In May, my family and I went on a 7-day cruise on the Carnival Jubilee. We sailed from Galveston, Texas to Honduras to Mexico. Here’s a day-by-day travel log of my trip.
Day 3: Second Day at Sea (Sun. May 4, 2025)
I woke up and went to breakfast with the family. Went to the waterpark afterward. Took a few pictures with my great-nephew playing in the water and going on the slide. I even went on a slide as well!
Originally planned on going on the Blue Lightning, but that required going on your belly on a mat, and my old knees would not have liked that. So, I went on the Yellow Twister instead. Somehow, I would have loved it more if I were younger. But a young man I no longer am, and that ride reminded me of that. The orange slide (I forgot the name of it) was one of those drop slides that dropped you right onto the slide. But it was not working. And somehow I would not have dared even if I was.
Went to Guy’s Burger Joint for lunch. Had a cheeseburger with bacon, lettuce, tomato, and pickles. Added chili and hot peppers cuz that’s how I roll. It was stinking good.
Went to the gym after. Worked on the treadmill and elliptical for an hour. Came back to my room to freshen up, shower, and nap. Then I got dressed for the family picture. We posed on the glass stairs. My sister brought me my tuxedo, something I will only wear once. Because of course!
We spent an hour afterward trying to get a reservation at a restaurant. Why we did not place a reservation earlier that day is anyone’s guess. We ate at an Italian place, Cucina del Capitano, inspired by Carnival’s Italian heritage. I had Nona’s meatball for an appetizer. Just one meatball. Yes! That’s what counts as an appetizer. It was good. Small, but good.
For my main entrée, I ordered Penne Pomondo. It was a penne pasta prepared in a roasted tomato sauce. Everyone else had chicken parmesan. I wanted to have pasta. It was savory. For dessert, I had an apple pie with ice cream. It tasted like an apple pie with ice cream. Not sure what else I can say about it.
I went to the gym later that evening with my niece’s husband. I didn’t even care about the workout. I just wanted to spend some guy time with him because I wanted advice. I told him I was planning on going on some social mixers to break out of my shell. Not even to hook up with anyone. Just gain some experience talking to people.
He told me the one thing I need to have is confidence. Also to be honest. Better to be honest upfront than have to deal with a lie being found out and answering for it later. Honestly, that I can do. It’s the confidence that I lack.
Day 4: Third Day at Sea (Sun. May 4, 2025)
Yet another day at sea. Woke up and had breakfast by myself. I had the works: bacon, eggs, toast, biscuits and gravy. And don’t forget the orange juice.
It was mostly a do-something-on-your-own day. So, I went to the lido deck to sit by the pool and do some reading. Pilgrim’s Regress by C.S. Lewis. I then met up with my sister and her husband to go to the pool in the back of the boat. It was a shallow pool where you could sit at water level. There were even pool chairs built into the pool and with the water as the boat sails on.
I then went to Guy’s Pig and Anchor Smokehouse for lunch. Had pork butt with mac and cheese, baked beans, and potato salad with spicy siracha sauce. Very savory. Not as good as Sonny’s BBQ. But then, nothing is.
I later attended a singles mixer at the Golden Mermaid bar. Well, the event met up to its name. I was the only one there. Ha! Seriously, I have been meaning to break out of my shell. Can’t say I didn’t try. At least I had some ginger ale and grenadine out of it.
Again, it was a do-it-yourself thing today. So, I went to the buffet for dinner. Nothing fancy. Just spaghetti carbonara with eggplant parmesan and barbecue spring rolls. It was okay for what it was.
Oh, and my sister and I were able to book the excursion in Cozumel. The snorkeling excursion with sharks, stingrays, and barbecue. We almost were not able to. There was only one ticket left. But we managed to book it.
Went to a comedy show with my nephew and my niece’s husband. Daniel Dugar was the comedian performing that evening. He was more of an insult comic. His comedy was very raunchy. I can’t even share any of his jokes they were that spicy. Let’s just say that one of his jokes involved him commenting that something tastes like chicken…and that his people really love chicken. My niece’s husband really got into the routine. He told the comedian that you need to “scratch and sniff” it. What, exactly? Well, that’s one of the things I can’t share because it’s too spicy.
We dropped by the piano bar afterward. The guy playing there looked like Elton John. Probably why one of my other family members was hanging out there. They must have really enjoyed the drinks there because we counted at least half a dozen cans when we met them there. LOL!
And that was the first two days at sea. The next day would bring us to our first port of call. What adventures awaited us there? Stay tuned and find out.
