Cruise entertainment on another level

IF she can live up to the hype, Carnival Cruise Lines innovative and breathtaking Vista cruise ship will revolutionise the world of cruising, particularly for fun-seeking families.

Featuring an IMAX cinema, a suspended cycling track with panoramic views, ice-cream parlours, a water park, a raft-riding water tube slide and an on-board brewery (for the parents), the new Vista cruise ship will change the cruising experience in ways unimaginable.

Due for launch in May 2016, Vista packs enough entertainment into its 133,500 tonnes to keep its guests amused and absorbed for far longer than a couple of weeks. Vista comes in at 1,055 feet in length with a capacity for nearly 4,000 passengers and features diversions that wouldn’t be out of place at Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. Making the most of its outdoor space, the ship will house a waterpark, the SkyRide (800 feet cycling track suspended from an upper deck), a jogging track, private cabanas with outdoor patio, a giant column with coloured LED screens, restaurants, cafes, shops and bars.

She is due to sail all over the Mediterranean for five months before relocating to New York.

“It really is exciting to be back in Europe for 2016,” Erin Johnson, Carnival’s managing director for the UK and Ireland told MailOnline. “The Caribbean is  still a priority for us but we are really happy to be sailing out of Europe again as we felt it made sense for us to offer a full European season to our customers in the UK and further afield. The high-altitude sky ride and the world’s first IMAX at sea will bring something new and exciting to the cruise industry and we believe the compelling itineraries will attract a strong base of repeaters and new to cruise.”

There will be a New England-inspired seafood shack, a burger joint, a steakhouse and a pub with its own on-board brewery. Accommodation comes in the form of staterooms and Havana-style cabanas with outdoor areas. 

The Vista looks set to raise the bar for cruising up to the next level.