ONBOARD THE CARNIVAL JUBILEE -- Bronze octopus tentacles cling to the columns of a bar as a shark swims by one of six large LED "windows" above, seemingly on the hunt for food. It suddenly swims away, passing through the other windows, wandering off as people in the hallway or on a balcony stop to watch.
This was a common scene in the Currents Zone, an area that's making its debut on Carnival Cruise Line's latest Excel-class ship, the Carnival Jubilee.
The Jubilee might be the third vessel in the class, but it is the first new ship from any cruise line to homeport in Galveston, Texas.
I sailed on the Jubilee in late February on a Western Caribbean itinerary after the ship's naming ceremony in the Lone Star State, which was made complete by a professional roper, custom-made cowboy boots with Carnival's colors and Grammy-winning singer Gwen Stefani pulling a rope lassoed to a lever triggering the Champagne bottle to crash against the ship's bow.
"Texas is her forever home," Carnival Cruise Line president Christine Duffy said at the event. "Get ready, because we're fixing to be here a long, long time."
Lighting and LED screens help give the Jubilee's Currents Zone an underwater feel. Photo Credit: Andrea Zelinski
The ship is set to homeport in Galveston indefinitely. As if to make that clear, the Jubilee is adorned with an embossed metal Texas star at the bow, the permanence of which speaks volumes about the line's dedication to the market, some guests from Texas said.
"Texas people are going to want to come because they love Texas," said Mary Miller, a passenger from Houston. "They're giving us the honor that we feel we deserve."
Galveston, located on the Gulf Coast, is the fourth-largest cruise port in the U.S. but generally garners less attention than cruise ports in Florida. The port is gaining traction, however, as it undergoes a series of renovation projects, including a $53 million upgrade to Terminal 25, where the Jubilee is based.
New on the Jubilee
The Jubilee is similar to its sister ships, the Carnival Celebration and the Mardi Gras, with nearly all of the same features, like the Bolt roller coaster and restaurants Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse and Shaquille O'Neal's Big Chicken.
The transformative new Currents Zone and the bars around it are the most significant difference between the Jubilee and its siblings.
On the Celebration, the zone is called the Gateway and features static images of destinations in tall digital windows that change with the ship's location. The Latitudes bar celebrates travel, while the Golden Jubilee bar pays tribute to Carnival's history. On the Mardi Gras, it's the French Quarter zone, featuring the New Orleans-themed bars the Fortune Teller and Brass Magnolia.
On the Jubilee, the underwater vibe is strong in Currents. The zone is a walk-through area with theater lights and sounds giving it a below-the-surface feel. The LED windows are the main feature and change periodically, showing orcas swimming in arctic waters, alligators roaming swamps or a happy seal waving and smiling.
Children can also create their own fish that will swim on the screens, and these can be drawn from scratch or personalized from presets that include sea horses, octopuses and fish with various types of fins and colors.
Three beverages from The Golden Mermaid on the Carnival Jubilee: the Bombay Sapphire gin-based Pearly Bubble, the Stoli Vanil vodka-based Golden Grace and the Pama pomegranate liqueur-based Ruby Rapture. Photo Credit: Andrea Zelinski
By night, Currents transforms into a music venue with lights and colors that pulse with the tunes. While not quite a dance club vibe, it becomes a place to sing along to songs or sip drinks while taking in the changing lights and thumping beat.
Dr. Inks, with the octopus tentacles, is the main bar from where people can watch the ever-changing underwater scenes. Nearby is the upscale Golden Mermaid bar clad in golden hues. Both specialize in drinks with smoke bubbles, which tracks with the underwater theme. On occasion, I saw bartenders do tricks, such as stretching one smoke bubble over two cocktails.
Being in an interior area of the ship, the theme and screens morph the space from realistic scenes to imaginary ones, making for a unique ambience, day or night.