Updating the status of new Carnival Vista, under construction in Italy, the building process reached a significant construction milestone with a traditional keel-laying ceremony held recently.

Carnival Cruise Lines’ newest ship, 3,954-passenger Carnival Vista, will be the largest “Fun Ship” ever build, coming in at 133,500 tons.  The 25th Carnival Ship, Carnival Vista will feature a variety of Fun Ship 2.0 dining, bar and entertainment offerings as well as several innovations unique to this vessel.

The keel laying ceremony – which dates back hundreds of years – signifies the official start of construction of a seagoing vessel. The ceremony is one of the four generally-celebrated events in the life of a ship; the others are launching, commissioning, and decommissioning for military ships.   Other events in the life of a cruise ship include naming the ship’s Godmother (s), the naming/christening ceremony, a first-call ceremony when visiting a port of call for the first time and more.

Additional design details, as well as homeport and itinerary information, are expected to be unveiled early next year.  Carnival Vista has a Spring 2016 date set to begin sailing.

In New Carnival Vista: The Building Process Begins, we brought news of one more interesting ceremony for new-builds, the Steel Cutting Ceremony.  In February of this year, the first steel was cut on what will be Carnival Vista, marking the beginning of construction.