Carnival Cruise Line's third Excel-class ship will be named Carnival Jubilee. The 5,400-passenger vessel will be delivered in 2023, based in Galveston, TX and operate seven-day western Caribbean itineraries. Voyages will open for sale to the public in early 2022,
In addition, Carnival has confirmed that all 22 of its U.S.-based ships will be back in guest operations by March 2022. Nineteen ships had previously been confirmed to restart by February. This schedule was released for the remainder.
- Carnival Sensation will restart from Mobile, AL on March 5
- Carnival Ecstasy will restart from Jacksonville, FL, on March 7
- Carnival Paradise will restart from Tampa, FL, on March 12
Galveston Home Porting
“Carnival was the first cruise line to offer year-round cruising from Galveston in 2000, and we have continued to grow our presence and support of the Port of Galveston’s expansion, so we are thrilled to bring our brand-new Carnival Jubilee to Texas and the greater southwest region,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. “This beautiful, innovative ship will bring an entirely new cruise experience to our guests, and we’ve got some great surprises to 'fun it up' in ways we know they are going to love.”
Carnival Jubilee will be the third in the Excel-class for Carnival, joining sisters Mardi Gras, sailing from Port Canaveral since earlier this year, and Carnival Celebration, which will be delivered in late 2022 and based in Miami. All three ships use liquefied natural gas (LNG) for propulsion. Mardi Gras is the first LNG-powered cruise ship to operate in North America.
This new Excel-class ship will not be the first Jubilee to sail from Galveston, however. As it gets ready to celebrate its 50th birthday in 2022, Carnival has resurrected some of the names of its previous ships that were popular with guests at the company’s inception—such as Mardi Gras, Carnival Celebration and, now, Carnival Jubilee.
Carnival Celebration was the first year-round ship positioned in Galveston in 2000 and was soon joined by Jubilee in 2002. So now, just more than 21 years later, this new 182,800-gross-ton Carnival Jubilee, which is four times larger than her predecessor, will debut at the port.
"Galveston is one of our most popular home ports, and we draw guests to Texas from across the Midwest, southwest and western U.S., says Duffy, who adds that bringing any new ship to a market is a big commitment, and "it’s one we gladly make for the greater Galveston community and entire region."
Carnival Jubilee will include such features as the BOLT roller coaster on the top deck, expanded dining options, new designs for suites and staterooms, and a stunning, three-deck atrium on the starboard side of the ship that overlooks the ocean and converts to an entertainment venue at night.The ship will also have six fun-filled zones but two will be entirely new concepts revealed at a later date.
For more information, visit www.carnival.com.
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