Mardi Gras: Sanitation Record & Health Report

Let's get one thing out of the way: a CDC score of 98 is not a typo, and it is not grade inflation. That is the kind of number that makes an inspector's clipboard feel underused. Mardi Gras rolled out of Meyer Turku in 2020 as Carnival's first Excel-class ship, hauling up to 5,282 passengers and 1,735 crew across 18 decks of pure "we built this to be seen from space" energy, and it apparently runs a galley tighter than its Instagram feed suggests. One inspection on the books, dated April 11, 2026, and it posted a 98. For context, fleet average sits around 95 — so this isn't just passing, it's the kid who finishes the test early and still checks their work twice.

Here's the honest caveat, because Ship Tea doesn't do fake certainty: that 98 is Mardi Gras's only inspection so far, so there isn't a trend to brag about yet — the data flatly says insufficient_data, and we're not going to invent a trajectory to make the story punchier. One data point is one data point, not a pattern, no matter how shiny. And on outbreaks, the CDC's outbreak feed is currently unreachable on our end, so we're not going to sit here and tell you this ship has a spotless record when we genuinely can't see the ledger. That's not a red flag, it's just us refusing to make things up — check back when the data's flowing again.

So who's this for? If you want the biggest, splashiest thing Carnival has ever floated — freshly refurbished in 2025, a 2026 inspection score that reads like a flex, sailing out of Port Canaveral — Mardi Gras is an easy yes, especially for families or first-timers who want maximum "wow" per square foot of ship. Who should skip it: anyone allergic to crowds or scale, since a vessel built for over 5,000 guests is never going to feel like an intimate boutique sailing, and anyone who wants a decade of inspection history to pore over before booking — this ship simply hasn't been open long enough to build that archive. For now, the paperwork says smooth sailing. Ask again after inspection number two.