The American Carnival Corporation commissioned the Finnish shipyard Kvaerner Masa Yards AB in Turku to design and build the ships . It was planned from the beginning to build a whole series of ships and distribute them across various cruise brands in the group. The requirements of the shipyard were that the ships should have as many cabins as possible on the outside, ideally with a balcony, with only minimally noticeable vibrations. On the other hand, however, that the Panamax specifications, i.e. the just permissible size and draft for a passage through the Panama Canal, are complied with.
Starting in 2009, Carnival Corporation & plc gave the order to build the hybrid Spirit- / Vista-class to the shipyard Fincantieri Cantieri-Nav. Italiani SpA , highlighting the advantages of Spirit class with those of the Vista class to connect to has been successfully in use, especially for the premium brand Holland-America Line, since 2003 .