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Carnival Cruise Line has christened its Mardi Gras vessel in Port Canaveral, Florida at a “Universe of Fun” celebration - the first ship naming ceremony held in the US since the cruise industry’s restart this summer.
| 25 Oct 2021
Carnival Cruise Line has christened its Mardi Gras vessel in Port Canaveral, Florida at a “Universe of Fun” celebration - the first ship naming ceremony held in the US since the cruise industry’s restart this summer.
Carnival’s chief fun officer - basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal - attended the festivities and cut the ribbon of his first Big Chicken restaurant at sea that debuted on Mardi Gras when it began cruise operations on July 31.
Miss Universe - the Dominican Republic's Kimberly Jimenez - served as the ship’s Godmother and officially named the ship and was joined by Andrea Meza and Miss USA, Asya Branch who sang the national anthem. The event featured a “World of Nations” flag procession to highlight the diversity of the 120 nationalities of Carnival crew members, and a Mardi Gras parade with a Second Line Band.
“Today’s naming ceremony of our flagship Mardi Gras, the first in the industry since our restart of operations, signifies excitement and optimism as we look to bring our entire fleet back into guest service by spring 2022,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. “This ship has been amazing guests during her pre-inaugural season and the celebration today with our chief fun officer Shaq, our Godmother Kimberly, and so many special guests, was extremely gratifying and emotional.”
Mardi Gras is the first cruise ship in the Americas to be powered by eco-friendly Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and the first to feature a rollercoaster.
Read more about Bolt and how Maurer Rides created the game-changing rollercoaster at sea here.
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