Scientist Christens Newest Celebrity Cruises Ship - Celebrity Solstice

Many lines seek out royalty to christen their new ships. Others call on celebrities. Celebrity Cruises, by contrast, turned to a scientist today to do the honors for its latest vessel, the much-ballyhooed Celebrity Solstice.

Sharon Smith, a renowned expert on the world's oceans, named the white-hulled, 2,850-passenger vessel late this afternoon in Fort Lauderdale during an uplifting ceremony in the ship's spacious Solstice Theatre.

The event, kicked off by a rousing serenade of bagpipe music by the St. Andrews Pipe Band of Miami, included a performance of Celebrity theme song's -- U2's A Beautiful Day -- by violinist Lucia Micarelli and vocalist Antonio Sol. Richard Fain, the chairman and CEO of Celebrity's parent company, Royal Caribbean Cruises, addressed a crowd of more than a thousand invited guests.

Smith, a biological oceanographer, is billed as the first scientists to christen a cruise ship. Having devoted her career to studying some of the smallest components of ocean food webs such as zoo-plankton, she now serves as the Dean of the Undergraduate Program in Marine Science at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. She also co-directs the university’s Oceans and Human Health Center.

Smith also is an outspoken advocate for breast cancer research and early detection efforts. She overcame cancer herself not once but twice, having suffered from both breast cancer and uterine cancer during the 1990s. Celebrity is holding a fundraiser on the Solstice next week with the United Way to raise $100,000 for breast cancer programs aimed at lower-income women.

The Solstice begins its inaugural season Nov. 23 with a series of seven-night Eastern Caribbean cruises from Fort Lauderdale. In spring 2009, the vessel will head to Europe for a series of 10- and 11-night Mediterranean sailings roundtrip from Rome.