Will the Queen be the Godmother?

This week there has been a very very exciting rumour floating around in the world of cruise….have you heard it yet? Well I will tell you….the Godmother for P&O’s newest ship Britannia is rumoured to be the Queen!! Yes the Queen!! Now of course this hasn’t be officially announced yet, but wouldn’t it be amazing if it is true!!

I guess to those who don’t know a great deal about ships having godmothers then the notion may sound a little strange!  Your children have god parents who are chosen to guide them through life and I know when my little girl was christened we had a big party and everyone joined us in the celebration.

Well it’s the same for a ship! The tradition dates right back and for all sailing ships before they set off on their maiden voyage a ceremony of some description takes place. I was reading that years ago way back then, water, wine and even blood have been used to bless the ship! Luckily these days the naming ceremonies are much more glamorous with champagne being used. I’m sure you have seen the bottle being broken against the ship…did you know that if the bottle doesn’t break then it’s said to be bad luck for the ship!

The godmother of the ship is chosen to guide the ship, and to keep the ship and it’s passengers and crew safe. These days the ceremony is also a huge publicity event for the cruise line and the more famous the godmother the more publicity for the ship.

Over the years and since I have been part of the cruise industry there have been some iconic godmothers chosen. Here are some of my favourites.

Dame Helen Mirren is godmother to Ventura , April 2008

Kate Middleton is  godmother to Royal Princess,  June  2013

Whoopi Goldberg  is godmother to Royal Caribbean’s Serenade of the Seas, August 2003

Kim Cattrall  godmother to  Norwegian Dawn , December 2002

Dame Judi Dench is  godmother to the Carnival Legend, she took 3 attempts to smash the bottle during the ceremony, August 2002

Margaret Thatcher was chosen to be godmother of the Regal Princess , 1991

So what do you think? Do you think the Queen is really going to be Godmother to Britannia or is this some rumour sent out to create interest in the ship and her up and coming launch in March.

Watch this space!

As always if you would like to find out more about P&O’s newest addition Britannia  take a look, or get in touch. Call me on 0330 303 8201, or email [email protected]