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CARNIVAL CRUISE LINE
MARDI GRAS PROFILE |
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SUMMARY
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Although frequently referred to as “Carnival Mardi Gras”, this ship's official name is just “Mardi Gras.” As such, the name recalls Carnival's first cruise ship – the ship that revolutionized the cruise industry in the 1970s.
The original Mardi Gras was a small ship, which prior to its acquisition by Carnival had sailed as an ocen liner for the Canadian Pacific Line. The new Mardi Gras bears little resemblance to her predecessor. For one thing, the new Mardi Gras is nearly seven times the size of the old. She entered service in 2021 as the largest cruise ship yet built for Carnival Cruise Line. Naturally, this difference in size means that the new Mardi Gras has many more features than her namesake. Numerous dining and drinking venues include versions of most, if not all, of favorite venues Carnival has developed during the intervening half century. In addition, there are new features, most notably the “Bolt” - a seagoing roller coaster. The public areas are arranged in six themed-zones for ease in navigating this massive ship. Whereas the original Mardi Gras was very much a traditional ship from a nautical point of view, today's Mardi Gras is cutting edge. She was the first U.S.-based cruise ship to be powered by Liquified Natural Gas (“LNG”). This was done in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions compared with older disel-powered ships. In addition, whereas the fiurst ship used propeller shafts, today's ship uses pods. Mardi Gras also ushered in a new livery for Carnival Cruise Line in which the hull of the ship is blue as opposed to the line's traditional white. Although Carnival Cruise Line is often considered to be the flagship brand of Carnival Corporation, it was not the first nor the only brand in the corporation to receive a ship of this class. Thus, Mardi Gras's sister ships include AIDAnova & AIDAcosma (AIDA), Costa Smeralda & Costa Toscano (Costa), Arvia & Iona (P&O Cruises) as well as Carnival Celebration and Carnival Jubilee. |
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ESSENTIAL STATISTICSTONNAGE: 181,808 gross tons
LENGTH: 1,130 feet BEAM: 138 feet DRAFT: 28 feet SPEED: 23 knots POWER PLANT: Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) PROPULSION: 2 pods REGISTRY: Bahamas LINE: Carnival Cruise Line BUILDER: Meyer Turku (Finland) CAPACITY: 5,282 (double occupancy) 6,500 (maximum) CREW: 2.000 ENTERED SERVICE: 2021 |
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Profile and review - Carnival Cruise Line - Mardi Gras