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Massive New Cruise Ship Will Feature World's First At-Sea Roller Coaster

Updated September 6, 2021

As far as I know, I don't get seasick, but my family haven't really gone on many cruises. It's not that we have anything against them so much as we generally prefer to visit a particular city and see what's going on there.

So it probably comes as a bigger surprise to me than it does any cruise fans out there to learn how elaborate cruises have become over the years. Not only are the ships themselves getting bigger and bigger, but so are the options you have when you bord one.

And nothing makes that clearer than what's in store for guests on Carnival's newest liner.

Carnival Cruise Lines recently unveiled the largest ship the company uses: the Mardi Gras.

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According to CNBC, it's not the world's largest cruise liner because that honor goes to Royal Carribbean's Symphony of the Seas, but it has 20 decks and 5,200 rooms.

Although the Mardi Gras' size may not be setting records, there's one thing about it that definitely does.

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Namely, it will feature the Bolt Ultimate Sea Coaster, which is the world's first roller coaster to go out to sea.

The bolt will run on a track above the ship's outdoor deck and its drops can reach a top-speed of about 40 miles per hour.

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That might not make it the fastest roller coaster in the world, but as Glenn Aprile, the company's director of innovation told CNBC, the ones that can go above 100 miles per hour don't have to be designed around the movement of a ship.

The Bolt seats two guests in a motorcycle-like vehicle as it runs about 187 feet about sea level.

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It's classified as a spike coaster, which means it's single-car, electric and allows guests to control the speed of their ride with a pedal.

Given how high up it is and how the track runs, the roller coaster is supposed to offer passengers a 360 degree view of the sea.

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As Aprile said, "Kept at full throttle, the ride would take about a minute."

Aprile also assured guests who just want to relax that the Bolt runs quietly.

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Of course, the same won't necessarily be true for whoever rides it. Then again, we have established that its speed probably won't impress many adrenaline junkies.

But the Bolt isn't all guests can look forward to when the Mardi Gras opens to the public in 2020.

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Guests will also have the chance to go head-to-head with other families at their "Family Feud Live" shows and dine at a restaurant owned by New Orleans culinary legend Emeril LaGasse. That seems appropriate for the Mardi Gras.

h/t: CNBC

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