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The largest ship in the Carnival fleet arrived in Belize today. The Carnival Vista, which started construction in October of 2014, was completed in March of this year. The Vista can hold a maximum of around 4000 passengers and 1500 crew. A plaque ceremony between the BTB's Noriko Gamero and the ship's Captain marked the first call on Belize. The Carnival Vista offers cruises to destinations around the world including Spain, Italy, Aruba and Grand Cayman. 

And while the BTB is doing its best to buoy hopes in the Cruise sector, local tour operators don’t expect much from this new ship.  That’s because most of the tour business from Carnival cruises goes directly to Chukka.  And second, Carnival cruisers are not known to be the most lavish with their spending. 

And so while cruise tourism has major concerns, the overnight sector is also slightly concerned.  That’s because overnight arrivals were slightly down – reportedly by less than 2% in November.  December is also expected to show a modest decrease. 

Tourism officials hope that new flights out of Fort Lauderdale in the New Year can bring the numbers back up.