Princess Cruises will relocate the June 14
christening ceremony for the Royal Princess, formerly the Minerva
II, the ship Princess recently acquired from Swan Hellenic, from
Santorini, Greece, to Portofino, Italy.
The ceremony was
originally to have been held in Santorini in a double-naming
ceremony with the Emerald Princess on May 12, but the event was
changed "out of respect for the tragic sinking of [Louis Cruises'
Sea Diamond] in that location", Princess said.
Originally, the Royal
Princess was to have two godmothers, former television stars Susan
Olsen, who played Cindy Brady on "The Brady Brunch", and Erin
Moran, Joanie Cunningham on "Happy Days," who would both join in
the festivities to christen the Royal Princess. Meanwhile their TV
mothers, Florence Henderson, Carol Brady on "The Brady Bunch," and
Marion Ross, Marion Cunningham on "Happy Days," were to name the
larger Emerald Princess. With the change, all four women will name
the Emerald Princess. Princess said it would name a new godmother
for the Royal Princess shortly.
The relocated
christening of the Royal Princess will take place during the ship's
first port of call on a voyage that begins in Rome the previous
day, Princess said.
"Although we're
saddened by the tragedy that prompted this change, we are pleased
to name Royal Princess in a beautiful Mediterranean port that
signifies the ship's visits to some of the most scenic ports in
Europe," said Alan Buckelew, president of Princess Cruises, in a
statement. "Portofino is a charming example of the type of the
'explorer' destinations we're able to highlight with this smaller
vessel, and we're delighted to be able to christen our new ship in
such a beautiful location."
The 30,200-ton,
710-passenger Royal Princess is a sister ship to the line's
Tahitian Princess and Pacific Princess ships.
To
contact the reporter who wrote this article, send e-mail to Johanna
Jainchill at [email protected].