Connecting guests with the sea
Executives who unveiled the Carnival Vista in New York on
Thursday said the new ship would have a strong connection to the ocean and the
outdoors.
Mark Tamis, Carnival’s senior vice president of guest
operations, said that passengers will be able to “eat al fresco practically
anywhere.” Tamis said that the alternative restaurants were moved to Deck 5
from where they were on other ships, so the restaurants could have indoor and outdoor
areas.
A new Havana Experience will go beyond the brand’s popular
Havana Bar. The bar will lead to a Deck 5 Havana Pool, which by day will be exclusively
available to passengers staying in Havana Cabanas that have lanais with hammocks
on them. By night, it opens to rest of
the passengers.
The space is “inspired by the Caribbean and Cuba,” Tamis
said.
Carnival’s senior cruise director, John Heald, said the ship
design would bring cruising back to the way it used to be.
“So much of the industry is about getting people indoors,”
he said. “To put people in the sight and sound of the sea — that is what
cruising is about. It used to be that way when I started — that was half the
entertainment. Now we’re bringing that back.
“Cruising is all about the sea,” he added. “It always was
and always will be.”
— Johanna Jainchill
An IMAX movie theater and
what may be the closest thing yet to a full-fledged amusement park ride at sea
will be two of the features on Carnival Cruise Line’s latest ship, Carnival
Vista, due in May 2016.
Carnival pulled the
wraps off the ship at a news conference at New York’s Lincoln Center.
The reveal showed
renderings of SkyRide, a streamlined single-passenger car that runs beneath
a track circuit above the sports deck on the aft section of the 4,000-passenger
ship.
Vista will be
Carnival’s 25th ship overall and the first since delivery of
Carnival Breeze in 2012.
Like the 3,690-passenger
Breeze, Vista will begin service in Europe, marking a return of the Carnival
brand to that continent following a two-year hiatus after the departure of
Carnival Sunshine.
SkyRide is described as the
cruise industry’s first pedal-powered open-air aerial attraction. Guests will
climb aboard hanging recumbent-like bikes to cycle their way around the
800-foot suspended track with panoramic views from 150 feet above the sea.
Another first will be
IMAX, a familiar land brand that operates panoramic theaters for films shot
with special cameras to capture wide angles. The screen on Vista will be three
decks tall.
IMAX will be part of
Carnival Multiplex, a cinematic hub that also includes Thrill Theater, offering
a “multi-dimensional special-effects experience. A concession stand with
popcorn and movie snacks and a video and arcade room called The Warehouse round
out the multiplex.
Two new stateroom
categories will be introduced on Vista. Havana Cabanas will have private
outdoor patios with lounge chairs and a hammock that face an ocean-air outdoor
promenade.
Family Harbor
staterooms will accommodate five and be located in a dedicated family zone on
Deck 2 that includes a family concierge and the secluded Family Harbor Lounge.
Carnival will brew
its own beer on the ship for RedFrog Pub and introduce a New England-themed Seafood
Shack indoor/outdoor restaurant.