Carnival’s Mardi Gras continues to make maiden port visits, and during its second voyage in service, the new ship visited Costa Maya in Mexico for the first-ever time. It comes when Carnival Cruise Line has already resumed operations with six ships so far, with more on the way.
Mardi Gras Makes Inaugural Call in Costa Maya
The new Carnival cruise ship visited the Mexican cruise port on August 10 as part of its seven-day western Caribbean cruise, which departed the homeport of Port Canaveral in Florida on August 7.
Mardi Gras had an arrival time of approximately 7:00 AM and spent most of the day docked at the cruise port in Costa Maya, located on Mexico’s eastern Yucatan coast south of Cozumel island.
The ship’s leadership team joined local officials for a plaque exchange ceremony to mark the first-ever arrival of the Mardi Gras.
“We are delighted to begin our Mardi Gras sailings and offer guests an opportunity to experience all of the beauty of Costa Maya while providing a much-needed boost to the local economy,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. “The restart of cruising in Costa Maya has such a wide-reaching impact, and it is so special to have our flagship call on this port. On behalf of Carnival, I would like to personally thank our partners at Costa Maya for their hospitality in welcoming our guests.”
Carnival’s most innovative ship departed the port at approximately 5:00 PM to continue with the voyage. During the cruise, the ship has already made an inaugural call in Cozumel on August 9. It will make another first-time visit at Mahogany Bay on island Roatan, in Honduras, on August 11. Mardi Gras will then have two full days at sea before returning to Florida on Saturday, August 14.
The new vessel became the fifth in the fleet to begin sailings since suspensions first started in March 2020. She also became the first to begin sailing out of Port Canaveral. There is a huge focus on Mardi Gras as she doesn’t just have impressive features such as the first roller coaster at sea, but also an environmental side. Mardi Gras is fully powered by Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and the first in the fleet to be using the new friendly fuel.
Mardi Gras first started sailings on July 31, 2021, and the ship is 180,800 gross tons with a guest capacity of 5,282 at double occupancy. However, the vessel is not sailing at full capacity and there are protocols in place to make sure everyone on board remains safe.
