Oceania Cruises hosted a lavish Christening Ceremony for its newest ship, Oceania Allura, at the Port of Miami a few hours ago. The event took place at Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings’ landmark cruise terminal, alongside the 1,200-passenger luxury ship.
Oceania Allura was christened not by one godmother, but by a group of Food & Wine Best New Chefs alumni, comprised of chefs Tavel Bristol-Joseph, Katie Button, Calvin Eng, Aisha Ibrahim, George Mendes and Lawrence “LT” Smith.
More than 900 guests attended the ceremony, and will sail aboard Allura on a three-day christening cruise that will include a port call at Nassau in the Bahamas. A strong contingent of travel partners and media from Australia were also in attendance, including LATTE.
During the ceremony, Jason Montague, Chief Luxury Officer at Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd heaped praise on the travel industry
“As I reflect on the early days of being a start-up in 2003… there is no doubt in my mind that Oceania has grown to be the company we are today, because of you.”
He continued, saying “Your belief and support in us from those very early days is what fuelled our growth, and we are forever grateful.”
“As we look to the future, we have four new-builds on the horizon… so it’s never been a more exciting time to be in the luxury space,” Montague said, adding he “can’t wait to see what we can accomplish together.”
Meanwhile, brand history was created tonight, with Commodore status bestowed upon Franco Semeraro, Senior Vice President of Hotel Operations for Oceania Cruises (and Regent Seven Seas Cruises).
Semeraro has been with Oceania Cruises since its inception, more than 20 years ago. All other Oceania Cruises’ executives that have been recognised as a Commodore are past, or retired employees, including Montague himself, before he was called out of retirement 9 months ago to lead the luxury division of NCLH. Semeraro however has been, and remains, a vital part of Oceania Cruises’ operations.
More from onboard Allura next week in LATTE and LATTE Cruise.
