Jan. 31, marks the six-month anniversary of the ship all cruise fans were waiting for: Carnival Cruise Line’s Mardi Gras, which welcomed her first guests from Port Canaveral on July 31, 2021.

The first of Carnival’s all new Excel class, Mardi Gras has been wowing guests on every cruise since July, welcoming more than 110,000 guests to date. To celebrate the six-month mark, as well as looking ahead to the arrival of her two sister ships, Carnival Celebration and Carnival Jubilee, Carnival released the video above after talking with guests about why they love the new ship.

Mardi Gras is the first cruise ship in the Americas powered by a liquefied natural gas (LNG) technology platform. Carnival Corp. pioneered the introduction of LNG fuel in the passenger cruise sector as part of the company’s ongoing commitment to sustainability and emissions reduction. Mardi Gras is also the first ship to feature a roller coaster at sea, BOLT, which earned an engineering award from Popular Science magazine. So far, guests have enjoyed more than 30,000 invigorating BOLT rides.

The ship’s innovations and stunning new features have helped to earn other honors as well. USA Today’s Reader’s Choice 10Best Awards selected Mardi Grasas the Best New Cruise Ship of 2021 and Cruise Hive named it the Best Cruise Ship of 2021.

Mardi Gras is decked out with something fun for everyone — and that includes delicious dining options with several new venues on board, like Emeril’s Bistro 1396, Shaq’s Big Chicken, Chibang! and Street Eats.

Since the restart of cruising, momentum continues to build across Carnival Cruise Line. Nearly one million guests have taken a cruise vacation with Carnival since the restart on more than 400 sailings.

This fall, more excitement arrives when Carnival Celebration arrives home to PortMiami. Carnival’s next Excel-class ship will share all the fun guests are enjoying on Mardi Gras, like BOLT, plus some exclusive features as well.

A third Excel-class ship, Carnival Jubilee, will begin operations from its homeport in Galveston in the fall of 2023 and will also feature unique aspects all her own. Carnival Jubilee opened for sale last week.