Why Carnival's giant new cruise ship is a game-changer for the line
It'll be a Carnival Cruise Line ship like no Carnival Cruise Line ship you've ever seen.
Scheduled to sail with paying passengers for the first time on Saturday, Carnival's much-awaited, 15-deck-high Mardi Gras will break new ground for the brand -- and the entire cruise industry -- in more ways than one.
For starters, it'll be by far the biggest ship ever to operate for Carnival, the world's second-biggest cruise line -- and not just by a little bit.
At 181,808 tons, Mardi Gras is nearly 35% bigger than the biggest Carnival ship currently afloat, the 19-month-old Carnival Panorama.
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It'll also hold more passengers than almost any other ship at sea -- up to 6,630. That's just a tad below the 6,780 passengers that can fit on Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas, which currently holds the record for passenger vessel capacity.
Mardi Gras is one of the 10 biggest cruise ships ever built, though not quite as large as Allure of the Seas or Royal Caribbean's three other Oasis Class vessels, which still are the size leaders.
But it's not just Mardi Gras' enormous size that is notable. It's what Carnival is doing with all the extra space on the vessel.
Perhaps most notably, the line has adorned the extra-wide top of Mardi Gras with the first roller coaster at sea -- and no, this is not a joke.
Dubbed BOLT: Ultimate Sea Coaster, it won’t be the longest or fastest roller coaster in the world. Its track is just 800 feet long, and it’ll reach speeds of just 40 miles per hour — give or take. But it's the sort of once-unthinkable-for-a-cruise ship attraction that Carnival rivals such as Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line have been adding atop their bigger ships in recent years with much success (cruise fans seem to love over-the-top attractions on ships).
Mardi Gras also will have Carnival’s largest waterpark ever -- along with the roller coaster, a nod to the growing number of cruise fans looking for a "megaresort at sea" experience.
Other standout features will include a far broader array of suites than earlier Carnival ships and new dining venues such as the first Emeril Lagasse restaurant at sea.
In addition, Mardi Gras also will be notable as the first ship from a North America-based cruise line designed to operate on liquid natural gas. The fuel is touted as being cleaner than traditional ship fuel.
Related: The four new giants of the cruise world
The development of a ship on the scale of Mardi Gras is a big deal for Carnival. The line until now has resisted the trend among major brands to build ever-bigger vessels that offer a super-sized megaresort-at-sea experience. Carnival's last new vessel, Carnival Panorama, didn't even crack the top 40 list of biggest ships.
But Carnival now isn't just reversing course on a long-held "bigger isn't necessarily better" philosophy when it comes to new ships. It's entering the Big Ship Wars with a splash that says it's ready to play at the very highest level in the megaresort-at-sea space.
In short, it's a whole new Carnival Cruise Line.
The ship's name -- Mardi Gras -- is a signal as to how much Carnival sees the ship as a new chapter in its nearly 50-year history. Mardi Gras is named after Carnival’s first ship, which sailed for the line from 1972 to 1993.
Mardi Gras originally was scheduled to debut in August of 2020, but its unveiling date was pushed back several times due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The vessel is scheduled to sail six- to eight-day voyages to the Bahamas and Caribbean out of Port Canaveral, Florida. Fares start at $479 per person, not including taxes and fees.
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- Earn bonus Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) and an Medallion Qualifying Dollar (MQD) waiver when you hit specific spending thresholds with your card within a calendar year
- Receive a Domestic Main Cabin round-trip companion certificate each year
- Statement credit for TSA PreCheck/Global Entry fee (up to $100)
- First checked bag free
Cons
- Doesn't make sense if you don't fly Delta
- SkyMiles aren't the most valuable airline currency
- Earn 90,000 bonus miles after you spend $4,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months.
- Receive a Domestic Main Cabin round-trip companion certificate each year upon renewal of your Card. Payment of the government imposed taxes and fees of no more than $80 for roundtrip domestic flights (for itineraries with up to four flight segments) is required. Baggage charges and other restrictions apply. See terms and conditions for details.
- Enjoy your first checked bag free on Delta flights. Plus enjoy Main Cabin 1 Priority Boarding and settle into your seat sooner.
- New: Card Members get 15% off when using miles to book Award Travel on Delta flights through delta.com and the Fly Delta app. Discount not applicable to partner-operated flights or to taxes and fees.
- Earn 3X Miles on Delta purchases and purchases made directly with hotels.
- Earn 2X Miles at restaurants worldwide including takeout and delivery in the U.S., and at U.S. supermarkets.
- Earn 1X Mile on all other eligible purchases.
- Enjoy a per-visit rate of $50 per person for Card Members and up to two guests to enter the Delta Sky Club when traveling on a Delta flight.
- Fee Credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® after you apply through any Authorized Enrollment Provider. If approved for Global Entry, at no additional charge, you will receive access to TSA PreCheck.
- Earn up to 20,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) with Status Boost® per year. After you spend $25,000 in purchases on your Card in a calendar year, you can earn 10,000 MQMs up to two times per year, getting you closer to Medallion® Status. MQMs are used to determine Medallion® Status and are different than miles you earn toward flights.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- $250 Annual Fee.
- Terms Apply.
- See Rates & Fees