Mardi Gras

About us Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras is the first ship in Carnival Cruise Line's Excel family. Meyer Turku delivered it in December 2020, while passenger service began in 2021. Those two milestones explain why fleet references can show different years without describing different vessels. The modern ship is also distinct from the line's original 1972 Mardi Gras, whose name it recalls; the older vessel's specifications do not belong in this record.

The checked operator short profile publishes 180,800 gross tonnage and 5,270 passengers at double occupancy. The Finnish builder gives a rounded length of 345 metres and confirms an LNG drive system. Its general design summary contains other passenger references with different or unspecified bases. Those are not used to invent a maximum capacity or replace the explicitly defined current operator figure.

Mardi Gras introduced a six-zone arrangement to the brand's ship presentation. Its French Quarter setting includes The Brass Magnolia and Fortune Teller, while Emeril's Bistro 1396 is another named venue. The choice of these individual spaces matters when comparing it with later Excel vessels: related engineering does not mean that every evening gathering place or dining concept has the same identity.

BOLT, the shipboard roller coaster, is a major feature of the documented offering. The operator's page also identifies Family Feud Live and describes the Port Canaveral embarkation setting. Those points can help a family compare entertainment and access arrangements, but an old introductory homeport story is not a substitute for the booked departure's port instructions. Check dates, terminal information and the full destination sequence separately.

For cabin selection, look beyond the broad category label to the actual layout, sleeping places and outlook. Consider how often the group expects to cross between indoor entertainment, outdoor activity areas and its room during sea days. Compare the itinerary and the vessel as one travel decision. The delivery history, individual venue mix and stated occupancy basis give useful reference points without claiming that ship size alone predicts the experience.

Specifications

A dash means no independently verified value is available. Guest counts at double occupancy and maximum capacity are different measures. GT measures enclosed volume, not weight.

Highlights

• French Quarter
• Emeril’s Bistro 1396
• BOLT

Other ships in the same recorded class

Shared class does not guarantee identical cabins, venues or deck layouts.

Sources

• Carnival Corporation — operating fleet, 31 August 2026 — Accessed Oct 27, 2026

  Delivery year, not current-brand service year. Financial passenger estimates not substituted for defined double occupancy.

• Mardi Gras — operator short profile — Accessed Oct 27, 2026

  Current operator reference for defined double occupancy, tonnage and service year; not rounded corporate financial capacity. Broader builder-era estimates are not substituted.

• Mardi Gras — shipbuilder reference — Accessed Oct 27, 2026

  XL/Excel family; rounded builder length. Jubilee moulded breadth explicitly defined. General design capacities not current double occupancy.

• Mardi Gras — operator facilities — Accessed Oct 27, 2026

  Named zones and venues. Ship-page embarkation references do not guarantee permanent deployment or activity availability.

• Mardi Gras — IMO identification cross-check — Accessed Oct 27, 2026

  Secondary immutable identifier only, checksum validated. Other conflicting technical figures not adopted.