Whoopi Goldberg is godmother to Royal Caribbean’s 9-month world cruise ship
Oprah Winfrey, Jennifer Hudson, Mariah Carey, as well as Whoopi Goldberg and more have been tapped for the honor throughout the years.
Since Royal Caribbean’s nine-month cruise set sail on Dec. 10, passengers on board and those following along through social media have been revealing quite a lot about the journey, including that the cruise ship, named Serenade of the Seas, was officially christened by Whoopi Goldberg.
In a video uploaded to TikTok, current passenger and TikToker Marc Sebastian said in addition to finding out that cruise ships fill their pools with seawater and that you can’t say the word “Titanic,” he also learned they have godmothers. A cruise ship godmother is part of a longstanding naval tradition in which someone is picked to sponsor a ship and help commemorate it before it embarks on its voyage, typically through a ceremony that can include smashing a champagne bottle.
Sebastian presented footage of a plaque designating Goldberg as the ship’s current godmother and said he, who has been less than impressed with the trip, felt like she deserved better.
“Whoopi, girl, you and I we got to talk because I gotta let you know what’s going on on this ship,” he said.
He added, “As an EGOT winner, I just don’t… I don’t feel like… I just don’t think this is like the right ship for you, okay?”
He captioned the video in which he shares more of his insights about the journey thus far, “Someone get Whoopi on the line girl, I have some goss for her.”
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Goldberg joins a long, diverse list of celebrity ship godparents. In 2019, Oprah Winfrey was named the godmother of Holland America’s Nieuw Statendam during a partnership she had with the cruise line where she coordinated experiences for the brand. Fellow EGOT winner Jennifer Hudson was named godmother to Disney Cruise Line’s ship Dream in 2011 – a full-circle moment since the singer and talk show host once was a cruise ship performer. Mariah Carey was named godmother of Disney’s Fantasy cruise ship in 2012 in honor of her hit song “Fantasy.”
The nine-month world tour — which ranges in price from $53,999 to $117,599 per person — will span 274 nights and is set to wrap up on Sept. 10, although not everyone will be on board for the full nine months. The trip’s itinerary includes visiting 11 of the world’s wonders and over 60 countries through the Americas, Asia Pacific, Middle East, Mediterranean and Europe.
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