Carnival Cruise Line’s LNG-powered Mardi Gras has finally arrived in Port Canaveral, Florida from Europe following a long wait due to an extended pause in cruise operations from US ports.
The ship departed from Barcelona on May 21 and it docked at Port Canaveral’s Cruise Terminal 3, built specifically for this vessel, on June 4, Carnival said in a statement.
“Mardi Gras has been five years in the making and today’s arrival is a historic milestone for our company not to mention a truly emotional moment for everyone here at Carnival Cruise Line,” Carnival president Christine Duffy, said.
“And as we look forward to our restart in guest operations, Mardi Gras’ arrival is symbolic of the excitement and anticipation we have about the future at Carnival Cruise Line,” Duffy said.
The 340 meters long LNG-powered cruise vessel will sail year-round from Port Canaveral, offering seven-day itineraries to the eastern and western Caribbean.
Carnival took delivery of this newbuild at Finland’s Meyer Turku in December after the vessel bunkered LNG in Rotterdam, and then sailed to Barcelona.
However, Carnival delayed the vessel’s debut several times due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and the extended pause in cruise operations from US ports.
The vessel will receive LNG from the Shell-chartered Q-LNG 4000 which arrived in the Florida cruise port earlier this year.