By Jackie Sheckler Finch

When the Carnival Horizon sails the ocean blue starting in April 2018, the new ship will be carrying on a time-honored tradition.

The 133,500-ton Carnival Horizon recently had a commemorative coin welded to the ship’s mast to mark a significant construction milestone – the successful completion of Carnival Horizon’s exterior outfitting.

Origins of the coin ceremony can be traced back to the ancient Romans who believed that attaching coins to a ship provided divine protection.

The ceremony was held at the Fincantieri shipyard in Marghera, Italy, where the ship is being built. Fabrizio Timossi of Carnival’s corporate shipbuilding department represented Carnival at the ceremony with Clementina Zecchin of Fincantieri’s Marghera yard serving as godmother.

A sister ship to the hugely popular Carnival Vista introduced last year, Carnival Horizon will offer many of the innovative indoor and outdoor dining, bar, entertainment and activity options that debuted on Carnival Vista.

Among those is a bike-ride-in-the-sky attraction called SkyRide, an IMAX Theatre and a massive WaterWorks aqua park with corkscrew slides, a tipping bucket and other attractions promising lots of splash fun.

A wide range of accommodations will also be offered, including spa cabins with exclusive privileges at the luxurious Cloud 9 Spa, extra-roomy staterooms in Family Harbor, and tropical-inspired Havana staterooms and suites with exclusive daytime access to a Cuban-themed bar and pool.

Carnival Horizon is scheduled to make its maiden voyage April 2, 2018, with a 13-day Mediterranean cruise from Barcelona – the first of four round-trip departures from this port.  Carnival Horizon will reposition to the U.S. with a 14-day trans-Atlantic crossing from Barcelona to New York May 9-23, 2018.

Following its summer schedule of four-day Bermuda and eight-day Caribbean departures from the Big Apple, Carnival Horizon will shift to Miami and kick off a year-round schedule of six- and eight-day Caribbean cruises beginning Sept. 22, 2018.

Photo courtesy of Carnival Cruise Line