Vista Spirit hybrid-class cruise ship

The Vista Spirit hybrid-class cruise ship is the culmination of two cruise ship designs. Carnival Corporation had two competing and very similar ship designs, the Vista class and Spirit class. The Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri constructed Vista-class ships for Holland America and P&O Cruises and the Finnish STX shipbuilder built Spirit-class vessels for the Carnival and Costa brands. Both designs incorporated Azipods, and were Panamax ships around 90,000 gross tonnage (GT).

Vista Spirit hybrid class
MS Queen Victoria prior to her 2017 refit
Class overview
BuildersFincantieri
Operators
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Built2006–2010
In service2007–present
Planned4
Completed4
Active4
General characteristics
TypeCruise ship
Tonnage92,700 GT
Length964.5 ft (294.0 m)
Beam
  • 106 ft (32 m) waterline,
  • 120 ft (37 m) extreme (bridge wings)
Height205 ft (62 m) keel to funnel
Draft26.2 ft (8.0 m)
Decks16 total, 12 passenger
Installed power
    • MS Queen Elizabeth: 4 × MaK 12VM43C
    • 2 × MaK 8M43C
    • 64,000 kW (86,000 hp) (combined)
Propulsion
Speed
  • 23.7 knots (43.9 km/h; 27.3 mph) maximum,
  • Service speed 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph)
Capacity2,081 passengers
Crew900

Background

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The visual differences between the ships include:

  • Vista-class ships had an external observation lift mid-ship on both sides of the ship, a wider forward and aft deck-width and a tiered forward section on the passenger cabin decks. Vista-class vessels also tend to have an additional upper deck just forward of the funnel.
  • Spirit-class ships have an alternate wide-narrow-wide-narrow-wide deck width along their length and a flat forward section leading to the bow of the ship with small windows

Hybrid design

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The hybrid design was first launched as Queen Victoria in 2007.

The hull, bow, and stern of the Vista Spirit hybrid class are identical; except for Queen Victoria which differs in some details. A 2017 refit for the Queen Victoria fitted additional cabins her stern which makes her more similar in appearance to Queen Elizabeth.

Ships in class

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Built Ship Operator Builder Tonnage Flag Notes Image
2007 Queen Victoria Cunard Line Fincantieri 92,700 GT   Bermuda Received a refit in 2017  
2009 Carnival Luminosa Carnival Cruise Line Fincantieri 92,700 GT   Bahamas As of November 2022, sails as a part of Carnival Cruise Line's Spirit Class  
2010 Costa Deliziosa Costa Cruises Fincantieri 92,700 GT   Italy  
2010 Queen Elizabeth Cunard Line Fincantieri 92,700 GT   Bermuda