What's old is new again as Carnival Cruise Line is bringing back the name of its first ship for the XL-class ship coming to Port Canaveral, Fla.: Carnival Mardi Gras.
The cruise line made the announcement during an episode of "Wheel of Fortune" on Wednesday night using the game show's signature puzzle board at the end of the broadcast for the reveal.
The first Carnival ship was the 27,000-ton TSS Mardi Gras, a converted trans-Atlantic ocean liner that was put into service in 1972.
"Our first ship Mardi Gras was a historic vessel, introducing a brand new style of cruising to the vacationing public," said Carnival Cruise Line President Christine Duffy. "What better way to pay tribute to our company's nearly 50-year history of creating wonderful vacation memories than by naming this groundbreaking vessel after our original and beloved 'Fun Ship.' "
The new Carnival Mardi Gras will be more than six times the size, a 180,000-gross-ton, 1,130-foot-long vessel with a 6,500-passenger capacity. The ship's first steel was cut in mid-November at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Turku, Finland.
It's slated for delivery in mid-2020 when it will then make Port Canaveral its first home. The ship is also to be powered by liquefied natural gas, and will be the first such cruise ship to be based in North America when it debuts.
Where the ship will be sailing will be revealed in January. Its home base will be a revamped Terminal 3 at Port Canaveral.
"The new Mardi Gras will follow the trailblazing lead of her predecessor, introducing features and technological innovations that have never been seen before on a cruise ship while setting a new standard for seagoing vacations," Duffy said.
The new vessel will have around 2,600 staterooms, which far exceeds the cruise line's largest ships in the current fleet, Carnival Vista, Horizon and next year's Panorama. Horizon, which debuted this year, has 1,980 staterooms.
A second XL-class ship will begin construction in 2020 to be finished in 2022.
