Carnival Cruise Line has revealed the largest ever cruise ship for the fleet which is arriving in 2020 will feature the world’s first roller coaster at sea called “Bolt: Ultimate Sea Coaster”.

Carnival Mardi Gras, First Ever Roller Coaster at Sea

Carnival Cruise Line has announced one of the biggest new cruise ship features in years! the Bolt Ultimate Sea Coaster will be featured on the huge Mardi Gras cruise ship when she enters service in 2020.

The heart-pounding coaster at sea is built by Munich based Maurer Riders. The ride offers 800 feet of exhilarating twists, turns and drops and riders will experience speeds of almost 40 miles per hour.

Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line, said:

“Mardi Gras will be our most innovative ship ever with some truly special features and attractions, highlighted by BOLT, the first roller coaster at sea,” said Duffy. “BOLT will continue the tradition of Carnival providing exciting new ways for our guests to ‘Choose Fun.’  We are so thrilled to introduce this one-of-a-kind, game-changing, exhilarating attraction – our guests are going to love it!”

Bolt will be electric powered and it will take two thrill-seeking guests in a motorcycle type cart along a track which is suspended 187 feet above sea level and providing stunning 360-degree ocean views.

It’s going to be just like a land roller coaster with high powered acceleration and guests can also get their photos taken during the ride. This innovative new feature will even take riders around the iconic Carnival funnel and they can choose their own speed during the ride.

Carnival Mardi Gras is currently under construction at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland. The ship will be the largest ever built for the Miami-based cruise line and fully powered by Liquified Natural Gas (LNG). She will be 180,000 gross tons with a passenger capacity of 5,200 at lower birth.

Mardi Gras which takes her name from the very first Carnival cruise ship back in 1972 will be based at a new state-of-the-art cruise terminal at Port Canaveral, Florida.

Keep following Cruise Hive for all the latest on this groundbreaking future Carnival cruise ship arriving in 2020.

Carnival Panorama has been voted as the most anticipated new cruise ship for 2019 in the fifth annual Cruise Hive Cruise Ship Awards. The Vista-class ship received more votes than any other vessel in the category.

Carnival Panorama Receives Most Votes

The Carnival cruise ship has won the 2018 Cruise Ship Awards for the “Most Anticipated New Cruise Ship for 2019” category. Carnival Panorama won by a huge difference and was up against seven other cruise ships from five different cruise lines. In second place came Norwegian Encore from Norwegian Cruise Line and in third place came Spectrom of the Seas from Royal Caribbean.

Carnival Panorama is the third Vista-class cruise ship from Carnival Cruise Line and is currently under construction at the Fincantieri Marghera shipyard in Italy. She will be almost identical to her sister ships Carnival Vista and Carnival Horizon but with some slightly different features.

One of the major highlights of the upcoming ship is the first ever Sky Zone tram[oline park at sea. The new space will span two decks and include a 12-lane trampoline court. You can read all the details about it right here.

The vessel will join the fleet in December 2019 and will be based on the U.S. west coast. The ship will debut from the newly renovated Long Beach terminal in California with a 3-night inaugural sailing to the Mexican Riviera on December 11, 2019. From December 14, 2019, the new ship will begin sailing week-long Mexican Riviera cruises from the Los Angeles port.

Carnival Panorama will be 133,500 gross tons once completed and have a guest capacity of over 3,900 at double occupancy.

Norwegian Encore Comes in Second

Norwegian Encore will be the fourth Breakaway-plus class ship from Norwegian Cruise Line and will continue to bring groundbreaking features and venues to the market. The ship is under construction at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany and will join the fleet in November 2019.

Cruises will begin from Miami, Florida on November 17, 2019, through April 12, 2020. She will sail week-long cruises to the eastern Caribbean. The U.S. is in for a treat with the new largest race track at sea and virtual reality complex.

The ship will be 169,000 gross tons and have a guest capacity of around 4,000 making her the largest NCL ship ever.

Spectrum of the Seas Comes in Third

Spectrum of the Seas which came in third place in the 2018 Cruise Ship Awards is being purpose-built for the Chinese market and will be an evolution to the popular Quantum-class ships. She’s being constructed at the Meyer Werft shipyard which is the same yard as Norwegian Encore we mentioned above.

She will begin cruises from Shanghai, China in June 2019 after an epic 51-night Global Odyssey voyage which starts from Barcelona, Spain. She will be 168,800 gross tons and have a passenger capacity of 4,246.

Full Results

We received thousands of votes from Cruise Hive readers and it has been a great way for everyone to vote and have their view registered in the 2018 Cruise Ship Awards which are now in their fifth year. Here is the full result for most anticipated new cruise ship for 2019 in order:

1. Carnival Panorama (Carnival Cruise Line)
2. Norwegian Encore (Norwegian Cruise Line)
3. Spectrum of the Seas (Royal Caribbean)
4. Sky Princess (Princess Cruises)
5. MSC Bellissima (MSC Cruises)
6. Costa Venezia (Costa Cruises)
7. Costa Smeralda (Costa Cruises)
8. MSC Grandiosa (MSC Cruises)

In 2017 sister ship Carnival Horizon won the category and she has become a popular ship for the cruise line. We must say a huge thank you for Cruise Hive readers who voted in this year’s awards which have been the biggest ever and opened up at the beginning of September 2018.

Just in case you’ve missed everything we’ve already announced then take a look below at the results for this year. Right now we only have one more category to announce so keeping checking Cruise Hive for that.

• Norwegian Bliss Wins Best Cruise Ship Hull Artwork 2018
• Carnival Mardi Gras Voted Most Anticipated Future Cruise Ship
• Carnival Horizon Wins Best New Cruise Ship of 2018
• Mariner of the Seas Wins Best Refurbishment of the Year
• Symphony of the Seas is Best Large Cruise Ship of the Year
• Guy’s Pig & Anchor on Carnival Horizon Wins Best Dining Venue
• Carnival’s SkyRide Wins Best Feature Three Years In a Row!

Carnival’s future new generation cruise ship that will be named Mardi Gras has been voted as the number one most anticipated future cruise ship by Cruise Hive readers. Now we’re excited!

Carnival Mardi Gras Wins!

The Carnival Mardi Gras new generation cruise ship, which construction just recently started on has won this year’s “Most Anticipated Future Cruise Ship” in the 2018 Cruise Ship Awards.

The future mega ship received more votes than five other vessels from five different cruise lines. In second place came Scarlet Lady, which will be the first-ever Virgin Voyages cruise ship, and in third place came the yet-to-be-named first Leonardo-class vessel from Norwegian Cruise Line.

Mardi Gras will be the first fully powered Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) cruise ship for Carnival Cruise Line and will become the largest ever cruise ship to join the fleet. She will arrive in 2020 and is currently in the early stages of construction at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland.

She takes her name from the original Mardi Gras, which was the first ever Carnival cruise ship back in 1972. A new era for the Miami-based cruise line will begin with the new-class mega ship bringing new innovative features to the fleet, including the first-ever roller coaster at sea.

Once completed the Mardi Gras will be a huge 180,000 gross tons and will have a guest capacity of 5,200 at lower birth. She’s going to an extremely popular ship for Carnival Cruise Line and Mardi Gras received way more votes than other future ships in the category. Once in service, she will be sailing Caribbean cruises from the new terminal at Port Canaveral, Florida, and the cruise line will release further details about the specific itinerary and ship features in the future.

Scarlet Lady from Virgin Voyages in Second

The first ever Virgin Voyages cruise ship named Scarlet Lady came in second place as one of the most anticipated future cruise ships. She is currently under construction at the Fincantieri Genoa shipyard in Italy. Once completed the new class vessel will be 110,000 gross tons with a guest capacity of 2,700 and will be for adults only.

The ship will be based out of PortMiami, Florida in 2020 sailing week-long Caribbean cruises with some even including extended stays in Havana, Cuba. We’ve covered the ship a lot on Cruise Hive so do check all the latest right here.

NCL’s Leonardo-class in Third

We still have a while to go until the first Leonardo-class vessel arrives for Norwegian Cruise Line in 2022. The LNG powered cruise ship is being built by Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri and will be 140,000 gross tons with a passenger capacity of 3,300.

We don’t know too much about this future ship yet but do keep checking Cruise Hive as we’ll be posting any announcements from NCL. The cruise line has ordered a total of six Leonardo-class vessels coming in 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026 and 2027.

The Results

Thousands of Cruise Hive readers voted in this year’s awards which opened up early September 2018. Only one vote has been allowed per category and we have checked to make sure no repeats have been counted. Let’s take a look at the final result of the most anticipated future cruise ship in order:

1. Mardi Gras (Carnival Cruise Line)
2. Scarlet Lady (Virgin Voyages)
3. Unnamed Leonardo-class (Norwegian Cruise Line)
4. Celebrity Apex – (Celebrity Cruises)
5. P&O Iona (P&O Cruises)
6. World-class (MSC Cruises)

In 2017 Spectrum of the Seas came out on top as the most anticipated future cruise ship for Royal Caribbean. The ship will arrive in 2019 and is being purpose-built for the Chinese market. As the ship is coming out next year we moved her to the ships for 2019 category.

Thanks to everyone has voted this year in the annual awards which are focused more on the cruise ships but we have added some new categories to mix things up slightly. Feel free to browse the results which we’ve already announced below:

• Carnival Horizon Wins Best New Cruise Ship of 2018
• Mariner of the Seas Wins Best Refurbishment of the Year
• Symphony of the Seas is Best Large Cruise Ship of the Year
• Guy’s Pig & Anchor on Carnival Horizon Wins Best Dining Venue
• Carnival’s SkyRide Wins Best Feature Three Years In a Row!

It’s that time of year when we begin announcing the results of the Cruise Hive Cruise Ship Awards, and we’re starting with a very rare draw! It’s also the third time in a row Carnival Cruise Line’s SkyRide has come out on top.

Results of Best Cruise Ship Feature

For the second time ever in Cruise Hive’s Cruise Ship Awards, there has been a draw! Coming out as joint winners for Best Cruise Ship Feature is Carnival’s innovative SkyRide feature and Norwegian Cruise Line’s Race Track.

SkyRide – Carnival Cruise Line

The SkyRide was first introduced on Carnival Vista in 2016 and is also featured on Carnival Horizon which just arrived in the Spring. The SkyRide is great for thrillseekers or those wanting to relax by peddling around in the desired speed suspended above the deck and offering stunning ocean views.

The 800-foot-long feature is included in the price of the cruise and has been a major highlight for Carnival Cruise Line’s newest ships. This is now the third year in a row the SkyRide has won “Best Cruise Ship Feature” which is a record.

Race Track – Norwegian Cruise Line

NCL’s race track was first introduced on Norwegian Joy for the Chinese market and is also featured on Norwegian Bliss, which joined the fleet in Spring 2018. The race track is a hugely popular feature on the two Breakaway-plus class vessels.

The track is slightly different depending on the ship, but on Norwegian Bliss, it spans two decks and is a 1000 feet long. Drivers can reach speeds of up to 30 mph in electric-powered carts. The next ship to join the fleet in 2019, named Norwegian Encore, will feature an even larger racetrack feature, expanding further on the concept.

Ultimate Abyss – Royal Caribbean

In a far second place came Royal Caribbean’s Ultimate Abyss feature, which can be found on Harmony of the Seas and the world’s largest cruise ship Symphony of the Seas.

Ultimate Abyss is a 10-story high slide that twists and turns starting from deck 16 aft all the way down to the Boardwalk neighborhood further down below. In last year’s awards, the feature came in third place which could have been the same this year if it wasn’t for the draw.

North Star – Royal Caribbean

Last with the least amount of votes was the North Star, which is featured on Royal Caribbean’s Quantum class ships. It was first introduced on Quantum of the Seas in 2014 and is an innovative feature. It is a London Eye-type capsule that elevates above the ship and offers epic 360-degree views.

The North Star actually won “Best Cruise Ship Feature” in 2015 but has now moved down as the cruise industry introduces new innovative ways to capture guests attention.

The 2018 Cruise Ship Awards

This is the first category out of nine in this year’s awards, where thousands of Cruise Hive readers have been voting since the beginning of September. Voters have only been able to vote once in each category, and the results have been checked for any repeating votes with the same IP address.

The annual awards are now in their fifth year and are mainly focused on cruise ships covering different categories on the major cruise lines. Keep checking Cruise Hive for more results over the coming days.