Vista-class Cruise Ship (2002)

The Vista class is a class of Panamax-type cruise ships, built by Fincantieri Marghera shipyard, in Italy for Carnival Corporation subsidy lines Holland America Line, P&O Cruises, Cunard Line, Costa Cruises, and Carnival Cruise Line. It is a design platform that was developed by Carnival that utilised various iterations of the same platform for over two decades.

History

The Vista-class design was created by Carnival Corporation for its Holland America Line, using the Panamax guidelines to determine their designed size. The predesessors to the class was Costa Cruises and Carnival Cruise Line's Spirit-Class starting with the '' Costa Atlantica'' and '' Carnival Spirit''.

The ships are equipped with a diesel-electric power plant and an Azipod propulsion system. The ships are designed so that eighty-five percent of the staterooms have ocean views and sixty-seven percent have verandas; the extensive use of glass in the superstructure, (including glass elevators located amidship), is also reflected in the Vista-class name.

The first ship is the modified Spirit class design was the '' Zuiderdam'' in 2002.

Derivative designs

Signature class

A fifth hull which was originally intended for Holland America was transferred to Cunard Line in 2003 where it was planned to become . However, due to restructuring within their parent corporation Carnival Corporation & plc, as well as a later decision by Cunard that modifications should be made to introduce successful elements from the design of , the hull was again transferred to become P&O Cruises' . This would become the first of the modified Vista-Class platform and become known as the Signature class for Holland America.

The second derivative design is Holland America Line's Signature-class cruise ship, . While the same length as MS ''Noordam'', she has one more deck than the standard Vista-class design, and her public areas and cabin placement have been significantly redesigned, especially on her upper-most decks (to accommodate the additional 190 passengers berthed just below the popular Crow's Nest). A second Signature-class ship, , entered service in 2010.

Hybrid Vista/''Spirit'' class

In 2007 Cunard took delivery of ''Queen Victoria'' the first ship in a class described as a hybrid design "taking the best parts from Aker Yards' built ''Costa Atlantica'' and ''Costa Mediterranea'', and from Holland America's Vista class ships". Subsequent ships based on this hybrid design include Costa's '' Costa Luminosa'', Cunard's , and '' Costa Deliziosa''.

Pinnacle Class

The final iteration of the Vista class debuted with the ''Koningsdam'' for Holland America Line followed by the '' Nieuw Statendam'' and ''Rotterdam.'' The final ship would a stretched version for Cunard line as the '' Queen Anne,'' debuting in 2024.

Ships by delivery date

Similar Panamax ships

* , a similar class of Panamax ships operated by Carnival Cruise Line.
* , a similar class of Panamax ships operated by Royal Caribbean International
* ''Millennium Class'', Panamax class ship Celebrity Cruises
* and , a similar set of Panamax ships operated by Princess Cruises

References

External links

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{{Vista class

Cruise ship classes
Ships of the Holland America Line
Panamax cruise ships
Fincantieri