Carnival bought their first cruise ship Mardi Gras in the 1970’s, nearly 50 years ago, and registered her under the Panama flag, now the new Mardi Gras will keep the tradition of flying the Panama flag.
In a ceremony at the Meyer Turku shipyard, The Mardi Gras, left the dry dock to be positioned in the water en-route to her new location to finalize its interior and exterior outfitting.
With a capacity for 5,282 passengers, Mardi Gras marks a milestone for both Carnival and the Panama Registry. Carnival has a total of 20 Cruise Line vessels registered in Panama, including Mardi Gras.
Mardi Gras is an Excellence-class cruise and she will be the first representative of Carnival's XL class, a subclass of Excellence class.
She will also be the first Carnival ship, powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG) thanks to a considerable investment in infrastructure made by Port Canaveral, her home port. The cruise ship will be able to be refueled by a new LNG bunkering barge, the Q-LNG 4000.
Mardi Gras will be the first cruise vessel to offer a roller coaster for entertainment. The Bolt, the first roller coaster at sea, will be installed in the coming weeks as part of the Ultimate Playground outdoor recreation area.
The 2,600-cabin ship is scheduled to be delivered in late October, with cruise scheduling starting on November 14th.
The Panama-flagged cruise ship vessel will sail all year-round, offering seven-day cruises to the Caribbean and the Bahamas, from her home port in Port Canaveral, Fla.