Carnival Vista will be Carnival Cruise Line's 25th ship when she launches in spring 2016.
Under construction in Italy by Fincantieri, she promises to be the most fun cruise ship ever ordered by Carnival and the best cruise ship in the Carnival fleet.
Carnival Vista will register at 133,500 gross tonnes and will span 321½ metres (1,055 feet) in length. She will have a beam of 37¼ metres (122 feet) which expands to 48 metres (158 feet) at the pool decks. She will have a maximum draft of 8¼ metres (27 feet).
The 15-passenger-deck ship will be able to accommodate 4,980 passengers at full capacity or 3,936 passengers based on standard occupancy.
Carnival Vista will follow a similar design to Carnival Breeze, albeit with unique elements.
Carnival Cruise Line has not opted for a sleek, contemporary look but instead has chosen its signature vivid, bright, and colourful look.
The family-friendly cruise ship will offer many of the Fun Ship 2.0 featured elsewhere in the fleet together with a few innovations.
The main talking point of the ship will be SkyRide, the first pedal-powered roller coaster at sea. Riders will pedal their way along one of two 244 metre (800 foot) suspended tracks 46 metres (150 feet) above sea level. The pods can travel up to 18 miles per hour.
SkyCourse, Carnival's suspended ropes course, will span 82 metres (270 feet).
The nearby Clubhouse at SportSquare will offer mini-bowling, ping-pong, arcade basketball, sports video gaming and more. SkyGreens will be a two-level miniature golf course.
SkyFitness, an outdoor gym, will be perfect for exercising without sacrificing endless sea views.
The ship will have a choice of outdoor pools. Carnival’s Seaside Theatre, a poolside screen, will broadcast movies, live sporting events, concerts, and cartoons, day and night.
Inside, the 182-seater IMAX® Theatre will steal the show. The three-deck-tall screen will broadcast the latest Hollywood blockbuster movies, IMAX® classics and IMAX® documentary content.
The Thrill Theatre next door will offer 4D movie experiences, promising “multi-dimensional special effects”.
Liquid Lounge, the main theatre space onboard, will host lively entertainment with talented singers, musicians, and dancers performing crowd-thrilling numbers in extravagant costumes.
The smaller Limelight Lounge will host musicians, vocalists, and comedians. For live comedy, head to the 385-seat Punchliner Comedy Club, in association with American TV personality George Lopez.
The Art Gallery and the Vista Casino will also take pride of place on the ship, as will the assortment of Fun Shops. Meanwhile, the Dreams Studio will be available for photoshoots in association with the Photo Gallery team onboard.
The Fitness Centre will boast the latest equipment together with fitness classes and seminars. For relaxation, the Cloud 9 Spa will offer a standard range of spa treatments including massages, facials, and body wraps. A thermal suite will be available together with a thalassotherapy pool. Innovations in the two-deck spa include four steam chambers, an infrared sauna, Hamman, and “experience showers” providing soothing fragrance elements.
The peaceful, adults-only Serenity Retreat will offer hammocks, a bar, a salad bar, and Carnival’s first outdoor massage huts.
Expect the usual range of Carnival eateries together with some new speciality restaurants on Carnival Vista.
Reflections Restaurant and Horizons Restaurant are the two main dining rooms.
Lido Marketplace will be the buffet restaurant onboard offering a wide range of cuisines to suit all tastes. Pizzeria del Capitano will serve up slices of freshly baked pizza 24 hours a day.
Guy’s Burger Joint, a venue in collaboration with Guy Fieri, the American television star of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, will be added.
Cherry on Top will offer a premium, mixed-to-order ice cream creation bar. Swirls will be a self-service soft-serve ice cream bar serving chocolate, vanilla or strawberry ice cream 24 hours a day. Shake Spot will create authentic hand-crafted milkshakes or floats.
BlueIguana Cantina will offer Mexican style fare including tacos and burritos. Fat Jimmy’s C-Side BBQ will offer barbequed meats on sea days.
Classic American steakhouse Fahrenheit 555 will also make an appearance, as will Bonsai Sushi, a Japanese-style restaurant serving sushi-style dishes.
Cucina del Capitano will serve Italian-American dishes together with a cover charge of $15 (&thickapprox; £12) per adult and $5 (&thickapprox; £4) per child.
The Seafood Shack, a New England-inspired venue, will serve favourites including lobster rolls, steamed lobster, fried shrimp, crab cakes, fried clams, and more, sold a la carte.
The Chef’s Table will be a premium venue with a premium cover charge of $75 (&thickapprox; £59) each for adults and children. The experience, limited to 14 people, includes a tour of the galley and a three-course meal.
Ji Ji Asian Kitchen will specialise in a mix of exotic and familiar dishes from Asia, drawing inspiration from Mongolia, Peking and Sichuan (China), Vietnam, Singapore, the Philippines, and Indonesia. The cover charge will be $15 (&thickapprox; £12) per adult and $5 (&thickapprox; £4) per child.
The RedFrog Pub is a classic from other Carnival vessels, but as a first for the cruise line, it will also have an on-site brewery. During each sailing, two giant copper-topped glass kettles will create craft ales and lagers.
Head to BlueIguana Tequila Bar for Mexican favourites including several brands of tequila and a variety of Mexican brews. RedFrog Rum Bar will serve rum-based concoctions by the glass or pitcher.
The Alchemy Bar will be a vintage-themed cocktail “pharmacy” with mixologists prescribing non-alcoholic and alcoholic elixirs.
The Latin-style Havana Bar will serve cocktails and bites during the day and will become a Latin dance club by night. The Havana experience extends beyond with a new Havana Pool located at the rear of the ship, whirlpools, and a relaxation area complete with colourful umbrellas, faux palm trees, thatched patio huts, and comfy seating. Havana-themed cabins come with prime access to this area.
The Atrium Bar will site beneath a magnificent grand LED tornado-style sculpture. The LED screens will change colours and patterns to set different moods in the area. The atrium will transform into a dance venue at night.
The Library Bar will be a private area for a quiet drink, completely contrasting the vibrancy at the Sports Bar. Other bars include Piano Bar 88, Ocean Plaza, Plaza Bar, Tides Bar and The Clubhouse Bar.
Carnival Cruise Line carries more than 700,000 children each year, so family entertainment is a key area to get right.
Expect to find the largest WaterWorks water park in the fleet on Carnival Vista, with plenty of interactive water elements and a 300-gallon tipping bucket.
The Kaleid-O-Slide will be the cruise line’s first water tube slide, where riders can opt for one or two-person inflatable rafts and speed down the 139 metre (455 feet) slide. The Twister slide spans 91 metres (300 feet).
Hasbro, the Game Show will be added to the ship as a family entertainment show. American versions of classic board games will transform into a participative show with large-scale interactive competitions.
Camp Carnival, the kids club, will cater for different age groups.
Camp Ocean will be a 371 square metre (4,000 square foot) undersea-themed play space for children between the ages of two and 11 years old. Kids aged between two and five will participate in the Penguin Club, children aged between six and eight will take part in the Stingrays Club, and nine to 11-year-olds will be involved in the Sharks Club. Each group will engage in more than 200 fun and educational ocean-inspired age-appropriate activities, with a mix of active and digital play on offer.
Circle C, for 12 to 14-year-olds, will serve as a hangout. Kids can make new friends and enjoy activities like dance parties, games, outdoor movies, and more.
Club O2 for teens aged 15 to 17-years-old will be similar to Circle C in that it will act as a hangout. Teens can watch movies, listen to music, play sports and video games, join karaoke sessions, and more. Carnival will also organise pool parties exclusively for this age group plus teen-only shore excursions in select ports of call.
Camp Ocean will also include Party Reef, a common area for all ages, as well as a breakout room for arts and crafts called Creative Cove. Just outside Camp Ocean, will be two outdoor playgrounds: Camp Ocean Playground featuring climbing, tactile and exploratory activities for the little ones, while the interactive NEOS Play Zone will offer fast-paced high-tech fun for older kids.
Expect to see the Dr Seuss experiences on Carnival Vista too. Dr Seuss Bookville will be a bright and colourful library full of fun and whimsical furniture and classic Dr Seuss books. The Dr Seuss Green Eggs and Ham experience will also be available, at $5 (&thickapprox; £4) per person.
Expect to find the usual range of Inside, Ocean View, and Balcony cabins as well as a range of Suites. There will also be a variety of themed cabins.
Cloud 9 Spa cabins and suites will benefit from premium in-room amenities like exclusive shampoo and conditioner, shower gel, and vitamin-rich body lotions along with spa-branded bathrobes and slippers. Perks include priority spa reservations, free fitness classes, unlimited access to the thermal suites and Thalassotherapy pool, plus exclusive discounts on spa treatments on port days.
Havana cabins will feature private outdoor patios – complete with lounge chairs and a hammock – with easy access to the Havana Bar and Pool. The patios appear to have no privacy whatsoever.
Nautical-themed Family Harbour cabins will better cater for families, accommodating up to five passengers. Expect to find kid-friendly toiletries, and pint-sized bathrobes and slippers. These cabins include private key-card access to the Family Harbour Lounge on Deck 2 where families can relax, with large-screen TVs, games, and complimentary breakfast and snacks on offer.
Carnival Vista will spend her first season in Europe, breaking the cruise line's absence since 2014. This schedule enables Brits to try out the Carnival brand with only short-haul flights required to either Barcelona (Spain) or Athens (Greece).
The new vessel will launch on 1 May 2016 with a 13-day cruise departing from Trieste, Italy.
A selection of Mediterranean itineraries will be available with port calls throughout Italy, France, Spain, Croatia and Turkey, as well as several new destinations for Carnival such as Crete (Heraklion), and Corfu, Greece; Valletta, Malta; Palermo, Sicily; Cagliari, Sardinia; and Gibraltar.
At the end of the season (21 October 2016) Carnival Vista will embark on a 13-day transatlantic voyage arriving in New York on the 3 November 2016. Here she will run a series of sailings from the Big Apple. She will then sail down to Miami where she will homeport.
Have you booked to sail on Carnival Vista? What are you most looking forward to seeing? Let me know in the comments below.
Her home port will become Miami from late 2016 to at least late 2017. I can’t see itineraries beyond October 2017 at the moment but suspect she will stay in Miami a little longer, at least until her sister ship is launched in early 2018. My guess is that she will then be moved elsewhere and the new ship will take her place.