The world’s largest ship, Royal Caribbean’s Star of the Seas. was officially christened on Wednesday, August 20, 2025, at Port Canaveral, Florida.
The ceremony began promptly at 7:30 p.m. as the City of Mt. Dora Pipe Band led the procession of the evening’s guests. On hand for the invitation-only event in the AquaTheater were President and CEO of Royal Caribbean Group, Jason Liberty, Star of the Seas’ godmother, Kellie Gerardi, Royal Caribbean president Michael Bayley, and Captain Rob Hempstead. Streaming live from a bar onboard was La Lido Loca’s own Tony B and his brother-in-law, Steve.
During the ceremony, Bayley and Liberty took the time to thank the new build organization and the team from Turku Meyer shipyard that brought Star of the Seas to life. They thanked the crew and passengers who make Royal Caribbean a success. Bayley acknowledged the more than 100 Pinnacle members in the audience, which included one passenger who had sailed nearly 500 times with Royal Caribbean. He also recognized one crew member in particular who has been with the cruise line for over 38 years, Milton Baxter, a bread and pastry chef from Jamaica. Last, and possibly the most important, he recognized the Chief Dog Officer Sailor who had received her three officer stripes earlier that day. Also mentioned was the more than 27 million man-hours it took to build Star of the Seas.
Both a rabbi and a pastor offered the traditional blessing of the ship, for her safe passage and that her journeys be as countless and as wondrous as the stars above. While pronouncing her blessing, Rabbi Melissa Sotlman said, “May she shine like a star and sail in peace across the waters of the world.”
Officially naming the ship was the recently-appointed godmother, Kellie Girardi. Just last week, Diana Ross announced she would no longer be Star of the Seas’ godmother and Girardi stepped into the role. Girardi is an astronaut, social media influencer and Florida native with strong ties to Port Canaveral.
Gerardi said, “A vacation on Star is the perfect combination of two of my passions in life: embracing the spirit of exploration and creating lifelong memories with my family. So I’m very excited to be on this journey with Royal Caribbean. My hope is that as you sail on Star that your journeys are filled with joy, with the spirit of adventure, and lifelong memories with your family.”
Gerardi stated her greatest adventure is being a mom to her daughter, Delta. She then revealed the day she received the call from Royal Caribbean asking her to be the godmother of Star of the Seas, she found out she was pregnant with their second child after a very long and difficult journey of infertility and IVF.
Gerardi then named the ship Star of the Seas asking God to bless her and all who sail on her. She placed a star-shaped button into a podium launching the ceremonial bottle of champagne onto the bow of the ship and concluding the maritime tradition.
You can see more of Star of the Seas and Tony B’s first 12 hours onboard on the La Lido Loca YouTube channel. Don’t forget to subscribe and turn on notifications to be among the first to know what is going on in cruising.