Carnival Cruise Line has revealed a cruiseship newbuilding boasting the world’s first sea-going rollercoaster and another vessel undergoing an extensive refit have both been delayed until 2021.
The cruise line, which is the flagship company of Carnival Corp, has attributed this to shipyard disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
It said the delivery of its new flagship — the 183,000-gt, LNG-powered Mardi Gras — has been pushed back to 30 January 2021.
The 6,600-berth ship, under construction at Meyer Turku, was to have been delivered in November this year. But it will now depart on its first cruise from Port Canaveral on 6 February.
All cruises that had been scheduled for the Mardi Gras have been cancelled.
At the same time, a $200m upgrade refit of the 101,700-gt Carnival Victory (built 2001) —underway at a shipyard in the Spanish port of Cadiz — has also been plagued with coronavirus-linked delays.
The company said that the refit, which would have seen the ship re-enter service as the Carnival Radiance in November this year, was suspended in the spring when the pandemic resulted in a nationwide lockdown in Spain.
Evaluating options
Carnival Cruise Line said it is now evaluating shipyard options to complete the transformation of the Carnival Radiance, but the ship is likely not going to be completed until the spring of 2021.
As a result of the delayed arrival, the 128,000-gt Carnival Breeze (built 2012) will be redeployed from Fort Lauderdale to Port Canaveral, and will assume the itineraries for the Carnival Radiance until the end of April 2021.
The Carnival Breeze’s previously scheduled itineraries have either been cancelled, or moved across to another vessel.
"We continue to assess the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on global commerce, public health and our cruise operations," Carnival Cruise Line president Christine Duffy said.
"In addition to our current pause in service, there have been many other unintended consequences, including shipyard, dry dock and ship-delivery delays, and related changes to our deployment plans for our fleet.
"While we had hoped to make up construction time on Mardi Gras over the summer, it's clear we will need extra time to complete this magnificent ship.
"We share our guests' disappointment and appreciate their patience as we work through this unprecedented time in our business and the lives of so many people.
"We remain committed to working with government, public health and industry officials to support the response to the pandemic and to return to operations when the time is right."
Carnival Cruise Line has tentatively scheduled a resumption of its cruise operations in October. They have been suspended since mid-March.
