Bringing the announcement as close to the wire as it could, Celebrity Cruises on Friday revealed that ocean scientist Sharon Smith would name the Celebrity Solstice in a ceremony in Fort Lauderdale the same day.
Celebrity said Smith will be the first ocean scientist to serve as godmother of a cruise ship when she names the 2,850-passenger vessel, the first of five Solstice-class ships.
Smith, a biological oceanographer, is a "star" in a field of enormous importance to the cruise line, Celebrity said. Smith investigates marine ecosystems and how global warming affects food sources for birds, fish and baleen whales, among other animals, Celebrity said.
Celebrity indicated in September that it was looking for a cancer survivor to serve as the ship's godmother. Smith is that, as well -- two times over.
Smith overcame breast cancer in 1993 and uterine cancer in 1996, and is an advocate of the critical need for basic breast-cancer screenings.
On Nov. 16, the Solstice will partner with United Way on to raise $100,000 for breast cancer programs to assist lower-income women who cannot afford such screenings.
"Women should not feel secure just because there is no family history of the disease," Smith said in a statement. "You have to be your own best advocate and insist on what's right for you, because you have to live with the possibility of the disease forever."
Smith is dean of the undergraduate program in marine science at the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. She also co-directs the university's Oceans and Human Health Center.
The Solstice is hosting top-producing travel agents, members of the press and VIPs during an overnight cruise following the naming ceremony.
The ship will embark on its inaugural season in the Caribbean on Nov. 23.