Carnival’s Brand New Ship Completes Testing at Baltic Sea

The Carnival Celebration, a brand-new ship for Carnival Cruise Line, has finished its sea testing in the Baltic Sea.

When it begins operations from Miami in November, the Mardi Gras’ sister ship will have a capacity of 6,500 passengers.

Both ships in the Excel-class are LNG-powered and share a platform with P&O Cruises’ Iona and the soon-to-be-launched Arvia.

On 5th September, Carnival Celebration departed from the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland, where Mardi Gras was also constructed, for its initial set of sea trials.

The ship’s technical, mechanical, and navigational systems were being tested by a large staff of officers, specialists, and engineers.

Vincenzo Alcaras, the captain, said: “During her sea trials, Carnival Celebration underwent several tests, which are meant to determine the ship’s capability and her performance. 

“We’ve done many manoeuvring tests, such as endurance tests, steering tests, speed tests and thrusters tests. The ship performed wonderfully, and shortly, we will get her out and start cruising.”

The US line’s 50th birthday celebrations will continue with the arrival of Carnival Celebration in Miami.

The ship will have a number of distinctive areas, such as 820 Biscayne, which pays homage to Miami, the city where Carnival Cruise Line was founded.

From Miami, Carnival Celebration will begin year-round Caribbean cruises on November 21 after a six-day initial voyage to the eastern Caribbean.

The seven-day cruises will stop at places including Grand Turk, Cozumel, Mexico, and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The third Excel-class ship from the US line, Carnival Jubilee, is scheduled to stop at Southampton in October 2023 before making a transatlantic repositioning voyage to its home port of Galveston, Texas.