Tag Archives: christening ceremony

Royal Caribbean Names Wonder of the Seas

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Royal Caribbean International officially welcomed Wonder of the Seas into the family on Friday at Port Canaveral.

The cruise line’s latest ship was named by its Godmother and Wonder Mom Marie McCrea from Pennsylvania. The evening ceremony also marked the start of a new chapter for Wonder as it makes waves as Port Canaveral’s new, year-round family vacation, the company said.

Royal Caribbean executives and teams, families, friends, travel advisors, the cruise line’s partners and more came together on board the world’s largest cruise ship to celebrate the occasion.

In the time-honoured role of Godmother, Marie bestowed a blessing of safekeeping on Wonder, its crew and the millions of families who will make lifelong memories on board in the years to come. On stage with Marie were Royal Caribbean Group President and CEO Jason Liberty, Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley, and her daughter, Allie, who nominated her mother for the role as part of a nationwide search started by Royal Caribbean on Mother’s Day.

“Wonder of the Seas exemplifies Royal Caribbean Group’s focus on unparalleled innovation, sustainable cruise ship design and our commitment to delivering world-class, memorable vacations, responsibly,” said Jason Liberty, president and CEO, of Royal Caribbean Group. “This milestone represents the culmination of millions of hours of work, from the most innovative minds in the industry, to deliver the world’s latest wonder.”

Designed for memory-making from end to end, Wonder inspires awe and adventure in kids and vacationers of all ages with feats and experiences across eight neighbourhoods – a first in the revolutionary Oasis Class. To find the Godmother to match, Royal Caribbean took to TikTok and launched the #SearchforWonderMom contest, which saw 16,000 videos posted and 10.6 billion hashtag views.

The search was complete when the cruise line heard Marie’s story, one of a devoted mother, wife and cancer survivor whose spirit inspired her family and those around her to set out on adventures and enjoy every moment together despite the hardships they faced.

“It was an honour to officially welcome Marie, and Wonder of the Seas, to the Royal Caribbean family,” said Michael Bayley, president and CEO, of Royal Caribbean International. “Marie’s story is one of incredible strength and family memories to last a lifetime, and those are the types of memories we’ve committed to creating with our guests and crew on every Royal Caribbean ship for more than 53 years. Wonder is the adventure of all adventures that combines what families know and love on our revolutionary Oasis Class ships with brand-new experiences, and it’s already delivered memorable vacations to more than 180,500 guests since first setting sail in March.”

“Carrying out my role as Godmother and a part of such an important moment for Royal Caribbean and Wonder of the Seas was such an honour,” said Marie McCrea, Godmother of Wonder of the Seas. “Having my family by my side to celebrate this incredible ship was yet another memory we’ve made together – and with our new Royal Caribbean family – that I’ll never forget.”

Carnival Celebration Visits Mahogany Bay for the First Time

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Continuing its first cruise to the Western Caribbean, the new Carnival Celebration arrived at the Mahogany Bay Cruise Center for its maiden call on Thursday.

The call also marked the first time the new Carnival Cruise Line vessel visited Honduras.

After entering service with a transatlantic crossing in early November, the Celebration started its debut season on Nov. 21.

Following a special christening ceremony in Miami, the LNG-powered kicked off a series of week-long cruises to the Caribbean. After leaving Miami on Nov. 27, the ship’s current sailing also included the maiden visits to Mexico’s Cozumel and Costa Maya.

The 5,200-guest ship is now set to make regular visits to Mahogany Bay as part of its year-round schedule of Caribbean cruises.

Departing from Port Miami every Sunday, the itineraries also include visits to ports in the Eastern Caribbean.

Developed by Carnival Corporation in partnership with a local businessman, the Mahogany Bay Cruise Center opened in 2009.

A popular cruise destination in the Western Caribbean, the facility serves the Roatan island in Honduras Bay Islands.

In addition to a two-ship cruise pier, the cruise terminal offers a welcome centre and a variety of retail outlets, including two themed bars, a restaurant and several shops.

A chair lift system takes guests from the welcome centre to Mahogany Beach, a 10-acre private island featuring an 825-foot-long white-sand beach with a beach volleyball court and water sports opportunities.

Along with the new Celebration, the Carnival Pride also visited Mahogany Bay on Dec. 1. The vessel is presently offering a seven-night cruise to Mexico, Belize and Honduras departing from Tampa.

A third ship, the Norwegian Breakaway, was also docked at a different cruise terminal in Roatan. The Norwegian Cruise Line vessel is offering week-long Western Caribbean cruises departing from New Orleans.

Katy Perry as godmother of new-ship Norwegian Prima

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As godmother, Perry will not only fulfil the maritime tradition of blessing and officially naming the vessel, but she will perform during the christening ceremony in August before the vessel embarks on its inaugural voyage from Reykjavik.
 

Harry Sommer, president and chief executive of NCL, said the brand was “excited” to welcome the “one-of-a-kind artist” as godmother of Prima.

“We are so incredibly proud that she will be part of the Norwegian Cruise Line family and look forward to launching our beautiful, innovative ship with her in August,” he added.

Perry said her favourite form of a holiday with her family was on the water. “Every morning that you wake up, you get to experience an incredible new view,” she added.

“I love that I get to christen her with my good vibrations, and I’m so excited for this new, beautiful, high-end, high-tech ship to take the seas, and provide once-in-a-lifetime vacations for so many families.”

Prima will offer inaugural voyages to Northern Europe from Southampton, Amsterdam and Reykjavik from 12 August, sailings to Bermuda from New York from 6 October and Caribbean itineraries from Texas and Miami beginning 27 October.