Matt Fulks

Age: 25
Occupation: US Air Force
Number of Cruises: 2
Cruise Line: Carnival
Ship: Jubilee
Sailing Date: July 23rd, 2003
Itinerary: Western Caribbean

My wife and I went on this cruise for our 5th wedding anniversary. We drove down to Galveston from Oklahoma City the day before. We parked in the Carnival parking lot which was around $45 for the entire time. They said it had security, but when I stopped by the day before the cruise to check it out, nobody was there. It's in kind of a shady part of town. The next day, the boarding process was a breeze. There wasn't much of a wait and they brought our luggage to our room. They had lunch waiting for us on the Lido deck. I especially loved the pizzaria. The ship is old, but they do a pretty good job of keeping its appearance up.

We had an outside room on the Upper deck I think it was towards the aft of the ship. I was pretty disappointed on how dirty the window was on the outside. It looked like it hadn't been cleaned in a long time. Also, there was a terrible vibration on this ship. At night, it felt like one of those beds at a cheap motel where you put a quarter in and it vibrates. Also, there was some hydraulic motors or something running at times that would make a loud banging noise. We had a difficult time sleeping at night. We ate in the aft dining room and it vibrated badly as well. During dinner, there was the constant noise of plates and silverware vibrating.

Other than the vibration, the cruise was excellent. Our steward was excellent. Very friendly and he made towel animals every day. Our waiter was excellent as well. Exceptionally friendly and took care of us very well. The cruise director was very entertaining too.

We weren't impressed with Calica at all. There is nothing there but a big rock pile. But a taxi took us into town and dropped us off in a rough looking area. But we quickly found the beach and there was some good shopping there. We didn't spend a lot of time there. Cozumel on the other hand was spectacular. We wanted to go snorkeling and just took one of the cheap snorkeling tours. It was only about $35 a person and well worth the money in my opinion. I had my own equipment, but they provide equipment and transportation to and from if you need it. The snorkeling spot was incredible. Lots of beautiful fish and a beautiful reef. The water was extremely clear. Overall, we had an excellent time on this cruise. If you sail on the Jubilee, just request a room towards the front of the ship where there isn't any vibration. The vibration was the only thing we didn't like about this vacation.