Carnival’s Excel Class Ship Makes Maiden Call During Transatlantic Voyage

Carnival Cruise Line’s Mardi Gras, the first in the line’s celebrated Excel class, received a warm welcome at the Port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, where she called for the first time on September 22, 2025.

The 180,800-gross-ton ship, which can accommodate 5,282 guests in double occupancy, spent the day docked at the Tenerife Cruise Terminal, a space operated by parent company Carnival Corporation.

In true maritime tradition, port officials and the ship’s captain, Alessandro Lemmi, exchanged ceremonial plaques in a gesture of friendship.

Mardi Gras and her captain welcomed Luz Marina Espiau, head of the Commercial and Business Development Division of the Port Authority of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and other local representatives aboard the ship for the exchange.

At the time of her visit, Mardi Gras had 4,848 guests and 1,791 crew members onboard. The ship’s visit was the second of four port calls she will make during her 14-night transatlantic crossing from Port Canaveral to Barcelona.

The ship left the Central Florida port on September 13, 2025, bound for a European shipyard where the 4-year-old vessel will undergo her first scheduled dry dock upgrade. Cruise ships typically go into dry dock for a refresh and basic maintenance every three to five years.

Since embarking guests in Port Canaveral, Mardi Gras first called at Celebration Key, Carnival’s new private destination on Grand Bahama Island. Following her call to Tenerife, the ship continued to Cadiz and Malaga, and will end in Barcelona on September 27, 2025.

Mardi Gras became the first ship to call at Santa Cruz de Tenerife during the 2025-26 season, and in the coming year, 21 cruise ships will make their inaugural visits to the six port facilities in the Canary Islands operated by the regional port authority.

The Canary Islands ports are often visited by ships making transatlantic crossings on fall and spring repositioning cruises, world cruises, and deployments like Mardi Gras’ — on the way to European shipyards.

Among cruise ships that will call at Tenerife in fall 2025 are Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Apex, TUI Cruises’ Mein Schiff 4, MSC Cruises’ MSC Virtuosa, and Costa Cruises’ Costa Fortuna, for example.

Ship Will Sail Reverse Itinerary Following Dry Dock

Following her dry dock refit, Mardi Gras is scheduled to return to Port Canaveral, where she is based year-round.

Set to depart from Barcelona on October 16, 2025, the ship will sail a reverse 14-night crossing back to Florida, calling at Málaga and Cádiz, Spain, Tenerife, and Celebration Key, and concluding in Port Canaveral on October 30, 2025.

In a slight itinerary change announced in September 2024, Carnival Cruise Line advised guests booked on the return crossing and several other Mardi Gras itineraries that the return to Port Canaveral would be at 8 a.m. on debarkation day rather than the usual 7 a.m.

Once back in Port Canaveral, Mardi Gras will resume her 7-night Eastern and Western Caribbean cruise schedule.

Eastern Caribbean voyages call at Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos; Amber Cove, Dominican Republic; and Nassau and Celebration Key, Bahamas. Western Caribbean itineraries feature Roatan, Honduras; Cozumel, Mexico; and Celebration Key.

Mardi Gras introduced several new and exciting features when she debuted four years ago, including the popular BOLT: Ultimate Sea Coaster. This motorcycle-style thrill ride takes guests 187 feet above the ocean.