The opening for sale of the 2020 inaugural season itineraries for Carnival Cruise Line’s Mardi Gras late on Tuesday evening resulted in a record-breaking 24-hour sales cycle for any of Carnival’s new ships.

“We broke sales records across all of our channels, as the excitement about our new ship’s experiences, features and itineraries, combined with the nostalgia of bringing back the name of our very first ship, resulted in tremendous enthusiasm from guests and travel partners alike,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line.  “We were prepared for a very big first day based on all the buzz and anticipation, but the actual results were way beyond what we had imagined.  And we’ve only just started to bring to life what an amazing ship this is going to be as we continue to introduce the Mardi Gras to cruise fans.”

Mardi Gras will be delivered in August 2020, with a maiden voyage in Europe, a transatlantic journey and then several cruises out of New York before reaching its permanent home of Port Canaveral, Fla. in October 2020.  The ship’s innovation will be led by it being the first ship in North America to be powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG), but it will also include many guest-facing innovations, including the first rollercoaster at sea.