Carnival Cruise Line announced today that Kelly Arison, daughter of Carnival Corporation Chairman Micky Arison and his wife Madeleine, will serve as godmother for the ship at an invitation-only ceremony in New York on May 23.
Kelly will step into the godmother role previously held by her mother when the ship first entered service as Carnival Triumph, in 1999.
In an added stroke of family ties, Kelly’s grandmother Lin Arison served as godmother to Carnival Sunrise’s sister ship, Carnival Sunshine, in 2013.
Carnival Sunrise’s naming ceremony will take place aboard the ship at the Manhattan Cruise Passenger Terminal and will serve as a platform to heighten awareness of the work of the Ehlers-Danlos Society, an organization dedicated to serving those with joint hypermobility spectrum disorders, of which Kelly is a strong advocate. Carnival will be making a donation to the Ehlers-Danlos Society during the ceremony.
“It is truly an honor to carry on my family’s cherished tradition and join the esteemed women who have so admirably carried out their role as a Carnival godmother over the years,” said Kelly. “This ceremony will not only serve as an exciting and memorable way to officially introduce the spectacular Carnival Sunrise to the Carnival fleet but also raise awareness of an organization very near and dear to my heart, the Ehlers-Danlos Society.”
“Carnival Cruise Line is proud and delighted that Kelly will serve in this role as she officially names Carnival Sunrise,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. “And given the family ties to this ship in particular, we are planning to include some special guests that mean a lot to the Arison family and have played an important part in the history of Carnival Cruise Line.”
Carnival Sunrise’s inaugural season includes four- to 14-day voyages from Norfolk, Va., and New York to Bermuda, Canada and the Caribbean through September. The ship will then reposition to Fort Lauderdale for a winter season of Caribbean and Bahamian voyages beginning in October 2019 before heading back to New York in spring 2020.
