It was launched at the Fincantieri shipyard in Marghera, “Carnival Panorama”, a new ship destined for Carnival Cruise Line, a brand of the US group Carnival Corporation & plc, the world's leading operator in the cruise sector. Now the interior fitting-out phase will begin, leading to the ship's delivery in autumn 2019.
The moment of the launch was preceded by the traditional and auspicious "coin ceremony”, which consists in welding a silver dollar on the last deck of the ship, according to an ancient seafaring custom. Godmother of the ceremony was Antonella Cazzin, an employee of the Marghera shipyard for over 35 years.
The launch ceremony was attended, among others, by the shipowner Ben Clement, Senior Vice President of Carnival Cruise Line and Marco Scaramuccia, Project Manager of Carnival Panorama, while by Fincantieri, Antonio Quintano, director of the Marghera shipyard.
The new unit will be the sister ship of "Carnival Vista", delivered in Monfalcone in April 2016, and "Carnival Horizon", built in Marghera and delivered in March this year.
133.500 gross tonnage e 323 meters in length, these are the dimensions that characterize the “Vista” series, which includes the largest units built so far by Fincantieri for the Carnival Cruise Line fleet. It will have 2.004 cabins, to which must be added the 770 for the crew, thus being able to accommodate over 6.500 people on board, including passengers and crew.
The “Vista” class units represent a new technological point of reference at European and world level for their innovative lay-out, very high performance and the high quality of cutting-edge technical solutions. The interior fittings are characterized by a very high level of comfort, offering a vast range of entertainment, restaurants as well as theatres, shops and wellness centres. Also this ship, like the previous ones of the class, is characterized by the presence of the Havana area, a restricted and exclusive themed area, made up of cabins, open-air bars and Infinity pool, which can only be accessed by passengers staying in that area during the day.
In addition to Carnival Panorama, launched today, the second ship for the Costa Asia brand and the third unit of the "Pinnacle" class for Holland America Line are under construction or soon to be built at the Marghera shipyard, respectively due for delivery in 2020 and 2021.
From 1990 to today Fincantieri built 87 cruise ships (of which 64 since 2002), a further 53 units are under construction or soon to be built in the group's plants.
