The Carnival Jubilee made its first call at Celebration Key on September 22, 2026, marking the start of the ship's new Bahamas program sailing from Galveston.

The 2023-built Excel-class ship is operating an eight-night itinerary that pairs the company's private destination on Grand Bahama with calls in Nassau and RelaxAway, Half Moon Cay. That rotation alternates with six-night Western Caribbean cruises as part of a schedule Carnival began deploying this month.

Brand Ambassador John Heald said the ship's officers marked the maiden call, with Captain Andrea Catalani joined on the bridge by fellow officers and Bahamian pilots.

For sellers of travel, the change puts Celebration Key — Carnival's purpose-built private port — within reach of Galveston-based guests on a regular rotation, extending the destination's footprint beyond its original homeport markets. Eight-night Bahamas itineraries from Texas represent a longer, higher-priced product than the short Mexico runs that have traditionally dominated the Gulf Coast drive market.

More capacity is coming. Carnival recently confirmed that the Carnival Tropicale, currently under construction at Meyer Werft in Germany, will sail to the Bahamas from Galveston during its maiden season. The 183,900-ton Excel-class ship begins operations in April 2028 with a series of four- to eight-night cruises from the Gulf Coast homeport, with longer sailings calling at Celebration Key, RelaxAway, Half Moon Cay and Nassau.

The Tropicale's arrival triggers a broader reshuffle of Carnival's Texas deployment. Taking over the weeklong cruises from Galveston, the newbuild frees the Jubilee to operate short cruises from Texas for the first time. The ship will run a mix of four- to eight-night sailings to Mexico and the Western Caribbean, visiting destinations including Isla Tropicale and Progreso.

The sequencing signals Carnival's intent to anchor its newest hardware around its owned Bahamian destinations, driving guests — and onboard spend — toward Celebration Key and Half Moon Cay rather than third-party ports. For agents, the 2028 shift will create two distinct Galveston products to sell: the Tropicale on weeklong Bahamas-heavy itineraries and the Jubilee on shorter Mexico runs, broadening price points in a drive market Carnival has built around year-round Gulf Coast operations.