Carnival Cruise Line has released a new video that details how two of its vessels are powered by Liquified Natural Gas (LNG). The groundbreaking eco-friendly fuel is a growing trend for new cruise ships, including the new Mardi Gras and Carnival Celebration.
Carnival’s LNG Future
It’s Earth Day, so Carnival Cruise Line has released a new video showcasing what LNG is all about and how it fuels two of its cruise ships. The new Mardi Gras is the first Excel-class in the fleet, and once she does finally begin cruises later in the year, she will be powered by eco-friendly fuel. The same goes for the sister ship Carnival Celebration which joins the fleet in 2022.
In total, parent company Carnival Corporation has nine Excel-class cruise ships in operation or coming very soon including from AIDA Cruises, Costa Cruises, Princess Cruises and P&O Cruises.
The cruise line has worked closely with the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland, its energy partner Shell, and homeports the two ships will be sailing from. In fact, Carnival is the first cruise line to bring LNG to North America.
Carnival Cruise Line Releases LNG Video
The new video released by the Miami-based cruise line explains what LNG is all about and how it’s used to fuel cruise ships. It goes technical and covers engine designs, LNG propulsion, special systems, and more. You can watch it in full below:
The cruise line is moving forward with the new LNG fuel and it’s part of Carnival’s environmental efforts to reduce its footprint. The cruise line’s efforts also include reducing single-use plastics across the fleet, new initiatives, recycling, waste and many more systems to help reduce the impact on the environment.
The Ports Stand Ready
Port Canaveral in Florida has already said that it’s ready for when Mardi Gras begins sailing from the new Terminal 3 facility in July 2021. Cruise Hive recently reported on the new state-of-the-art QLNG 4000 fuel barge that recently arrived at the port ready for refueling the mega-ship.
Related: Port Canaveral is Ready for Carnival’s New LNG Cruise Ship
LNG will be loaded from a Shell fuel distribution facility on Elba Island in Georgia. This will occur after each refueling operation, and the barge has the capacity for two cruise ships at a time.
PortMiami is currently constructing its new terminal facility to cater to the new LNG generation of ships. Once completed, the port will have the ability for LNG refueling ready for when Carnival Celebration begins its sailing towards the end of 2022.
Carnival’s Two New Mega Ships
The new LNG fuel is possible thanks to the new innovative Excel-class cruise ships. The first of these vessels is named Mardi Gras and she’s currently remained on hold due to the suspension of operations in the U.S.
Worth Reading: Carnival’s Mardi Gras Cruise Ship Delayed Into July
The ship is in Barcelona, Spain at the moment but will soon cross the Atlantic to her new homeport of Port Canaveral. Currently, Mardi Gras’ maiden voyage will depart on July 3, 2021. However, this could change if Carnival Cruise Line decides to cancel more cruises through July.
Grand Celebration is currently under construction at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland and will debut out of PortMiami on November 27, 2021. Before that, the LNG-powered cruise ship will set off on her maiden voyage out of Southampton across the Atlantic on November 6, 2022.
Both Carnival cruise ships are just over 180,000 gross tons with a guest capacity of 5,374 at double occupancy.
