Oceania Cruises are gambling on the weather in Monte Carlo next April being better than I experienced on board Adonia at the weekend.
Storms prevented the P&O ship from berthing in the principality – scuppering plans for a reunion lunch on board for godmother Dame Shirley Bassey.
But Oceania have chosen to hold the christening ceremony for their next vessel – Riviera – at a gala ceremony at Monaco’s Port Hercules on April 19. No word yet on the godmother though; sister ship Marina was named in Miami in February by American TV personality Mary Hart.
The pier will be transformed into a garden inspired by the Princess Grace Rose Garden, with trellises and columns covered in fresh local flowers and plants. After the ceremony, guests will board the ship for a lavish reception and dinner.
Oceania’s president Kunal S Kamlani said: “It is very fitting that we christen Riviera – the newest jewel in Oceania Cruises’ fleet – in MNonte Carlo, the crowning jewel of the Riviera.
Following the christening cruise, Riviera will embark on her maiden voyage, a 12-day Ancient Grandeur itinerary leaving Athens on April 24, and visiting Alexandria and Port Said, Egypt; Haifa and Ashdod (for Jerusalem), Israel; Rhodes and Patmos, Greece; and Alanya, Kusadasi (Ephesus) and Istanbul.
The 1,250-passenger ship will spend the summer and autumn cruising the Mediterranean and then cross the Atlantic to the Caribbean for a series of winter cruises.
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