Carnival Vista reaches milestone, with little girl's help

Carnival Cruise Line's largest ship ever, the 133,500-ton Carnival Vista, reached a construction milestone in Italy today with the help of a six-year-old girl.

Kye Heald, daughter of Carnival's Senior Cruise Director John Heald, served as what Carnival is calling the ship's "godchild" – presiding over a traditional maritime coin ceremony marking the completion of the ship's exterior. The event was held at the Fincantieri shipyard in Monfalcone.

Kye is believed to be the youngest person honored at such a ceremony, during which a commemorative coin or coins are welded to a ship's mast. The maritime tradition dates to ancient Roman times when coins were attached to a ship to provide "divine protection."

According to Carnival, Kye handled her duties "admirably." Her dad wrote on his Facebook page that her reward would be "a real Italian pizza."

The Carnival Vista is set to debut in Europe next May and will begin cruising year-round in the Caribbean in late November 2016 (after first doing a few cruises from New York).

New features on Carnival Vista include a first-at-sea IMAX Theater, a fast inner-tube raft slide, a suspended cycling experience called SkyRide and Carnival's first onboard brewery. For a first look at the new ship, click through the carousel below.