'Family Feud' Going to Sea on Carnival Mardi Gras

Carnival executives played Family Feud against journalists at SeaTrade Miami (Photo by NPBL)

(PRESS RELEASE)_MIAMI (April 9, 2019) – Let’s play Family Feud Live!™ Carnival Cruise Line today announced it will debut the seagoing version of the iconic TV game show Family Feud™ as part of the entertainment lineup on the highly anticipated Mardi Gras, when it enters service in 2020.

An exclusive partnership with Fremantle, Family Feud Live aboard Mardi Gras will feature the same format and signature set as the TV show. Two five-person teams will battle it out in rounds including Face Off and Fast Money by naming the most popular answers to survey questions for a chance to win a host of prizes in a high-energy gameplay.

“Carnival Cruise Line is all about fun, family and friends just like Family Feud,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. “As we continue to build Mardi Gras’ diverse entertainment lineup, we are excited about offering this iconic game show onboard and involving our guests in a great new way to Choose Fun.”

Rick Glankler, president of commercial operations for Fremantle, added, “Our show has been wildly successful for more than 40 years, but it’s never been showcased at sea, so this is an unbelievably exciting opportunity for us. Carnival’s audience is perfectly aligned with our show, and we cannot wait to give Mardi Gras’ guests the chance to play Family Feud Live.”

The onboard version of Family Feud Live on Mardi Gras will be hosted by the ship’s cruise director. Several variations of the show will be played and designed to be both family-friendly and adult-oriented. Family Feud Live will be just one of the many all-ages entertainment offerings presented in Mardi Gras’ Grand Central zone and other new venues.

Mardi Gras is Carnival’s most innovative ship with such groundbreaking experiences like BOLT, the first roller coaster at sea, as well as Emeril’s Bistro 1396, the first seagoing restaurant by famed New Orleans chef Emeril Lagasse that will be housed in the ship’s French Quarter, one of six themed zones on board. Mardi Gras will also be the first cruise ship in North America to be powered by Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), part of Carnival Corporation’s “green cruising” platform.

Currently under construction at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Turku, Finland, Mardi Gras is slated to enter service in Europe Aug. 31, 2020, before repositioning to New York for a series of voyages then shift to Port Canaveral for year-round seven-day Caribbean cruises beginning in Oct. 2020.