Carnival Cruise Line has announced that its third Excel-class LNG-powered vessel will be named Carnival Jubilee, and the new ship will be based out of Galveston in Texas. The new mega-ship will debut in 2023 and is the sister ship to Mardi Gras and Carnival Celebration.
Carnival Jubilee Will Homeport in Galveston
The Miami-based cruise line continues to rename its new Excel-class cruise ships after its former older vessels. The third ship in the new generation class will be named Carnival Jubilee, 37 years after the original Carnival Jubilee cruise ship, which first entered service in 1986 and was part of the Holiday-class.
“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.”
The third Excel-class vessel will be identical to her sister ships and fully powered by Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). The ship will be 182,800 gross tons and have a guest capacity of more than 5,400 at double occupancy, along with 1,700 international crew members.
Carnival Jubilee will have the BOLT roller coaster, first introduced on sister ship Mardi Gras in 2020. There will also be expanded dining offerings, new cabin designs, and a main central three-deck atrium, just like her sister ships.
Carnival Jubilee Based in Texas
It’s also been revealed that Carnival Jubilee will be based out of the Port of Galveston in Texas when she debuts in 2023. It will be the largest ever Carnival cruise ship to ever sail from Galveston and follows the original vessel that also sailed from the port.
The news was teased and announced at the annual CruiseWorld travel advisor conference in Miami Beach, Florida. When Carnival Cruise Line President Christine Duffy revealed the news, she was joined on stage by a seven-foot cowboy.
Duffy said, “We love Texas, and Texas loves Carnival. Galveston is one of our most popular homeports, and we draw guests to Texas from across the Midwest, southwest and western U.S. Bringing a brand-new ship to a market is a big commitment, and it’s one we gladly make for the greater Galveston community and entire region.”
The original Celebration (also the name of the second Excel-class vessel Carnival Celebration) was the first year-round ship in Galveston in 2000, and the original Jubilee followed her in 2002. The new Excel class, at four times larger than the original ship, will bring new exciting cruise options for Texans and beyond.
Carnival Jubilee will be sailing on seven-day western Caribbean itineraries from the Port of Galveston. The bookings will open in early 2022, and the cruise line will release more specific itinerary details by that time.
Worth Reading: Construction Begins on Carnival Cruise Line’s 2nd Excel-Class Ship
Mardi Gras was the first in the new LNG-powered Excel class in 2020 and is based in Port Canaveral. Carnival Celebration will be the second ship in the class and will debut in 2022 from Miami for the cruise line’s 50th Birthday celebrations.
