New Celebrity Cruises ship, Celebrity Equinox, named in upbeat ceremony

mercedes · July 29, 2009

SOUTHAMPTON, England -- And then there were nine.

Fast-growing Celebrity Cruises today officially named its second new ship in less than a year -- bringing its total to nine -- in a black tie ceremony on board the 2,850-passenger vessel.

Nina Barough, founder of breast cancer charity Walk the Walk, christened the ship from the stage of the its main theater by cutting a pink ribbon that signaled the breaking of a champagne bottle.

"Her story, her outspoken devotion to breast cancer causes, and her day-to-day life is a compelling example of the need to take our health and well-being seriously," said Richard Fain, the longtime chairman and CEO of Celebrity's parent company, Royal Caribbean. "And all this paints a lovely picture of why we are so honored to have her as our godmother."

The upbeat event, which kicked off with buglers and a bagpipe and drum corps performance, also included a piano rendition of The Beatles' "Here Comes the Sun."

Barough, whose 12-year-old charity has raised nearly $100 million for breast cancer research with regular fundraiser walks across England, exhibited an infectious enthusiasm, at one point asking the executives, travel agents and media in the audience to hold hands and bless the room with their energy. She also asked attendees to hug the person standing next to them.

Fain later noted to the crowd that he had been to a lot of naming ceremonies to name ships but "never one where we blessed the room . . . or where I held hands with the captain."

Celebrity also invited sister ship Celebrity Solstice's Godmother Sharon Smith to participate. Smith took the stage by surprise to Barough, and both joined Fain to cut the ribbon - symbolically, pink, in recognition of breast cancer causes. The ribbon threaded through the ship, ultimately releasing a large bottle of champagne that crashed against the stack atop the ship.

The bottle, too, was symbolic, created by The Corning Museum of Glass, with whom Celebrity struck an alliance in 2008 to create the industry's first glassblowing show and demonstration at sea (now aboard both Celebrity Equinox and its eight-month-old sister ship, Celebrity Solstice).

One oddity of the ceremony was the lack of a role for Dan Hanrahan, Celebrity's president and CEO, who remained seated in the audience for most of the event.

Celebrity Equinox set sail from Southampton shortly after the naming ceremony for a two-night inaugural cruise into the English Channel. The ship will set sail Friday on an eight-night Norwegian Fjords cruise before its official maiden voyage to the Mediterranean scheduled for Aug. 8. The ship will move to the Caribbean this winter.