On Tuesday, December 4, the role of christening the most notable new cruise ship of the year, was filled by a celebrity of a different kind: the youngest-ever Nobel Peace Prize winner.
21-year-old Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai, awarded the prize in 2014 at the age of 17, serves as godmother last night when the first new Celebrity Cruises vessel in 6 years, Celebrity Edge, was christened in Florida.
Malala is the first Nobel Prize winner to name a cruise ship. She presided over a christening ceremony at Port Everglades hosted by interior designer, author and TV personality Nate Berkus, a Celebrity brand ambassador. The event included a performance by Grammy Award-nominated songwriter and singer Andra Day.
The 2,918-passenger ship then departed Port Everglades on a 2-night, non-revenue preview cruise for invited guests.
Unveiled to media and travel agents last week, Edge is the prototype for a new and innovative series of ships at Celebrity called Edge Class.
Edge arrived at Fort Lauderdale (Port Everglades) late November following a 15-night journey from the French shipyard where she had been under construction for over a year. On Saturday, she kicked off her first voyage with paying passengers, a 3-day trip to the Bahamas. The ship will begin a regular schedule of 7-day sailings to the Caribbean on December 9.