Carnival takes delivery of brand new Carnival Horizon

[Jason]

Shipyards are spitting out cruise ships in quick order as Carnival Cruise Line took delivery of Carnival Horizon.

The handover of the fleet’s 26th vessel took place less than a week after Royal Caribbean got its hands on the new world’s largest cruise ship, Symphony of the Seas.

Carnival Horizon is a sister ship to Carnival Vista, both of which are the largest vessels for that line at 133,500 gross tons. The ship changed hands Wednesday at the Fincantieri shipyard in Italy with a traditional maritime ceremony.

“Carnival Horizon is an absolutely stunning ship offering so many ways to ‘Choose Fun’ both inside and out,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line in a press release. “In addition to the many exciting innovations previously introduced on Carnival Vista, Carnival Horizon offers some new one-of-a-kind features and attractions that make this ship truly special allowing our guests to create a lifetime of wonderful vacation memories.”

Unique to the ship is Guy’s Pig & Anchor Bar-B-Que Smokehouse | Brewhouse from celebrity Guy Fieri, which pairs beer brewed right on the ship with barbecue. The ship also has the line’s first teppanyaki restaurant.

On the top deck, the ship’s water park is similar to Carnival Vista, but Horizon’s has a Dr. Seuss theme. Horizon also has the Vista-class’ signature thriller, SkyRide, a suspended bike track attraction that lets riders take in the view while racing one another around half the ship.

Also just like Vista, the new ship features two special cabin areas on board, a Family Harbor area with its own lounge that's designed for large families, and the Havana Cabanas, which don't allow any children under 12 and has its own lounge and pool.

The 3,954-passenger ship will sail from Barcelona until making its way to New York for a naming ceremony in May featuring the ship’s godmother Queen Latifah. After summer sailings from New York, the ship will reposition to PortMiami to begin year-round six- and eight-night Caribbean sailings starting Sept. 22.

Carnival Horizon and Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas are the first two of five Florida-bound ships coming out of Europe’s shipyards this year. Coming up are Norwegian Bliss, Celebrity Edge and Holland America ms Nieuw Statendam.

By Richard Tribou, Orlando Sentinel
Re-posted on CruiseCrazies.com - Cruise News, Articles, Forums, Packing List, Ship Tracker, and more
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