Itineraries Revealed, Bookings Open for Carnival's New Mardi Gras Cruise Ship

(7:30 a.m. EDT) -- Carnival Cruise Line's new ship -- Mardi Gras -- will take cruisers to Europe, Canada and New England and the Caribbean, following its summer 2020 launch. The line today revealed the ship's inaugural season itineraries, which are now available for booking.

The 5,200-passenger ship, whose interior design details were unveiled last week, will sail one nine-night Baltic Sea cruise and one 14-night transatlantic cruise with stops in the Canary Islands and Portugal before making its way to New York for its U.S. debut. It will then sail a six-night Canada and New England cruise roundtrip from New York, before repositioning to its permanent homeport of Port Canaveral (Orlando).

Below is a more thorough breakdown of the itineraries:

• Nine-night cruise from Copenhagen to Southampton, departing on August 31, with stops in Hamburg, Germany; Gothenburg, Sweden; Oslo, Norway; Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Brussels, Belgium; and Le Havre (Paris), France

• 14-night transatlantic cruise from Southampton to New York, departing on September 9, visiting the Canary Islands' Las Palmas and Santa Cruz de Tenerife; and the Portuguese islands of Funchal (Madeira) and Ponta Delgada, Azores

• Six-night cruise roundtrip from New York, departing on September 24, to Portland, Maine and Saint John, New Brunswick

• 15-night Carnival Journeys cruise from New York to Port Canaveral, departing on September 30, with calls on Amber Cove, San Juan, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, St. Kitts, Aruba, Curacao and Grand Turk

Once the ship is based in Port Canaveral full-time, it will alternate between weeklong Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries; a special eight-night cruise will depart on October 16. Eastern Caribbean cruises will stop in San Juan, Amber Cove and Grand Turk, while Western Caribbean cruises will visit Cozumel, Costa Maya and Roatan.

"For Mardi Gras, we've developed some truly exciting and diverse itineraries that will provide our guests with opportunities to experience and explore top destinations in Europe and the Caribbean," said Carnival Cruise Line's president, Christine Duffy. "These itineraries will serve as the perfect complement to the unique shipboard experience that Mardi Gras will offer. We've begun releasing some of the new stateroom designs to our guests and travel agency partners as part of today's announcement and plan to share additional details over the coming weeks."

Cruisers interested in booking Carnival Mardi Gras' maiden season cruises can choose from 20 different cabin categories, including more suites than any other Carnival ship.

Standout features of the ship include six themed "zones" with a variety of dining and entertainment options, as well as the first-ever roller coaster at sea. The ship also will boast a classic blue hull design, with red and white accent stripes, that will run the entire length of the ship.

Carnival's latest itineraries announcement comes only a few months after it revealed it would return to Europe in 2020. The line's other European itineraries are being offered on Carnival Legend and Carnival Radiance (currently sailing at Carnival Victory).