This week Carnival Cruise Line announced the remaining US ships will enter service on or by March 2022. 

Ships To Enter Service & Expected Date:
1. Carnival Legend - November 14, 2021
Sailing From Baltimore, Maryland
2. Carnival Pride - November 14, 2021
Sailing From Tampa, Florida
3. Carnival Conquest - December 13, 2021
Sailing From Miami, Florida 
4. Carnival Radiance - December 13, 2021
Sailing From Long Beach, California
5. Carnival Sunshine - January 13, 2022
Sailing From Charleston, South Carolina
6. Carnival Liberty - February 11, 2022
Sailing From Port Canaveral, Florida 
7. Carnival Sensation - March 5, 2022
Sailing From Mobile, Alabama 
8. Carnival Ecstasy - March 7, 2022
Sailing From Jacksonville, Florida
9. Carnival Paradise - March 12, 2022
Sailing From Tampa, Florida 

What Are The Health Protocols For These Ships As They Resume Cruising?
               The health protocols have been modified several times over the past year and could continue to evolve depending on the CDC's guidance and requirements as well as the destinations the ship's visit. I recommend visiting Carnival's Have Fun Be Safe Guest Protocols online for further information: Click Here (link will take you away from RyG's Cruise Guide to Carnival's website). 
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Ships That Won't Be Returning From The Coronavirus Shutdown
​              The Coronavirus shutdown began in March 2020 and for the ships listed above is still ongoing. However, there are some Carnival ships that were sold or scrapped last year that will never be able to return to service. The Carnival Fantasy, Carnival Imagination, and Carnival Inspiration were sold for scrap in 2020 in Turkey. Check out some posts with videos of these ships arriving in the scrapyard from last year:

• Carnival Fantasy: Click Here To View
• Carnival Imagination: Click Here To View
• Carnival Inspiration: Click Here To View

The Carnival Fascination was sold in 2020 to Century Harmony Cruise Ltd, but the ship was sold for scrap in 2021. All four of these previous Carnival ships will unfortunately never be able to return from the Coronavirus shutdown. 

      This week Carnival Cruise Line announced their third Excel class newbuild ship, the Carnival Jubilee, will sail from Galveston. In 2023 the Carnival Jubilee will enter service and the ship's homeport will be Galveston, Texas. 

Itineraries
            Carnival will open the Carnival Jubilee for bookings out of Galveston in early 2022. However, Carnival's press release mentioned the Carnival Jubilee will be sailing 7 night Western Caribbean itineraries from Galveston. 

Ship Features
                 The Carnival Jubilee will have 6 themed zones similar to the Mardi Gras that debuted earlier this year and the Carnival Celebration that will debut in 2022. Carnival's press release noted that 2 of the 6 zones will be new concepts that are to be announced. The Carnival Jubilee will have the BOLT Roller Coaster on the ship's top deck and a three level atrium that converts to an entertainment venue at night. 

Carnival's History From Galveston
                The newbuild Carnival Jubilee's name may sound familiar to cruisers because this is not the first time Carnival had a ship named the M/S Jubilee. The first Jubilee cruise ship was a Holiday class ship that sailed for Carnival from approximately 1986 - 2004. The original Jubilee cruise ship sailed from Galveston in 2002. Carnival began sailing year-round cruises from Galveston in 2000 with the M/S Celebration (not to be confused with the 2022 newbuild Carnival Celebration) and then in 2002 the M/S Jubilee joined the M/S Celebration. Carnival's capacity continued growing out of Galveston in the early to mid 2000's when the Carnival Elation and Carnival Ecstasy were repositioned to Galveston and later the Carnival Conquest came. In the early 2010's, the Carnival Triumph and Carnival Magic began sailing from Galveston to replace the Carnival Ecstasy and Carnival Conquest. In 2015, the Carnival Freedom began sailing from Galveston as Carnival's third year-round Galveston based ship. Over the second half of the 2010's, the Carnival Liberty replaced the Carnival Triumph out of Galveston and was then was replaced by the Carnival Valor. The Carnival Breeze replaced the Carnival Magic from Galveston and in 2018 was replaced by the Carnival Vista. Currently, the Carnival Dream sails 6 & 8 night cruises from Galveston, the Carnival Breeze sails 4 & 5 night cruises, and the Carnival Vista sails 7 night cruises from Galveston. 

Carnival Jubilee Ship Size and Fast Facts
Year Entering Service:  2023
Gross Tonnage: 182,800 gross tons
Capacity: 5,400 guests and 1,700 crew
Length: Approximately 1,130 Feet
Ship's Class: Excel Class

It will be exciting to see what information Carnival releases on the Carnival Jubilee in the future including the ship's Galveston itineraries. 

For more information check out these links (both links will take you away to Carnival's website): 
Carnival's Official Press Release:  Click Here To View
Carnival Jubilee's Webpage on Carnival's Website:  Click Here To View

    Carnival Cruise Line has posted their Thanksgiving Dinner menu online for Thanksgiving 2021. For dinner on Thanksgiving the ship's dining room will serve a special menu that has a mix of some special items for Thanksgiving and regular Carnival Cruise menu favorites. 

Carnival Cruise 2021 Thanksgiving Dining Room Dinner Menu
Below is a list of the items that are planned on Carnival's Thanksgiving Dinner dining room menu. I have excluded food item descriptions for the sake of space, but if you scroll down you can view a link to John Heald's Facebook post for the full menu (including descriptions). 
Appetizers
Cold
Shrimp Cocktail
Tuna Poke
Carpaccio Figs and Mozzarella 
​
Hot
Pumpkin Leek Bisque
Seafood Gumbo
Sticky Wings
Stuffed Shells

Salad
Field Greens
Tomato Salad
​Caesar Salad


Main Courses
Seafood
Grilled Creole Shrimp
Roasted Bass

Meat
Slow Roasted Tom Turkey
Pan Seared Steak
Smoked Pork Loin

Vegetarian
Pappardelle
Cashew Cheese Korma and Baby Eggplant


Desserts
Melting Chocolate Cake
Roasted Pumpkin Pie
Slow Stewed Plums
Classic Pecan Pie

Steakhouse Selections
​Carnival's menu states a surcharge of $20 applies per entree. 
Broiled Lobster Tail
Surf & Turf
Broiled Filet Mingion
​New York Strip Loin Steak

If you would like to view the actual menu and each food item's description I recommend you check out the embedded post below that is by John Heald on Facebook. Clicking into this post will take you away from RyG's Cruise Guide to John Heald's Facebook page. The menu items listed above were taken directly off this photo of the menu that was posted, but you can get better information on the food descriptions by looking at this post:

Carnival Cruise 2021 Thanksgiving Activities
Carnival's website shows a few Thanksgiving themed activities and events will be taking place onboard the ship for the 2021 Thanksgiving cruises. The following activities are scheduled to take place on the Carnival ships sailing this Thanksgiving:

• Turkey Trot
• Thanksgiving Trivia
• Gratitude Box
• Thanksgiving Day NFL Football
• Turkey Hunt
• Thanksgiving Dinner

If you are cruising during Thanksgiving, have a great cruise and enjoy the food! Please note, I am not responsible for any changes that may occur to the menu or planned Thanksgiving activites as I am simply re-posting information Carnival released. Check with Carnival for the latest information!

       Carnival Cruise Line has released the 2021 Christmas decoration schedules for the ships that will be sailing this year. On the day the ship is decorated for Christmas, the atrium and other public areas of the ship are decorated with Christmas and holiday decorations. This schedule includes the dates Carnival Cruise Line has planned to decorate each ship with Christmas and holiday decorations. 
        Below is the 2021 Christmas Decoration Schedule by Carnival ship:  ​