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First ever "roller coaster at sea" announced
A major cruise line has announced its next ship will feature a roller coaster on its deck.
The 220m long ride, called BOLT: Ultimate Sea Coaster, will be installed on the Carnival Mardi Gras and include a number or twists and turns and boast some sections with a top speed of 40mph.
The Carnival Mardi Gras will have accommodation for 5,200 passengers and will be ready to set sail in 2020.
Speaking to USA Today, Carnival president Christine Duffy said: "It will be a thrill ride. We think it's a really cool innovation for Mardi Gras, which will have a lot of new guest features and experiences that we have not done before."
The ride will be built by Maurer Rides, based in Munich, Germany, who said it will be the "first-ever roller coaster at sea”.
You can watch a CGI video of the ride here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9dZP94ZnPE
Riders will get into vehicles that resemble motorbikes, careering 187 feet above sea level. While the ride might not compare with some of the scariest land-based rides, the ocean views will no doubt make the experience unique and exciting.
The ride will have racing-car levels of acceleration and include a hair-pin turn around the ship's funnel. However, Duffy says safety will be paramount on the new ride.
"Certainly it has been tested and studied," Duffy says. "Safety is the No. 1 priority for us."
Bad weather may occasionally force the ride to close, says Duffy.
While the ride will be made in Germany, the ship itself will be built in the Meyer Turku shipyard in Turku, Finland. Meyer Turku is one of the only shipyards that can build ships as big as the Mardi Gras.
The vessel will weigh 180,000 tonnes and is likely to be the sixth-biggest ship in the world when it launches in 2020. It will be named after Carnival's first-ever ship, which launched in 1973 and was six times smaller than the new incarnation.
In recent years, many cruise lines have introduced headline-grabbing attractions. For instance, on Norwegian Cruise Line's newest ships, Norwegian Bliss and Norwegian Joy, passengers can enjoy a spot of go-karting, while forthcoming Royal Caribbean liners boast glass capsules that soar skywards.
Some of Disney's most recent vessels, meanwhile, have "water-coasters" - water-based fun rides that will make the heart pound.
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