. They were entertaining enough to watch, but you could tell that not all the guests enjoyed them. The big show towards the end of our cruise, Dear Future Husband, had a steady stream of people walking out as the performance went on. The big carnival show was perhaps the best to watch and took place in Grand Central, and had one of those acrobatic performers that do stunts on a giant ribbon. There were also flamenco dancers walking down the hall and onto the stage, sorry if you were enjoying a cocktail at Dr. Inks, because, hallway.

The guests range in age from families to older repeat cruisers, and all are generally friendly. Being a Texas based ship, you’ll find more people from the south and midwest on board. The vibe wasn’t the outrageous party ship that Carnival’s reputation has had in the past, but it was definitely more carefree. 

Cruise Critic’s user rating currently has the Carnival Jubilee with a 3.4 out of 5. That’s a decent score. Those critical critics cite how crowded the ship is and the food not being up to their expectations. The more favorable reviews love all the activities on board. The division may lie with the questions, are you a Carnival person or not?