The fickle Miami weather caused a slight delay in the naming ceremony, moving the celebration indoors on Norwegian Pearl. The Stardust Lounge and the central atrium (with its gigantic LED screen) were both set up to view the proceedings as Champagne and Mimosas were served to the 2,000 guests. Colin Veitch, NCL's President and CEO quipped about the delay, "This is a Freestyle ceremony," referring to NCL's Freestyle Cruising, with no set dining times and freedom to enjoy a completely unscheduled cruise experience.
Norwegian Pearl's Cruise Director Matt Baker introduced the Seraphic Fire choir ensemble backed by the Miami Philharmonic, who started the program with a series of holiday songs, most notably "Angels We Have Heard on High," after which representatives of the Miami unit of the National Guard led the participants in The Star Spangled Banner.
After an invocation by Reverend Kevin Johnson,
Colin Veitch took the stage and spoke about the forty years of NCL's innovations (the line is celebrating its 40th birthday) and its young fleet of Freestyle Cruise ships. He then introduced Tan Sri KT Lim, Chairman of NCL's parent company, Star Cruises, who commented on the company's bright future. The ship's Master, Captain Trond Kildal, then escorted Rosie to the stage.
"When I was asked to be Godmother," she said, "I expected to get a little baby ship that I would nurture and guide into adulthood. I didn't think I'd be getting a full grown ship; this one is so big!
"I am grateful to NCL for this opportunity, and I promise to be a responsible Godmother, and to take my duties very seriously as I protect and guide this ship. I'm being very careful not to use her name yet," Rosie continued, "because it's supposed to be bad luck."
Before the actual blessing of the ship, Veitch celebrated NCL's 40th birthday with a slide presentation of the line's history,
and then delighted the guests with a video presentation to the tune of Robert Palmer's "Simply Irresistible," which showcased Norwegian Pearl and - more tellingly - the talents of several crew members, ship officers and corporate officers, including Veitch himself. The exuberant video shows NCL's Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Andy Stuart, being carried through a mosh pit and getting a massage, CEO Veitch riding a motorcycle and playing guitar, and Norwegian Pearl's Hotel Director Klaus Lugmeier sitting in a hot tub with a bevy of showgirls.
Rosie was then brought back on stage, and with Captain Kildal, Veitch and Lim by her side, she uttered the words "I name this ship Norwegian Pearl. May God bless her and all who sail on her." She pulled the (symbolic) lever to release the bottle of Champagne against the ship's hull (since the celebration was indoors, a signal was sent to those waiting outside to release the actual bottle), which was captured on the big screen in the theatre. After a couple of false starts, the breaking of the bottle was shown and streamers and confetti rained down on the guests.
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