Meghan Trainor helps launch Royal Caribbean's new ship: 'Literally, godmother right now'

Meghan Trainor’s first cruise came with more than a cabin and pool deck – she got a title, too.

The Grammy-winning singer-songwriter was named godmother of Royal Caribbean International’s new ship, Utopia of the Seas . Trainor helped launch the ship during a three-night preview sailing ahead of its official debut on Friday. As part of her duties, she took part in the ship’s naming ceremony and performed a ukulele rendition of her hit song, “All About That Bass.”

“I've never been on a vacation on a ship ever,” she told USA TODAY. “This was my dream. I begged my team to let (me) do this, and finally, an opportunity like this happened, but it was above and beyond what I could ever dream up.”

The musician carved out some personal time, too, bringing her family along for the trip. “Immediately when I heard about this opportunity, my dad was like, ‘Well, bring us all,’ jokingly, and I was like, ‘I am.’ ”

One part of the vessel, in particular, caught her 3-year-old son Riley’s attention right away: a carousel with horse and parrot figures in Utopia’s Boardwalk neighborhood. “We walked by it for soundcheck and he was like, ‘I wanna go on that,’ and I was like, ‘It's closed right now, but yes, we will go on that first thing,’ ” she said.

What is a cruise ship godmother?

Cruise lines select godmothers to sponsor new ships as part of a longstanding maritime tradition aimed at bringing luck and safe passage to the vessel and those on board.

Godmothers – and sometimes godfathers or groups of people selected for the role – typically attend a launch ceremony where they officially name the ship. They have also historically broken a bottle of Champagne on the ship’s bow, though nowadays that’s usually done via button or lever. Afterward, however, they usually don’t have any ongoing responsibilities.

The ritual “goes back to the early days of shipping,” but it wasn’t always such an event, according to maritime historian Bill Miller.

Royalty began christening ships in the 1930s, bringing more fanfare with them, he said. “It garnered more publicity and attention for the occasion by, say, having a queen launch a ship than the company director's wife or something like that.”

Story continues below.

A cruise for every type traveler: How to choose the right line for you

Over time, cruise lines turned to Hollywood for candidates, selecting celebrities like Ingrid Bergman and Audrey Hepburn. More recently, singer Gwen Stefani, rapper Pitbull and gymnast Simone Biles have all served in the role for various brands.

For Trainor, who is gearing up for more travel when she heads out on tour later this year , it wasn’t a bad way to cruise for the first time. She joked, “This is why I’ve waited so long.”

At a concert in the ship’s open-air AquaTheater at the end of the sailing, her 2023 song “Mother,” began to play with spoken dialogue.

“The fact that Meghan Trainor is literally mother right now,” a recorded voice could be heard saying over the speaker system, as the sun set behind the singer and her dancers. Raising the microphone, she ad-libbed: “Literally, godmother right now.”

Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at ndiller@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Meghan Trainor helps launch Royal Caribbean's new ship: 'Literally, godmother right now'