Great Ships of 2016: Carnival Vista
Since it started publishing in 1939, Maritime Reporter & Engineering News has recognized excellence in ship construction. This year 18 ships in total were honored, including many “world firsts.”
Carnival Vista - New, Largest Flagship of Carnival Cruise Lines
Builder: Fincantieri Monfalcone
Owner: Carnival Cruise Lines
Carnival Vista is the new flagship of the fleet of Carnival Cruise Line, brand of the Carnival Group, delivered from Fincantieri’s shipyard in Monfalcone. With its 133,500 gross tons and 323 meters in length, Carnival Vista, which flies the Panama flag, is not only the 13th ship built so far by Fincantieri for the fleet of Carnival Cruise Line, but also the largest. It has 1,967 passenger cabins, 785 for the crew, and it is able to accommodate 4,977 passengers on board, with a total capacity of over 6,400 people, including the staff.
The vessel offers a wide range of onboard entertainments, such as an IMAX 3D cinema, a 5D cinema, a brewery with onboard craft beer production, restaurants, theaters, shops and wellness centers. Some of Carnival Vista’s innovations are an open-air bike course at 45 meters above sea level, the fleet’s biggest waterpark, the WaterWorks, with a 137-m waterslide. Carnival Vista features the Havana Area, a themed private and exclusive area, with cabins, open bars and an Infinity Pool. The access to this area is limited, during the day, only to those passengers whose cabins are in the Havana Area.
The new ship is built according to the latest navigation regulations and equipped with the most modern safety systems, including the “Safe return to port”.
Furthermore, it features technologies for energy saving and for meeting environmental regulations with energy-efficient engines and an exhaust gas cleaning system. Lloyd’s Register bestowed the “ECO Notation” designation on the new Carnival Vista, marking the first Carnival Cruise Line ship to achieve this distinction. The notation recognizes that the cruise line designed, built and operates Carnival Vista in a manner that exceeds current maritime statutory environmental regulations.
(As published in the December 2016 edition of Maritime Reporter & Engineering News)