ROLLER-COASTER TO GIVE MEGA-SHIP ‘BOLT’ OF FUN
Carnival Cruise Line to revive 1970s Mardi Gras name for the first of its gigantic XL Class vessels
There are exciting things happening at Carnival Cruise Line.
The line has already announced major refit projects for Carnival Triumph and Carnival Victory, which will effectively be transformed into brand new ships and renamed Carnival Sunrise and Carnival Radiance.
The all-new Carnival Panorama, meanwhile, is set to debut in December 2019 on the West Coast.
And Carnival is throwing things back to the past while looking ahead to the future with an entirely new class of ship due to debut in 2020.
Dubbed the XL Class, this new vessel will be larger than Carnival’s existing ships.
It will also have the distinction of being the first ship in the Carnival fleet to be powered by Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and traditional marine diesel fuel oil, making it substantially more eco-friendly than older vessels.
Throwing things back to the past, this new mega-wonder will be named Mardi Gras.
Longtime cruisers will remember Carnival’s first Mardi Gras, which entered service in 1961 as Canadian Pacific’s Empress of Canada. Carnival acquired the ship and renamed it Mardi Gras in 1972.
It was Carnival’s first ship and was instrumental in the line’s success.
That signifies how important the new 2020 Mardi Gras is to Carnival, which has even dropped the prefix Carnival found on all the other ships in the line’s fleet.
The new Mardi Gras will be a very special ship, unlike anything else at sea, and Carnival is pulling out all the stops to ensure that is exactly the case.
Mardi Gras will unveil an entirely new livery for Carnival.
Its hull will be painted royal blue, and its bow name will replicate the original font used aboard the Mardi Gras back in ’72. With a red “cheat line” running from the bow down to the stern like a wave and with its superstructure topped with the line’s signature “whale tail” funnel, Mardi Gras will be unmistakably Carnival.
It will also boast a rather unique feature: the world’s first roller-coaster at sea.
Called BOLT: The Ultimate Sea Coaster, it allows two riders in a motorcycle-like contraption to race along a track that swoops 187 feet above sea level, around the ship’s funnel and pool deck, for some unparalleled views of the ocean.
Designed by Mauer Rides of Munich, Germany, the electrically powered coaster will reach speeds of nearly 65 kilometres per hour.
“Mardi Gras will be our most innovative ship ever with some truly special features and attractions,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. “BOLT will continue the tradition of Carnival providing exciting new ways for our guests to ‘Choose Fun’ (a Carnival slogan). We are so thrilled to introduce this one-of-a-kind, game-changing, exhilarating attraction. Our guests are going to love it.”
Carnival is still teasing the other upcoming features of the all-new Mardi Gras out as time goes by, but it is already clear with the ship’s name, livery and unique on-board attractions that the line went back to square one on this one, which is mighty impressive considering that the line’s latest vessels, Carnival Horizon and Carnival Vista, have been real winners in my eyes.
They offer up all the Carnival “FunShip” whimsy that frequent guests of the line have come to know and love while still doing so in a modern and forwardthinking way.
Mardi Gras will make its home in Port Canaveral (Orlando) when it launches. But expect to hear more reveals about this fascinating new ship as we march steadily toward its 2020 launch date.
And, of course, get ready for plenty of FunShip fun. Happy cruising.
Visit portsandbows.com, sponsored by Expedia CruiseShipCenters, 1-800707-7327, cruiseshipcenters.com, for daily updates on the latest cruise news, best deals and behind-thescenes stories from the industry. You can also sign up for an email newsletter on the site for even more cruise information. Aaron Saunders may be contacted directly at portsandbowsaaron@gmail.com.