Deputy Premier and Minister of Transport the Hon. Walter H. Roban JP MP led a Bermuda delegation aboard the Carnival Horizon Saturday morning on the ship’s inaugural visit to the island.

In for the day out of New York just prior to its return voyage, Carnival Horizon is billed as the newest, largest and classiest cruise ship built for Carnival Cruise Line, and the second of Carnival’s Vista-class ships.

The delegation was met by the President of Carnival Cruise Lines Christine Duffy and Ship’s Captain Luigi De Angelis. Carnival Cruise Lines is a division of Carnival Corporation & plc.

The Carnival Horizon just entered service on April 2, sailing from Barcelona. It will be based in New York for the summer.

Grammy award-winning musical artist and actress Queen Latifah headlined the naming ceremony in New York on Wednesday.

The Panama flagged ship with a crew of 1,450 carries a maximum number of passengers of nearly 5,000 in 1,967 passenger cabins.

With 15 decks, the ship took about two and a half years to build. As an occasional caller, it was on the first of its five visits this season. It returns to the island once a month until September, when it is re-positioned for year-round deployment, sailing from Miami on six and eight-day Caribbean cruises.

Carnival Horizon is Carnival Cruise Line’s 26th ship in the Carnival fleet.

The traditional exchange of plaques for the inaugural visit included gifts from Bermuda, Wedco and the cruise line.