Another Vista Class Ship Will Join Carnival's Fleet In 2019

In one way, this news of Australia's loss is possibly—hopefully—a gain for North America cruisers. In another way, this isn't all bad news for cruise travelers Down Under as the newest 133,500-ton cruise ship, set to be the third vessel in the company's Vista class series, will join the Carnival Cruise Line fleet in late 2019. The ship was originally designated for the P&O Cruises Australia brand. In conjunction with this change, Carnival Cruise Line's Carnival Splendor—a one-of-a-kind ship in terms of "class" designation—will instead be transferred to P&O Cruises Australia in late 2019. The new Vista class ship will offer many of Carnival's most popular guest features, a wide range of accommodation types, and a number of new innovations unique to this vessel. The ship's name, homeport, and itinerary details will be announced at a later date.

"We are truly thrilled to have another Vista class ship joining our fleet," said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. "Carnival Vista has proven to be the most innovative and popular ship we've ever introduced. Consumer, travel agent, and media reaction to the Vista class design has been extraordinary and we are elated to have two additional ships in this spectacular series now joining our fleet—Carnival Horizon, which is scheduled to be delivered in March 2018, and now a third in 2019."

Duffy added that the introduction of these ships to the Carnival fleet provides the opportunity to offer the Vista class experience from a variety of homeports in addition to creating new itinerary options across the balance of the Carnival Cruise Line fleet as this additional capacity is integrated into the deployment mix.

Image Courtesy Carnival Cruise Line