Carnival Cruise Line introduced its newest ship, the 133,500 GT Carnival Horizon via a VIP event in New York on Wednesday, May 23. The 2nd Vista class ship is currently Carnival’s biggest vessel and the 26th in the fleet. Carnival Horizon is also the 102nd cruise liner operated by the brands of Carnival Corp.
The ship arrived in New York City on Wednesday following a month of voyages in Europe and a transatlantic crossing. The overnight event held in Manhattan included a christening ceremony by musical artist and actress Queen Latifah, and a special “Lip Sync Battle” between the godmother and Jake Elliott, kicker for Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles.
The naming ceremony also benefited St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, one of Carnival’s primary charitable partners, which received a check for US$100,000 raised by Carnival and its guests at events including Groove for St Jude dance parties on its vessels.
The events were capped off with fireworks display from Horizon's Lido Deck.
Built by Fincantieri at its Monfalcone shipyard, Carnival Horizon includes several enhancements from her sister ship and the first member of Vista class, Carnival Vista, introduced just 2 years ago. Horizon's passenger capacity was increased by 26 berths largely through the addition of inside cabins on Deck 3.
Construction of Carnival Horizon took 30 months. The first steel cutting was in March 2015, and the keel was laid in April 2016. The first sea trials were in November 2017. Carnival Horizon entered service on April 2, 2018 sailing from Barcelona, and will now be based in New York City for the summer. In September, the ship repositions for year-round deployment cruise from Miami on 6 and 8-day Caribbean cruises.
A 3rd ship of the class, Carnival Panorama is scheduled for delivery at the end of 2019 and will sail year-round from California.