The celebrations on the inaugural voyage for Carnival Cruise Line’s newbuild Mardi Gras continued on Thursday, October 28, in Amber Cove (Dominicana) as the Godmother and Miss Universe, Dominican Republic, Kimberly Jimenez welcomed the liner to her home country.
In conjunction with the visit, Carnival's President Christine Duffy presented a US$25,000 donation to Ninos de Cristo home for girls in La Romana, a special cause for Kimberly.
Carnival Mardi Gras was officially christened during the “Universe of Fun” celebration on October 23 in Port Canaveral (Orlando, Florida). The celebration marked the first cruise ship naming ceremony held in the United States since the industry’s restart during the 2021 summer. Godmother Kimberly Jimenez blessed the new ship in both English and Spanish and then activated the traditional champagne bottle break.
Like most large-sized newbuilds, the new Carnival ship Mardi Gras is LNG-powered, with 4x Caterpillar Marine LNG engines (model MaK 16M-46DF) generating a combined output of 57,2 MW. The propulsion system is based on two Azimuting thrusters with a combined power output of 37 MW. The ship has 3x LNG tanks (cryogenic steel) with a total capacity of ~3200 m3. Two of the tanks are larger (length 35 m / 115 ft, diameter 8 m / 26 ft, gas capacity 1525 m3), while the 3rd tank has a length of 28 m (92 ft), a diameter of 5 m (16 ft), and gas capacity 520 m3. The ship's bunkering takes ~8 hours and her LNG capacity is enough for ~14 days of operation (navigation and onboard electricity production).
The shipbuilding order (Meyer Turku yard number/hull 1396) was placed on September 6, 2016. On November 15, 2018, was held the steel-cutting ceremony, which officially started the vessel's construction by the shipbuilder Meyer Werft (Turku Shipyard, Finland). The keel-laying ceremony was on June 18, 2019. The ship was launched (floated out from drydock) on January 24, 2020, and scheduled for delivery in October.
Carnival's Mardi Gras ship is sailing year-round from Orlando (Florida) offering 7-day itineraries to the eastern/western Caribbean and visits to the Dominican Republic every other week.