Carnival Cruise Line Pushes Back Debut of New Ship Mardi Gras

Carnival Cruise Line announced today that the debut of its newest ship, Mardi Gras, will be pushed back until Nov. 14, 2020 after the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland informed the cruise line “that the delivery will be delayed.”

Carnival will now take delivery of the ship in late October with its opening sailings, which were scheduled to start on Aug. 31, 2020, pushed back by more than a month. Because of the new schedule, the first eight sailings have been cancelled, including European, transatlantic and New York-based itineraries and four Port Canaveral itineraries.

Carnival is offering these guests booked on those sailings a 25% future cruise credit (FCC), in addition to the full refund of their cruise fare (and applicable fees and taxes and other pre-purchased cruise components), as well as assistance with non-refundable airline and hotel reservations already booked. If guests rebook their cruise vacation using their 25% FCC by Feb. 18, 2020, they will be credited with an additional $100 per person onboard credit for that cruise.

Carnival said it “has also communicated guidelines to travel advisors regarding commission protection.”

“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. Our commitment is to deliver a great and innovative ship, and Mardi Gras will definitely be that when it arrives in North America,” said Ben Clement, Carnival Cruise Line’s senior vice president of newbuild.

Mardi Gras is set to boast the first-ever roller coaster at sea, BOLT, WaterWorks aqua park, and the longest suspended ropes course at sea as part of its Ultimate Playground. Mardi Gras will feature a cruise ship edition of Family Feud Live, will have more suites than any other Carnival ship in the fleet at more than 180 different options, and will feature a brand new restaurant from Emeril Lagasse. It’s one of a number of ships set to shake up the cruise industry in 2020.