Carnival Cruise: Mardi Grad debut delayed
Carnival Cruise Line has delayed the debut of Mardi Gras until 2021. Set to become the first LNG-powered ship to operate in the western hemisphere, itineraries had been planned from November 14th. However, guests will not now board until February 6th next year, when the ship sails from Port Canaveral, Florida.
The cruise line blamed the delay on Covid-19, which forced construction on the vessel to be halted.
At the same time, the company said Carnival Radiance’s $200 million dry dock overhaul in Cadiz, Spain, will not now be completed until next spring. As a result of the delayed arrival of Carnival Radiance, Carnival Breeze will be redeployed from Fort Lauderdale to Port Canaveral and will assume the itineraries for Carnival Radiance from November 8th to April 24th next year.
Consequently, guests on 18 Carnival Breeze sailings from Fort Lauderdale scheduled to operate from November 7th are being notified that their cruises have been cancelled. Finally, Carnival Magic’s transatlantic and European itineraries from March 13th to May 3rd next year have been cancelled.
“We continue to assess the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on global commerce, public health and our cruise operations. “In addition to our current pause in service, there have been many other unintended consequences, including shipyard, dry dock and ship delivery delays, and related changes to our deployment plans for our fleet,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line.
“While we had hoped to make up construction time on Mardi Gras over the summer, it’s clear we will need extra time to complete this magnificent ship.
“We share our guests’ disappointment and appreciate their patience as we work through this unprecedented time in our business and the lives of so many people. “We remain committed to working with government, public health and industry officials to support the response to the pandemic and to return to operations when the time is right.”
