Home Pix of the Trade Carnival Celebrates National Roller Coaster Day

Carnival Cruise Line is celebrating National Roller Coaster Day (Aug. 16) as it gets its second BOLT: Ultimate Sea Coaster on Carnival Celebration ready for thrill seekers.

A new video clip from the shipyard shows the rollercoaster’s newly installed car on its track in preparation for test runs set to happen this week.

Carnival Celebration’s construction is being completed at Meyer Turku in Finland and will introduce Carnival’s hometown homeport of Miami to yet another modern maritime marvel when it brings BOLT, and many other stunning Excel-class innovations, to PortMiami in the fall.

The first BOLT, which carries the distinction of also being the first-ever roller coaster at sea, is already thrilling guests every day on sister ship.

BOLT is an all-electric coaster featuring a two-person car traveling at speeds of up to 40 miles per hour on an 800-foot track full of drops, twists and turns 187 feet above the water line. Among other awards, the coaster was recognized by Popular Science with its “Best of What’s New” engineering award last year.

Christine Duffy, Carnival’s president, said: “The recognition this incredible attraction has received since its debut on our flagship last year highlights the tremendous work that went into making it a reality, but the most important thing about BOLT is, simply, it’s fun. It embodies the great lengths we’ll go to for our guests’ good time, and I’m eager to see this next coaster in service when Carnival Celebration begins sailing.”

Carnival Celebration will offer year-round, seven-day Caribbean sailings beginning with its inaugural cruise on Nov. 21 after debuting from the redesigned Terminal F at PortMiami. Carnival Celebration will join sister Mardi Gras as the second Carnival ship in the fleet powered by a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) propulsion system, part of Carnival Corporation’s pioneering green cruising platform.