One of the world's biggest cruise ships has been delayed by the coronavirus — again
You'll have to wait until April to ride a roller coaster on a cruise ship.
Citing the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Carnival Cruise Line on Thursday pushed back the debut of its much-anticipated, 180,000-ton Mardi Gras -- a ship so big it'll famously have room for a roller coaster on its top deck -- to April 24.
Currently being built at a shipyard in Turku, Finland, the 15-deck-high vessel originally was scheduled to debut in August of this year. But its arrival already had been delayed twice, and it was most recently scheduled to debut on Feb. 6, 2021.
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“We apologize to our guests, but we must continue to take a thoughtful, deliberate and measured approach as we map out our return to operations in 2021,” Carnival president Christine Duffy said in a statement accompanying Thursday's announcement. “Our commitment to the health and safety of our guests, crew and the communities we visit is at the forefront of our decisions and operations.”
A dozen departures of Mardi Gras that had been scheduled from Feb. 6 to April 17 have been canceled.
Despite the delay, Carnival said it would go ahead with plans to take delivery of Mardi Gras from the Meyer Turku shipyard in Turku, Finland, later this month. The ship is nearing completion.
Related: The best credit cards for booking cruises
Mardi Gras is the first of a new series of bigger Carnival ships designed to take the line’s “fun ship” shtick to a new level. In addition to a roller coaster -- a cruise industry first -- it’ll also have a far broader array of suites than earlier Carnival vessels and new dining venues such as the first Emeril Lagasse restaurant at sea.
Mardi Gras also will be notable as the first ship from a North America-based 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 -- and how to book them
At around 180,000 tons, Mardi Gras will be nearly 35% bigger than Carnival’s recently unveiled Carnival Panorama and one of the biggest ships from any line. Depending on its final measurements, it'll either rank seventh, eighth or ninth among the biggest cruise ships ever built.
Mardi Gras is designed to hold up to 6,630 passengers per sailing with every berth filled.
Carnival on Thursday also announced that it had canceled all remaining sailings on its schedule through the end of February. The line in November canceled most of its sailings through the end of February but kept a few voyages out of Miami, Port Canaveral and Galveston, Texas, on its schedule.
Carnival now has no voyages scheduled until March.
When it debuts in April, Mardi Gras will sail out of Port Canaveral, as planned.
Carnival is just the latest line to push back the arrival of a new ship due to coronavirus pandemic-related delays at shipyards. Princess Cruises, Crystal Cruises and Royal Caribbean also have significantly delayed the arrival of new vessels in recent months.
Carnival hasn’t said how many customers are affected by its new cruise cancellations, but the number could be in the tens of thousands or more.
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| 3X | Earn 3X Miles on Delta purchases and purchases made directly with hotels. |
| 2X | Earn 2X Miles at restaurants worldwide, including takeout and delivery in the U.S. and at U.S. supermarkets. |
| 1X | Earn 1X Miles on all other eligible purchases. |
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Earn 90,000 bonus miles after you spend $4,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months.Earn 90,000 Bonus Miles50,000 Bonus MilesAnnual Fee
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Why We Chose It
Build your loyalty to Delta by applying for the carrier's mid-tier card option, the Delta SkyMiles Platinum card. The annual fee is quickly recouped by the card's travel perks, such as an application credit to Global Entry or TSA Precheck, annual companion certificate and so much more. Plus you can fast-track to elite status simply through card spend.Pros
- 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