Carnival Jubilee - 10-Day Exotic Western Caribbean

Where this cruise calls, day by day

7 ports and 4 sea days over 10 Nights.

1. Day 1

   Galveston, TX

   United StatesDepart

   Galveston is the Gulf's second-busiest homeport and it is an island, which shapes everything. Hobby is about an hour away and Bush Intercontinental closer to 90 minutes, so a same-day flight is a gamble - and in winter, bay fog can close the ship channel and push a departure back by hours. Arrive the night before and stay on the island.

   • The Strand Historic District, blocks of iron-front Victorian buildings that survived the 1900 hurricane
   • Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier out on the Seawall
   • Moody Gardens and its rainforest and aquarium pyramids
   • Bishop's Palace, the 1892 Gresham house - the best hour of architecture on the island

   Getting ashore

   Three cruise terminals sit side by side on adjacent harbour piers (10, 25 and 28) with covered parking; Houston Hobby is about 45 miles and an hour out, Bush Intercontinental roughly 70 miles and 90 minutes.

   Best months

   Feb-May and Oct-Nov (Aug-Sep is hurricane peak; Dec-Feb brings fog delays)

2. Day 2 · At sea

3. Day 3 · At sea

4. Day 4

   Montego Bay

   JamaicaPort

   The cruise terminal sits out in the Freeport industrial zone on a spit west of the city, so nothing is walkable and everyone leaves by taxi or coach. Montego Bay itself is Jamaica's tourist capital - the Hip Strip and Doctor's Cave Beach are ten minutes away and the plantation-era great houses are in the hills behind. It is also the nearest port to Negril, though that is 90 minutes each way.

   • Doctor's Cave Beach and the Hip Strip
   • Rose Hall Great House and its Annie Palmer legend
   • Bamboo rafting on the Martha Brae
   • Jerk chicken at Scotchies

   Getting ashore

   Ships dock at the Montego Bay Cruise Terminal in Freeport; the Hip Strip is a 10-15 minute taxi and there is nothing at the pier itself.

   Best months

   Dec-Apr is driest; Aug-Oct is hurricane season

5. Day 5

   George Town

   Cayman IslandsPort

   George Town has no cruise pier, and that shapes everything: every passenger from every ship arrives by tender at one of two small harbourfront landings. When winter northwesters blow up, calls are cancelled outright and the ship sails on. Ashore it is a tidy, expensive capital of banks and duty-free shops - the actual draw is offshore at the Stingray City sandbar and up the coast at Seven Mile Beach.

   • Standing waist-deep with the rays at the Stingray City sandbar
   • Seven Mile Beach
   • Cayman Turtle Centre in West Bay
   • Starfish Point and Rum Point on the north shore

   Getting ashore

   Tender port - 10-15 minutes to the George Town landings, with Seven Mile Beach another 10-15 minutes by taxi or public bus.

   Best months

   Dec-Apr is driest; Sep-Oct brings the most rain and hurricane risk, and winter swells can scrub the tender operation entirely

6. Day 6 · At sea

7. Day 7

   Roatán

   HondurasPort

   Roatán is a long, thin island sitting on the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, and the day splits by pier. Carnival ships use Mahogany Bay at Dixon Cove, which has its own manufactured beach and a chairlift down to it; Royal Caribbean's Port of Roatán is in Coxen Hole, the workaday capital. Neither is really where you want to be - the reef at West Bay starts about twenty feet off the sand, half an hour west.

   • Snorkel the reef straight off West Bay Beach
   • West End village for dive shops and lunch
   • Gumbalimba Park's macaws and capuchins
   • A day pass at Little French Key

   Getting ashore

   Both Mahogany Bay and Port of Roatán are alongside berths, not tenders; West Bay Beach is a 30-45 minute taxi from either, and drivers negotiate hard.

   Best months

   Feb-Sep for the clearest water; Oct-Jan is the wet season, with November the heaviest month

8. Day 8

   Belize City

   BelizePort

   The barrier reef keeps ships several miles offshore, so everyone tenders - a 20 to 30 minute ride each way that eats an hour of the day and gets cancelled outright in a stiff easterly. Tenders land at Fort Street Tourism Village, a fenced shopping compound; Belize City beyond it has a serious crime problem and is not a place to wander. The day is really about what is inland.

   • Cave tubing through the Caves Branch river system
   • Altun Ha or Xunantunich Maya ruins
   • Snorkelling Hol Chan Marine Reserve and Shark Ray Alley
   • The Belize Zoo, which keeps only rescued native animals

   Getting ashore

   Tender port - ships anchor several miles out and the run to Fort Street Tourism Village takes 20-30 minutes each way.

   Best months

   Dec-Apr is dry and the tender ride is calmest; Jun-Nov is wet with hurricane risk peaking Aug-Oct

9. Day 9

   Cozumel

   MexicoPort

   Cozumel is an island 12 miles off the Yucatán that runs almost entirely on cruise traffic - three piers, up to six ships at once, and a downtown built to absorb them. Which pier you draw matters more than anything else: Punta Langosta puts you in San Miguel on foot, while Puerta Maya and the International Pier sit a few miles south and need a taxi. The reason to come is underwater, on the Palancar and Colombia reefs.

   • Snorkel or dive Palancar Reef
   • Chankanaab Park's lagoon and shore snorkelling
   • A beach club day at Mr. Sancho's or Nachi Cocom
   • San Gervasio Maya ruins in the island's interior

   Getting ashore

   All ships dock; Punta Langosta is a walk into San Miguel, while Puerta Maya and the International Pier are 3-4 miles south, about 10 minutes by taxi.

   Best months

   Dec-Apr is driest and calmest; Jun-Nov is hurricane season, and sargassum can wash ashore May-Aug

10. Day 10 · At sea

11. Day 11

    Galveston, TX

    United StatesArrive

    Galveston is the Gulf's second-busiest homeport and it is an island, which shapes everything. Hobby is about an hour away and Bush Intercontinental closer to 90 minutes, so a same-day flight is a gamble - and in winter, bay fog can close the ship channel and push a departure back by hours. Arrive the night before and stay on the island.

    • The Strand Historic District, blocks of iron-front Victorian buildings that survived the 1900 hurricane
    • Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier out on the Seawall
    • Moody Gardens and its rainforest and aquarium pyramids
    • Bishop's Palace, the 1892 Gresham house - the best hour of architecture on the island

    Getting ashore

    Three cruise terminals sit side by side on adjacent harbour piers (10, 25 and 28) with covered parking; Houston Hobby is about 45 miles and an hour out, Bush Intercontinental roughly 70 miles and 90 minutes.

    Best months

    Feb-May and Oct-Nov (Aug-Sep is hurricane peak; Dec-Feb brings fog delays)