LIVE! Jubilee Jaunt 3/2-3/9 Big Family Fun—Let’s Cruise!

[TravelBluebird]

We are in the Priority Lounge awaiting boarding!  Well all except my poor son—we have 5 Ocean Suites and just him in an interior—they would not let him bond with us his boarding time is 11am.

 

Boarding is starting at 10:45.

 

You can see him waving at us through the window 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 2 by TravelBluebird

[lazydayz]

Happy cruise day!  I hope you and family have a great cruise, especially your son.  He seems to have had it rough so far.  But he does have a cabin all to himself!

[msunrullieone]

15 hours ago, TravelBluebird said:

 @msunrullieone We’ll try to hand the ship off to you in good condition—but we’re not promising  anything 😂

I'm living vicariously and taking notes this week! Enjoy! As long as y'all keep the casino in decent condition, I'll be ok. 😀

[TheLargeFamily]

Happy cruise day! What is the benefit of priority lounge? Half of our luggage passes say priority as the girls have a family Harbor Suite in the boys have an interior room across the way. I don't know if that means we have access to the lounge or not. But based on an email we got it seems to mean that our room will be ready immediately upon getting on the ship? I don't know, and I don't care as long as I'm on that ship!

[TN Roz]

Happy Cruise Day! Have fun and safe travels!

[mamiamjo]

Have a great cruise! 

[Shaded Lady]

@TravelBluebird we were also supposed to be on the inaugural transatlantic of Jubilee (sniff, sniff!)... we're taking Jubilee for a ride in Sep for a B2B instead! We upgraded to a suite (from what I read it's not all that much bigger than the regular room, just gets us the suite perks (LAUNDRY!). I needed that because the 4 extra days the TA would have given us would have made us Platinum for the whole cruise! So even on these B2B sailings, no plat for me!

 

We always stay at the Towne Place hotel- love the location, easy drive to places to eat. We love the pool area. You mentioned renovations- is that at the Courtyard or both hotels? Last time we stayed at the Towne Place we noticed that it was getting a bit more run down, so hoping they've finished some of the room refreshes...

 

We had my DD, DSIL, DGS, my hubby and me when we traveled in 2019 and we got the 2 bedroom suite in Towne Place... the sofa bed sucked but it was for my then 11 YO grandson who could sleep standing upside down in a closet if need be so no biggie, but we appreciated having the room for all of us. We had a similar problem with booking the suite- when we got to the hotel (before the kids arrived) they put us in a regular room- ummm, won't work for 5 people, folks! They also told us, sorry, no other rooms available!

 

Finally they rearranged things so we got the suite (I guess whoever was coming in later had fewer people so they could put them in a regular room). So it all worked out in the end.

 

We live in Florida but always sail out of Galveston because my daughter/GS are the official fur monster sitters so we drive to Austin, drop them off at her house and head down to Galveston...

 

We'll be staying there again in September and I just found out that they have a Park & Cruise option there- indoor covered parking, $80 for a week, $120 for 2 weeks. I have no idea how I didn't know about the Park n Cruise option before now!

 

They will help with transportation to the port, but if you have suggestions for how you're getting there, I'd love to hear about it!

 

Have so much fun your head spins!!! I'll be following!

[TravelBluebird]

1 hour ago, msunrullieone said:

I'm living vicariously and taking notes this week! Enjoy! As long as y'all keep the casino in decent condition, I'll be ok. 😀

 

Err…good luck with that. There is a Premiere Group on this week. And in my group I’m usually they only gambler, but we’ve got about 5 this trip! 😀

[TravelBluebird]

1 hour ago, TheLargeFamily said:

Happy cruise day! What is the benefit of priority lounge? Half of our luggage passes say priority as the girls have a family Harbor Suite in the boys have an interior room across the way. I don't know if that means we have access to the lounge or not. But based on an email we got it seems to mean that our room will be ready immediately upon getting on the ship? I don't know, and I don't care as long as I'm on that ship!

 

Well, the only Priority is that is where you sit to board in the first groups—Diamond, then Suites, the Platinum. Unlike some of the Priority boarding lounges, nothing was available, not even water (and the water fill-up station for your empty container was broken)

 

So we had the same situation as you did—part of our group was Priority Boarding, and my son was not. They let him check in with us at 10am (although he had an 11am check in time) but they made him go a separate way for boarding. He was on the ship right after 11 though so it wasn’t much of a big deal.  To stay together, you have to all go non-priority.

 

We boarded about 1/2 hour difference, so it was perfectly fine!

[TravelBluebird]

15 minutes ago, Shaded Lady said:

We always stay at the Towne Place hotel- love the location, easy drive to places to eat. We love the pool area. You mentioned renovations- is that at the Courtyard or both hotels? Last time we stayed at the Towne Place we noticed that it was getting a bit more run down, so hoping they've finished some of the room refreshes..

 

@Shaded Lady Both hotels are under heavy renovation! We loved the Courtyard and would definitely stay there again.

We were also supposed to be on that Jubilee TA!

 

We took the Uber to the port—was so easy; we paid a bit extra to confirm it the night before. From hotel to ship about 20 minutes.

[Hogladyrider]

@TravelBluebird..geesh one day I forget to check the Carnival Boards and you are already 3 pages into your review.

Problem resolved I am signed up and following.  Really enjoyed your HAL Live this one should be interesting as well since you are with a group.  Been there done that, thankfully it is in the past, a lot of work and trying to get folks to  agree yikes!

[TravelBluebird]

Phew!  I’m finally sitting down!

 

It’s Kyndall Fire! Asking everyone to please do their muster! And welcoming us aboard.

 

We boarded right at 10:45. Got to our rooms; some had their sail & sign cards and some did not. You can use your boarding pass to muster so we took care of that.  

 

Also tried to get some spa appointments; that was accomplished but took 2 tries as no one was there early to take our reservations.

 

Then we had our first meal at Guy’s Burgers (of course) WOW what a crowd! Longest line I’ve seen at one; food was hot and delicious as usual. Line went all the way to the Red Frog Pub!

 

We gave our newbies a tour of the ship! Some of them are feeling a little overwhelmed. During the tour, we stopped at pixels because all the Go Pros were left at home…one was purchased for my Goddaughter’s birthday. 

 

I was able to make a reservation for tomorrow night for Rudi’s Sea Grill…it’s Formal night, but only night they could take us all, and its a good time to (7pm).  Teppanyaki was not possible unless we did it at 9pm tonight; too late.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 2 by TravelBluebird

[TravelBluebird]

We then hung out at Summer’s Landing for awhile (blissfully quiet) and are now recharging in our rooms.

 

Plan for sail away is group is splitting. 1/2 heading to Summer’s Landing and 1/2 heading to the Sail Away party on Lido!

 

 

[TravelBluebird]

3:14.  254 people still have not mustered.

[TravelBluebird]

12 minutes ago, Hogladyrider said:

@TravelBluebird..geesh one day I forget to check the Carnival Boards and you are already 3 pages into your review.

Problem resolved I am signed up and following.  Really enjoyed your HAL Live this one should be interesting as well since you are with a group.  Been there done that, thankfully it is in the past, a lot of work and trying to get folks to  agree yikes!

 

Hey there @Hogladyrider!  Welcome aboard!

 

Should definitely be interesting.  Lots going on already; very different dynamic than when you are just 1 couple or 2.  

 

We’ve worked out that we are auditioning for Family Feud, are eating in MDR tonight, and Rudi’s tomorrow. Not a bad start1

[TravelBluebird]

Oops! Left off my beautiful burger photo!

 

This is The Ringer my favorite!) all Iadd are jalepenos.

 

Finding seats to eat was not easy.  

[grima625]

Looking forward to following along. I hope you enjoy your cruise. 

[Hogladyrider]

@TravelBluebird...the vibe on a cruise with a group is certainly a bit different  than solo or just a couple. Hoping you will be able to use the app to keep in touch.

 

I also have noticed a difference in vibe from Caribbean cruises vs Mexico  or Hawaii cruises.  The longer cruises seem to be less party cruises.  We just got home from an 18 day Hawaii cruise, our longest cruise to date and we loved the length.  The seas to Hawaii were really rough, coming home smooth as silk.

Of course we were on a ship with only 2600 people not a crowd  like on Jubilee.

 

I remember way back when being on my first  cruise and it is  definitely overwhelming!

[TheLargeFamily]

Looking forward to hearing about auditions! 

[TravelBluebird]

2 minutes ago, TheLargeFamily said:

 

Looking forward to hearing about auditions! 

 

And…everyone was tired or chickened out of the 4:45.  One more shot later tonight!

 

[TravelBluebird]

Ahhh!

 

Restorative Basil Drop at Alchemy Bar

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 2 by TravelBluebird

[TheLargeFamily]

6 minutes ago, TravelBluebird said:

And…everyone was tired or chickened out of the 4:45.  One more shot later tonight!

 

Time for espresso martinis! 

[TravelBluebird]

5 minutes ago, TheLargeFamily said:

Time for espresso martinis! 

And…I’d be up all night.  But that might be OK because tomorrow is a sea day!

[TrqoisWtrs]

2 minutes ago, TravelBluebird said:

And…I’d be up all night.  But that might be OK because tomorrow is a sea day!

So looks like its called the Marina Bar on Jubilee, you can order decaf espresso for those martinis. 😊

[vanislandcruisers]

Have a GREAT Cruise!!!