A Real Celebrity Occasion
Silhouette evokes cheers – and tears Gary Buchanan hails the christening of Celebrity Cruises’ latest offering
new ship needs to have a ‘wow’ factor like an acclaimed work of fiction. By suspending passengers’ disbelief, they can feel like accidental heroes being warmly welcomed into an opulent nirvana. This subliminal message came in spades as I toured the new Celebrity Silhouette hours before she was christened in the port of Hamburg. At 122,000-tons and more than 1,000ft long, the vessel is the largest to be named in the Free and Hanseatic City. It is also the first time Celebrity has named a ship in Germany and, as company President and CEO Dan Hanrahan pointed out: “Celebrity has a long-standing partnership with shipbuilder Meyer Werft, and the celebrations in Hamburg are a gesture of thanks to all those involved in creating Celebrity Silhouette.” Guests arrived at the Graasbrook
A
Terminal located in the inchoate port area and were soon climbing the steep gangway to be welcomed by a bevy of smiling Celebrity Cruises’ personnel. Shortly before
10 WORLD OF CRUISING I Autumn 2011
5pm, the invited guests, resplendent in evening finery, took their seats in the two-deck-high Silhouette Theatre. The 2,884-passenger ship is the fourth in the company’s mini-navy of Solstice- Class vessels to be launched in just over two and a half years and no-one in the audience expected anything but the slightly stereotyped ceremony that was an integral part of the christenings of Celebrity Solstice, Equinox and Eclipse. For a company encapsulating the word
‘celebrity,’ it positively shuns the concept of headlining stars of the big or small screen, preferring instead to celebrate women who have survived breast cancer. The ceremony opened with a compe- tent rendition of the Bryan Adams’ song ‘On A Day Like Today’ performed by Simon Weir (Celebrity’s Director of Hotel Operations) on piano and vocals, Eric Bohus (Director of Entertainment) as lead vocalist and Scott Steenrod (Associate Vice-President, Food & Beverage Operations) on acoustic guitar.
Towards the end, they were joined by Cruise Director Nick Weir on rhythm guitar and, as they came to a crescendo, the audience acknowledged their efforts in rapturous applause. Following the procession of guests into the theatre, the Royal Air Force Halton Pipes and Drums added gravitas to the proceedings, prior to the arrival of Richard Fain, Chairman & CEO, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd, Dan Hanrahan, Captain Dimitrios Kafetzis and Michelle Morgan, the ship’s Godmother. In true Celebrity tradition two blessings were offered, one from Dr Walter Rothschild, Regional Rabbi of Schleswig- Holstein, who brought a light-hearted touch citing Old Testament references to ‘cruise’ ships by comparing Noah’s Ark as well as Jonah and the whale with modern day cruising. The theme was continued by Pastor Frank Engelbrecht of St Catherine’s Church in Hamburg, who noted than even Jesus had sailed on the Sea of Galilee. This was followed by the German
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