Saint Greg's Carnival Jubilee - Live - February 3, 2024

[Saint Greg]

 

[Saint Greg]

My list of prior trip threads is getting too long. From now I'm only going to post my last couple, then the rest of them will be linked on this webpage.

 

https://www.saintgregtravel.com/cc/
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Saint Greg]

It’s been almost 8 months since I’ve been on a Carnival Cruise ship. Apart from the COVID shutdown, that’s the longest I’ve gone between Carnival cruises since the year between my first and second cruises. 

 

For those who haven’t followed it, I have been on a NCL ship and a Princess ship in the past six months.

I am finding that NCL is consistently the best value for me and Princess is frequently a better value than Carnival. Four of the last five cruises I’ve booked have not been with Carnival. 
 

The one cruise I did book with Carnival was really just to get me to diamond next year. We’ll talk about that next year. But it was a 5-day on the Breeze. 

 

This past fall I found I could do a 7-day cruise on Regal Princess cheaper than a 4 or 5-day on Breeze or Valor. Once again the 5-day I booked on Breeze for later this year is not the best value. 

 

I could’ve booked another 7-day on Regal Princess for the same price as the 5-day Breeze on the same week. It’s costing me more for internet and cheers on the 5-day Breeze than it would for 7 days of Princess Plus. And that’s for just 4 days of cheers since we’re talking Galveston. I would have the drink package for all 7 days on Princess out of Galveston. You just have to wait for international waters day 1.

 

Add on the fact that I would’ve received $200 OBC from Princess for shareholder benefit and being a veteran. On Breeze I’ll only get $50 for shareholder benefit since it’s a 5-day cruise. I’ve never seen any veterans benefits with Carnival.

 

It’s easy to see why I haven’t been booking Carnival. I do have five more cruises with Carnival in the next 14 months. Two of them were booked a year ago and two of them were booked two years ago. Let’s get on with what may be the beginning of the end.
 

[Saint Greg]

This is my 25th cruise, my 23rd on Carnival. It's my 1st time on Jubilee, 3rd time on an excel class ship, 7th time out of Galveston, 16th time to Cozumel, 8th time to Roatan, and my 3rd time to Costa Maya. 
 

Edited February 2 by Saint Greg

[Saint Greg]

Booking

I was originally supposed to be on this ship the first week of December. Shipyard delays caused them to cancel all cruises prior to Christmas week. For my trouble they offered me 25% off and $150 onboard credit to re-book. I wanted to avoid the holidays and NFL playoffs. I was able to squeeze it in the week before the Super Bowl.

 

I managed to book the same room I had on my original cruise which is the same room I had on Carnival Celebration last year. It’s a midship interior on lido deck.

 

In addition to the $150 onboard credit I got for re-booking, I also received $100 from my travel agent and $100 for being a stockholder. My invoice is showing that I prepaid gratuities. I didn’t realize I did that. Normally I’ll let the OBC take care of that. It’s possible I may have already overpaid my travel agent for the original cruise since I got a 25% discount on this one and used that overage to pay my gratuities.

 

Hotel

I’m going to be arriving pretty late the night before the cruise. I usually stay just off of the interstate in Webster which is a 30-minute drive to the port. This time is no different. I booked a hotel for a total of $68. It’s a 3-star hotel with 4-4.3 out of 5-stars depending on the website and includes a free breakfast.

 

Parking

TBD

 

Onboard Purchases

I spent $119 of my $350 onboard credit to purchase premium WiFi prior to the most recent price increase. The remaining onboard credit will likely be spent on write-in tips and specialty dining. I won’t be booking any of that ahead of time. 

 

 Ports

I booked this cruise for the new ship and close proximity. I don’t have exciting things planned in the ports. Our first one is Mahogany Bay, Roatan. I like to spend a couple hours on the beach there.

 

In Costa Maya I do have my eyes on another set of Mayan ruins. They are not offered by Carnival. The local company I use in Costa Maya is The Native Choice. When I put my cruise on their website it says I’m not in port long enough for that excursion. I got the same message for my Jubilee cruise this summer. I’ll have to keep trying and hopefully one of these trips I’ll be there long enough.

 

My alternate plan for Costa Maya will just be to spend some time in the port area. The other times I’ve been there I have just raced through it to get to an excursion.

 

In Cozumel Kusam is a brewery and taco place I’ve been trying to get to for a couple of years. At first it didn’t open until the evening after the ships were gone. Last year they started opening earlier. Those who followed my Regal Princess cruise last year know I made the trek to downtown Cozumel only to find out it was closed on Tuesday. This time I’m going to be there on Thursday and hopefully I’ll be able to try their elusive tacos and beer.

 

 

Edited February 2 by Saint Greg

[Saint Greg]

For those who don’t know I was a potential juror in a murder case this week. Fortunately, I wasn’t picked. Today is just not a good day for me to be deciding someone’s life.

[Saint Greg]

It’s supposed to get nasty tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

[Roscoe13]

7 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

For those who don’t know I was a potential juror in a murder case this week. Fortunately, I wasn’t picked. Today is just not a good day for me to be deciding someone’s life.

As I mentioned over in the Tribe area I literally just booked this exact cruise for one year from yesterday!!

 

So you know I'll be following along with baited breath and looking on You Tube for that coveted Iguana vs.chicken video.  I'm sure it'll be a hit in India or wherever!!

 

TIA!

[Hogladyrider]

All signed ready to join your fun!

[Saint Greg]

1 minute ago, Roscoe13 said:

As I mentioned over in the Tribe area I literally just booked this exact cruise for one year from yesterday!!

 

So you know I'll be following along with baited breath and looking on You Tube for that coveted Iguana vs.chicken video.  I'm sure it'll be a hit in India or wherever!!

 

TIA!

 

I noticed that. That's just before I'm on Norwegian Encore. This is a bit earlier than I like to cruise but it was the best I could squeeze in after my original cruise was canceled.

 

Edited February 2 by Saint Greg

[kelkel2]

I can’t wait to follow along! I’ll be on jubilee in June!

[CruisinMama2003]

Just got off Jubilee last Sat, first time on an excel ship and i absolutely loved it! 

 

Have the best time! Cheers! 🍹🏖

[pirate4me2]

Oh man, between this, Jeff & Patti, and Wildra's reviews, I have lots of "studying" to do at work! This is great!

[princess76021]

Holy crap, I made it on page one again!!

Im getting better in my old age!

Getting excited for this one, my home port!

Hugs from you know where!!

[ninjacat123]

Yay!! A Saint Greg LIVE review😃  Another thought for Costa Maya is The Krazy Lobster. No ruins but it would be relaxing.

[Jamman54]

We'll be along for the ride Greg. We'll be on the Jubilee April of 2025. 😃

[pcvtmom]

Happy to see this review! I love the detailed trip reports you give us, and I frequently use your blog for information, as well!

[heffy2]

Woohoo!!

[Destiny0315]

59 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

It’s easy to see why I haven’t been booking Carnival. I do have five more cruises with Carnival in the next 14 months. Two of them were booked a year ago and two of them were booked two years ago. Let’s get on with what may be the beginning of the end.
 

Happy to be onboard online with you right from the beginning for this one...

 

[ronkeykong]

<koolaid man voice> Oh Yeah! <koolaid man voice/>

 

We are going on this one in 2 weeks!  Will be reading along as always.  Thanks!

[BohJang]

1 hour ago, Roscoe13 said:

As I mentioned over in the Tribe area I literally just booked this exact cruise for one year from yesterday!!

 

So you know I'll be following along with baited breath and looking on You Tube for that coveted Iguana vs.chicken video.  I'm sure it'll be a hit in India or wherever!!

 

TIA!

I will be following along closely also. I’m seriously considering joining you on the same cruise one year from yesterday! 

[dctravel]

We sail Jubilee in March! Following to learn more :).

[d-lite-n-cruisin]

I'm along for the ride, Greg.  Hope you have a great time.  I understand why other lines are more attractive for you than Carnival is.  Thanks for taking us on this journey. Will be sailing Jubilee on this itinerary in August.  We, too, had our December 2023 cruise cancelled.  So, we went on the 15-day Venezia instead.  Safe travels!

[chasinraynbowz]

Have a great cruise!!!!  

[rwest898]

Thanks for posting the link so I didn't miss it.  We were supposed to be on the Jubilee out of Southampton but you know how that went.  Looking forward to your review.