16 Things You Can Do For Free On Carnival Jubilee
Carnival Jubilee, seen during a port stop at Mahogany Bay in Roatan, Honduras, carries 5,600 passengers. The ship features a wide range of activities and restaurants included in your cruise fare.
Carnival Jubilee is Carnival Cruise Line’s biggest ship to date, and this flashy cruise vessel offers a ton of stuff to keep up to 5,600 cruisers happy.
Pretty much every cruise ship around these days features premium experiences, whether dining or activities onboard, that come with an added cost.
However, there is plenty to eat and do on Carnival Jubilee that are included in your cruise fare. Here are the top free things that I like on Carnival Jubilee.
1. Guy’s Pig & Anchor Smokehouse | Brewhouse
This is a wonderful casual eatery that serves up barbecue lunches from its smokehouse on seas days. You can get chicken, pulled pork, pork shoulder, brisket and salads. Plus, great sides like cole slaw, bean and potato salad.
You also can come here for dinner and order from a set menu of similar items. Or you can choose a pulled pork sandwich, brisket, bacon and smoked gold sandwich melt or the maple and chili salmon dish. I like to eat dinner here to watch a big sporting event because the venue also serves as the de facto sports bar onboard with a large number of TVs throughout the bar and restaurant. Racks of barbecue ribs, St. Louis or Texas style are available for an uncharge.
Of course, the great Parched Pig craft beers brewed onboard are perfect pairings for lunch or dinner here.
2. Guy’s Burger Joint
This is a super-popular spot to grab some grub throughout the day but especially at lunch. Guy’s Burger Joint serves up delicious smash burgers and sides of fries. You can build your own or grab one of the suggestion creations, such as Chilius Maximus (with chili and cheese), Pig Patty (a burger patty made of crispy bacon) or The Ringer (with bourbon and brown sugar BBQ sauce).
There is a toppings bar, as well, to add items like grilled onions, lettuce, tomato and chili.
Guy’s Burger Joint on Carnival Jubilee has a large space, making it feel like a large restaurant just one deck above the Lido pool area. This is an expanded version from the Guy’s Burgers on many of the ships, where it typically sits in a corner on the Lido deck by the pool.
3. The Ultimate Playground
This is a big neighborhood (zone) at the very top of the ship and filled with all kinds of fun activities. Located toward the aft on Deck 17, Carnival Jubilee’s Ultimate Playground features waterslides and a splash park, a ropes course, sports court with basketball hoops, a jogging/walking track, mini-golf course, cornhole and table tennis.
This also where you’ll find the Bolt roller coaster ride looping around the top of the ship. (Bolt costs $15 per ride.)
The Ultimate Playground and SportsSquare gets pretty busy, especially during sea days, with kids and families fully utilizing all the games and activities.
4. Serenity
This is the adults-only (21 and older) pool deck on Carnival Jubilee. Serenity is located on Deck 17 forward and it features a variety of chairs, hammacks and padded loungers. There also is a pool, hot tubs and bar in this dedicated space, so it’s a nice option for those who want to be away from the hustle and bustle of the main pool and all the activities going on throughout the day at the Lido Pool deck on Deck 16 midship.
Serenity also is where you will find the Fresh Creations eatery where you can make your own salads at lunchtime.
5. The Patio Pool and Spa Tubs
At the very aft of the ship on Deck 8, when you walk out through the Summer Landing zone, which includes Guy’s Pig & Anchor and Heroes Tribute Lounge, you arrive at the Patio Pool space.
This large infinity-style pool is at the center of a relaxation space that includes comfy lounge chairs and seating set up as conversational areas. On the starboard side, you’ll also find two larges spa tubs and a the Watering Hole bar. While there are other pools on Carnival Jubilee, I think this spot is extra special because you are away from where most of the crowds congregate and you get endless views of the ocean.
This is a wonderful spot for enjoying sunshine-filled days while at sea or anytime.
6. Cloud 9 Fitness Center
I got up early to beat the crowds at the fitness center on Carnival Jubilee.
The gym on Carnival Jubilee offers all the equipment you would ever need to get a good workout. Cardio equipment includes two rowing machines, regular treadmills and two curved treadmills (manual treadmills for high-end and sprint-specific training), elliptical machines and standard and recumbent exercise bikes.
Dumbbells go up to 70 pound pairs, and the gym offers resistance-training machines to isolate certain upper- and lower-body parts. There also is a cable machine in the corner of the fitness center. Classes are held in two large studio rooms, and these can be used for individual stretching, yoga or other exercises when not being used for a class.
One thing to note that can be frustrating is that the gym is far too small for a ship that regularly carries more than 6,000 cruisers. I found it to get pretty crowded at any time I went in throughout the day.
7. Punchliner Comedy Club
This comedy club has numerous showtimes throughout the course of the week. With early evening shows and late-night, adults-only acts. You can typically expect two comedians to be on during your cruise, with the performers going on stage back-to-back for shows that will total about 45 minutes.
8. Piano Bar 88
This venue offers lively nights of fun singing along with pianist who takes requests and keep the crowd singing and laughing with a mix of pop hits, classics and witty jokes.
We sailed with Ben Gentry, a popular longtime performer on Carnival ships.
9. Sea Day Brunch
Running all morning from 8:30 a.m. to noon on sea days, this epic meal features all kinds of goodies that cruisers dive right into to recover from a late night of fun onboard Carnival Jubilee. The menu offers omelets, French toast with roasted peaches, skillet cake pancakes, fried chicken, eggs Benedict, hues rancheros, gourmet burgers, cakes, muffins, ice cream and other sweets.
Carnival’s sea day brunch is offered in the Pacific Restaurant.
10. Cucina del Capitano and Chibang
These two eateries offer a specialty dining experience — but included in your fare on Carnival Jubilee.
Cucina del Capitano serves up Italian favorites. You can try a variety of pastas, as well as seafood, chicken parmesan and appetizers like Nonna’s Meat Balls.
Chibang is unique in that it features both Mexican and Chinese dishes throughout the menu.
You might like to get appetizers such as Super Loaded Nachos and pot stickers and then choose among mains like Cantonese pork, Kung Pao chicken, pollo el mole and steak ranchero.
The mashup is a delight for lovers of both styles of cuisine.
Both Cucina del Capitano and Chibang are open for lunch throughout the cruise, too. For lunch, you get an abridged menu of pastas at Cucina del Capitano and noodle, rice or burrito bowls at Chibang.
11. Blue Iguana Cantina
This is the casual poolside Mexican eatery on Carnival Jubilee. Blue Iguana Cantina features tacos and burritos. I love that you can get delicious breakfast burritos and tacos here, too. I think it’s a nice option for those who want a fairly healthy and quick-grab option with plenty of seating outside by the main pool area.
12. Street Eats
This dining concept is also located on the Lido Deck, just opposite Blue Iguana. This little corridor offers three separate food stalls serving savory bites with daily rotating items for no extra charge.
(Seafood Shack is here, too, but its menu has a la cart pricing for things like lobster rolls.)
Time Fries is the place for tasty fries creations like chili cheese dog fries, Philly cheese steak fries and buffalo tater tots. Time Fries also features chicken wings for an added charge.
Steam Dream serves up things like spiced beef bao buns, pork dumplings and sesame chicken wontons.
Mad Sizzle offers Pad Thai, Loma saltado and beef bulgogi. You could eat there every day, getting a small dish from each spot and try 21 different items during your weeklong cruise.
13. Shaq’s Big Chicken
This eatery is located at the back of the ship by the Tides Pool. The casual restaurant offers delicious fried chicken sandwiches, tenders and fries, with a variety of sauces. You can also get breakfast here, including a three-cheese omelet. People love the chicken and biscuit breakfast sandwich with chili honey glaze syrup and the biscuit and egg with sausage or bacon and cheese.
14. Coastal Slice
This is the pizza eatery on Carnival Jubilee, and its located next to Beach Buns in the Shores zone of the ship. You can get a whole pizza made fresh or grab a slice or two. Varieties include Quattro formaggi, barbecue chicken and Tex-Mex, as well as traditional pepperoni or Margherita.
15. Beach Buns
This is the sandwich spot on the ship, with hot dogs and sausages served alongside turkey sandwiches on pretzel buns and meatball subs, as well as many other styles of sandwiches. You can also get salads, the soup of the day and sweets like brownies or chocolate chip cookies here.
The lines get really long, especially around lunch time, and you might find yourself waiting quite a while for your food at both Beach Buns and Coastal Slice. It seems to be busy throughout the afternoon and into dinner time, too.
16. Swirls
Swirls is the self-serve soft-serve ice cream and frozen yogurt station onboard Carnival Jubilee. When you pass by one, it’s awfully hard to resist some of this creamy deliciousness.
You can find three stations smartly placed around the ship to satisfy cruisers’ craving for a quick cone or cup to cool off.
There are Swirls stations located next to the Tides Pool, at Guy’s Burger Joint and at Heroes Tribute Lounge at Summer Landing.
Thanks for reading, and enjoy your cruise on Carnival Jubilee. I have been onboard twice now, and this ship has a little something for everyone. It’s ideal for multigenerational families, parents on vacation with their kids and for friends and family enjoying a trip together.