Carnival Cruise Line has joined other major cruise lines in canceling all cruises scheduled to depart in February 2021.
In addition, Carnival Cruise Line announced that the debut on new cruise ship, Mardi Gras, will be pushed back by several months. The cruise ship is now scheduled to debut on April 24, 2021.
Mardi Gras will operate from Port Canaveral, and remains the most anticipated new cruise ship to operate from North America in 2021. It will be the first liquefied natural gas (LNG) powered ship in the Americas, and feature BOLT, the first roller coaster at sea.
Carnival Cruise Line will take delivery of the ship from the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland later this month and eventually sail to the U.S. and meet the requirements of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC).
“We apologize to our guests but we must continue to take a thoughtful, deliberate and measured approach as we map out our return to operations in 2021,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. “Our commitment to the health and safety of our guests, crew and the communities we visit is at the forefront of our decisions and operations.”
Previously, Carnival Cruise Line had canceled all cruises through February except sailings from Miami, Port Canaveral, Galveston. Now, cruises out of all three of those ports will not resume until March 1, 2021 at the earliest.
