Carnival’s Latest New Build

Photo Credit: Venuelust

Carnival Cruise Line is taking a dip into the past to name its new supersized ship when it debuts in 2020.  The new XL-class ship will be called “Mardi Gras”, a throwback of the company’s first ship, a 27,000-ton vessel that entered service in 1972.  At 180,000 tons, the new Mardi Gras will be more than six times the size of its namesake.

Carnival Cruise Line is taking a dip into the past to name its new supersized ship when it debuts in 2020.  The new XL-class ship will be called “Mardi Gras”, a throwback of the company’s first ship, a 27,000-ton vessel that entered service in 1972.  At 180,000 tons, the new Mardi Gras will be more than six times the size of its namesake.

Mardi Gras will be the largest Carnival Cruise Line ship ever constructed and the first in North America to be powered by Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), part of Carnival Corporation’s green cruising platform.

The 1,130-foot-long ship will have room for up to 6,500-passengers and will offer a variety of never-before-seen innovations, like being the first ship ever with an onboard rollercoaster!

Despite its name, the ship will not be sailing out of  New Orleans, but out of Port Canaveral, Florida. The port is making major investments and  is building a new two-story, 185,000-square-foot terminal and an 1,800-car parking garage to accommodate Carnival Mardi Gras. The new terminal will be complete in 2020.

Carnival said a sister ship will begin construction in 2020 and be delivered in 2022 to mark the 50th anniversary of Carnival Cruise Line’s founding.