Carnival Mardi Gras cruise ship launch delayed two and a half months to November 2020
Carnival Cruise Lines’ newest ship set to debut next year won’t be launching on time, the company announced Friday.
Instead, the 5,282-passenger Mardi Gras will launch on Nov. 14, 2020, two and a half months later than scheduled. Carnival did not provide a reason for the delay, But it did cancel the ship’s first eight scheduled sailings from Europe, New York and Port Canaveral.
Currently under construction at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland, the Mardi Gras is the company’s largest ship ever built and the first in its new XL-class. It will be the first cruise ship powered by liquefied natural gas to sail in North America and will feature the industry’s first roller coaster on a cruise ship.
Carnival began selling tickets for the ship in January. The company is providing passengers booked on the eight canceled cruises a full refund plus a 25% credit to use on a future cruise. Passengers who re-book a cruise with Carnival before Feb. 18, 2020 will receive a $100 credit. The ship’s first sailing will now take place from Port Canaveral.
“We have been working closely with Meyer Turku executives to keep the Mardi Gras delivery on schedule, and while we deeply regret disappointing our guests, this change in the delivery date is required to make sure all of the ship’s systems, features and technology will be fully operational, so that we can give our guests the vacation they expect,” said Ben Clement, Carnival Cruise Line’s senior vice president of new ships, in a statement.
The Mardi Gras is named after the company’s first cruise ship, which launched from Miami in 1972 only to get stuck on a sandbar in Government Cut just 20 minutes into its maiden voyage. It stayed stranded there for 28 hours until tugboats successfully dragged it stern-first out to sea.
A second Carnival XL ship is already under construction, also at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland, and will be delivered in 2022.
