Biggest Carnival ship ever to call Texas home

Cruise giant Carnival's newest and biggest ship soon will be moving to Texas.

Carnival on Thursday announced the eight-month Carnival Vista will re-position to Galveston, Texas in the fall of 2018.

The 3,954-passenger vessel currently sails out of Miami.

Carnival said Vista will operate seven-day western Caribbean itineraries out of Galveston every Sunday starting on Sept. 23, 2018. Two different itineraries are planned -- one to Montego Bay, Jamaica; Grand Cayman; and Cozumel, Mexico, and the other to Roatan, Honduras; Belize; and Cozumel.

Vista is joining the 2,974-passenger Carnival Freedom and 2,974-passenger Carnival Valor in sailing year-round out of Galveston. It's replacing the 3,690-passenger Carnival Breeze, which will move to Port Canaveral, Fla.

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Unveiled in May, Vista is Carnival's first new ship since 2012. At 133,500 tons, it's the biggest vessel in the Carnival fleet but only by a tad. It's about 4% larger than the four-year-old Breeze, on which its design is based and with which it shares many features.

New on Vista is an 800-foot-long sky ride around the top deck and an IMAX Theater -- both firsts for the industry. The ship also has a pub with a working brewery on site -- a first for a line catering to North Americans.

Among other notable new features: A record size, 455-foot-long water tube attraction that is part of the largest water park in the Carnival fleet. Passengers are able to ride it on inflatable rafts.

Vista currently is sailing six- and eight-night Caribbean voyages out of Miami after an inaugural season of voyages in Europe. It'll be replaced in Miami in late 2018 by the 3,690-passenger Carnival Magic.