If you’ve lived in New Orleans long enough, you may have experienced Mardi Gras but foot and by float, but have you experienced Mardi Gras by sea?
A New Orleans-themed Carnival cruise ship, known as “Mardi Gras” is scheduled to set sail in 2020. . The ship is currently under construction and will eventually be the largest vessel in the sea. It’s expected to weigh a whopping 180,000 tons and carry up to 6,500 passengers.
Although the excitement is new the idea isn’t. As stated on the company website “When we launched our first ship, 1972’s TSS Mardi Gras, we knew we were shaking things up. We made cruising a lot less stuffy, a bit less fancy, and the kind of fun everybody could enjoy.”
This updated marvel will be six times the size of the original and powered by clean burning liquefied natural gas. It will feature innovated entertainment such as an on-board roller-coaster. So, what’s the catch? This impressive vessel of beads and booze will not call New Orleans it’s home, but instead port in Port Canaveral, Florida. We can’t really imagine a Mardi Gras experience without real locals cooking, dancing, parading and entertaining. What’s your take? Is this something you’d like to see here in New Orleans employing the local population or is it a gimmick that can stay away?