LIVE from Jubilee 18MAY - My Graduation Cruise

[bethfelk]

Hello everyone! My name is Beth and I have returned for another Live, this time from the Jubilee! I have previously done live threads from the Regal Princess (new years cruise with my whole fam) and Carnival Radiance (spring break trip with just my sister). This time I will be with just my mom, and as the title says, this trip is to celebrate my graduation from college. On Saturday I graduated with my Masters in Economics+Data Science and Dual Bachelors in Economics and Letters. And I was doing this all in 4 years, so needless to say I was working very hard and staying very busy for most of the last 4 years. But now this is the first time in a long time I am really truly relaxing and have nothing to worry about (until I start my new job next month lol) so needless to say, I am very ready and excited for a cruise! We are really looking forward to trying out the Jubilee. This will be cruise number 15 for me, number 6 on Carnival. 

 

In my past lives I have been busier and not done a lot of introduction, but right now I have nothing but time so I will add some background info before we leave. In the past I have also not put pictures of myself, but I decided this time I will add a few so that if any shipmates are reading my live they can recognize me. Below you can observe me in my two modalities: scholar and cruiser.

 

[bethfelk]

So a little more info about this cruise. My mom wanted to take me on a trip to celebrate my graduation. And originally she had suggested Vegas, but my thought was that I will mostly in Vegas be drinking and gambling, both of which I can do on a cruise and probably enjoy more. And of course she loves cruising too, so we landed back on another cruise. We were originally booked on the 8 Day Dream Eastern that leaves from Galveston the same day, but a few months ago we decided to switch to the Jubilee which we were able to do for I think around $300 (actually closer to $160 when factoring in the shorter Cheers too). There were a few reasons for this.

 

Number one, we were both curious to see Carnival's newest and biggest ships, and potentially see if Jubilee from Galveston is something the rest of our family (my dad and sister) would also enjoy.

 

Number two, this cruise being a day shorter actually works better for my schedule, because we will be driving back in time for me to make at least the reception part of the wedding of two of my mentors from college who are important to me.

 

Number three, Kyndall Fire. This is maybe a polarizing opinion among Carnival cruisers (and within my own family lol), but I personally absolutely love her. We had her on the Vista in 2021 very early in her CD career, and she is my most favorite CD I've ever had on any line. I just think she embodies everything a cruise director (at least on a line like Carnival) is supposed to be. So when we saw that she would be on Jubilee during this cruise it was a positive for us. 

 

Number four, the bar menus lol. A big part of what I (and my mom too) love about drinking on cruises is not just getting drunk, but trying all kinds of interesting drinks that I couldn't/wouldn't order at home. So all the cool themed bars on Jubilee were a big draw for us. I am especially excited for the Red Frog Tiki Bar, because I love blackstrap rum and falernum which are two ingredients cruise bars don't always have. Almost their entire menu sounds delightful to me. 

[kruisin_kt]

Sad to be missing this one, but we’ll have another siblings cruise soon. Hope you and mom have fun! 

[bethfelk]

And some more info about our travel plans and plans in the ports. We will be driving down on Friday, and doing a Park and Stay on Galveston Island. Previous cruises we have stayed in suburbs on the mainland and then done garage parking, but this option seemed easier with just the two of us and was also cheaper. 

 

In Roatan, we booked one of the beach packages through Carnival because my mom really wants to ride the beach chair thing lol. The one we booked also includes kayaking and snorkeling, which I will enjoy because I enjoy active/adventure activities. We were supposed to do this in December on the Regal Princess, but we got booted to the other Roatan port (Coxen Hole) to make room for the Jubilee (so I think) and so had to change our plans on that cruise. This time since we are on the Jubilee I feel good that we will not get booted.

 

 

In Costa Maya we do not have anything planned. We have been many times to Maya Chan and it is a favorite of ours, but we decided it would be mean to go without my Dad and sister since they really enjoy it. And since we have a whole giant ship to explore we were happy to have an extra ship day. We will either not get off at all, or just briefly for a little shopping. I like to buy shirts with animals on them in the various ports. So maybe I could find a Costa Maya iguana or bird shirt to match my Cozumel shark and Belize marlin shirts. 

 

In Cozumel, we booked day passes at the El Cid Resort. We normally do Nachi Cocom when we want a Cozumel beach day, but we did not get our act together early enough this time and it was sold out lol. I had remembered seeing this place in one of @TxTeach79 reviews and it seemed to fit our needs so we booked it. It will be nice to not have to mess with a taxi, especially since the port call is only til 4. 

 

For our room, we were originally booked in a standard interior (we usually do interior because the difference is not worth the price difference imo and I actually like the dark incubation chamber vibes of interior rooms). But we got an offer to upgrade to a spa interior for only $20, so it seemed like a no brainer to try it. I am excited to try out the thermal suites and such, and I think I will like them but maybe not enough for $170 or whatever the pass sells for. 

[bethfelk]

6 minutes ago, kruisin_kt said:

Sad to be missing this one, but we’ll have another siblings cruise soon. Hope you and mom have fun! 

This is my sister, who in my past 2 reviews has kind of tag teamed reviewed with me from her account. But this one I will just be writing solo, because my mom does not know how to use Cruise Critic I don't think

[AKR2011]

Happy Graduation! 🎓 I'm looking forward to following along and wish you safe travels ❤️⚓️

[mamiamjo]

Congratulations on your graduation 😎

We will be cruising on the Celebration at the same time you’re on Jubilee so it will be fun to compare the ships a bit. We also have the Jubilee booked next year. 

[pe4all]

Congrats on your graduation!  Best way to celebrate is on a cruise!

[nydney1]

Congratulations on your graduation, that is quite an accomplishment.

[odie1024]

Congratulations on your degrees, no better way to celebrate than with a cruise. Will be following along as I am taking my first Carnival cruise on the Jubilee in January and looking for any tips I can find. Have fun!

[Butterbean1000]

Congratulations!! I know you and your mom will have a marvelous time. I'm looking forward to your review.

[bethfelk]

I have spent today and yesterday running various errands in preparation. This is my first time being the “travel party leader” for a cruise and it has been a bit stressful for me. I have traveled rather extensively by myself (6 weeks in Israel being the farthest) but having someone else I am also responsible to look out for is new to me. 

[bethfelk]

First I went to Walmart to purchase a few things that I needed. More shampoo, my car snack, and something new I am trying this cruise, liquid IV. I try not to drink to the point of hangover on cruises bc that would take away from my enjoyment of the next day, but I am a big consumer of electrolytes in general bc it makes me feel better I think, and I thought the small packets would be better than the big bottles of Powerade zero I drink at home 

[bethfelk]

Then I drove my sister to the airport, as she is returning back to California. I miss her. Then I went to the bank to deposit some checks I had received as grad gifts. Then I went to the library to pick out books for my reading (as you can see I only read children’s books on cruises so as not to work my brain too hard😂) and print our documents. Then I went to the tag agency to renew my registration which had expired last month oops. Then I went to the tire shop to inflate my tires. I later went back to the tire shop bc I had forgotten to inflate the spare😂. Then after this long day of being responsible I met up with one of my friends for dinner. Where I enjoyed the below pictured hurricane. More hurricanes to follow in the next few days I expect

[bethfelk]

And as of just now I finished my packing, except my backpack which I will have to finish in the morning. I def overpacked in that I have more clothes than I can wear in 7 days, but it all fits in my suitcase easily so I think it is not really a problem 

[bethfelk]

Just learned there is a Rainforest Cafe kinda close to our hotel so I think that’s where we will be eating tomorrow. I had no clue there was even one in Galveston but this news makes me very happy

[bethfelk]

Happy cruise eve! Today we will be driving down. Starting with the breakfast of champions, a gluten free sprinkle donut😂. As a note for this review, I am gluten free so almost all food you see will be gf unless I specify it’s my moms or something. I have been gf for 10 years and prob about 12 cruises now so it is very routine for me at this point

[bethfelk]

Well we have officially loaded up and hit the road. Getting gas now. Goal was to roll at 9:00 and I believe we pulled out at 9:06 so not bad at all

[princess76021]

Galveston is my home port, looking forward to " cruising" with you!

thanks for The invite.

Hugs from Texas

[ninjacat123]

On 5/15/2024 at 4:54 PM, bethfelk said:

This is my sister, who in my past 2 reviews has kind of tag teamed reviewed with me from her account. But this one I will just be writing solo, because my mom does not know how to use Cruise Critic I don't think

Sounds like an awesome way to celebrate your graduation!! I set up a CC account for my mom (86 years old) and when she is not cruising with me, she’s commenting like crazy! 😹

[bethfelk]

We have reached the promised land

[bethfelk]

Stop at a second promised land for coffee and straws that we forgot to pack. ETA in Galveston should be around 6. We have been making very good time actually and the driving is stressing me out less than I expected

[bethfelk]

We have arrived to my other promised land😂. I have very fond memories of this when I was younger and even tho it is about silly I am very excited about the rainforest cafe at age 22

[bethfelk]

I was worried about traffic with the advisory that carnival sent, but it was actual not bad at all. Honestly an easy and mostly pleasant drive for me, this is the longest I have ever driven I think

[bethfelk]

Gluten free burger for me and some kind of sandwich for my mom. Pretty good, not extraordinary but that is not why ones comes to rainforest cafe