Carnival Cruise Line has been voted the Best Cruise Line of 2021 in the annual Cruise Ship Awards. It comes as the Miami-based cruise line continues bringing more vessels back into service following the industry-wide pause on operations.

Carnival Cruise Line Best of 2021!

Carnival Cruise Line has come out on top in the annual Cruise Ship Awards and received more votes than any other cruise line in the industry, including Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line. Cruise Hive readers have been allowed to cast a single vote for their favorite cruise line, and it’s the final category results to be announced in the biggest award from Cruise Hive yet.

The cruise line is finally back sailing again, with 19 cruise ships currently sailing. During most of 2020 and half of 2021, Carnival could not operate and even had to offload some of its older Fantasy-class vessels during the global cruise suspension.

Carnival Vista became the first in the fleet to restart sailings on July 3, 2021, from Galveston, Texas. Since then, more vessels have returned from multiple homeports across the US. Guests are finally having fun-filled cruise vacations once again, thanks to the cruise line implementing protocols to keep everyone on board safe and dealing with any positive cases.

Despite some difficult times, Carnival also welcomed its new Mardi Gras cruise ship, taking the cruise line into a new era of environmentally-friendly ships powered by LNG. Other highlights in 2021 include the new newly transformed Carnival Radiance finally completing dry dock and debuting from Long Beach. The cruise line also started rolling out its new red, white and blue livery fleetwide, showcasing the iconic funnel colors.

Carnival will continue to be a popular choice for cruisers as even more ships make a comeback, with the entire US fleet back in service by the end of March 2022. The new Carnival Celebration will also be joining the fleet toward the end of the year as part of Carnival’s 50th Birthday festivities.

Second and Third Place

Carnival Cruise Line was up against many other cruise lines, allowing voters to type in their favorite cruise line to cast their vote. In the second place with the second-highest number of votes came Royal Caribbean International, a cruise line based in Miami, Florida, and been through difficult times just like Carnival.

Royal Caribbean also has 19 vessels back in service, including the new Odyssey of the Seas, which joined the fleet in Summer 2021. After new legislation to temporarily bypass the Passenger Vessel Services Act, the cruise line was also the first to resume in Alaska.

In third place came Norwegian Cruise Line, just coming out on top of Celebrity Cruises. NCL also dealt with the industry-wide pause by ships remaining on hold until the CDC would allow cruises to resume from the US.

Parent company Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings CEO Frank Del Rio was among the most vocal against the cruise shutdown, but thankfully the cruise line was eventually allowed to resume. There are currently 10 NCL ships back in service, and the entire fleet will be back sailing in Spring 2022.

The 2021 Cruise Ship Awards have been the most popular yet since first starting in 2014. Readers have only been allowed to vote once in each of the seven categories, and any repeat or suspicious votes were not counted. The full results can be checked here, along with all the previous years.

Carnival Cruise Line’s first Excel-class cruise ship has come out on top for the third time in the Annual Cruise Ship Awards by also winning Best Cruise Ship of 2021. This includes not just new ships but every cruise ship out there!

Mardi Gras Voted Best Cruise Ship of 2021!

The Carnival flagship, which debuted in July 2021, has officially been voted Best Cruise Ship of 2021 in the annual Cruise Ship Awards from Cruise Hive. Mardi Gras was up against every other vessel, with readers being allowed to vote for any cruise ship they liked. She received more votes than other popular vessels from Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line.

Mardi Gras has been the cruise ship in demand in 2021 as she’s a new class vessel for the fleet and features the first roller coaster at sea named BOLT. The vessel has already won Best New Cruise Ship and Best Cruise Ship Feature in this year’s awards. Mard Gras was officially named in October 2021 after debuting on July 31 from Port Canaveral in Florida.

The vessel is 180,800 gross tons and is fully powered by Liquified Natural Gas (LNG), taking Carnival Cruise Line into a new era of environmentally friendly cruise ships. The vessel has six themed zones, offering different experiences and fun, including new dining venues such as Shaquille O’Neals Big Chicken restaurant. Mardi Gras has a guest capacity of 5,282 at double occupancy, along with 1,735 international crew members.

The Carnival cruise ship was up against many other vessels across multiple cruise lines worldwide. It’s the first time this category has been a part of the awards and is one of the only fully open awards in the industry.

There were seven categories in total, and readers have only been allowed to vote once in each. Voting opened in mid-September 2021, just months after cruise lines first started to return to service following the industry-wide pause on operations.

Second and Third Places

Coming behind Mardi Gras with the second-highest number of votes was Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas, currently the world’s largest cruise ship. However, that title will soon be handed over to sister ship Wonder of the Seas in 2022.

Symphony of the Seas is one of the most innovative vessels in the fleet and has tons of onboard features, including the Ultimate Abyss aft slide. She’s 228,081 gross tons with a guest capacity of 5,518 at double occupancy.

In third place came Carnival Horizon, despite the vessel currently undergoing an urgent dry dock in Italy, Cruise Hive readers think she is one of the best cruise ships out there. She is the second Vista-class ship, and major highlights include the Seuss at Sea Waterpark, SkyRide, and an IMAX theater. The ship is 133,500 with a passenger capacity of 3,934.

So far in the 2021 Cruise Ship Awards, the results have already been announced for Best new Cruise Ship, Most Anticipated New Cruise Ship for 2022, Best Cruise Homeport in the US, and Best Cruise Ship Feature. Still to come are Best Cruise Line Private Island and Best Cruise Line, so do keep checking Cruise Hive for more results.

As the results continue to be announced in the annual Cruise Ship Awards, it can now be revealed that Carnival Cruise Line’s second Excel-class cruise ship is the Most Anticipated New Cruise Ship of 2022.

Carnival Celebration is Most Anticipated for 2022!

Carnival Cruise Line’s second Excel-class cruise ship, currently under construction at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland, is voted Most Anticipated New Cruise Ship for 2022. Carnival Celebration received more votes than other impressive vessels that will also enter service in 2022, including the new world’s largest cruise ship, Wonder of the Seas.

Carnival Celebration will continue the new era of ships for the cruise line when she enters service in November 2022 as part of the cruise line’s 50th Birthday festivities. The vessel, which will be fully powered by Liquified Natural Gas (LNG), will take the name of the original Celebration cruise ship, a Holiday-class vessel that sailed for Carnival from 1987 to 2008.

The massive 180,800 gross ton vessel will be almost identical to her sister ship Mardi Gras including a roller coaster at sea, voted Best Cruise Ship Feature of 2021. Carnival Celebration recently had her iconic funnel installed, and in 2022 will be floated out onto the water and undergo sea trials before being delivered from Meyer Turku.

Carnival Celebration will be based from PortMiami, in Florida, out of the newly upgraded Terminal F. The ship will debut with a 14-day Carnival journeys transatlantic voyage on November 6, 2022 from Southampton, UK. Year-round sailing from Miami will begin on November 21, 2022

Second and Third Place Cruise Ships

Cruise Hive’s annual Cruise Ship Awards have been open for voting since mid-September 2021, and readers have only been allowed to cast one vote in each of the seven categories. The Carnival cruise ship was up against eleven other cruise ships that will also debut in 2022.

Also Read: Carnival Cruise Line’s Mardi Gras Voted Best New Cruise Ship of 2021

Wonder of the Seas had the second-highest number of votes due to the massive anticipation for the fifth Oasis-class vessel from Royal Caribbean. Wonder of the Seas will debut from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on March 4, 2022, followed by cruises in Europe from Barcelona and Rome during the summer.

The cruise ship is in the final outfitting stages in South France and has already completed sea trials. Wonder of the Seas is an impressive 236,857 gross tons with a guest capacity of 5,734 at double occupancy.

In third place came the much anticipated Norwegian Prima, a new-class for Norwegian Cruise Line, which is in the final construction stages at the Fincantieri shipyard in Marghera, Italy. The ship will feature the largest racetrack at sea, spanning three levels. The NCL vessel will be 142,000 gross tons with a guest capacity of 3,215.

Now that voting is closed in the annual Cruise Ship Awards, some results have already been announced for categories, including Best New Cruise Ship of 2021, Best Cruise Homeport in the United States, and Best Cruise Ship Feature. More results are still to be announced in the coming days.

We’ve already announced that Mardi Gras won Best New Cruise Ship of 2021, and now the Carnival cruise ship has come out to receive the most votes in Best Cruise Ship Feature of 2021 with the BOLT roller coaster in the Annual Cruise Ship Awards.

First Roller Coaster at Sea Wins Best Cruise Ship Feature!

Carnival Cruise Line’s BOLT roller coaster that can be found aboard the Mardi Gras has been voted Best Cruise Ship Feature of 2021. Undoubtedly, the innovative new feature has been much talked about throughout the year, especially as BOLT is the first roller coaster at sea on Carnival’s new Excel-class cruise ship.

BOLT received more votes than any other cruise ship in the category since the Cruise Cruise Ship Awards opened in mid-September 2021. Cruise Hive readers have been allowed to vote once in each category, and any suspicious or repeat votes were not counted.

The roller coaster on Mardi Gras has been one of the most anticipated new cruise ship features in years and thanks to Maurer Rides in Germany, that concept became a reality. The 220-meter track is located towards the ship’s aft 150 meters above sea level. BOLT can reach speeds up to 60 KPH and offers thrilling twists and turns, including around the iconic Carnival funnel.

Also Read: What’s It Like to Ride the First Roller Coaster at Sea?

Since Mardi Gras debuted with guests from Port Canaveral on July 31, the first roller coaster at sea has been a popular feature onboard. The LNG-powered vessel is 180,800 gross tons, and a sister ship named Carnival Celebration will join the fleet in 2022, also featuring a roller coaster. A third ship in the same class named Carnival jubilee will arrive in 2023.

Which Feature Came Second and Third?

The BOLT roller coaster was up against dozens of other cruise ship features, with readers being allowed to add their favorite cruise ship feature as a vote.

In second place came the SkyRide feature found on the Vista-class cruise ships, also from Carnival Cruise Line. SkyRide is an elevated 800-foot-long track on the open deck that guests can pedal of speed up to 18 miles per hour at 150 feet above sea level. SkyRide has already won the Best Cruise Ship Feature four times, in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019.

In third place came Norwegian Cruise Line’s Go-Kart track found on all the Breakaway-Plus class cruise ships except for the Norwegian Escape. The first go-kart track at sea was introduced on the Norwegian Joy in 2017 and has since been featured on Norwegian Bliss and the largest in the fleet so far on Norwegian Encore. The new Norwegian Prima, which joins the fleet in 2022, will go a step further by introducing the first three-level racetrack.

In this year’s Cruise Ship Awards, there were a total of seven categories, and the results have already been announced for Best Cruise Homeport in the US and Best News Cruise Ship. More results will continue to be announced in the coming days.

Carnival Cruise Line’s Mardi Gras cruise ship has been voted as Best New Cruise Ship of 2021 in Cruise Hive’s annual Cruise Ship Awards. It’s the first category results to be announced, with more results coming before the end of 2021.

Mardi Gras is the Best New Cruise Ship

Carnival’s flagship has already been one of the hottest new topics since arriving in the US to begin service in the summer, and now, the vessel has come out on top for Best New Cruise Ship of 2021. Mardi Gras was up against 11 other new cruise ships that entered service this year, including Royal Caribbean’s Odyssey of the Seas, Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Apex, and Princess Cruises’ Enchanted Princess.

The Mardi Gras is the newest ship in the fleet and was originally scheduled to debut at the end of August 2020. Due to the global pandemic and the industry-wide pause, the Carnival cruise ship was eventually delivered in December 2020. It then arrived in the US to begin guest operations in July 2021.

The ship is the first Excel-class for Carnival Cruise Line, and the largest ever ship in the fleet. She is fully powered by Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and brings new features to the cruise line. Mardi Gras features the first roller coaster at sea named BOLT, also in the Best Cruise Ship Feature category in this year’s awards.

Also found on board is the first Big Chicken restaurant at sea brought by Carnival’s Chief Fun Officer, Shaquille O’Neil. There are six different themed zones on Mardi Gras offering fun-filled vacations from Port Canaveral in Florida. The ship debuted on July 31, 2021, and is currently offering seven-day eastern and western Caribbean itineraries.

Mardi Gras is 180,800 gross tons with a guest capacity of 5,282 at double occupancy and 1,735 international crew members. The vessel was constructed at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland, and the godmother is Kimberly Jimenes, Miss Dominican Republic.

Which New Ships Came Second and Third?

The Cruise Ship Awards have been open since mid-September 2021, and Cruise Hive readers have been able to cast a vote in seven different categories, including Best New Cruise Ship of 2021. Mardi Gras received more votes than any other cruise ship. Readers have only been allowed to vote once, and any repeat or suspicious votes were not counted.

Royal Caribbean’s Odyssey of the Seas, the second Quantum-Ultra class vessel by Royal Caribbean, came in second place. The ship is 167,704 gross tons with a guest capacity of 4,198 at double occupancy and departed on her maiden voyage from Fort Lauderdale, Florida on July 31, 2021. Like Mardi Gras, Odyssey of the Seas was also delayed due to the pandemic.

In third place came the new Celebrity Apex, the second Edge-class vessel from Celebrity Cruises. The ship is 129,500 gross tons and has a passenger capacity of 2,910 at double occupancy. Due to the industry suspension, the new ship was also delayed but finally departed on her maiden voyage from Athens, Greece, in June 2021.

Still to be announced in the 2021 Cruise Ship Awards are the results of six more categories, so do keep checking Cruise Hive for those.