Carnival Cruise Line’s newest fun ship, the 130,000-GRT Carnival Dream, has been christened in the New York by her godmother Marcia Gay Harden. The award-winning actress swung an official Yankees baseball bat autographed by player Alex Rodriguez at a 1.8-meter tall faux bottle of Moet & Chandon champagne onstage in the ship’s theater, triggering the release of a real bottle against the ship’s hull.

 

The festivities, hosted by Carnival’s Senior Cruise Director John Heald, continued throughout the ship and guests at the Encore! show lounge were treated to a live dance performance by Carnival Dream’s Fun Force dance troupe. Dressed in blue track suits, the performers breakdanced and cartwheeled to techno music, with one performer being revealed at the end of the number to be Carnival Cruise Lines CEO Gerry Cahill.

 

The 3652-guest Carnival Dream is the largest ship in the Carnival fleet and offers a host of innovations, including the Ocean Plaza indoor/outdoor dining and entertainment venue and a 2,206-square meter Cloud 9 Spa. The ship also features the longest water slide at sea as part of the Carnival Waterworks aqua park, to be christened with a ride down by Hailee Steberger, the winner of Carnival’s “Virtual Book of Dreams” contest.

 

Constructed in Italy, Carnival Dream entered service in September 2009 , sailing in the Mediterranean before crossing the Atlantic Ocean to New York, making her North American debut. She will operate a series of short cruises before repositioning again to homeport in Port Canaveral in Florida to operate Caribbean cruises throughout the year.

 

For more information, visit www.carnival.com.