Royal Caribbean has a new star ready to set sail, and a true star voyager will be naming her in just a few days. The cruise line has selected astronaut Kellie Gerardi as godmother for Star of the Seas.

The announcement comes shortly after Diana Ross unexpectedly withdrew from the ceremonial position. Ross had been named as the ship’s godmother in June.

“She’s visited the stars, and now she’s the Godmother of one,” Royal Caribbean said when announcing Gerardi to the honor.

Kellie Gerardi is a Florida native, having grown up in Jupiter, Florida (what a name for the birthplace of a future astronaut!), just 130 miles from Star of the Seas‘ homeport, Port Canaveral.

Named the 2025 USA Today Woman of the Year, 36-year-old Gerardi is well renowned not only as an astronaut, but also as a social media personality, space-themed author, and mother – ideal traits for Star of the Seas‘ godmother.

Gerardi was among the first 100 women in history to fly into space with her November 2, 2023 suborbital flight with Virgin Galactic. On that flight, she conducted various microgravity experiments, including studying fluid dynamics.

She will lead the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences IIAS-02 research mission in 2026, working on biomedical research during that flight.

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With more than 2.4 million followers across Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, Gerardi is a dynamic social media personality, sharing space-themed fun and also insights into her personal life as a mother.

As an author, her Luna Muna series has been read from both the International Space Station and the White House. Her book Not Necessarily Rocket Science: A Beginner’s Guide To Life in the Space Age is a #1 bestseller on Amazon.

Naming Ceremony Coming Up for Star of the Seas

Gerardi will officially christen Star of the Seas at the ship’s naming ceremony on Wednesday, August 20, 2025 in Port Canaveral. The star-studded event will take place onboard in the ship’s AquaTheater, under the iconic AquaDome.

Musical performances, traditional blessings, and of course, the iconic champagne bottle are all part of cruise ship christenings. For one of the largest cruise ships in the world, the ceremony is sure to be equally star-worthy.

Worth Reading: Star of the Seas Is on Her Way But What Is Happening Onboard?

Neither Royal Caribbean nor Diana Ross have offered any explanation for why the singer withdrew as the ship’s godmother just days ahead of the ceremony.

The change could be a result of many different factors, including scheduling conflicts, negotiation details, health concerns, or other personal preferences.

Star of the Seas just reached Port Canaveral on Saturday, August 9, where she was greeted with the traditional fanfare of fire boats and eager cruise fans.

The ship has already been sailing brief cruises for media members, travel agents, and social media influencers. Her first “official” sailing will depart on Saturday, August 16 as a 4-night showcase to CocoCay.

After a series of these showcase cruises – added to her schedule because of her early delivery from the Meyer Turku shipyard – Star of the Seas will offer 7-night Eastern and Western Caribbean sailings year-round.

The ship has already been the focus of some minor drama, as her first “Oscar, Oscar, Oscar” alert indicated an overboard incident while at CocoCay on Thursday, August 14.

In a relatively silly accident, a guest walked off the end of the pier while looking at his cell phone. It is unknown whether he was injured, but fortunately, the situation was resolved quickly.

“A guest fell off the dock while capturing footage of the ship on his smart phone. Our team immediately picked him up via jet ski and returned him to shore,” Royal Caribbean confirmed.

That certainly isn’t the way any guest wants to be known as a “star” and hopefully the new ship will not have any further incidents to mar her first weeks in service.

Key Aspects:

• A passenger fell off the pier at Royal Caribbean’s private island of Perfect Day at CocoCay in the Bahamas on August 14, 2025.
• The new Star of the Seas cruise ship, which was docked there with Symphony of the Seas, sounded its Oscar, Oscar, Oscar man overboard alarm.
• The guest was rescued after crew members threw a ring buoy into the water, which the guest was able to grab hold of.

Guests enjoying their preview cruise on Royal Caribbean’s massive new Star of the Seas were shocked on August 14 when the ship sounded an Oscar, Oscar, Oscar emergency alert.

The second 5,610-passenger Icon-class vessel was docked at the cruise line’s private island of Perfect Day at Cococay in the Bahamas at the time.

According to passengers onboard Star of the Seas, a guest had fallen from the pier between Star of the Seas and the 5,518-passenger Symphony of the Seas not long after 8:00 AM.

In a photo posted online, a man can be seen in the water holding onto a rescue life buoy at the end of the pier, after crew members had thrown it in. The good news is that the man was rescued. However, it’s unknown at this time if he got any injuries.

One post on Reddit said, “They rescued him with a jet ski. Update: “Oscar” fell off the pier while texting.“

Royal Caribbean confirmed that the guest was actually getting footage of the giant new ship on his phone, which caused him to fall off the pier.

A spokesperson from the cruise line stated to Cruise Hive: “A guest fell off the dock while capturing footage of the ship on his smart phone. Our team immediately picked him up via jet ski and returned him to shore.”

Star of the Seas was docked at the private island as part of a preview cruise that departed Port Canaveral, Florida, on August 14. The 248,663 gross ton vessel has already departed from CocoCay and is heading back to Florida. The ship is scheduled to depart on another cruise from its homeport on August 16.

Also docked at Cocoay was the Oasis-class Symphony of the Seas, sailing a 7-night Bahamas itinerary which departed Cape Liberty in New Jersey on August 10. This was the final port of call before the vessel heads straight home.

Not the First Time a Passenger Has Fallen from the Pier at CocoCay

It’s not the first time a passenger has fallen off the pier. One of the most recent cases at CocoCay was particularly serious, involving a child who fell between a Royal Caribbean cruise ship and the pier.

This occurred on April 14, when Oasis of the Seas and Symphony of the Seas were the two ships docked there on that day. Thankfully, the crew was able to swiftly rescue the child, and there was no impact to the itinerary.

There have been other kinds of pier incidents, including guests who have been intoxicated, or those who have crossed the “Stay behind the line” for that perfect selfie.

And some have even jumped in on purpose to retrieve a sentimental item, as was the case with one guest when the Carnival Valor made a call to Progreso, Mexico, in February 2025.

Key Aspects:

• Embarkation has been moved up for Symphony of the Seas on Sunday, August 17, due to a military exercise.
• Guests are advised to arrive at the Cape Liberty terminal no later than 1 p.m. or they may be left behind as the ship leaves early.
• The ship’s 7-night itinerary has not changed other than the earlier homeport departure.

Guests boarding Symphony of the Seas may need to rush to Cape Liberty a bit earlier than planned this weekend for the ship’s Sunday, August 17, sailing, as embarkation times have changed.

Royal Caribbean has reached out to booked guests to alert them to the shift. The ship will now be setting sail one hour earlier.

“Due to a planned military exercise in the port area, we will need to depart earlier than originally scheduled,” the notification reads. “We will now set sail at 2:00 PM.”

This means guests with later terminal arrival times need to shift up when they will reach the cruise terminal so they aren’t left behind when Symphony of the Seas departs.

The entire boarding process has been shifted 30 minutes earlier and will now conclude at 1 p.m. All guests must be checked in and onboard no later than 1:30 p.m. for the ship’s departure.

Royal Caribbean is warning guests that sticking to later appointment times will mean being left behind.

“If your scheduled arrival time is between 1:30 PM – 2:00 PM, we kindly ask that you please arrive at the new times listed below,” the email explained. “Arriving at your original time will result in missing the ship’s scheduled departure.”

To be clear, guests who arrive at 1 p.m. will still have time to check in, process through security, and board Symphony of the Seas. Any later, however, and the ship will be setting sail without them.

All morning and early afternoon arrival times are also moved 30 minutes earlier for a more efficient embarkation.

If guests were originally scheduled to arrive at 10:30 a.m., for example, they should now plan to arrive at 10 a.m. Guests arriving at noon should now arrive at 11:30 a.m. and so forth.

The nature of the military exercise has not been disclosed. It is not unusual, however, for ports to participate in emergency response drills, training simulations, or other exercises.

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These events can disrupt traffic into the port, close a harbor, or otherwise temporarily disrupt normal operations. Rather than delay a cruise ship and potentially worry or panic arriving guests unaware of the exercise, it is easier to move up a ship’s departure.

Symphony of the Seas is not having any itinerary changes for the 7-night Bahamas and Perfect Day sailing.

The ship is still planned to visit Port Canaveral on August 19, Nassau on August 20, and Perfect Day at CocoCay on August 21, before returning to New Jersey on August 24.

Symphony of the Seas Making Headlines

This isn’t the first time in recent weeks that Symphony of the Seas has been in the news headlines. While a departure change is relatively innocuous, there have been some troubling stories about the ship lately.

On three separate occasions, glass panels installed on the Oasis-class ship have shattered unexpectedly.

The first incident was on June 8, when a glass window in the Coastal Kitchen restaurant shattered and fell onto lounge chairs below, narrowly missing guests. The fast action of a crew member averted serious injuries from that mishap.

Just three weeks later, another glass panel broke, this time in the canopy of the ship’s Solarium. Fortunately, that panel did not collapse.

Another panel broke this week on Deck 16, near the ship’s miniature golf course and right where the zip line goes by the glass barriers.

While these individual incidents do not appear related, it is certainly concerning. Royal Caribbean is sure to be investigating carefully to ensure all glass aboard Symphony of the Seas remains safe and secure.