Carnival Mardi Gras Debut Delayed Again, Same for Carnival Radiance
On Tuesday, Carnival Cruise Line notified travel agents and guests that completion of the new Mardi Gras is delayed. Also, refurbishment of Carnival Radiance, formerly Carnival Victory, is currently suspended and work is pushed back into 2021.
Carnival Mardi Gras delayed arrival moves new date to 2021
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mardi Gras’ arrival to Port Canaveral is delayed to February 6, 2021. The long-awaited debut of Mardi Gras, the first LNG-powered cruise ship in the western hemisphere and with the first roller coaster at sea, just got even longer. It’s just the way things are during a pandemic; changes are inevitable.
If you were booked on a Mardi Gras departure from Port Canaveral between November 14 to January 30, 2021, your cruise was canceled.
Carnival Radiance makeover refurbishment on hold
Carnival Victory, soon to be renamed Carnival Radiance, is still sitting at the shipyard in Cadiz, Spain. Construction for the $200 million dry dock refurbishment is currently suspended. Carnival hopes for work to begin again next spring.
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Because of the Carnival Radiance delay, the cruise line will send Carnival Breeze from Fort Lauderdale up to Port Canaveral. From there, Carnival Breeze will take over what would have been Carnival Radiance itineraries, starting on November 8, 2020. If all goes as planned, Carnival Radiance will begin cruising from Port Canaveral by May 2021.
This sounds like a broken record by now. If you were booked on any of the 18 Carnival Breeze sailings from Fort Lauderdale between Nov. 7, 2020 to Mar. 7, 2021, your cruise is cancelled.
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Carnival has also canceled Carnival Magic’s transatlantic and European departures. Dates range from Mar. 13, 2021 to May 3, 2021.
And finally, seven cruises that were scheduled for Carnival Breeze from Fort. Lauderdale from Mar. 13 to Apr. 24, 2021 will now be cruising aboard Carnival Magic and from PortMiami instead of Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale.
“We continue to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on global commerce, public health and our cruise operations. 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,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line.
Duffy continued, “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.”
It’s basically a wait-and-see world right now. Whether cruising from the U.S. will resume this year is anyone’s guess right now.
