Newest XL LNG ship to be named Carnival Mardi Gras

[PhillyFan33579]

14 minutes ago, eroller said:

There is nothing I don't love about this announcement!  MARDI GRAS is synonymous with Carnival Cruise Lines.  She was a great ship name the first time, and will be again.  I also love they are using the original font style for the name of the ship.  I'm hoping there will be some throwbacks to the original ship, perhaps some original lounge names or even a retro lounge based off the original ship.  

 

She will have a nice new terminal to sail from in Port Canaveral, as outlined in this article.  

http://www.seatrade-cruise.com/news/news-headlines/canaveral-board-approves-bond-financing-for-new-carnival-terminal.html

 

 

 

I don’t understand why Carnival is naming a ship for a ship in the past, when it seems every decision they make involves cutting ties to the past. Speaking of throwbacks, I would be thrilled if Carnival went back to tableclothes in the dining rooms, lobster on every cruise, servicing cabins twice a day without question, having enough staff so stewards could keep every cabin serviced in a timely manner, having enough staff in the dining rooms so guests are waited on in a timely manner, etc. 

[jimbo5544]

15 hours ago, Thorncroft said:

 

It could be Mobile, the birth place of Mardi Gras, except that Mobile is where they send their oldest ships to die. 😂😂😂

Or to “live out their senior years” like me in Florida.....

[jimbo5544]

15 hours ago, xDisconnections said:

... except New Orleans is not currently equipped for LNG.

....don’t get wrapped up in tedious details.....

[jimbo5544]

31 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

 

I don’t understand why Carnival is naming a ship for a ship in the past, when it seems every decision they make involves cutting ties to the past. Speaking of throwbacks, I would be thrilled if Carnival went back to tableclothes in the dining rooms, lobster on every cruise, servicing cabins twice a day without question, having enough staff so stewards could keep every cabin serviced in a timely manner, having enough staff in the dining rooms so guests are waited on in a timely manner, etc. 

Naming ships after older ships is not uncommon in the industry.  

[Cousin Eddie]

29 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

 

I don’t understand why Carnival is naming a ship for a ship in the past, when it seems every decision they make involves cutting ties to the past. Speaking of throwbacks, I would be thrilled if Carnival went back to tableclothes in the dining rooms, lobster on every cruise, servicing cabins twice a day without question, having enough staff so stewards could keep every cabin serviced in a timely manner, having enough staff in the dining rooms so guests are waited on in a timely manner, etc. 

I agree that it was somewhat surprising to see the throwback name, but I don't think Carnival has been about cutting ties with the past. Rather, I think naming this ship after the original Mardi Gras signals that Carnival recognizes that as all mass market cruise lines push into the mega ship range in order to maximize revenues,  Carnival needs to rely on the fun ship reputation that they built in the early years.

They are showing that with effective marketing and product differentiation, they are able to be the leader of the market segment. I think we will see this continue through the XL line as Carnival approaches its 50th anniversary with the next XL class ship in 2022.  I don't think Carnival can compete with RCCL and NCL on shipboard amenities or features, but then they don't need to. Carnival fills its niche in the Carnival Corp line up pretty well.

[PhillyFan33579]

1 hour ago, jimbo5544 said:

Naming ships after older ships is not uncommon in the industry.  

 

I understand but this definitely caught me by surprise. Carnival doesn’t like keeping the name of the ship the same when it undergoes a major renovation (Destiny, Triumph and Victory), so surprised they would name a ship after a ship that in today’s market would be a POS.  Like the last poster touched on, they might be using an old name because they don’t plan to have any new innovative features on this ship. From that perspective, the name makes sense. 

[Towel Critter]

Interesting paint job, rather innovative I suppose. I'll have to see it in person, or at least from some different angles in pics before I decide if I like it or not. Undecided for now. Definitely like the name though.

[eroller]

46 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

 

   Like the last poster touched on, they might be using an old name because they don’t plan to have any new innovative features on this ship. From that perspective, the name makes sense. 

 

 

 

That is an extremely unlikely proposition.  Of course the ship will be loaded with new and innovative features.  It's a clean slate for Carnival.  Finally a ship not modeled after the Destiny Class.  Mind you Costa, Aida, and P&O will have versions of this same design, but each customized to the brand as MARDI GRAS will be for Carnival.   That fact it will be the first LNG powered cruise ship in North America already makes it an innovative ship.  

 

Carnival is coming up on its 50th anniversary, and I think they decided in honor of that they would pay tribute to the original ship that started an empire.  In that past they did not want to reuse the original ship names because they were old ocean liners converted to cruising.  Carnival didn't want their new state of the art ships associated with something old.  Enough time has passed that most Carnival cruises have never sailed on the original MARDI GRAS and perhaps never even heard of it.  The time was right to resurrect the name.  The question remains if this is a one-off, or will #2 and #3 of the XL Class be named CARNIVALE and FESTIVALE.  Time will tell.       

[cathi007]

6500 people on the ship, yeah I'm not to sure about that. Although I'm sure it's going to be amazing, but that might be too many people for me. I guess I'll have to see

[tallyho8]

42 minutes ago, cathi007 said:

6500 people on the ship, yeah I'm not to sure about that. Although I'm sure it's going to be amazing, but that might be too many people for me. I guess I'll have to see

6500 passengers then add 2000 crew.

[cathi007]

1 minute ago, tallyho8 said:

6500 passengers then add 2000 crew.

Oh yeah true. I'll be on my first mega ship in 44 days, I'll have to see how that goes first 🙂

[tallyho8]

10 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

Carnival will be getting their LNG from Savannah, which is 247 miles from PC, while NOLA can get theirs from Sabine, which is only 378 miles, so not much difference, or the Cameron, LA terminal when completed.  The Savannah terminal is still under construction, as far as I know.

And there are plans for a new LNG terminal only 20 miles downriver from New Orleans.

https://www.nola.com/environment/2018/12/proposed-85-billion-plaquemines-lng-terminal-and-pipeline-faces-environmental-review.html

[DirtyDawg]

37 minutes ago, tallyho8 said:

6500 passengers then add 2000 crew.

 

6,500 passengers!

 

The damn thing should be called the Sardine!

 

 

[eroller]

1 hour ago, cathi007 said:

6500 people on the ship, yeah I'm not to sure about that. Although I'm sure it's going to be amazing, but that might be too many people for me. I guess I'll have to see

 

 

Yup as much as I love the name, this is going to be a very high density ship.  Smaller than Royal Caribbean's Oasis Class but more pax.  You can get an idea of the layout by looking at deck plans for Costa Smeralda, AidaNova, or P&O's Iona.  They are all sister ships built off the same platform.  Each is customized for the brand as Mardi Gras will be for Carnival.  I've looked over the deck plans for all three, and P&O's Iona seems to be the nicest.  It has the most swimming pools and also a forward facing observation lounge.  Unfortunately I already know Mardi Gras won't offer the observation lounge.  It will be cabins like the Costa and Aida versions.  I am interested to see how Carnival customizes this ship platform for its brand.  I would love to see some retro lounge names from the original Mardi Gras and perhaps even a retro lounge recreated from the original ship.  That would be kind of cool.  

Edited December 7, 2018 by eroller

[shof515]

8 minutes ago, DirtyDawg said:

 

6,500 passengers!

 

The damn thing should be called the Sardine!

i wont be surprised to see sardines on the menu in the MDR..Maybe should give carnival some ideas?

[toad455]

it seems highly likely the sister ship will be named the Festivale. Though a third sister ship named the Carnival Carnivale doesn't sound right. Though maybe the Tropicale cames back by 2023/2024?

[eroller]

9 minutes ago, toad455 said:

it seems highly likely the sister ship will be named the Festivale. Though a third sister ship named the Carnival Carnivale doesn't sound right. Though maybe the Tropicale cames back by 2023/2024?

 

 

Hopefully they will drop the "Carnival" from these names.  Based on the rendering it's not on the bow or the signage on top of the ship.  If we follow tradition, CARNIVALE would be the next ship followed by FESTIVALE.    

[DirtyDawg]

12 minutes ago, shof515 said:

i wont be surprised to see sardines on the menu in the MDR..Maybe should give carnival some ideas?

 

Maybe these will be the IT food on the Carnival Wiener! 

[clskinsfan]

What a monstrosity that thing is. We started on Carnival cruises MANY years ago. And they were great. Of course we were much younger and into the late night partying then. The last Carnival cruise I took was a guys trip with my teenage son on the Sensation in 2016. We had a blast. But the ship was showing its age. It is a shame that Carnivals new definition of fun is going to be 8000 people crammed on a ship that should hold 4000. But I suspect that will be the future of cruising in general. With the kids out of the house my wife and I have moved on to Celebrity. But a younger part of me will always miss the "fun ships". 🙂

[bigcstyle4]

1 hour ago, eroller said:

 

 

Hopefully they will drop the "Carnival" from these names.  Based on the rendering it's not on the bow or the signage on top of the ship.  If we follow tradition, CARNIVALE would be the next ship followed by FESTIVALE.    

Looks like it is just “Mardi Gras.” Looking at the page on Carnival’s site, Mardi Gras is the only name. No mention of “Carnival Mardi Gras” anywhere. 

[xDisconnections]

3 hours ago, cathi007 said:

6500 people on the ship, yeah I'm not to sure about that. Although I'm sure it's going to be amazing, but that might be too many people for me. I guess I'll have to see

If done properly, there’s nothing to worry about. As it’s Carnival, perhaps you should worry about the possible overcrowding situation. When reviewing historical data, Carnival frequently removes public areas and replaces them with additional staterooms causing a greater number of passengers with fewer venues to disperse the crowd.

 

With that said, the Allure of the Seas never felt crowded during my recent sailing apart from the embarkation day lunch and it had a fantastic passenger flow to spread out the guests.

[eroller]

28 minutes ago, xDisconnections said:

If done properly, there’s nothing to worry about. As it’s Carnival, perhaps you should worry about the possible overcrowding situation. When reviewing historical data, Carnival frequently removes public areas and replaces them with additional staterooms causing a greater number of passengers with fewer venues to disperse the crowd.

 

With that said, the Allure of the Seas never felt crowded during my recent sailing apart from the embarkation day lunch and it had a fantastic passenger flow to spread out the guests.

 

 

I agree completely.  I’ve sailed OASIS, ALLURE, and HARMONY. They all felt less crowded than most ships half their size and are superbly designed.  Certainly less crowded feeling than any Carnival ship I’ve sailed.  

 

Royal Caribbean in general seems to put more thought into their ship designs and a better balance between space and revenue.  Carnival is more about revenue and adding as many cabins as possible, but then again they are the price leader for a reason.  You can’t have it all I guess.  

 

I do have high hopes for MARDI GRAS though.  I’ve pretty much outgrown Carnival but I’ll go back to experience this new ship. 

[tidecat]

I wonder if the ship will be registered as "Carnival Mardi Gras" but marketed simply as "Mardi Gras" - effectively the reverse of MSC's "Melody", which was never actually renamed "MSC Melody".

 

Has anyone seen a rendering of the aft? That would be very telling.

[jimbo5544]

7 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

 

I understand but this definitely caught me by surprise. Carnival doesn’t like keeping the name of the ship the same when it undergoes a major renovation (Destiny, Triumph and Victory), so surprised they would name a ship after a ship that in today’s market would be a POS.  Like the last poster touched on, they might be using an old name because they don’t plan to have any new innovative features on this ship. From that perspective, the name makes sense. 

Well at least you have an open mind about it.  

[chengkp75]

5 hours ago, tidecat said:

I wonder if the ship will be registered as "Carnival Mardi Gras" but marketed simply as "Mardi Gras" - effectively the reverse of MSC's "Melody", which was never actually renamed "MSC Melody".

 

Has anyone seen a rendering of the aft? That would be very telling.

Just to pick nits, the proper term is "stern", which is a noun referring to the back of a vessel.  "Aft" is an adjective (use the aft elevator), or adverb (I am walking aft).  And, to the best of my knowledge, you can't have a different name on the bow and stern of a vessel.