Carnival Cruise Line Names Carnival Sunrise in New York City Ceremony

(1:12 p.m. EDT) -- Amid a crowd of travel agents, journalists, Carnival dignitaries and members of the Arison family (Carnival Cruise Line's founding family), the line named Carnival Sunrise today at Manhattan's Pier 90 in New York City.

The ceremony got off to a rocking start with a performance from the ship's Playlist Performers. Emcee John Heald, the line's brand ambassador, kept the vibe light when he "mistakenly" introduced the line's official DJ, DJ Irie, as the priest who would be giving the ship blessing.

"This transformation of Carnival Sunrise was two years in the making. It's really been a labor of love," said Carnival's president Christine Duffy, before introducing Kelly Arison as the godmother of Carnival Sunrise. Kelly Arison's mother, Madeline Arison, was the godmother of Carnival Triumph 20 years ago, while her grandmother is the godmother of Carnival Sunshine.

Carnival Sunrise is the new name of the refurbished Carnival Triumph, while Carnival Sunshine is the first ship Carnival ever fully refurbished and then renamed as a result.

Kelly Arison's first action as Sunrise's godmother was to present a check for $50 thousand to the Ehlers Danlos Society, a disease with which she suffers. Behind them towered a massive Champagne bottle designed by renowned Brazilian artist Romero Britto.

After her official blessing, the audience counted down to one and the oversized Champagne bottle popped, exploding confetti into the air.

"Ladies and gentleman, you are now onboard the Carnival Sunrise," Heald announced.

The 2,984-passenger ship launched as a practically new ship -- with a new name -- in late April 2019, after a nearly two-month, $200 million refurbishment.

It now boasts a large water park with two big slides, a kids' slide and a splash area; a SportSquare with ropes course and mini-golf; five additional restaurants including Bonsai Sushi, Guy's Smokehouse BBQ, the Seafood Shack, Cucina del Capitano and Fahrenheit 555; and more than 100 additional cabins including Cloud 9 Spa rooms and two two-room, two-bathroom Captain's Suites.

Carnival Sunrise will sail three- to seven-night Bermuda cruises and seven-night Caribbean cruises from New York City through October, before repositioning to Fort Lauderdale, from where it will sail Caribbean and Bahamas cruises of varying lengths.

• Learn more about Carnival Sunrise's transformation in our report from one of the ship's first cruises out of dry dock.