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In a time-honored maritime tradition, a ceremony was held earlier today aboard Carnival Vista at the Fincantieri shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy, during which a commemorative coin was welded to the ship's mast to mark a significant construction milestone.

The 133,500-ton Carnival Vista - the line's newest, largest and most innovative ship - is set to debut in Europe May 1, 2016.

The coin ceremony - which dates back to the ancient Romans who believed that attaching coins to a ship provided divine protection - signifies the successful completion of Carnival Vista's exterior outfitting.

It is a longstanding tradition to select a godmother - or "madrina" - to preside over the ceremony. In this case, however, Carnival selected a "godchild" - six-year-old Kye Heald, the daughter of the company's Senior Cruise Director and Brand Ambassador John Heald, who handled her duties admirably.

With just 11 months until Carnival Vista's maiden voyage, work continues on the ship's unique on-board innovations which include the first IMAX Theater on a cruise ship, a suspended cycling experience called SkyRide, the line's first on-board brewery, and Carnival's first inner-tube raft slide, the 455-foot-long Kaleid-o-Slide.

Exclusive images and videos of the coin ceremony are available at Heald's Facebook page, www.facebook.com/johnheald, while a preview video and construction footage is available at www.carnival.com/carnivalvista.

Carnival Vista is scheduled to enter service in Europe May 1, 2016, then reposition to New York for a series of voyages in November 2016 followed by the launch of year-round Caribbean service from Miami later that month.

Cruise fans, those new to cruising and travel partners can get a preview of Carnival Vista at www.carnival.com/carnivalvista or follow @CarnivalVista for regular Twitter updates.

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