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The Byte Size team recently went on a cruise on the Carnival Jubilee and we had a ton of fun! Regarding the included food, we are going to break it down by each option here. To be clear, when we say "included food" we mean all of the food options that come included in your cruise ship fare and you do not need to pay any extra to participate. Let's get into it!
First up, the Lido Marketplace. This the standard buffet restaurant that is included on any ship in one form or another. The highlight of this buffet was the overall layout of the stations. The seating is all on the outside and the food stations are all on the inside, making it far easier to access each piece of the dining experience. There are also little nooks for eating in smaller spaces scattered around that cuts down on the feeling of a large crowded space. It was crowded at times, but we never had a hard time finding a seat or a peaceful place to eat. The food itself was very good. The one thing we did notice is that there wasn't as much of a selection of food as we have seen on other ships, but the food was delicious.
The next included food option is the main dining room, the Pacific Restaurant. Full disclosure, we did not eat dinner here (we wanted to try each dining option at least once and there was a LOT of ground to cover) however breakfast and lunch were both good. There was nothing that mesmerized us, but overall the food was fine. This was a very typical main dining room experience on a cruise. One of the things we really enjoy about the new Carnival Hub app is that when you are ready to go down to eat, you can go on the app and say you would like to reserve your space in line. The app then will tell you when your table is ready and then you can walk down and get right into the restaurant. This makes the process seamless and you no longer need to wait in line.
Moving on! The next dining option that is included is Guy's Pig and Anchor. For breakfast here they had a basic buffet with good, solid food that never disappointed. For lunch and dinner you'll find all your barbecue favorites here, like smoked pork, brisket, pulled chicken and more. It was overall very good and very similar to Portside Barbecue on Oasis of the Seas. It definitely has more of a lunch vibe vs. a dinner vibe, but that is all personal preference.
Guy's Burger Joint is next on the list of included food options. Here's the thing we will say; if you're going to go to Guy's Burger, it's going to be crowded. The service was fast however and the wait was not long. What we realized was that the long line isn't due to Carnival, it's due to the passengers. All along the wait there are options to choose your meal, but often passengers didn't choose ahead of time and then spent a long time at the counter choosing their food instead of ordering. The burgers we had were great, the fries were great, and overall it was a good experience. Again, this place has more of a lunch vibe as it is really casual but to each his own. We will say this was definitely better than Johnny Rockets and better than American Diner (on NCL).
Next up, let's talk about Big Chicken. We thought the food here was very good and like Guy's Burgers, also very crowded. We went there for lunch on embarkation day and the wait was about 25 minutes. Again, this was a people problem, not a Carnival problem. Passengers would unfortunately wait up until it was their turn to order to make their decision rather than looking at the menu while in line and that is what really held the line up. You can pick a handful of different kinds of sandwiches as well as fried tenders, etc. The chicken was really good and they had a bunch of different sauces to choose from. The fries were also delicious.
Let's talk about these next three all together: Steam Dream, Time Fries, and Mad Sizzle. Steam Fries is a place to get seasoned fries, Steam Dream is bao buns and pot stickers, and Mad Sizzle offers varieties of kababs and other skewered meats. All three of these places are great; you can get different waffle fries every day and they are made fresh. The bao buns we thought were excellent. We had lunch by visiting these places and it was a really fun experience.
Let's talk about the Blue Iguana Cantina. This is right across from the Mad Sizzle. They do breakfast and lunch here (not dinner) and people were raving about the breakfast burrito. For lunch, there are two lines, a taco line and a burrito line, which makes the process seamless. They make the tortilla's fresh and a choice of pork, chicken, or whatever they have out that day. They've got tons of extras, sauces, salsas, and overall a really great fresh lunch.
And we come to Beach Buns. Beach Buns is on deck 6, kind of mid ship, and we love the concept, but the exceution was lacking a bit. They have soup, sandwiches, pretzels, brownies, etc. Overall, the food was okay, but nothing to celebrate. Every time we went there, only one person was working so it was constantly backed up. We love the concept of a deli, but the execution overall wasn't excellent. Right next to Beach Buns is Costal Slice. This is the standard pizza joint on a cruise ship and the pizza is standard pizza. It's fine, especially for a grab and go lunch that is sure to please everyone in the family. For us, MCS has the best pizza on the high seas, and Costal Slice wasn't horrible, it just was cruise ship pizza.
Next up, let's talk about Cucina del Capitano. This restaurant is included in your cruise fare the first time you go there. After the first time, you have to pay a nominal fee. We thought it was really good and we enjoyed the concept. You can either order off the full menu or they will give you a slip of paper where you can order a custom pasta bowl.
The last included restaurant to share is Shebang. Shebang is Mexican and Asian styles of food put together into a single restaurant. When you go in and sit down, you'll get the Asian fried noodles with duck sauce as well as chips and salsa and hot sauce. There is a full menu to order from and lots of options. Like Cucina del Capitano, you can go there one time included in your cruise fare and after that you pay a small fee. The food was really great and the service was excellent.
Overall, we really enjoyed our time on Carnival Jubilee and we thought the food was excellent. We didn't have any bad meals. There were SO many different included food options and some things that we have not had before on a cruise ship. The special dining was amazing and we will do a different post all about that. Have you been on the Jubilee? What was your favorite meal? We would love to hear from you!